Which would you rather try... Eating a Guyabano or a Soursop. Some of you know neither fruit. Some of you know one of these two fruits and probably only a few of you know both fruits. But that's okay. Which would you prefer? I am betting that a majority of you would prefer to try …
Month: February 2013
Oooops! Some Mistakes I Have Made #2
Mistake #2. Not Focusing on Language. I know that a missionary should focus on language work before and during the time on the field. I never really did this. There are a few reasons: 1. Baguio is, perhaps, the most English-friendly city in Philippines... perhaps in all of Southeast Asia. I have met two, maybe …
Oooops! Some Mistakes I Have Made #1
Mistake #1. Trusting Untrustworthy People Note: To be fair, my wife and I have been BLESSED with many wonderful ministry partners. Additionally, many who are not reliable may have been set up for failure by me because I did not give them the proper tools and accountability to succeed. Prayerfully, this is an area for …
Christian Missions through the Lens of the 14th Century
One of my favorite stories is from the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – 1375). In the story, Giannotto was a Christian merchant, a good man, who was a close friend of Abraham, a Jew, who was also a good man. Giannotto wanted Abraham to become a Christian and pleaded for him to convert. Abraham …
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Engineering Design as it Applies to Missions (???)
I learned a rule as a Mechanical Design Engineer. Back then I mostly worked on military projects (particularly submarine radar systems). However, occasionally I would work on commercial projects... particularly integrated bridge systems for commercial shipping. Each has very different philosophies. I worked at a company which operated with both philosophies, but it was difficult. …
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Ambivalent Reflections on Spiritual Warfare
I often find myself on the side of downplaying "spiritual warfare" and "power encounter." I see myself doing this not so much because I see these as purposeless. I have seen missionaries working in particularly difficult places coming down with horrible maladies. I am not sure I can simply chalk that up to stress and …
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Counter-Cultural Worship Music
I have been suggesting that the model of "counter-culture" is (perhaps) the best model for the church in contextualizing faith. The counter-culture is not anti-culture or anti-cultural. Nor is it marginalized culture. Rather the counter-culture critiques the surrounding culture, and challenges that which is wrong in the culture with a different version of the broader …
A lot of points here. Not sure I feel like the term "non-Christian" should be viewed as inappropriate... seems like a useful taxonomy to me... but much to consider. Ethnocentrisim/Imperialism, lack of cultural reciprocity, and rejection of intracultural missions are some important points here to take seriously.
But I’m Called!!
While this might surprise many, there are a lot of people who want to go into missions. Perhaps they want to because they want "adventure" (whatever that is). Some want to because it is an escape from the stress and drudgery of what they are presently doing ("maybe in a foreign place, people won't know …
Pastoral Care and the Missionary
I am scheduled to teach a two-week course at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (www.pbts.net.ph) this April as part of its Summer Institute. Basically, it is an 8-week course shoved into two weeks. I am not sure that "Pastoral Care and the Missionary" is the name the course will finally settle on, but I like it. …