I have been reading a book on Southern Baptist missions history ("Make Disciples of All Nations," edited by Massey, Morris, and Grace. Review will be posted in a few days). In it, they quote from and summarize the characteristics sought for a missionary candidate drawn from the 1944 Annual of the Southern Baptist Convention. I …
Continue reading Character of a Missionary Candidate (In 1944)
I always liked history. I like to think chronologically and to see causal relations. In Sixth Grade, our Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Mattocks, was teaching Greco-Roman history. She gave a test. At the end of the test, she gave an extra credit question. She said she would give 25 extra credit points (!) to any …
Here are a couple of stories on planting trees. These are stories associated with my family, and I look at them as parables or apologues. Story #1. A few years ago, a little before the Pandemic, my wife Celia was involved in a ministry. The ministry was with those who were struggling to get away …
I have been reading "Environmental Missions: Planting Churches AND Trees" by Lowell Bliss. I have finished 5 chapters. I have 8 more to go, not including Epilogue and Appendices. Still I have some thoughts. Onethat is very obvious is that Lowell Bliss knows his audience. He is writing to Evangelical Christians, and with perhaps an …
Continue reading Environmental Missions— Some Initial Thoughts
Over the night, I feel like there is one more area of praise when it comes to Independent Missionaries. E. Finances. I have seen the budgets set aside for a missionary family to serve overseas through an American mission agency. The numbers can be pretty staggering, at least compared to what many independent missionaries have. …
Continue reading In Tepid Praise of Independent Missionaries (Part 2)
My wife and I are independent missionaries. By this I mean that we are not under a traditional mission agency. We were sent out by a single church... who serves as our primary accountability partner. We also serve in and with a seminary in the Philippines. Neither of these (nor the counseling center or accreditation …
Continue reading In Tepid Praise of Independent Missionaries (Part 1)
Child look backed along the shoreLINE. The sandy beach appeared to extend to the horizon and beyond. “Hmmm….” said Child. “Yes?” asked the Companion. “Oh, it’s nothing. … I mean it is not important.” “A lot of unimportant things are still worth saying,” replied the Companion. “Well, looking back I see our footprints. They continue …
Continue reading “Footprints in the Sand” Revisited— A Story
<Sermon I gave at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary on April 29> Please open your Bibles to II Kings 5. Part of the story was read earlier. I would like to recount it in my own words. The story starts in Israel. A young girl... I am going to call her Nachah... because... well why not? …
Continue reading Three Pastoral Functions Seen In Three Biblical Servants
For someone who blogs a LOT on Christian missions and Missions Theology I don't really immerse myself that much in the "Missions Scene." There is a pretty good reason for this. My wife is a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) supervisor and we have a pastoral counseling center. I end up doing a fair amount of …
Continue reading Christian Missions Books I am Reading Right Now
Decades ago I was a mechanical engineer before I went into international missions. Unlike some I don’t think I ever was very successful at leveraging the skills of engineering in my missions work and theological reflection. However, when my wife and I were asked to speak on retirement and aging (a topic rapidly becoming more …