If you haven't yet, please read PART ONE first. While tensions rose between more theologically liberal and pluralistic views of missions with more conservative and exclusive views, things hit a bit of a boiling point in the 1960s. With the IMC becoming incorporated into the World Council of Churches, there was a rapid move away …
Continue reading Christian Ministry: Priority without Duality. Part Two
You can look at PART 1, if you haven't read that yet. I would like to give three formative stories on my thoughts on this one. Story #1. This is the least story-ish. I was reading T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution. It is a so-called CPM strategy. CPM stands for "Church Planting Movement" and refers to …
<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 …
This question is one of my favorite questions, and I have talked about it a few times. However, here are two other articles that are very informative on the topic... so I don't have to write more. Just Distraction: What does the Bible say about social justice? By Katherine Ladd (2019) When John Stott Confronted …
Continue reading Is Social Ministry Just a Distraction from “REAL” Missions?
The following is a quote from the book by James F. Engle and William A. Dyrness, "Changing the Mind of Missions: Where Have We Gone Wrong?" (InterVarsity Press, 2000). Who can fault legendary evangelist Dwight L. Moody, who captured the mood of evangelicals at the end of the nineteenth century in his declaration, "I look …
Pandemic Love, by Charles E. Moore, is one of my favorite articles. I had found it a few years ago on http://www.plough.com. It is the website for the journal "Plough Quarterly." But I can't find the article there anymore. Then it was on http://www.barclaypress.com. But I can't find it there either. FORTUNATELY, around 5 or …
Excerpt from Tertullian's 39th Apology The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor not by purchase, but by established character. There is no buying and selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made up of purchase-money, as of a religion that …
Continue reading Tertullian, Love Feast, and Social Ministry
I guess I have a temperament for being task-oriented. In missions, that shows itself in trying to squeeze the last bit of ministry out of the money, and being as efficient with ministry time as possible. In teaching, I like to pump out as much information as I can, and not do too much in …
A. Scott Moreau noted in his book, "Contextualization in World Missions," that social ministry as a part of missions has been a matter of controversy among Evangelicals for 80 or 90 years. With William Carey, there seemed not to be a strong problem with seeking social justice along with evangelizing and disciplining. William Wilberforce, a …
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/138372721">Social Ministry as Part of an Integrated Mission Strategy, Part 2</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user42611623">Bob Munson</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>