My favorite part about my “job” is hanging out with people. Even if it’s just sitting across from a friend in a coffee shop, I enjoy being in the moment of spending time with them. Any time that I have with a national is a gift from God. Really. There’s no way someone would want to spend time with me [...]
This is part 76 in my long-running series about word definitions… Whenever someone shares a fresh perspective, or wants to challenge the status quo, he or she is bound to be misunderstood. It starts like this:Copernicus: “Hey guys, I’m thinking that maybe the Earth isn’t the center of the solar system.”Well-Intentioned Misunderstanding Guy: “So the sun stood still, and the [...]
An anonymous commenter on my last post disagrees with the distinction between home culture “missions” and what I’m calling “host culture missions.” You can thank him for this post. Unless, of course, you actually like this post. I which case, please thank me. My assertion: If the word “missions” means “telling people about Jesus” or even, “Sharing one’s faith by [...]
When David Rogers tags you, you play along. 1. One book that changed your life: Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak 2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger 3. One book I’d want on a desert island: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain 4. One book that made me laugh: [...]
I’m sure this might sound like a poorly disguised attempt to find a job, but it isn’t. Not exactly, anyway. Lately all I can think about is what I would do if I weren’t doing, well, whatever it is I do. Maybe it’s that everyone is on vacation for the month and the city is empty. Maybe I’m having another [...]
It’s time to change the lingo of missions. (Including the word “missions.”) Really. Hardly any of the words that we use to talk about cross-cultural ministry accurately describe the work of our people on the field. Many of our words actually work against us. Take, for example, the idea of “reaching” people. What does that mean? I know what we [...]
Unless writing a lot makes one a "writer," Ernest is a former missionary. After more than six years in Western Europe, he moved to Portland, where he drinks too much coffee and over-analyzes human behavior. For more about Ernest, visit the About page where you can read a long-time reader's interview with him. Or, if you don't mind waiting a very, very long time, send him an email.