This is a sermon I preached at a church in the Philippines on its anniversary. This was a few years ago. I am calling it "An Inspiring Failure" because a key illustration in is is on the early Protestant missionary---- Justinian von Welz. It is wonderful to finally be here to visit your church. We …
Category: History in Missions
Look at Christian mission work through the centuries
How Should the Church Respond to Persecution?
I don't preach missions sermons very often. Why? Well... as bad as many (most?) churches are in terms of missions, I rarely feel that that is the topic that is needed on Sunday. However, I am in the US right now, and preached this Sermon at one church, and will preach this same sermon three …
Continue reading How Should the Church Respond to Persecution?
The Missionary Journeys of Peter (Part 1)
In Sunday School, and college, and seminary we studied the four missionary journeys of Paul. Of course the fourth journey was hardly a missionary journey, but I can see why it is called that because it completes the structure of the book of Acts (of the Apostles). Most of the latter half of Acts is …
Philip (of the 7) and the (3) Little Pigs
I wrote a story based (sort of) on the Three Little Pigs. The story is Reflection, Restoration, Redemption and Three Little Pigs However, I think I want to change the story a bit. I think that first little pig representing Reflection is wrong. Rather, it should be Resignation. The responses to a bad situation (choosing three …
Anti-Missions Theology Article
I took my latest book on Mission Theology (Go to the Welcome for this website to access the "Beta" Version of the book) and I turned one of the chapters into an article to share on Academia.edu. If you are interested in reading this topic of Anti-missions theology in Protestant Church History, but don't want …
The Potato Blight and Pastoral Theology
My wife is a certified pastoral counselor, so I sometimes get pulled in on CPE (Clinical Pastoral Training/Education) groups to lead a small training session. This weekend, I led one in Pastoral Theology. I utilize the definition for Pastoral Theology used by Margaret Whipp, in her book "SCM Guidebook: Pastoral Theology," PASTORAL THEOLOGY IS THE …
Doubting Doubting Thomas
I was teaching a class-- "Research in the History of Missions." I noticed something strange. One of the missionaries I asked a student to research, and all to respond to, was St. Thomas. That is, the first St. Thomas--- "Doubting Thomas." I was so surprised at how uncomfortable my students were with researching Thomas. The …
Spread of Christianity
One of my students showed me this video. I thought is was well done to show the boundaries of Christian witness over the centuries. https://vimeo.com/113801439
Missionaries as Colonizers
The following is an extended quote from the new book by Adesegun Hammed Olayiwola, "PERSPECTIVES OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH ON AFRICAN MISSIONS: The Past, Present & Future Challenges to Missions In Africa." Missionaries during the colonial era struggled with their role of utilizing the advantages of having colonial powers in charge in their mission field …
… Not Inspire Them with a Passion for Political Change.
There has been an enduring belief that Christian missionaries, during the colonial era, often served as de facto operatives of the colonial powers. It is understandable why this belief would exist and persist. British missionaries, for example, would commonly serve in lands that were under the British flag. Commonly, but not always, being a British …
Continue reading … Not Inspire Them with a Passion for Political Change.