July 27, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Training

Teaching the Bible Story-line
Training, Storying

Teaching the Bible Story-line

Sometimes we approach the Bible like dining at a smorgasbord restaurant. At a smorgasbord there is no order or progression to the meal, you just pick what you want. Similarly, we can read a passage or story without thinking about where it fits in the story-line of the Bible. We gravitate to what we want to hear or what is comfortable. When we eat only the food we like at a smorgasbord, it can result in an unhealthy diet and indigestion. Likewise, we can develop an unhealthy theology and theological indigestion when we read the Bible and ignore the story-line. The Bible is more like a multi-course meal designed by a dietitian for our health and enjoyment. Each course prepares the taste buds for the next. The sequence is just as important as each item. Each story and passage in the Bible is a part of the overall metanarrative of… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Books, Disciple-making, Book Reviews, Pre-field Training, Church

The Vine Project: A review

Jesus told us to go and disciple all nations. That means that those of us who have been called and sent are to be disciplemakers who equip others to be disciplemakers as well. The question that I have been asking myself recently is, “Are the sending and training structures that we have established to help get people to the nations effective in equipping them to be disciplemakers?”  We train people to raise their support, learn and adjust to a new culture, learn to speak a new language, prepare for various security risks, educate their children, and get along with their teammates – but are they learning to become disciplemakers? I read The Trellis and the Vine a number of years ago. This short book differentiated between the work of actually discipling people from the work of creating and maintaining the structures and programs that support this disciplemaking.  The… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Teaching is a Spiritual Gift
Church, Training

Teaching is a Spiritual Gift

The Bible is clear and understandable. Anyone can understand it. [For a helpful discussion on the clarity of the Bible see Wayne Grudem, “The Perspicuity of Scripture,” Themelios 34:3 (2009): 288-308]. All believers ought to study the Bible so that the word richly dwells within them. The Berean Jews were commended for examining the Scriptures to see if Paul’s teaching was true (Acts 17:11). All believers are charged to teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16). But do all these truths mean we don’t need teachers? Apparently the Holy Spirit did not think so, because one of the gifts to the church is teaching.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
The Holy Spirit and the Human Teacher
Training, Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit and the Human Teacher

Teaching is sometimes seen as slowing down “movements.” Taking the time to teach is seen as unnecessary because the Holy Spirit teaches seekers and new converts. Yet, throughout the biblical record, and especially in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit works with and through human teachers. It is not an either/or situation. Teaching is a spiritual gift “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:11). In the Pastoral Epistles, Timothy and Titus were sent to correct false teaching and to teach sound doctrine. Human teaching is fruitless apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has chosen to teach with and through human teachers. Acts 8:26-40 provide an example of how the Holy Spirit works with and through the human teacher. An angel of the Lord (v.26) directs Philip to go down to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he finds… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
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