April 29, 2025

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Church

Follow-up: Union with Christ
Photo by Mike from Pexels
Christ, Church, Follow-up

Follow-up: Union with Christ

This entry is part 9 of 13 in the series "Follow-up".The book of Ephesians is different than the other letters we have looked at in this series on Paul’s follow-up with the churches he planted. For instance, there are no problems that he is trying to correct nor questions that he is answering. Also, it is less personal than his other letters. Ephesians: A Summary of the Gospel F.F. Bruce writes: It [Ephesians] sums up in large measure the leading themes of the Pauline writings, together with the central motif of Paul’s ministry as apostle to the Gentiles. But it does more than that: it carries the thought of earlier letters to a new stage. Clinton E. Arnold offers a statement of purpose for the letter: Paul wrote this letter to a large network of local churches in Ephesus and the surrounding cities to affirm them in their new identity … Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Follow-Up: Partnership in the Gospel
Cytonn Photography on Unsplash
Church Planting, Church, Follow-up, Gospel

Follow-Up: Partnership in the Gospel

This entry is part 8 of 13 in the series "Follow-up".How does Paul follow-up with the church at Philippi? We have been asking this question in previous posts about Galatia, Thessalonica, and Corinth. Our source of information has been Paul’s letters to these churches. Today we will look at his letter to Philippi. Philippians, a Friendship Letter Many commentators have noted that Philippians has features common to friendship letters in the Greco-Roman world. For instance, expressions of affection and terminology like “yoke-fellow” (Phil. 4:3) were common in letters between friends at that time. Yet the letter is more than just communication between friends. Gordon Fee writes: But “hortatory letter of friendship” is only part of the story, and in many ways the least significant part of that. For in Paul’s hands everything turns into gospel, including both formal and material aspects of such a letter. Most significantly, friendship in particular… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Follow-up: Understanding Authentic Christian Ministry
Photo by Marc Scaturro on Unsplash
Leadership, Church, Follow-up, Gospel

Follow-up: Understanding Authentic Christian Ministry

This entry is part 7 of 13 in the series "Follow-up".As we saw in an earlier post, the Corinthians needed to learn to keep culture in perspective. This was especially true in their understanding of leadership and Christian ministry. The leadership values of the culture were exploited by Paul’s opponents, causing some in Corinth to question Paul’s credentials. George Guthrie observes, In short, in the apostle’s seeming humility (even humiliation 12:21), his taking on the role of a servant, his rejection of patronage and the concomitant rejection of financial gain, and his refusal to advance his status by use of rhetorical skills, he stood in violation of key leadership values and principles embedded in the Corinthian culture. The apostle, on the other hand, presents to the Corinthians an alternative; a theocentric and biblical vision of authentic leadership. While not all cultural leadership values will conflict with authentic Christian ministry, they… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
The Church is God’s Household
Church Planting, Theology, Church

The Church is God’s Household

In this series of posts on the letters to Timothy and Titus, I have emphasized that Timothy and Titus were co-workers with Paul in planting churches in Ephesus (Timothy) and Crete (Titus). These letters are Paul’s instructions to his co-workers for dealing with various issues such as teaching sound doctrine and warnings against false teaching. About halfway through 1 Timothy Paul expresses another purpose in writing: I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth. – 1 Timothy 3:14,15 (ESV) Behavior is very important in the letters to Timothy and Titus and in a future post, I will explore “good works” as a component of church planting.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Review: Hearers and Doers
Disciple-making, Theology, Book Reviews, Bible, Church, Worldview

Review: Hearers and Doers

In his recent book, Hearers and Doers: A Pastor’s Guide to Making Disciples through Scripture and Doctrine, Kevin Vanhoozer makes the claim that everyone is a disciple of someone else. We all follow someone else’s words or stories. The question is whose words, whose stories are we following. We often follow the stories that provide meaning for our culture. The book identifies as a pastor’s guide but has valuable insights for missionaries. Vanhoozer makes use of Charles Taylor’s (the author of A Secular Age) concept of social imaginary. He explains:             A social imaginary is the picture that frames our everyday beliefs and practices, in particular the “ways people imagine their social existence.” The social imaginary is the nest of background assumptions, often implicit, that lead people to feel things as right or wrong, correct or incorrect. It is another name for root metaphor… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
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