More often than not, “partnering in missions,” means small churches give what little money they think they can afford to a larger church or a missions sending agency that will handle mobilization, screening, indoctrination, training, sending, and maintenance of missionaries on the field. This is not “partnering,” it’s outsourcing.
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Being a missionary where God has you isn’t just an attitude or posture (though it certainly begins there). It requires a certain set of skills that can be developed over time. One such skill is cultural exegesis.
All you Bible scholars out there know that exegesis (literally “to draw out”) is the act of studying something [...]
Most churches actually require unbelievers to be the missionaries. In order for them understand the gospel and its effect on their lives, they have to enter our church culture and extrapolate for themselves what a relationships with Jesus would mean for them. They have to learn a new language in order to hear the gospel. [...]
Most of the time, when people make decisions, they’re not really choosing from among all the options. Call the filters, call them limitations; but things like popularity, availability, accessibility, cost, visibility, availability, and ignorance all come into play- narrowing the field of choices to (usually) just a few. Many of us who would like to [...]
Tags: Alternatives
There are two sorts of people who push for the support of national church planters among unreached peoples: field church-based missionaries and well-intentioned stateside leaders.
It sounds really good to say, “We believe in supporting national church planters.” “Nationals,” of course, are believers from a given people group. Time and again, I hear idealistic church leaders [...]
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 [...]
“If you really cared about the unreached peoples of the world, you’d be more involved in missions.”
“If you truly understood the Great Commission, you’d be a missionary.”
“If only you were made aware of the opportunities to share the gospel, you’d go on a mission trip.”
“If you honestly saw the need, felt the urgency, or recognized [...]
Tags: guilt, inspiration, Matthew 24, Motivation
Syncretism is a key missiological concept that refers to the all-too common practice of overlaying one set of beliefs with another, disparate one. People often go to great lengths to reconcile different, even opposing, belief systems in order to make sense of the world around them.
When African tribes were (forcibly) “converted” to Christianity by imperialist [...]
Tags: Christmas, Culture, Easter, Syncretism
For many would-be ministers, missionaries, and church planters, a full-time, paid position is not going to happen. Some might intentionally reject the paid-clergy model. Others might just not be able to raise the kind of funding that would allow them to quit their day jobs. Either way, lots of ministers are looking for ways to [...]
In missiological terms, it’s called a “platform.” It’s how you enter into the community, what you do, how you present yourself, in order to make a connection. Many missionaries aren’t “missionaries” at all, but doctors, teachers, businessmen, artists, social activists. A good platform allows for natural interaction with the people to whom you’re ministering while [...]
Tags: apartments, missional, platform
Obviously, I’m not Mark Driscoll. I couldn’t be, even if I tried. The man is an amazing communicator, a fearless preacher of the scriptures. Through his sermons, interviews, debates, and seminars, Pastor Mark makes the Truth understandable, accessible, and applicable for thousands of people on a regular basis.
Beyond the teachings of Mark Driscoll is the [...]
Tags: apostolic, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill
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.associations attrition Books change Church church planting Coke contextualization Counterintuitive denominations entering culture ethics Evolution Favors Fear Finances Giving gospel Hobby Humanitarian trips Impractical Insuffiecient resources Interesting Person Kingdom learning leaving Megachurch Missiology missional Missions Missions Strategy Mom-and-Pop Money Papers Person of Peace Pragmatism reintroduction Rules small churches threat Training UpStream worldview
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