For some reason an article I wrote many years ago (2006/7) has become very popular online. It has really taken off on Academia.edu. The name is "Challenges in Doing Church-Initiated Community Development in the Philippines." Admittedly, my writings are FAR FROM VIRAL. Still, relatively speaking it is quite surprising how many people are reading it. …
Category: Community Development
The role of missions in wholistic transformation of communities.
Can You Learn Something Good From “Playing God”?
We generally use the term "Playing God" to describe a bad thing. But let's try to think of some ways that are a bit more positive. Being a parent (or a pet owner) and leading a government involves a bit of playing God--- embracing some of the roles that God has, but on a smaller …
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Ministry Presentation
Powerpoint that shows a small amount of our ministry work from 2003 to 2013.
The Quest for Aesthetic Perfection
The following is an excerpt (first draft) of an article I am writing. The article's title is "Better than New: Reflections on Wabi Sabi as a Metaphor for Christian Perfection." The Greek ideal of beauty is tied to Platonic philosophy. With this, the goal is to conform an object to an ideal form. A carpenter …
HCICD — Holistic Church-Initiated Comdev
Years ago when I was looking into a topic for my dissertation, I wanted to study, utilizing grounded theory, HOLISTIC CHURCH-INITIATED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, in the Philippines. In the end, I dropped it. I switched to studying Christian medical missions events here in the Philippines. The main reason for this was that I had trouble finding …
Valleyview, a Short Story
This story was used by the Mendozas of Holistic Community Development and Initiatives (HCDI) in its Training of Trainers program for CHE (Community Health Education). I don't really know who came up with the story first. I modified it just a bit. ------------------------------------- There was a small mountain village we can call “Valleyview.” The mountain …
Challenges to Church-Initiated Community Development in the Philippines
<div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bmunson3/challenges-in-doing-churchinitiated-christian-development-in-the-philippines" title="Challenges in Doing Church-Initiated Christian Development in the Philippines " target="_blank">Challenges in Doing Church-Initiated Christian Development in the Philippines </a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bmunson3" target="_blank">Bob Munson</a></strong> </div> I was originally thinking about doing my dissertation on this topic. Then I realized that there were so few churches in the Philippines …
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Ooooops! Some Mistakes I Have Made #3
Mistake #3. The Challenges of Dependency, Paternalism, and Stewardship One of the first things I learned in missions is the danger of paternalism. A missionary should not amass control others but empower others. Therefore, one should not pass on resources with a lot of strings attached. I also learned that giving can create dependency... so …
Engineering Design as it Applies to Missions (???)
I learned a rule as a Mechanical Design Engineer. Back then I mostly worked on military projects (particularly submarine radar systems). However, occasionally I would work on commercial projects... particularly integrated bridge systems for commercial shipping. Each has very different philosophies. I worked at a company which operated with both philosophies, but it was difficult. …
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Challenges to Community Development in the Philippines
Philippines" target="_blank">Challenges in CCD in the Philippines View more PowerPoint from Bob Munson