My posts in this series are a bit... all over the place. However, I hope it makes sense when I talk about what I call my call to ministry. But before I do, I would like to talk about the third aspect of one's Call to Ministry. SELF To what extent is a call to …
Category: Missions as Vocation
Exploring the “Call to Ministry.” Part 2
I am continuing my discussion on the "Call to Ministry" where I am assuming three aspects--- God, Church, and Self. My last post I talked about the Divine (God) aspect. I will move on here. CHURCH The seminary I teach at speaks of developing Christian leaders from those who are "God Called, Church Affirmed." There …
Exploring the “Call to Ministry.” Part 1
I would like to suggest that there are (potentially) three major components to a Call to Ministry. These three are not independent of each other. Therefore, they are shown like a Venn Diagram. I would like to explore each part separately, with some acknowledgement of the interrelations that may be relevant. GOD Many would argue …
Is Raising a Child Christian Missions?
This question sounds strange, to me at least, and I think it might for you as well. But let me tell a couple of stories before I flesh this out. Story #1. A friend of our family in the Philippines is a single female missionary. She had adopted an at-risk child in the Philippines and …
When Is One No Longer a Missionary?
So let me give you my story: My wife and I moved to the Philippines in 2004. In my wife's case, she was moving back after 24 years living in the United States. Anyway, for many years (early 2004 to mid-2021) we spent 10-12 months a year in the Philippines doing ministry. For all of …
A Ministerial Version of the Moth Joke
A few years ago the comedian Norm MacDonald passed away, and I had taken one of his jokes, "The Moth Story" and reworked it. The reworking it gives it a bit of a Christian ministry message. I don't think Norm would disapprove (that much). I put in on our ministerial website for Bukal Life Care. …
Can Evangelical Missionaries Work with Catholic Ministers?
The TLDR is that my wife and I, as Evangelical/Baptist missionaries, often work with Catholic ministers (priests, nuns, chaplains) in the Philippines. So my answer to the question above is "Yes." Now, here is the longer answer. My wife and I don't get many questions about why we do certain things and not other things. …
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In Missions, Awesome Stats Can Be a Big Problem
Many years ago, my wife and I were involved in medical mission events in the Philippines. At these events, we would also evangelize. I would track the responses. Commonly, around half of the people who come would "say the Sinner's Prayer," which in Evangelical circles is often equated with converting from unsaved to saved. Should …
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What Should a Missions Pastor Do?
I was talking to a friend of mine. He was a missionary for many years and is still semi-active in that role. However, upon returning to the US, he looked into the possibility of serving as a Missions Pastor. That was something I had thought about at least on a couple of occasions. What he …
The MK Song
Tom Shaw was kind enough to put the Grady Toland concert held at Cedarville University (nee College) back in the 1980s onto YouTube. Grady was not a music professional. He was a missionary who was invited to do a bit of a music show at Cedarville. That may have been the first and last time …