"The growth of the church is both natural and supernatural. The church was designed by God to grow naturally, but all church growth is a supernatural miracle. In truth, the church will experience growth if we remove artificial and often selfish barriers we have used to keep our church artificially small-- to keep it a …
Month: October 2013
Honoring “The Other Guy.” Part 2
Thomas’ primary claim to fame is as a DOUBTER. But I would like to suggest that a better description of Thomas is as a FAITHFUL DOUBTER or perhaps FAITHFUL SCEPTIC. I have suggested before that “faithful and doubting” might be better than “faithful.” Faithful and doubting means a faithfulness that has been tempered in the …
Honoring “The Other Guy.” Part I
History is generally written in praise, and contempt, of the so called "great men" (and yes, women, since I am using the inclusive understanding of men). News is created by "news makers," celebrities, stars. In the Bible, David (later King David) is one of the great ones... the one with the courage and chutzpah to …
The Bible as a “Sacred” Text and as Symbol. Part 2
I spent the first post noting that the Christian understanding of the sacredness of the Bible is quite different from some other faiths' understanding of sacredness. For example, sacredness of the Quran within the Muslim community sees it often terms of physical sacredness. Within Christianity, sacredness is functional. That is, it is the message of …
Continue reading The Bible as a “Sacred” Text and as Symbol. Part 2
The Bible as a “Sacred” Text and as Symbol. Part 1
I admit the title of this post sounds funny, but let me go forward on this. Again, I am using the post to think more than give answers. While I was briefly visiting Malaysia, I saw the report of a "desecration" of a Muslim prayer room (surau) by a Buddhist group in a Malaysian resort. …
Continue reading The Bible as a “Sacred” Text and as Symbol. Part 1
The Psychological Health of Missionaries—Adding to the Research
God's Mission is vital, but God works through people. So we must be concerned about the people who join God in His mission.
Fear of Different Cultures
The article reminds me of the book "A Generous Orthodoxy" by Brian McLaren. The idea is a bit novel to most. Find the good in those not like us, without a simplistic relativism of belief and culture. Most tend toward bigotry (the bad in "them" is highly relevant, while the bad in "us" is tangential …
Dissertations and the Quest for Boredom
I don't really know why dissertations are so soo sooo boring. It seems to me that most dissertations (I have read enough to have an opinion... but not enough to be an expert) fit into one of two categories: A. Take an interesting topic and make it boring. B. Take a boring topic and make …
Book Review. “A Higher Purpose for Your Overseas Job” by Roberto Claro.
I have been reading a book “A Higher Purpose for Your Overseas Jobs” by Roberto Claro (a pseudonym). Also had the opportunity to attend a one-day seminar led by the author. Strangely, I had assigned the book to my missions students before, but had not really taken the time to get into it personally. I …
Continue reading Book Review. “A Higher Purpose for Your Overseas Job” by Roberto Claro.