Living in the Philippines, Christmas is a big event. It has at least as much noise, food, gifts, parties, songs, and fellowship as the United States. But there are two major groups here (groups that draw from a common Christian heritage) that do not celebrate Christmas. One of these is "Jehovah's Witness" while the other …
Month: December 2010
Church Acculturation in Missions
J.W. Berry (1980) described 4 modes of acculturation. Assimilation. One's cultural identity is lost in the dominant culture Integration. One Seeks to integrate one's cultural identity with the dominant culture. Separation. One maintains one's unique cultural identity, rejecting the dominant culture. Marginalization. One loses important parts of own cultural identity, while having those parts …
Missionaries or Apostles? (Part 2)
(See Part 1 first) ... A church-based model for missionaries and missions appears to avoid a lot of confusion in other ways as well. If missionaries are those who leave the local church to work outside the local church, then they are simply “apostles”... and “apostle” is simply another term for missionary. This of …
Missionaries or Apostles? (Part I)
Good scholarship of the term “apostolos” shows that the term appears to best fit what we now call missionaries. It should not be thought of as strictly a position of the distant past. However, it also should not be viewed as a church office in any period of time, as the term is now used …
What Role Does Phatic Communion Have in Christian Missions
According to Bronislav Malinowski, "Phatic communion serves to establish bonds of personal union between people brought together by the mere need of companionship and does not serve any purpose of communicating ideas." This is sometimes called "small talk", chit-chat, and terms and expressions of courtesy and social convention. In some ways phatic communion (or phatic …
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Inspirational Missions Thought. Charles Sumner
"Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens will be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to peace." …
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Missions and “Time-setting”
It has been a hobby of Christians to set a date for the return of Christ. Even non-Christian groups such as "Jehovah's Witness" fall prey to this lure. There is a long history of this. The church of Thessalonica in the New Testament had members who were so sure of the imminent return of Christ …
“Missio” Theology?
There is disunity in theology. Pannenberg, Ebeling, Farley, and others have pointed this out. In some sense, this is obvious, but I would like to discuss this from the point of missions. Traditionally, the 4-fold model of theology is accepted. The four are: 1. Biblical Theology. 2. Historical Theology. 3. Systematic Theology. 4. Practical …
Hard Soil
Jesus (in Matthew 13) described "hard soil"-- hearts that are unreceptive to God's message. But one can't assume that those hearts that are "hard soil" are all the same. Commonly those in this category can be looked as those who are invested in a different faith to the point that they reject a new faith. …
Christ and Government?
Richard Niebuhr is well-known for his 5 possible relationships between Christ and Culture (from the book "Christ and Culture" (1951)). While these may not be a complete set of choices, but they do provide a good list of options. -Christ against Culture -Christ above Culture -Christ transforming Culture -Christ and Culture in Paradox -Christ of …