I was reading a web article about Campus Crusades for Christ. I generally like CCC, although, like any group, there is certainly room for criticism. The same could be said about Bill Bright, its founder. (One of the least useful books I read in seminary was one that he wrote supporting religious fasting.) Anyway, the …
Continue reading In Evangelism, Positive is Better than Negative
I have to confess this a bit. I really enjoy missions work much more than church work. I am not alone in this. The Monastic movement in the early churches (Orthodox, Coptic, Nestorian, Roman Catholic, Celtic and Abyssinian... at least) was a rejection, in part, of the spirituality of church life. Although Monasticism sounds selfish, …
Continue reading The Uncomfortable Relationship Between Mission Agencies and Churches
A Quote from Roland Allen in "Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours. A Study of the Church in the Four Provinces" chapter 5 (ca 1912). "St. Paul did not convert or attempt to convert people by working miracles upon them. He did not attract people to Christianity by offering them healing. He did not heal …
Continue reading Roland Allen Quote on Role of Charity in Missional Outreach
Tertullian, Early Church Father and Christian Apologist. Image via Wikipedia The following is a great quote from "Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries" by Adolph von Harnack (1851-1930), from 1908 translated edition. This quote is from Volume 3, chapter 1 (section 366-369). The broader passage and related passages are available at …
“Transformation is the progressive, ongoing, measurable, and supernatural impact of the presence and power of God working in, through, and apart from the body of Christ on human society and its structures. It involves seeking positive change in the whole of human life materially, socially, and spiritually as we recover our true identity as human …
Continue reading Holistic Transformation Quote, Stan Rowland