More Than Writing: Understanding AI in Ministry
Cross-cultural missionaries regularly use written communication in ministry as they prepare sermons, Bible studies, devotionals, training materials, reports, and newsletters. Sometimes we need to do so in another language. We write newsletters for our financial and prayer partners, prepare annual reports for churches, provide ministry updates for field leaders and Regional Directors, and take minutes for important meetings. Some of us go further and write blog posts, books, or journal articles. As AI in ministry becomes more common, many missionaries are asking new questions about how these tools should be used.
From ‘Can I Use AI?’ to a Better Question
Over more than forty years of cross-cultural ministry, I have written thousands of pages. Only within the last year or so have I begun to realize how much… Read the whole post
Category: Resources Page 1 of 3
Photo by Pascal Meier on Unsplash
Taking off and landing require a pilot’s utmost attention. Likewise, sermon introductions and conclusions demand careful preparation by a preacher. In fact, the introductions and conclusions will make or break the connection with our audience. In the introduction, we meet them coming from their daily life of the previous week. Then, in the conclusion, we send them off to live in the light of the biblical truth expressed in the sermon’s big idea. So, introductions and conclusions must be carefully worded to connect our audience with the big idea. For the simple reason that we need to know our destination before we start a journey, writing the conclusion precedes writing the introduction.
Writing the Conclusion
Conclusions Conclude
A sermon conclusion should not resemble a jetliner in a holding pattern waiting to land, or worse, aborting an attempted landing. Rather, it should briefly summarize the thrust of the sermon. An extended conclusion will frustrate our audience. It should not introduce new ideas but provide listeners memorable statements to aid in application.
Raising Up a Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids: A Practical Guide to Preventive Care by Lauren Wells is a preventive guide that offers a whole toolbox of practical helps for parents of TCKs. ![Raising Up a Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids: A Practical Guide to Preventive Care by [Lauren Wells]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+yAaHAGEL.jpg)
This book is a recent addition to the SEND U wiki MK/TCK Resources page for the parents of MKs/TCKs. A few weeks ago, Sharon Wicker reviewed another resource from that wiki page.
Filling a gap
On this page are several books that have been go-to resources for years. They are tools that are great for helping parents and others to understand what a Third Culture Kid is. These books help us understand how growing up in a culture different from one’s parents will shape and impact who we are. Two books in particular do a great job describing what a TCK is. They are Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds by David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken and Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century by Tanya Crossman.
These books and many others explain who the TCK is (the good and the bad), so that others can understand them better. But the whole emphasis is on the TCK. It is important to understand your TCKs and to be aware of who they are. It is also very important to be aware of both the challenges they face and the benefits they can experience as a TCK.
A new page for MK/TCK resources has recently been added to the SEND U wiki. One of these resources, Khan Academy, is particularly helpful for parents and students alike as a tool for supplemental learning.
What is Khan Academy?
It is NOT: training to join Genghis Khan and his Hordes of the 1300 and 1400s.
It IS: a FREE online personalized learning resource for all ages.
“Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. We tackle math, science, computing, history, art history, economics, and more, including K-14 and test preparation.” (from their website)
I have frequently been asked about resources for local church missions programs. In 2015, Steve Beirn, Global Ministries Pastor at Calvary Church in Lancaster, PA, published Well Sent: Reimaging the Church’s Missionary-Sending Process. Steve served at our sending church in Holland, Michigan before going to Calvary so I know him well. He writes with passion and experience. In the introduction he writes:
This book seeks to elevate the role of the local church in the sending effort. The trend in missions today is to place the individual at the center of the sending process. Sometimes the agency is placed at the center. This book places the local church at the center of the sending process. – Well Sent, p. 17.