In a town across the waters live members of one of the world’s largest unreached people groups. In the past 20 years, their population in this city has grown from about 8,000 to around 60,000. While their home country’s political situation is tumultuous, in this new city there is stability and religious/political freedom, including the freedom for missionaries to preach the Gospel to them. Like many other people groups in large cities, they have clustered in several major neighborhoods and have assimilated in a variety of professions, from doctors to taxi drivers. This people group is the … [Read more...] about Surprising Global Opportunities
missions
Mormons, Missionary Strategy, and American Politics
The place was Badajoz, Spain, the time about 15 years ago. I was at that time missionary-pastor of the local Baptist church, back when there was still a place for that type of assignment within IMB strategy. We were hosting a few volunteer workers from the States, and that night they wanted to eat hamburgers, so I took them to the local Burger King and ordered their food for them in Spanish. As we were waiting in line, speaking to each other in English, the store manager took notice and started up a conversation with us in broken English. He told us he was interested in improving his English … [Read more...] about Mormons, Missionary Strategy, and American Politics
NAMB Missionary Maligned at Boise State University
This past week one of our own made the headlines, but not for what you might think. The student voice of Boise State University, The Arbiter, posted an article on its website entitled "Boise State is No Place for Hate" about Shawn Holes, aka "Shawn the Baptist", and his recent evangelistic visit to the campus. Shawn and his wife Lisa are Mission Service Corps missionaries with the North American Mission Board. Shawn crisscrosses the nation visiting college campuses and other venues to share the Gospel through open-air preaching and one-on-one conversations. Using emotionally-charged … [Read more...] about NAMB Missionary Maligned at Boise State University
Hudson Taylor, the Ignorant Little Child of God
In a dramatic moment when it seemed that the Lord was expanding the work of the China Inland Mission (CIM) to establish offices in and send missionaries from North America, the mission’s famous leader, Hudson Taylor, knew exactly what needed to be done first. “Before we begin to plan, don’t you think we had better pray?” he asked. H.W. Frost, the man to whom he posed the question, recorded what happened next. “With hands folded and bent head, he told the Lord that we were little children and it was not in us to direct our steps, but that He, the Lord, knew everything—and would He not give … [Read more...] about Hudson Taylor, the Ignorant Little Child of God
Souls On Board
You may have caught the story of a United Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing in New Orleans on Monday. The plane had just departed moments before and had no visibility due to cloud cover. Almost immediately after takeoff smoke began to appear in the cockpit. Like a page out of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie script amidst the cloud outside and the smoke inside, with a jet full of fuel and passengers, suddenly the pilots lost all instrumentation. With only the directions of air traffic control to guide them, the pilots had no choice but to attempt a completely blind … [Read more...] about Souls On Board
What Must We Do To Be Relevant
With all the problems in the world, we often question who to help and how to help them. We worry about giving and having our hard-earned money being mis-spent. As a child I learned that the money Baptists give to missions is one of the best ways to give and be assured the assistance we give makes all the difference in the world--the difference between clean water and filthy contaminated water. Southern Baptist have been digging wells, stocking streams with fish, and teaching agriculture skills to get more bountiful crops for decades. We have annual offerings for all kinds of things. … [Read more...] about What Must We Do To Be Relevant
Community–the primary apologetic
But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as Holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you… 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) Ever since my high school days I’ve had a thing for apologetics. I used to debate non-Christians on various web forums over science, philosophy, and belief; then in college I belonged to a group some friends started called the Society of Christian Apologists and Philosophers (SOCAPS for short—it had a ring to it!). We took the Bible, Faith Has Its Reasons, and Mere Christianity as our main texts and sought to engage … [Read more...] about Community–the primary apologetic
“Perspectives on the World Christian Movement”
Since its initial publication in 1981, the missions anthology Perspectives on the World Christian Movement has been read (or skimmed) by countless seminary and college students, missionaries, and interested lay people. In my case, I got to read it in both undergrad and graduate classes (with detailed quizzes to ensure I hadn't skimmed!). As my wife and I pursue God's call on us to missions, I wanted to share some of the best of this huge volume with her. So essentially, which essays would one find most vital from this huge series (I have the 3rd edition in case anyone wonders)? If you … [Read more...] about “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement”
Book Review: “Radical” by David Platt
Book Review- “Radical” by David Platt Following blogs and the general “word” on the ‘Net around the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, I kept hearing one surprising piece of information that didn’t involve convention motions or politics. The general buzz concerned a sermon at the Pastor’s Conference by a pastor from Alabama named David Platt. After opening his sermon with quotations from the Psalms calling for praise, Platt challenged those present (and who would later listen or watch electronically) that we as churches and as a convention had the choice to “die in our … [Read more...] about Book Review: “Radical” by David Platt
WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT YOUTH TODAY?
We've all heard it before. You know. "What's the matter with youth today?" No matter the generation, folks have their "tisk, tisk, tisk" commentary. When I was growing up, they shook their heads at kids who wore their hair like Elvis, and dressed like characters from "Grease". Then came The Beatles, and kids let their hair grow. I don't even want to talk about Haight Ashbury and the years of "love" and Woodstock. But in every generation there are "those" kind of kids who give all kids a reputation of being like them. The same is true for youth-groups. In some churches, the youth meet to … [Read more...] about WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT YOUTH TODAY?