They say that, over time, we begin to resemble our spouses. Maybe it’s convenience- we use the same products, shop at the same stores, eat the same foods. Eventually, you can’t tell whether those are your glasses or hers. You just grab whatever set of dentures you find lying around and put them in. It might have something to do [...]

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down,” Jesus said to the treed tax collector in Luke 19:5. “For I must stay at your house today.” Jesus invited himself over to Zacchaeus’ house. Usually, Jesus was invited in to people’s homes- the wedding party at Cana, Mary and Martha, Peter- they all requested that He visit. They had time to prepare for his [...]

Most negative missions experiences are due to unrealistic expectations. (This, of course, is a wildly unsubstantiated claim based on my limited experience and no formal research whatsoever.) It usually goes something like this: “Yay, we’re going to be missionaries! We love the nations! God’s glory! Passion! Finish the task” Then, “It’s okay to be uncomfortable. Different isn’t necessarily bad. We [...]

Dirty, sick orphans living in garbage dumps in South America. Malnourished children in desolate African villages. Underground house churches in outer Chinese provinces. Sex slaves lining the street in a Thailand slum. A burgeoning pub church in Western Europe. What do these scenes have in common? Streams of Christians on mission trips. In an effort to raise awareness and develop [...]

If everything I know about church was learned in youth group, I’d be inclined to think that: Church should be a good mix of games, singing, a short devotion, and pizza. Accountability is meeting with a “grownup” who asks me if I’ve been reading my Bible. Socially, it’s easier to be a big fish in the “small pond” of church. [...]

Contextualization is the active work of translating the gospel into a culture that doesn’t have an indigenous expression of Christianity. The problem is that we all seem to be “contextualizing” for a culture that we don’t live in. We all look alike because we were all mentored by the same six guys (John, Rick, Mark, Brian, Tim, and Andy). We [...]

If a New Yorker stepped the pulpit of a Savannah, GA church to preach on a Sunday morning, his accent would undermine his message. To Southerners, a “yankee” accent means a person isn’t trustworthy. A Northerner is seen as “slick” and “smooth talking.” When he comes in to preach, even if he’s preaching the infallible and inerrant Word of God, [...]