A worldview, a mentor, a community. Nothing magic here, but these three habits of heart have been running through my mind for a long time. In my thirties, I began wondering “why some people keep on keeping on, and why others don’t?” Loving my students as I did, this plagued me, and I eventually spent ten years studying this, writing a dissertation and then a book, exploring its challenges and questions. The book argued that there are three commitments that... Read more
Ronald J. Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action and author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, has advocated for a more holistic vision of Christian ministry since 1973. He (along with Philip N. Olson and Heidi Rolland Unruh in their book, Churches That Make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works) wrote, “The whole gospel brings salvation in its fullest sense — forgiveness of sins, inner conversion of individuals in regeneration and sanctification, physical and... Read more
God, through the prophet Jeremiah, not only tells those in the Babylonian exile to live holy lives, he also gives them a calling as they live in the midst of this oppressive empire. “Seek the welfare (Hebrew, shalom of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its flourishing you will find your flourishing.” (Jeremiah 29:7) As Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat wrote, “This call is profoundly subversive—right up... Read more
Christopher Wright, in addressing the Lausanne Committee, wrote, “Holistic mission includes the whole of what God calls and sends us to do. Evangelism without social action is not holistic mission. Likewise, social action without evangelism cannot be holistic mission either.” Wright is an Anglican clergyman, and his view is in keeping with The Anglican Communion, which has identified what they call “The Five Marks of Mission,” To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom To teach, baptise and nurture new... Read more
Is the mission of God exclusively about evangelism or is it about that, and something more? It has been a debate that raged throughout the past century (see a brief history of that debate here and here), but now Christians on the conservative evangelical side of the debate are discovering that the gospel is more than the proclamation that Jesus saves individuals from their sins. It is certainly at least that, but it is also much more than that. There has... Read more
In this 11-minute video, Mark Greene, Executive Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (founded by John Stott in 1982) speaks at the Lausanne Movement’s Cape Town 2010 Congress. The Lausanne Movement is the standard-bearer for the evangelical church’s worldwide evangelism, started in 1974 by Billy Graham and others. Greene challenges church leaders to re-imagine their ministries, because the ongoing strategy for world evangelization is woefully insufficient. The model of mission in most churches is this: “To recruit the people of God... Read more
In interview after interview with pastors in the Missional Church movement, I’m hearing more discussions about what is being called “Missional Fatigue.” In a recent post at his blog, The Exchange, Ed Stetzer featured a video interview he did with Matt Carter. In 2002, Matt Carter and Chris Tomlin planted Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas. From a humble beginning as a core team of 15, the church has grown to over 7,000 attending each Sunday. Matt now serves as... Read more
Blood:Water Mission and the Need to Do Something. Now that we know, what are we going to do? It has stopped surprising me how deeply that question is written into the ordinary rhythms of life. It is rare to read the front page of a newspaper, or scroll down the screen of an online news source, or have a conversation with anyone about anything, without bumping into our very human expectation that expects an integral relationship between knowing and doing.... Read more
We are at a moment in our nation where various ideologies as to how society should be structured are at odds. Which one should we embrace? Below are FIVE Models from which to choose. Which one do you think is best? Why? The Constantinian Christian Model The Secularist Model The Libertarian Model The Christian Separatist Model The Christian “Sphere Sovereignty” Model So which one of these do you prefer? What modifications would you make to any... Read more
Learning to see the heart of God in our work. In this 3-minute video, friend to the (re)integrate ministry, Kate Harris, says that no matter how ordinary or insignificant we feel our work may be, learning to see the heart of God in our vocation is vital to our willingness to view work as holy and purposeful rather than toilsome and mundane. Kate encourages us to let the little things count, to pay attention to them. What are the needs... Read more
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