Category Archives: World Missions

Missions Theology: Part 3

barking dogA missions theology based solely upon God's glory and love also poses some difficulties. This theology of missions is very ambiguous and open ended, lacking a true vision or focus that the church can grasp.

In contrast, a Kingdom Theology of missions provides the necessary vision of destroying the works of the devil while giving God the glory and loving people at the same time.

As I write this I am reminded of Samuel Moffett's article “Evangelism: The Leading Partner” In this article Moffett contrasts the merits of personal evangelism with social action, ending with the conclusion that evangelism needs to be the “leading partner” among equals. However, I would like to suggest that it is possible to have both social action and personal evangelism as equal partners. [@more@]

This partnership is possible under a Kingdom Theology of missions as both seemingly opposite values reflect the heart of God. It is not an “either/or” situation or even a situation where one equal is higher then another.

It comes down to how you believe one enters the Kingdom of God. If your focus is on obtaining decision cards, then personal evangelism would be your focus.

However, if you look at the Bible as a whole you will see that those whom God calls His own do not always come to Him the same way. God is more concerned about the direction you are heading then with your outward actions.

Therefore, if people are drawn closer to God through the good deeds that I perform, then I have accomplished my goal and have destroyed the works of the evil one.

Missions Theology: Part 2

snow flowerPersonally I now see the center of all theology and, as a result, missions as the Kingdom of God. The phrase the “Kingdom of God”, or “basileia tou theou” in Greek, refers to the reign and rule of God over all creation.

This concept goes beyond personal salvation or the idea of Christendom as a physical realm controlled by God and captures the heart and mission of God. He is in the middle of a war with the kingdom of darkness for the rule of both human life and the rest of creation.

It is described in Isaiah 61 where He will “bind up the brokenhearted . . . proclaim freedom for the captives . . . release from darkness for the prisoners [and] comfort all who mourn.”

Unlike a closure theology of mission (i.e. Matt 24:14 – as previously mentioned), Kingdom Theology removes the danger of deception. For example, under a closure missions theology, the main focus is planting churches in every people group. If a missionary has to disguise this goal under the umbrella of social action, that is acceptable as feeding the hungry or taking care of the poor is just a means to an end. [@more@]
 
Under a Kingdom of God theology, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil [1 John 3:8], which includes sickness, disease, hunger, sadness, and demonic oppression [Matt. 4:23, 10:1, 25:34-36, Isaiah 61].

Practically, this means that every time you reach out in the name of Jesus to help someone in bondage, whether spiritual, emotional, or physical, you are engaging in the cosmic battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

Social action no longer becomes a means to an end, but it becomes part of the battle.

Missions Theology: Part 1

A large chuck of my recent grad paper was devoted to comparing the different missions theology of various authors. Of course, before I could compare anything, I had to figure out what in the world was a "missions theology"!!!

In a nutshell (jokes about my brain being the size of a nut can stop), "missions theology" refers to the central Biblical principle(s) that motivate and direct one's actions in world missions.

For example, the authors/editors of the Perspectives On The World Christian Movement class focuses almost exclusively on Matthew 24:14:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the earth as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.”

[@more@]This verse sums up their motivation for world missions – ie. they want to start a church planting movement in every people group so that Jesus can come back again.

In contrast, the authors of The Changing Face of World Missions put the focus on God's glory and a love for each other. This missions theology is best summed up by John Piper's statement:

"Mission exists because worship doesn't"

Over the next few days (or week…depending on long much I type) I will be laying out my missions theology as seen through a Kingdom Theological worldview.

Christian Muslims

One of the things God has been challenging me on is my definition of "Christian believer" – especially as it relates to believers from a Muslim background.

In case you have never heard, there is a movement among Islamic world that recognizes Jesus (or Isa) as Lord and Savior. However, these believers do not call themselves "Christians" nor do they attend "church".

Instead they call themselves Messianic Muslims and the attend the local mosque just like everyone else…. only instead of praying to Mohammed, they pray to Isa.[@more@]

In the book "Muslims, Magic and the Kingdom of God" by Rick Love, there is a confession of faith written by a national church leader for such a "church". While it is not comprehensive, it does reflect a good contextualization of the Kingdom:

I confess there is one God. There is no God but Allah.

I confess there is one God, and one mediator also between God and humanking, Isa al-Masih, himself human.

I believe that Isa al-Masih appeared for this purpose that he might destory the works of the devil.

I believe that through Isa we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of God.

I believe that Isa gave himself as a ransom for all.

I believe that Isa al-Masih was raised from the dead andis at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him.

I believe that this is eternal life, that we know the only true God and Isa al-Masih whom he has sent.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. 

Amen.

Rethinking my role in the Kingdom of God

About ten years ago God placed a strong love for other cultures on my heart. As such, I have looked forward to serving God overseas in some way. Now, when you tell people that, the first question they usually ask is “where?” My normal response has been “planet earth.” Smile

However, if you probed deeper you would find that my heart has been draw to two areas: Latin America and Eastern Europe. Yeah, they are vastly different areas – but they are the two areas that have continued to “pop up” over the years.

Then I started the Perspectives on the Christian World Movement class.

One of the core focuses of the class is pioneer missions – the sending missionaries to areas that have no Christian witness. As I read about the need for missionaries to go to these pioneer areas, I couldn’t help but rethink my life and future goals. Maybe I should refocus the world area on my heart? Maybe I should be looking at those countries where there are no Christians instead of those areas that used to be Christian….

Overall, the class is raising more questions then answers. Yet, that's a good place to be. Wink

No Sacrifice, But a Privilege

I have never really cared much for David Livingstone. To me, he always seemed “puffed” up and not really a “missionary”. I mean – what kind of missionary wonders around a continent like a guy who lost his keys?!

Answer: a smart one  (sorry – I had to try to crack a joke… )

However, this last week I read a quote from Livingstone that changed my mind about him. Maybe he was a missionary after all… =/   I don’t know.  I do know that he was a man of God.

In his words:[@more@]


For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owning to our God, which we can never repay?

Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege.

Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink, but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in and for us.

I never made a sacrifice.

 

William Garden Blaikie, Personal Life of David Livingstone 

Life From Colorado Springs

Wow!! I’m two days into the conference and all I can say is WOW!!!

While the breakout sessions are good (today I learned about selecting, preparing and taking care of Long Term Cross Cultural Workers), the best part has been meeting new people and networking.

The picture you see was taken on the Navigators Colorado Springs campus. It is a picture of some wild mountain goats. =) 

Take last night for example, I was up until 1am talking to two guys my age about the Kingdom of God, politics, the religious right, and world missions. It was amazing!! I have found my “tribe” – my family and it’s wonderful to be home. =)

Tonight we had a wonderful time of worship. A bit slow, as far as the music goes, but very intimate. =)

Oh yeah – I almost forgot, I got to lead a revolt. =)  Yelp, a revolt.[@more@]

There was suppose to be a Under 35 leaders meeting, but it was cancelled due to the leader not making it to the conference. The Lord put it on my heart to push to have it put back on the scheulde – so I talked to the leaders and recuited a few under 35 leaders.

Here’s the cool thing: while I knew we were suppose to have the meeting, I didn’t know what we would talk about. So God brought the original leader’s partner to the meeting with an outline already writen out!!  (there was a slight miscommunication with the planners, leading to the cancellation…)

In other words, God used me to stop the meeting from being cancelled so He could meet with 17 up and coming leaders. God is good. =)

Telecommuting, Flight Plans and the Kingdom of God

Saturday was the first day of my telecommuting career. Yelp I am now working Tuesday through Saturday with Sunday and Monday off.

It was a bit strange at first working from home. But I liked it.

Telecommuting is peaceful, more productive (in some cases), saves money, and where else can you work in your undies? Tongue out

There are lots of things you have to get in place to be able to successful work from home, but it doesn’t take too much setting up.

Obviously, you need somewhere to work from, so a desk or table is essential as working with a laptop on your lap just isn’t sustainable for every day. You’ll also want to make sure that you have other essential office equipment at home, such as a good filing cabinet like the ones found at Office Monster, as this will help you when it comes to your working day.

Also, you still need to be able to collaborate with colleagues and access shared documents as you would if you were still in the office, but using something like Sharepoint makes this possible. If you aren’t familiar with Sharepoint, it might be worth seeking some Sharepoint consulting services – click here to continue to a website which could help.

But that’s about it. It takes some getting used to, but I personally think the pros far outweigh the cons.


They let me speak on Sunday.

Yelp it was quite amazing. No tomatoes, boos or otherwise un-ethical behavior. What did happen was the Spirit of the Lord descended upon the Church service that evening in an amazing way. It was… how do you say, beautiful? [@more@]

There were not fallen bodies or people jumping up and down it was a sweet, sweet spirit that descended at the end of the service that just touched hearts. It was fun standing up front watching people react some with crying, some with stone faces, still others with a sweet smile upon their face.

Ah. God is good.

Oh I must mention that Sunday was also the first time the Pastor and I team taught. As in, he started the service off with a 10 minute intro and then passed it of to me to flesh out the details. This allows us both to play to our strengths me with the historical background, and him with the personal impact and call to action. We are going to try it a few more times and see how it works. Undecided


Flight plans are tough to make.

Too many choices. However, I may have found the perfect flight or flights. =)

I am going to Colorado Springs in two weeks for the Vineyard National Missions Meeting on behalf of the Paraguay Partnership. Lord willing I will met some folks who want to join with us on supporting the work of the Kingdom in this country.

Buenos Aires, Argentina (Some More Pics)

Here are some more pictures from Buenos Aires, Argentina for your viewing pleasure. Cool

Argentina McDonald's advertising a Chinese combo… Undecided[@more@]

The flame of the Unknown Solider at the church of the See of the Archbishop of Argentina

The Pink House: this is the home of the president of Argentina. It was painted pink in the 1800's as a response to the USA's White House

Buenos Aires, Argentina

On our journey through South America, we stopped in Buenos Aires, Argentina for few hours. Below are some pictures of this adventure:

One of the first places we went (after lunch) was an old warship museum.

[Ardell with a HUGE gun = run for your lives!!!!]

[@more@]

As you can see, we had lots of fun!! Cool

Buenos Aires has a lot of European influences… the above photos shows a taste of this influence

This is a radom building we past in the street. Tongue out