The book, "Encountering the History of Mission: From the Early Church to Today" by John Mark Terry and Robert L. Gallagher, is part of the Encountering Missions series of books. It was published in 2017 by Baker Academic. I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in Christian missions--- especially Evangelical Christian missions. I don't have …
Continue reading Book Review: “Encountering the History of Missions”
Awake, Thou Spirit, who didst fireThe watchmen of the Church’s youth,Who faced the Foe’s envenomed ire,Who witnessed day and night Thy truth,Whose voices loud are ringing stillAnd bringing hosts to know Thy will. And let Thy Word have speedy course,Thro' every land be glorified,Till all the heathen know its forceAnd fill Thy churches far and …
I was reading "Encountering the History of Missions" by John Mark Terry and Robert Gallagher. In the Reformers, particularly Martin Luther and John Calvin, they try to make the (what I consider to be) controversial argument that they were quite missional. Their argument, however, seems to boil down to, "See how much they tried to …
Continue reading If I Try to Get You to Leave Your Church to Go to My Church, Is That Missions?
Okay, hear me out on this one--- don't jump to conclusions. Here in Chesapeake, VA (temporarily here for a few months) there has been a bit of a stir as a group called the "After School Satan Club" (ASSC) has put in an application for after school activities utilizing public school properties. Obviously, many Christians …
Continue reading Are There Times When “Supporting Satan” is a Good Thing?
I have written before on a challenging topic--- "Christmas. It's Okay... Really!" It is a post I feel pretty good about. Some would say that it is not a very... controversial topiC. However, every year some Christians will put out arguments as to why Christmas is NOT okay. Curiously, the central problem they bring up …
This post really won't make too much sense until you read PART ONE Here are a few things regarding Faith Missions that I see as Good and Bad. The Good. 1. Missionaries have long been charged with being in it for the money, so Faith Missions avoids that issue. We see it in many ways. …
Continue reading My Ambivalence Regarding “Faith Missions.” Part Two
I have always had mixed feelings regarding what has been called "Faith Missions." In fact probably my general feeling about it is actually more negative than positive. It is, however, hard to explain this even to myself since my family and I are involved in Faith Missions. But first, I should explain what "Faith Missions" …
Continue reading My Ambivalence Regarding “Faith Missions.” Part One
Here is a quote from Dorothy Sayers, No language, however strong, violent, or emphatic will expunge from the mind of the average anti-Christian the picture he has formed of Christian Soteriology, viz: that Jehovah (the old man with the beard) made the world and made it so badly that it all went wrong and he …
I am working on teaching a course on Missions History. I have taught it before, but this version is for MaxFlex online learning which means I need to put more work in up front. As I was developing it, I began thinking about Missions History in how it is different from Church History. Obviously the …
It is November 18, 2022, so I reckon it is late enough in the year to note the posts most viewed this year. I made some minor changes to some of them to make them more useful. This year has been the best year for views on this website with over 20,000 views. That is …