Reflections and resources for lifelong learning for missionaries
The Situation You love Jesus. You’ve dedicated your life to serving him. You’re loyal, diligent, and you work hard. It’s not unusual for you to check your email after hours, and you’re even willing to work on your day off, if necessary. Lately, it seems like it’s necessary a lot. You’ve been known to sacrifice …
Strolling through gift shops one summer, my husband George and I spotted a T-shirt which said, “Sometimes I wake up Grumpy, other times I let her sleep.” Wise husband that he is, George did not buy the shirt. Alas, my husband is a happy morning person, and each morning presents a major challenge: how will …
Over the last year or so, I have been thinking about what it means for missionaries to be both disciples and disciple-makers. I recognized that we can easily make the mistake of assuming that at some point in our Christian life, we graduate from being disciples to become disciple-makers. But through an in-depth study of …
Continue reading Who spurs on the missionary to love and good deeds?
It happens every year: the gift that no one else wants finds its way under my Christmas tree. One year it was an electric hot dog cooker. The contraption had twelve metal prongs that sent electricity through the meat—I felt like Dr. Frankenstein every time I plugged it in. Another year I received a box …
Recently I heard a pastor tell a story about a women’s conference whose promoters sold more tickets than the venue had seats available. To compensate, they brought in hundreds of rented chairs that were neither sturdy nor comfortable. The women from his church became angry about the situation, and their complaints grew louder and more …
In October 2017, a major consultation on Muslim ministries was held in Thailand. It was called, "Abide, Bear Fruit", and was a follow-up consultation to the one held 10 years earlier, also in Thailand. Both conferences were organized by Vision 5:9, "a global mission network focused on ministry among unreached Muslim people groups". The 2007 …
In contemporary literature on church planting and disciple-making doctrine is often downplayed. Doctrine is seen as secondary or primarily the intellectual concern of academics. But Paul put great emphasis on doctrine when he wrote to his church planting partners, Timothy and Titus. Kevin Vanhoozer writes, Christian doctrine is the disciple's meat and drink. You may …
Continue reading Teaching Doctrine in Disciple-making: Academic elective or life-giving essential?
