This is a continuation (no surprises) of Part 2. I have written before on the story of the Faithful Servant. Luke 12: 35-48 I have suggested that one could look at this parable being about time. Option #1. The servant does not try to time the return of his master. Because he does not seek …
Category: Mission Theology
Fast to Slow Missions, Part 1
This is a section of my book, "Walking With: A Theological Reflection on Christian Missions." It is available by CLICKING HERE. In this section I promote three types of "paradoxical" missions: Strong to Weak Missions Big to Small Missions Rich to Poor Missions So most of the rest of this post is about those three--- …
Christian Theology, Missions and a “Healthy Agnosticism”
The following is a quote from C. S. Song There is what I call "healthy agnostism" in some Eastern religions and philosophies. ... There is also "healthy agnosticism" in the Apostle Paul. After agonizing over the convoluted relationships between Jews and Gentiles in the divine dispensation in the eleventh chapter of his Letter to the …
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Jesus, Internationalizer of the Jewish Faith– Part 1
In recent decades there has been the rediscovery of a truth so self-obvious that it is strange that it was ignored. Jesus was a Jew in lineage, culture, and faith If you say, "Well of course he was," that is good. But the implications are a bit more profound than what it first appears. Embracing …
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A Centered-Set View of Christian Missions
Years ago, Paul Hiebert spoke of Evangelism and Conversion in terms of Centered-Sets rather than bounded sets, or even simple open sets. We don't really know who is saved and who is not. God alone knows. I am not being a Calvinist here (which I am not). I am just saying that God alone knows …
Theology of Holistic Missions
<I was recently asked to create a Bachelor's level course on Holistic Missions. I think it will be called, "Foundations of Holistic Missions." Anyway, in my latest book, "Walking With: A Theological Reflection on Christian Missions," I had written a chapter on holistic missions--- or at least theological perspective that supports holistic missions. However, in …
Quote on “The Kiljoy Objection”
Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson describe the Kiljoy Objection to Professional theology in terms of a question: "Why examine everything? Why not just have simple faith? Aren't we supposed to be like little children and not question everything?" Their answer is excellent in my view: Too many people confuse "simple, childlike faith" with "simplistic and …
Reflective Thoughts on “Reverse Missions”
I have been doing a bit of thought on 'Reverse Missions"--- this is missionaries who depart from New Sending Countries (countries that traditionally received missionaries), and serve in Old Sending countries (countries that traditionally sent missionaries). These reflections are pretty off-the-cuff. I will hopefully be able to fill out these ideas later. #1. Reverse Missions …
If I Try to Get You to Leave Your Church to Go to My Church, Is That Missions?
I was reading "Encountering the History of Missions" by John Mark Terry and Robert Gallagher. In the Reformers, particularly Martin Luther and John Calvin, they try to make the (what I consider to be) controversial argument that they were quite missional. Their argument, however, seems to boil down to, "See how much they tried to …
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An Evangelical Theology of Other Religions?
I will be teaching "Dialogue with Asian Faiths" in a couple of weeks. It is one of my favorite classes. I don't just talk about the beliefs and practices, I also speak of the background associated with holding dialogue with people of other faiths. In this class I do talk considerably on various theological implications …
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