“Watzlawick et al (1974) discuss two levels of change--- first- and second-order change. First-order change refers to change within a given system. In other words, the system itself remains unchanged, while its elements or parts undergo some kind of change. First-order change appears to be linear, stepwise, and mechanistic (Adams, 1977). It is a change …
Tag: evangelism
Three Thoughts on Curses as it Pertains to Christians.
1. Christians "Cursing" Christians. I was reading a blog about Christians, dealing with the question whether Christians can have curses placed upon them (the reference blog is at the bottom). According to the blog, apparently there were Christian leaders who were placing "curses" on individual Christians. The writer made a pretty good case that Christians …
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Honk If You Love Jesus????
I have lived outside of the US for many years so I am not sure if this is still "a thing," but back in the 1980s and 1990s one would see them a lot. A car would go by with a bumper sticker that said, "HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS." I would never honk... honking …
Wondering about Signs and Wonders
I was writing an article on crisis care within the context of the story of Elijah. It occurred to me how generally useless is miracles (as they are popularly identified). There are different ways to define “miracle” of course. However, I am using the most common, although doubtful, definition. That is, a miracle is a …
Poaching and Trespassing in the Royal Forest
In Great Britain, Royal Forests, dating to the time of William the Conqueror, were set up to provide hunting lands for the king and invited aristocracy. In some areas, particularly Southern England, vast swaths of land were designated as Royal Forests during the 11th to 14th centuries. Hunting and “chase” animals were protected from commoners. …
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The Trinity in the Great Commission
I recall back in 1984, the first time I had bumped into the argument over Baptism... specifically whether one should baptize in the name of Jesus Christ or in the name of "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." It is amazing at how intense the emotions rise in some people on an issue …
Quotes from George C. Hunter III on Evangelism and Church Growth
I haven't read the book The Apostolic Congregation by George G. Hunter III. Happily, I have a friend who did. Here are some good quotes from it. If you want to see other good quotes from the book, go to Dan's Bookshelf. “Today, worldwide, wherever most of the ministry that matters is assigned to the clergy, …
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Some Thoughts on Culture, Communication, and Missions. Part 3
<Continuation from Part 2> Missionary Interaction with a Culture Missionary Culture Respondent Culture Figure V. Gospel Communication Between Cultures Figure V shows the most generic interaction where a missionary from one culture seeks to give a contextualized message to a second culture. If one looks at the Three Culture Model, this …
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Reflection on Different Responses to Evangelism
In evangelism there is a tendency to see response in the simplest of terms. Full acceptance is GOOD. Anything less is BAD. But there are a wide range of responses, Here are six major options (not necessarily a complete list). I got these from Dr. Dan Russell, my professor in seminary. Not sure of any …
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Salvation versus Conversion. Missiological Implications
I believe missionaries/evangelists should focus on "salvation" more than "conversion." Of course, there are so many different meanings for the terms, I will give what I mean by them. If you don't like the definitions... I understand. Conversion is a single, one-time divine event where a person transitions from a state of judgment to a …
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