Is prayer needed in missions? I truly believe that it is needed. But I must admit that I am not sure in what ways it does. Let me suggest a few possibilities. #1. Prayer is needed in missions because God will not bless unless he gets enough prayers to do so. This sounds rather dubious …
Continue reading Is Prayer Needed in Missions? Reflecting on the Unrighteous Judge
Most real-world "Yes/No" questions have three good answers (in my view): Yes, but... No, but... I don't know, but here are some of my thoughts... For the question above, the correct answer is "No, but..." and that answers fills out into 'No, but it is a helpful tool." Here are a few points in this. …
Continue reading Does Video Communication and the Internet Make International Missions Unnecessary?
This is the final part of a three-part series. to start earlier, you can go to PART ONE or PART TWO. Those of the Abrahamic Faiths have often struggled in their visualization of God. I will not pretend to have expertise of other faiths (including my own). With the Abrahamic Faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) …
Continue reading Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part 3)
If you missed Part One. you can CLICK HERE. I have been slow in getting to the Incarnation of Christ, but I will delay it a bit longer. Consider a change of perspective. If you were a being visiting an alien world full of... well... aliens, how would you want to present yourself. You have …
Continue reading Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part Two)
"Ready for Harvest," a Christian Youtube channel did a community poll regarding the following statement, ""It was necessary for Jesus to become man because without becoming man He could not overcome sin in the flesh and thereby gain victory over Satan." I am not sure if this is a direct quote from somewhere--- on a …
Continue reading Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part One)
I almost hate writing that title. I am involve in Pastoral Counseling, and there are so many people who come up with some principles or methods of counseling and label them as "Biblical" often meaning nothing more than that they have linked them to a few key Bible verses. Alternatively, it can mean even less …
Continue reading Maybe We Can Work on a More Biblically Sound Missiology…
I was talking to a couple of colleagues at seminary recently who were speaking of how a major university near us in Baguio City, Philippines, is really focusing on "Decolonization" as it pertains to Anthropology, among many other things. My immediate response was to be pretty skeptical. I think this is largely because of my …
Continue reading What Would a “Decolonization” of Missions Anthropology Look Like?
I believe every person in this room can be a missionary. In fact, I believe that each of you here, if you are a follower of Christ, already is a missionary. The question here is what type of missionary are you, or will you be? CALL I rarely use the term “Call to Missions” For …
When it comes to English translations of the Bible, I can be pretty broad-minded. I can appreciate the historical treasures that are the King James 1611 and the Geneva 1599... even though I would rarely use them (since I don't speak that language). I can appreciate the likes of The Message, The Amplified Bible, or …
So I was listening to "Theology in the Raw" (Preston Sprinkle's podcast) in an interview of Nijay Gupta. Gupta has recently published a book, "Strange Religion: How the the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling." I have only read a tiny bit of the book so far, but it looks very interesting. During the …
Continue reading Is the Primary Purpose of Church to Worship God… Really?