Reflections and resources for lifelong learning for missionaries
In recent years, church planting strategies have been broadly divided into two major categories: Church Planting Movements and the traditional model or what is now being called the Proclamation Model. Sometimes advocates of Church Planting Movements (CPM) prefer to call their strategy "Disciple Making Movements" or DMM. If you are unclear about the differences between …
Continue reading Reflections on the Radius Debate
Over the past few weeks, I have been listening to a fascinating series of lectures by Dr. David Livermore of the Cultural Intelligence Center. I purchased the lectures on Audible as part of one of "The Great Courses" that they offer. This course is 12 hours long and is entitled "Customs of the World: Using …
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. - Matthew 10:5–6 Why did Jesus not send his disciples to Gentiles and Samaritans? The Gentiles were the people who knew the least about the …
Continue reading Why did Jesus prohibit his disciples from going to the least reached?
Who are your disciples? Whom have you discipled? While these questions are helpful in directing our focus on the importance of disciple-making and encouraging us to be intentionally investing in other believers, I think there is an inherent danger as well in these well-intentioned questions. During my sabbatical last year, I spent a lot of …
Last month a new book on contextualization was published by Baker Academic. It is by A. Scott Moreau, and is entitled Contextualizing the Faith: A Holistic Approach. Dr. Moreau is associate academic dean and professor of intercultural studies at Wheaton College Graduate School. He takes a 'dimensional' approach to contextualization, "an approach that deals with the …
Transitions are common in a missionary's life. My wife and I have been missionaries for 41 years and are now in the middle of our 9th "Home Service." Saying that transitions are common does not mean they are not difficult or disruptive. Transitions are never easy but there is light beyond them. Amy Young has …
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but …
