I decided to publish my short book "Missions in Samaria." It seeks to address a simple question. Why does Jesus specifically mention Samaria in the Acts 1:8 version of the Great Commandment. The book looks at Samaria as both a historical place and a metaphor for places we may face today. At this time, I …
Category: History in Missions
Look at Christian mission work through the centuries
Backpedalling in Samaria
One of the chapters in my book, "Missions in Samaria." In the first century, Samaria was a region with a sizable populace, over a million residents, with a vibrant (Samaritan) faith. Not so today. Why is this? One might wonder what happened to the Samaritan faith. Did it lose the war in the battle of …
“Missions in Samaria” Book
One positive side of enhanced quarantine is the opportunity to make progress on something that one had definitely had on the 'back burner.' I decided to try to finish my book "Missions in Samaria" a few months early. When I say it is done, I mean that the first draft is done. It is only …
Backpedalling in Samaria
I am working on a book, "Missions in Samaria." It is based on an article I wrote before. It started with the birth of the Samaritan identity up through the book of Acts. Then I jumped to how one can think about Missions in terms of OUR Samarias today. In other words, what places are …
The Counterproductive Missionary?
So... let's talk about some well-known expansions of Christianity. One of these was the growth of the church in the Roman Empire, and adjoining territories during the first 3 centuries. The church grew rapidly. If I remember right (and am quite prepared to be wrong), the church averaged growth of around 20% per year. That …
Missions Theology— Problems of Reaction
Consider Quote from Corbett and Fikkert's book When Helping Hurts: As numerous scholars have noted, prior to the twentieth century, evangelical Christians played a large role in ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the poor. However, this all changed at the start of the twentieth century as evangelicals battled theological liberals over the …
The “Not-so-Great Man” Theory of Missions History
What makes history... history. One can look at it as repeating cycles of human drama. It can be seen as class struggle, social and/or technological progress, paradigm shifts, or clashes of civilizations or ideologies. But one popular one is the "Great Man" Theory. In the words of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), "The history of the world …
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Polycarp and Persecution
Chapter 4. Quintus the apostate Now one named Quintus, a Phrygian, who was but lately come from Phrygia, when he saw the wild beasts, became afraid. This was the man who forced himself and some others to come forward voluntarily [for trial]. Him the proconsul, after many entreaties, persuaded to swear and to offer sacrifice. …
Great Urban Centers
I have suggested before the idea that the three wave model of Protestant Mission history is inadequate. There was a Pioneer trickle of missions from quite early (perhaps 1520 is a bit too early). Out of that trickle came the great waves. Each characteristic wave had its proto-pioneers--- in terms of translation, bivocational ministry, mission …
St. Francis and the Sultan
St. Francis of Assisi and his trip to Cairo to meet with Sultan al Kamil is a very interesting chapter in a very ugly story (the Crusades). Part of what I like about it is that it involves dialogue between two people who were passionate about what they believed, while still being able to respect …