Continuing thoughts on the 1970s era book by J. Herbert Kane (1910-1988), “Understanding Christian Missions.” Written in the time of the many independence movements around the world as well as the height of the Cold War, it has much more to say on the relationship between missionaries and nationalism than more recent works. For Part …
Month: July 2022
Missionaries and Nationalism. Part One
I have been reading a bit of a book by J. Herbert Kane (1910-1988), “Understanding Christian Missions.” Originally published in the 1970s, the book is woefully out-of-date. And yet, it is that quality that makes it valuable in some ways. For example, it has a very interesting chapter on political involvement. A major part of …
Quote… As it is Supposed to Be
These impious Galileans give themselves to this kind of humanity: as men allure children with a cake, so they… bring converts to their impiety. … Now we can see what it is that makes these Christians such powerful enemies of our gods; it is the brotherly love which they manifest toward strangers and toward the …
The Challenge of Missionary Biographies
I am presently putting together a "max-flex" course on Missions History for a Bible College in the United States. I am using "From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya" by Ruth Tucker (2nd edition). It utilizes a biographical approach primarily, with themes and chronology taking on a secondary role. I have mentioned my concerns about biographical histories--- …
Missional and Pastoral Theologies
When I was first reading the book "Encountering Theology of Mission" by Ott and Strauss, they had given a way of looking at Missional Theology in how it is different from Theology of Mission. At the time I rejected it. But over time, I have seen value in it. Look at the figure below: Theology …
Ivory Tower With Muddy Footprints
I teach at two seminaries, and soon I will probably be teaching with another school soon. This puts me firmly in the world of the "Ivory Tower"--- institutions that are seen within the broader church culture as out of touch with the 'real world' and church life. On the other hand, I teach in the …
How Do You Know if a Story Does NOT Make Sense?
Many years ago, a missionary family visited our Bible study. This was several years before my wife and I went into missions. They showed us a children’s book they produced. It was based on a story of an Amazonian tribe with which they work. Just now I tried to look it up. I thought the …
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Is it a Declining Church or a Refining Church?
Consider the figure above. Let's consider it to describe the growth of Christianity in the what could be described as Roman lands in the first few centuries AD. Don't assume the image is at all accurate. Now imagine that the BLUE line describes the percentage of the population who SELF-IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS CHRISTIANS. Now imagine …
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Two Good Books on Early Christian Missions History
I am being asked to teach a course in Missions History. I haven't done that in a few years. I will be using the 2004 Edition of "From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya" by Ruth Tucker. I like the book because it is a light but informative read. Because it is primarily biographical, people can often …
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