Missiological Blogger

This Blog has Moved

2008-12-09T16:52:00.005-05:00

Visit the blog, redesigned at http://adamhoffman.wordpress.com

New Articles on the New Site:

1/16: "Looking for good reads"
1/14: "Christianity in India"
1/11 "Suggestions for future missionaries …"
1/9: "The Flying Man Pt 11: My Summary"
1/8: "The Flying Man Pt 10: Further Reflections by Greg Parsons"
1/7: "The Flying Man Pt 9: Rice Missions and Rice Christians by Rick Johnson"
1/6: "The Flying Man Pt 8: Raising Local Resources by Glenn Schwarts"
1/4: "The Flying Man Pt 7: Lifetime Achievement Award by Rick Wood"
1/2: "The Flying Man Pt 6: The Missing Father by Leith Gray"

2008

12/30: "The Flying Man Pt 5: New Insights From Three Eras of Mission History by Robby Butler"
12/26: "The Bible's Role in Politics"
12/23: "The Flying Man Pt 4: How to Best Help China by Dr. Winter"
12/20: "The Flying Man Pt 3: The Legacy of Love in China by Rick Wood"
12/15: "Create International"
12/12: "The Flying Man Pt 2 - “Eric Liddell: The Flying Man - Mark Harris"
12/7: "Reflections from Buddhist Temples"
12/5: "The Flying Man Pt 1 - Dr. Winter's editorial"
12/2: "Mission Frontier's Magazine: The Flying Man"
11/25: "USCWM Community"
11/19: "Upcoming Reading: From Seed to Fruit"

INSIGHT Fall Retreat Recap

2008-11-02T11:22:00.003-05:00

What a great time! We had an amazing time in the mountains of California. First off, these are real mountains. Mountains have cliffs, valleys and elevation. North Carolina has large rolling hills. You are driving in the hills, and they just get bigger. In California, you look straight up, make a turn and then you drive up. “Wow, Mountain!” Crazy I know. Also NC is spread out geographically. Where we live in Pasadena is an hour from the beach and two hours from the mountains.

Back to the retreat. We had 3 days and 2 nights with non-stop action with the students. Melissa and I even split up and stayed with the students instead of sleeping in the same bed/house. We had a lot of down time of random deep conversation. We debated the ethics and morality of enjoying food, economic theory, and watched philosophical anime.

The weekend was based off a definition of the “Kingdom of God.” The Kingdom of God is the people of God called to live under the reign of God in order to fulfill the purposes of God. We took the first part of the definition and applied it to this weekend. For our spring retreat, we will talk about fulfilling the purposes of God, strategy and mobilization.

For this retreat, we really focused in on personal discipleship in key college areas: identity, cross-gender relationships, and gender specific issues. These conversations were lead by staff but less program oriented and freer flowing. The students seemed impacted by many of the self-discoveries they had as well as our staff's past experiences with these issues (the good and the bad).

We spent so much concentrated time together, being a community, cooking and cleaning together, riding in the car. It was a great opportunity for us as staff to get to know the students on a deeper level and build trust with them.

Melissa meets with half the girls and I meet with half the guys once a week as a small group to talk over issues and have prayer and accountability. The weekend brought out some things the students were hiding in the darkness that we as a group can bring to the light to let Christ's glory deal with.

Overall it was a great weekend. We are looking forward to the spring retreat already.

The Latest Mission Frontiers Magazine

2008-10-07T11:00:00.002-05:00

So over the 10 hours of traveling from Ohio back to California I was able to read the recent Mission Frontiers issue with the title “Iranian Revolution.” How encouraging it was to read of the rapid growth the indigenous church is experiencing in the midst of extreme persecution and trials. It was especially heart-warming to read that this growth had started decades ago and is continuing on despite major set backs (namely the assignation of major church leaders by the Iranian government). Broadcasts featuring Jesus are being watched by Persians through satellite. In a survey, 70% of Iranian families said they watched Christian satellite programs. The house church movement is spreading incredibly rapidly. "Within two years, a new believer is expected to become a leader of a new house fellowship and a discipler of new leaders." Praise be to God for expanding His kingdom without the influence of outside help.

What an interesting perspective gleaned from reading the article titled “Mustafa”. First I thought of the Lion King and couldn’t help saying “Mustafa” over and over again in my best hyena voice. In all seriousness, I thought it was a well-done interpretation of experiences with Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) and how difficult it is for “Christians” to accept followers of Christ who still carry their Muslim culture and heritage. I think this carries into the extreme importance of the C4 – C5 debate. How do you as a missionary separate culture and religion? These issues are huge for mission agencies and what they support. Its going on now that American mission agencies are stifling the growth of MBB churches because they don't see them as fully following Christ.

Continuing this theme of religion and culture, there is a good article on using the name “Allah” contextually for Muslims the same as we use God. Is it syncretism for Allah and God to be one of the same? Are we creating an unnecessary barrier to the gospel by introducing a foreign substituted word to mean God? The article does a great job of examining the word itself as well as looking at some of our own “Christian” words under the same scrutiny. Examples of our words that may not come from the best grounds are the days of the week. Most of the days of the week are named after different Anglo-Saxon gods. Monday was named after Muna, the moon god and Wednesday was named after the god Woden. Some denominations wouldn't even refer to these days of the week; instead they used first day, second day ... All this to say, contextualization is key to unleashing the Bible's power. The article qutoes Lamin Sanneh, a Yale scholar saying, "in the relevant cases Christian expansion and revival were limited to those societies that preserved the indigineous name for God." The power of the gospel is found in the ability to communicate its message to people in thier heart language, in a way that is culutrally relevant to them. After they have heard & understood, then can the wrong attributes and shallow view of God can be corrected.

Trends in the North American Missions Movement

2008-09-22T12:18:00.003-05:00

Friday morning we had a seminar from Michael Jaffarian. He is a global mission researcher and collaborates on Operation World as well as the Mission Handbook. He revealed a couple of interesting statistics this morning that I wanted to pass along. (Note: data was taken 2005).

In the U.S. & Canada, there are 822 agencies who receive $6 billion annually. While this is a lot of money, $15 billion is spent on pet products and $50 billion is spent on toiletries and cosmetics.

Numbers of North American missionary involvement:

43,000 long term missionaries (those whose length of service is expected to be more than four years)
8,000 middle term missionaries (those whose length of service is from one to four years)
150,000 short term missionaries (those whose length of service is from two weeks up to one year)
1.5 million mission-trip participants (those whose length of service is up to two weeks; as opposed to other missionaries, this category contains mainly those who go through a local church and not necessarily through a mission agency)
Noted that strong growth in mission-trip participants and short term missionaries has not yielded increase long term missionaries

Agency Focus

For every mission agency mainly devoted to relief/development (DEV), there are about five devoted to evangelism/discipleship (EVG)
18 to 1 ratio of missionary sent through agencies focus on EVG rather than DEV
Total money donated to DEV mission agencies greater than total money donated to EVG mission agencies.
Seven out of the top ten and four out of the top five largest American mission agencies (by income) are DEV
Income growth between 2001 - 2005:
- EVG: 2.7%
- DEV: 74.3%

Personnel

Noted rapid growth in national workers financially supported by North American mission agency dollars
Now for every American missionary sent and supported, there are two national workers being supported

Our Vision: College Mobilization and INSIGHT

2008-06-21T13:24:00.003-05:00

Our vision is to open people’s eyes to what God is doing in the World and help them find their strategic part in reaching the Nations with the Gospel. We believe that College Students are the most strategic group of people to mobilize to missions.

Four reasons College Students are the most strategic audience:

College Students are Seeking Answers

College is a time where you seek answers to all of life’s important questions. Most Christian students are specifically wrestling with the question of what to do with their life in light of their faith. Our desire is to build a foundation focused on missions and God’s Glory. We know that if we can instill a desire to see God glorified in students’ lives, then this will guide them as they make these important decisions.

Everyone has a strategic part to play in reaching the nations with the gospel, not only those who decide to serve overseas. No matter what Major students choose, with an understanding of God’s desire to be glorified in all the earth, they will make the most of the talents that God has given them. Lawyers and Doctors will strategically invest in missionaries serving amongst the unreached. Computer engineers will design computer programs to help with bible translation. Entrepreneurs will take their talents into the third-world and teach families how to create a viable business. CEO’s will train missionaries on how to partner with international leaders. There is not limit to the impact college students can have on the world if they understand that they have a strategic part to play.

College Students are Visionaries

Students are visionaries, dreamers, they think big and believe that they can change the world, and by the power of God they can! They are also a little fickle, and if these dreams are not encouraged or guided they will die out. By giving students a foundation of God’s purpose in the world, they will begin to dream of His desires being fulfilled, and these are dreams that make a difference.

We also see power in mentoring college students. Having someone walk beside them, believe in them, and giving them guidance will help them reach their goals. Many students will catch the vision for missions, but few will actually take a strategic role. Students get distracted easily with the next new thing. Mentoring and getting them in contact with other mission minded students is away to keep them on track and fuel their vision.

College Students are Living in a Global Society

Universities pride themselves on cultural diversity, brining in students and professors from all over the world. Most College students are living in a true global society, interacting daily with people outside their own culture. They understand the importance of valuing someone else’s culture and traditions. This atmosphere with out biblical guidance can very easily create universalists, but with the right understanding these global students have a knowledge of the world that is priceless to the mission enterprise.

And of top of that, there are students from unreached people groups and closed countries studying on American Campuses. If we can mobilize Christian students to reach out to internationals on their campus, teach them to follow Christ and pass on their vision to see their people and all nations glorifying God, they would be sending missionaries into some of the darkest parts of the world, where they themselves may never be allowed to go. Praise God this is a need and an opportunity to make a major impact on the world!

College Students are Transients

The point of focusing on college mobilization is to get people strategically involved with what God is doing in the world as early as possible. Everyone needs this vital information, but most of us have already made patterns in our lives that make it hard to change our lifestyles. College Students are just forming those patterns. By sharing with them God’s ultimate desire to see people from every nation come to know Him and how they can have a strategic part in making that happen, the patterns they form will lead them to a life strategically involved in God’s global purposes.

Students are on their way to somewhere else. They are uncommitted and not tied down to a family, bills, career, etc. They have entire summers off, this is the perfect time for them to go overseas and gain exposure to the world of missions. Not all of them will go to the field full-time, but the experience will give them power. They will set patterns now in finances, ethics, relationships, that will stay with them for a lifetime. We want students to make these decisions based on their strategic involvement in God’s global purposes. So wherever they go after college they are focused on seeing God’s glory in all the earth. The greatest part of working with college students is that Universities are a revolving door, you get to send Global Christians out into the world every year, and then they are replaced by a whole new group ready to learn.

So how does INSIGHT fit in to this vision?

“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” Proverbs 19:2

INSIGHT is a one-year college program developed to give students an understanding of God’s Glory and His purposes throughout history. Throughout the unfolding of the curriculum, topics in anthropology, comparative religions, philosophy, theology, the Bible, politics, and developments in church, mission, and world history are purposefully interwoven to give students a broad, integrated understanding of the interrelatedness of subjects. After taking INSIGHT, students have a mental filing system for how their future college classes fit together, and how it is all part of the larger story of God and man.

The heartbeat of INSIGHT is unmistakably mission. The themes of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course run throughout the curriculum and are revisited and reinforced at multiple levels. Students are exposed to the Biblical basis for mission, mission history, principles of anthropology and cross-cultural communication, and current issues in mission strategy. Students leave INSIGHT with the Bible and mission academic background of a missionary candidate, an intellectual foundation for their faith, and with a year of college credit. This program is an amazing tool for mobilizing college students to missions. With this foundation these students will know the importance and urgency of reaching the nations with the Gospel and how they have a strategic part to play.

Our time with the U.S Center for World Mission in Pasadena will be spent investing in the INSIGHT program and more importantly the students. We are excited to get to know this small group of students and see how God is going to work in their lives. With the strategic nature of this course in mind, we are also working to expand this program to other locations across the country and around the world. Students need this information and INSIGHT is a great tool that any church or NGO could use to impact college students in their area. We are excited to learn and grow in this program and see how God is going to use it to mobilize an entire generation to see his glory throughout the earth!

To put it all together…

We are looking for the most strategic ways to fulfill the vision God has given us. We have found the audience, some great tools, now for the location.

We do not believe in coincidence, but it the great work of our Lord. Before moving to California we had been living in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina. There could not be a more strategic place to do college ministry. Within a 30-mile radius of the Southeast office of the USCWM there are 11 colleges/universities totaling at over 75,000 undergraduate students! These schools have vibrant campus ministries and there are several large churches focusing on college students. By partnering with these ministries and churches we can equip college students to get strategically involved in reaching the nations with the Gospel.

INSIGHT will be one of many tools that we will bring back to the Raleigh Durham area. Our hope is to run INSIGHT at a local church as well as spend as much time as possible on campuses networking with college pastors, and hanging out with students. There are so many dreams and ideas running in our heads, we cannot wait to see what God is going to do on these campuses for His Glory.

Models of Missionary Training

2008-02-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

In America and Europe, we train our professional ministers in a very Western way: seminaries. Seminaries are a great place to learn theology and to study academic issues in the Christian faith. But are they the best way to train ministers to bring people to faith and grow others in their walks with Christ?

How many seminary graduates are there who go to the mission field completely unprepared for what they will face in another culture, dealing with learning a new language, not being able to communicate, culture shock, facing persecution and leaving everything that was comfortable? Yes these students should be able to explain eschatology and transubstantiation, but can they effectively contextualize the essence of the gospel? Sure they have training in the books of the bible but what has their evangelistic lives looked like? Most can debate theology amongst themselves, but how comfortable are they with sharing the message freely on the streets?

A national movement in India began this way and found that they attracted more visionless Christians without direction and motivation rather than passionate followers of Christ who long to see His people come to know Him. They switched to a new model in church planting, one that looks more like in Acts. Church planting happened through discipleship and informal training. This style of preparation put a priority on field training, getting church planters involved in the communities with the people. Theological training would be brought to them so they wouldn’t have to leave their ministry post for weeks or months at a time. The key is that they did not leave their culture to be taught heady knowledge, but were supervised in practical situations. They found churches grew faster under this informal model, and theology did not sway.

Now is it the job of the seminary or the job of the mission agency to train future missionaries? I believe it is definitely the responsibility of the mission agency to prepare and make sure candidates are ready for the field, but I also believe a practical side of a mission degree would be effective. The Baptist seminaries two plus two program with the IMB is on the right tract. They spend two years in seminary learning theology, biblical languages and anthropology, and then two years on the field guided by a career missionary. Another bonus is that intermitted throughout the field experience, they come together for analysis and debriefing. For seminary programs that send future missionaries, practical on the field experience is important and should be a part of the program.

This brings me to a final issue: why is mission education is not a major part of a seminary degree? How many seminary trained pastors go through their studies without learning about God’s heart for the nation and the state of His Kingdom? Pastors should be Christ’s body’s largest mobilizers to help God’s people understand that unreached peoples are the most strategic field there is. Missions is not a ministry of the church, but the purpose for the church’s existence. It is of utmost importance for our pastors to teach the biblical basis of missions and call out members of their church for overseas service.

Frontier vs. Regular Part 2

2008-01-24T17:30:00.000-05:00

Last entry we worked through some definitions and gave some statistics. I wanted to lend my thoughts on the implications of Frontier vs. Regular and what missions means.

I mentioned that the word missions is far too over used. I would go on to say that the word is so over used that it looses its meaning. No one is going to say that their mission is useless and no one is going to condemn another when the generalized term is used to gain approval. Using the previous definitions and the knowledge of the state of the world we must re-gain our focus and really do missions. All of those other "missions" are good, but in order to see that all peoples have a chance to hear and respond to the gospel, we must focus our efforts on those areas completely without access to the gospel.

The question is of strategy. Should we keep sending our resources (people, money, prayer, ect) to places where the gospel is planted and where individuals have an opportunity to explore the scriptures and have someone walk with them the path of faith, or would it be best to send these resources to places that have no witness at all? If I had a dirty house with 10 rooms would I get together all of my friends and spend all of my money just to clean 6 of those rooms over and over and over again, leaving the other 4 rooms dirty? NO, that would make me a bad steward of my house, and I wouldn't be able to say the house as a whole was clean.

So too with missions. We put so many resources into certain areas, completely neglecting the need for Christ throughout the world. Evangelism is great. We are all supposed to be a part of it. There are not those who are called not to share their faith. Evangelism is not a special calling that you have but a gifting of the Holy Spirit from re-birth. Evangelism should not soften the word missions.

How many new followers to Christ are there everyday in America? In China, about 30,000 people are coming to Christ daily. Can you imagine the impact more resources would have on this place. There are still so many who have not been presented the gospel. Most people in America have heard the gospel, but world-wide, last year alone, 120 million people were presented the gospel for the first time ever. Can you believe that there are that many people today who have not heard the gospel, and that was just one year of first encounters with the Truth.

I hear all the time, "Our mission is right here in the U.S." Let me preface the remainder of this discussion that God is God and He can call anyone to any task he has, no questions asked. Basically, God can call us to the U.S. for a purpose and that is fine. I think many people use that statement as an excuse. We are all called to witness where we are located, in the communities we are a part. The types of ministries we do here is a strategic choice based God's gifts. We are not supposed to stay here because it is comfortable or because God has a special calling for us away from these unreached people groups. You can't stay here unless you are willing to go, but you can't go unless you are willing to stay. We are all to have a part in the Great Commission. It is a commission for all of us who given our lives to Christ. The question is not does God want me to be involved in spreading his Word throughout the world, but how does He want me to be involved?

So, is it bad for Christians to stay in America? NO, but even those who aren't called to go overseas should be involved in the kingdom spreading to those who don't have access to it. Those who stay aren't doing something else, they are still focused on the unreached and having a huge part of the behind the scenes work. We've come up with a list of different roles on how to be involved with frontier missions, only 2 of the 11 are actually leaving the U.S.

I leave you again with the words of the greatest missionary:

"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' But they have not all obeyed the gospel. "
-Romans 10:13-16

Frontier vs. Regular

2008-01-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

Missions is a term that can be thrown around easily. Missions is now exchanged for the term "evangelism" and "outreach". Missions is a budget in the church that goes far too wide and far too shallow. Missions is not just a sector or ministry in the church. Missions IS the purpose of the church. As the church universal we are commanded to take the gospel to where it is currently not. The reason for and the purpose of the church is to worship Christ with everything and bring more worshipers to Christ. It is out of God's passion for His glory that missions exists (read John Piper's "Let the Nations Be Glad." )

A few years back I had thought the division was between lost and saved people here and around the world, and the church just gets people to come to Him wherever they are. The first time I heard about Christ was when I was 15. I knew where churches were, I just wasn't interested to find out what they were all about. I thought that is how it is all over, churches out there but individuals decide to go or not.

I never realized that there were whole groups of people separated from God, who have no access to His gospel. I found out that there were places where there were no churches. That there were places that people didn't have the bible translated in their language, places where people are actively searching for someone to tell them the greatest story told, but no one has ever told them. This changed everything.

Missiologists have termed it reached and unreached. Come to find out there are whole sectors of culture termed people groups that are characterized by this reached and unreached zones.

Based on this, here are some definitions:
"missions" that is within our country is called evangelism
"missions" outside our country that is among reached peoples is regular missions
"missions" outside our country that is among unreached peoples is frontier missions

Here are some statistics to make things more real:

There are an estimated 24,000 people groups
10,000 of these are considered unreached (most located in 10/40 window)
Of our mission personnel, 85% serve in regular missions while only 15% serve in frontier areas
Of our finances, 95% of our church dollars goes straight back to us, sending 5% out to missions out side of our country

of our missions budget, 90% goes to regular missions with only 10% going to frontier missions
Totaled: 99.5% of our money goes to reached areas where people have access to the gospel while 0.5% goes to places that otherwise have no opportunity to hear

I think the church needs to put a little more thought as to what missions is, and what our focus should be. Of course all of these areas are good targets for ministry, but if we are going to focus on missions lets truly and strategically put our efforts into completing the Great Commission.

I leave you with the words of the greatest missionary:

"thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
-Romans 15:20-21

Hebrews as a bridge

2007-12-24T14:50:00.000-05:00

These reflections come from Gareth Lee Cockrill's book titled "Guidebook for Pilgrims to the Heavenly City"

Have you ever thought of using the book of Hebrews to bridge a Muslim's Hajj? Guidebook for Pilgrims to the Heavenly City does just that. The author of Hebrews uses language and analogies for a journey, or reaching a city (The New Jerusalem, Heaven). What a great way to attract people whose tradition compels them to take such a journey. This method is unique, because it so easily contextualizes the entire book of Hebrews into the Islamic culture. Cockrill's rendition of this bridge is written primarily to an audience bent on one day going to Mecca, or have already taken the Hajj. Here is a short overview; use this to be intrigued, but read the book if you want to use the strategy.

Part One: The Pilgrim Road (Hebrews 10:32 - 12:29)

Introduction to Part One (Hebrews 10:32-39)
This section of Hebrews clearly describes the life of faith as a pilgrimage to heaven. The writer of Hebrews assumes that we are asking the question, "Why should we continue in this pilgrimage when we face suffering?" Introduces Part One

Called to be a Pilgrim (Hebrews 11:1-22)
True pilgrims trust God's promises of future blessing and believe that He is active in their daily lives. By his example Abraham calls us to have this faith and make our pilgrimage to the Heavenly City. From his life we learn that pilgrimage means leaving the things of this world and pursuing the heavenly goal. Like Abraham we may face opposition, but it is vital that we persevere to the end of our journey.

Endure Suffering (Hebrews 11:23-40)
Moses, like Abraham, was a pilgrim to the Heavenly City. Since Moses was willing to leave the horded treasures of Egypt for the eternal homeland, he reminds us of the unsurpassed value of our destination. His courage in face of opposition inspires us to be courageous . God's deliverance of many encourages us to persevere. Our resolve is strengthened by remembering those faithful pilgrims who have had to suffer persecution and death for their faith. We know that victory will be theirs in the resurrection. Because of Jesus the Messiah our resources are much greater than theirs.

Follow Your Guide (Hebrews 12:1-17)
Jesus is both the founder of this pilgrimage and our mutawwif [guide] along the way. By his suffering he has opened the way for us to enter the Heavenly City. By keeping our gaze on him we are strengthened to meet the challenges of the pilgrim way. Indeed, suffering is a mark of the true pilgrim. God uses this suffering to train His faithful pilgrims and prepare them for His blessing just as a loving father disciplines his beloved children. We must not let suffering turn us away from the great blessings that are within our reach.

At the Mount of Mercy (Hebrews 12:18-29)
Through what Jesus has done for us we are able to through prayer and worship to enter the Heavenly City and stand joyfully in God's presence with the angels around His throne. For us that City is on the Mount of God's Mercy. Those who have rejected Jesus the Messiah stand in condemnation before the Mount of Judgment. Just as those who stand at the Plain of Arafat on the 9th of Dhu-l-Hajjah anticipate the Judgment Day, so our present experience at God's Mount of Mercy anticipates the mercy we will receive on that Day if we do not shrink back from following Jesus

Part Two: The Pilgrim's Helper (Hebrews 1:1 - 12:29)

Introduction to Part Two (Hebrews 5:11 - 6:20)
This part of Hebrews explains in greater depth the significance of Jesus as the founder of the Pilgrimage to the Heavenly City and as mutawwif along the way. It shows us how Jesus and Jesus alone is the one who enables us to reach our destination. The writer of Hebrews prepares his readers for his teaching about Jesus' High Priesthood, which they found difficult or objectionable. Gives special attention to the reality of his death and resurrection and the significance of his being called "Son."

Around the Ka'bah (Hebrews 1:1 - 2:4)
Pilgrims to Mecca anticipate the time when they will gaze on the Ka'bah. For them it is the point of contact between heaven and earth. Jesus is the Ka'bah or focal point of heavenly contact for pilgrims to the Heavenly City. He is God's embodied Eternal Word and thus brings us a revelation that fulfills and surpasses all revelations given through prophets and angels. It is vital that we remain loyal to what God has revealed for us in Jesus.

The First Pilgrim (Hebrews 2:5-18, 4:14 - 5:10)
By the "Great Pilgrimage" of 632 A.D. Muhammad established the pattern of pilgrimage to Mecca. In 622 he left the city only to return victoriously in 630 and open the way for pilgrims. God's Eternal Word has opened the way to the Heavenly City by what was surely a "Great Pilgrimage." According to the will of God he established this pilgrimage by leaving the Heavenly City, becoming a human being and offering himself for the sins of all humanity before returning in triumph to the Heavenly Homeland. By his offering he freed us from the impurity of sin which kept us from God's presence and liberated us from the fear of condemnation on the Day of Judgment. Thus he is our High Priest who invites us into the God's holy presence and fulfills the picture of High Priesthood which God has given in the Tawrah of Moses.

The Apostle of God and the Pilgrims who Rebelled (Hebrews 3:1 - 4:13)
Jesus is the Apostle or Rasul of God because he has brought the final revelation of God and because he leads us into the promised Heavenly Homeland. He is as much superior to Moses, the great prophet and apostle with whom God spoke so intimately, as "the maker of a house is greater than the house." Thus if the people who followed Moses failed to enter the "rest" of God's Eternal City because they refused to trust God's power and promises, how much more will we fail if we do not obey in faith? Let us be diligent to enter because the Heavenly City they sought is still available to those who trust and obey. God holds us accountable.

An Intercessor Before the Day of Judgment (Hebrews 7:1-28)
Even now Jesus sits at God's right hand as our Intercessor who cleanses us from sin, brings us into God's presence, and mediates to us the grace we need to be faithful pilgrims. He can do this because he is a "priest according to the order of Melchizadek." As the obedient embodied Eternal Word of God he has replaced the Mosaic priesthood of sinful, mortal men. Since his High Priesthood is backed by God's oath, he can guarantee us perpetual access into God's presence. Since he is eternal he can completely deliver us from sin. He is exactly the kind of High Priest we need and we are invited to draw near to God through him every day of our pilgrimage.

The Feast of Sacrifice (Hebrews 8:1 - 10:18)
Discusses the themes of sanctuary, sacrifice, and covenant. Jesus' sacrifice is superior because it alone provides access to the true heavenly sanctuary and establishes the new and adequate covenant. Thus pilgrims to the Heavenly City have three reasons to rejoice in the sacrifice of God's Eternal Word embodied in Jesus. First, through his perfect obedience and willing sacrifice of himself he has cleansed us of the impurity of sin. Second, by this cleansing he has established a new covenant or din in which our sins are forgiven and we are given obedient hearts. Third he has opened the way for the purified people of this new covenant to enter the presence of God in heaven. No animal sacrifice was sufficient. Only the willingly self-offering of Jesus in perfect obedience to God was adequate for our sin. He expressed this obedience in his talbiya: "Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God."

Stoning the Devil (Hebrews 10:19-31)
Pilgrims to Mecca attest their determination to resist temptation by stoning the three pillars that represent Satan's temptation of Abraham in the valley of Mina. Pilgrims to the Heavenly City are invited to take refuge from Satan and his temptations by drawing near to God through the sacrifice of Jesus. He has opened a "new and living" way into God's presence by cleansing us from sin within and without. He welcomes them when they enter. They are to be unswerving in their pilgrimage and encourage one another because Jesus their High Priest is faithful. This passage closes with a solemn reminder that anyone who professes to experience the blessings of Christ and then turns away will suffer eternal separation from God.

Conclusion: The Way of Ihram (Hebrews 13:1-25)
Hebrews concludes with instructions on how to live in the state of heart ihram provided by Jesus. This purity is not a matter of rituals or of keeping a number of rules. It is the offering of two sacrifices--praise to God and doing good and sharing with others. We do good by sharing with both friends and strangers, helping those in need, being sexually pure, and by being generous and relying on God to supply our needs. We praise God by confessing our loyalty to Jesus and identifying with those who worship him. Hebrews ends with a blessing that the God who raised the Lord Jesus, our caring Shepherd, will bring us to the end of our pilgrimage.

- Taken from Appendix Two: A Quick Reference (pp.171 - 175)

Career Defing Crisis in Mission by Paul Keidel Review

2007-12-07T15:05:00.000-05:00

Keidel's book brought up a lot of issues to think about. I enjoyed it so much that I made an outline of it so I could quick reference it. Let me know if you want me to send you the outline. So here are some thoughts on Keidel's book.

The first two chapters re-iterated thoughts I had already had, and information that I had been exposed to. I think those chapters (Language and Culture) are critical to people beginning their journey. I thought the next few chapter really broke down the missionary process (Telling the Story, Deciding for Christ) and brought out key debates (Social Gospel). I really enjoyed questioning the "three self model" (The Crisis of an Indigenous Church). Keidel flips these on their heads and showed their purpose, but inadequacy. I really enjoyed the cultural sensitivity, about transferring the power of the gospel into their cultural appropriate equivalences. The issues he raised about dependency (financially and dependent on the missionary). I liked in the end how he focused on the power of the gospel in our lives (as missionaries) and the clash of doing vs. being (in Christ).

I know that was general, I'd love to continue the conversation about specific thoughts/issues.

Allow me time to re-read it and think over the three self model and I'll add thoughts to it

Guest Entry from Coleman C. " Men, Get on your horse and go!"

2007-11-26T08:47:00.000-05:00

If any of you know me you probably know that I am planning on going overseas in the future and recently I’ve heard a bit of information that concerns me. My denomination’s sending agency has a particular program for singles to go overseas for an average of two years. I won’t say the name of this program but recently I was told that for every seven females who commit to this program there is only one male who commits to serve…
That’s pretty disgusting…

First of all, props to all you ladies out there who are risking your lives and forsaking the overabundance of luxury here in the states to serve Him overseas. And also to you guys who made the decision to go, I pray that you might encourage others to come alongside you. I could spend the majority of my time hounding other guys about their lack of courage or apathy in pursuing God with reckless abandon, but I just don’t think that would be efficient. I also don’t think I am in any position to criticize others when I’m presently sitting in the comfort of my own home with a full stomach from today’s gluttonous thanksgiving festivities. But while I’m here I want to explore a couple of reasons that men might be staying in order to open their eyes to the fruit that can come from making the commitment to go. Most of these reasons for staying or obstacles ultimately prove to be an incredible hindrance to one’s quest on the road to sanctification. For the sake of this particular blog-posting I’m not going to treat each of these obstacles exhaustively for I hope to explore them in further detail later.

I think one of the primary reasons that men stay is in part due to their natural tendency to desire worldly success. When the opportunity to go overseas comes up they choose not to go because they feel as though they won’t have a successful life upon returning to the states if they ever do. So many men have this engrained in their heads, and it’s a vision that screams to make their voice heard. In the business world men cling to the hope of climbing the rungs of the corporate ladder faster than the one beside him. I’ll put this obstacle in the category of those who actually have skewed vision. From an outsider’s point of view it may appear that a particular business man has a great vision for the future but I submit that these men really don’t have an end product in mind. More later…

Secondly, I think many men are just apathetic when it comes to planning for the future. Many would rather sit and go through the motions of life until a blatantly obvious opportunity comes their way. Passivity in men is rampant and the only time that a proactive lifestyle is seen is when it is the result of an unforeseen circumstance that necessitates action. The hindrance is that men wait for opportunities to act upon them instead of acting with the discernment and vision that God has given us. More also on this…

Third and lastly…for the moment…many men, especially those in their early to mid-twenties refuse to go overseas because they think they should be married before going. Marriage is a good thing and the bible makes it obvious that God likes it. The problem however is that men have this often-subconscious desire to get married before they begin doing their ‘real’ career. They’re afraid that if they serve overseas for any length of time, upon returning there simply won’t be any more prospects for marriage left, and therefore their time overseas could have been used for time in pursuing ‘the right one.’ Don’t get me wrong here. I would actually recommend sending families to the field over sending singles. The majority of the remaining unreached people groups are very distinct from our western individualistic ideals, and therefore a family on the field would be ideal. But single male would have many opportunities where a husband or father would have some limitations. I think the main obstacle concerning the singleness issue is a lack of trust in God that manifests in fear and disobedience. Along with that disobedience comes great temptation and desire, and keep in mind, desire that is fully grown gives birth to death…

So, I hope to expound on these three issues and more in the coming weeks. Hopefully we all will be able to humble ourselves a bit and really dig deep as to where we’re being called to serve.

Read his Original Entry

Universalism

2007-10-11T12:12:00.000-05:00

Y'all have probably heard about the question of what happens to a man on an island if they don't know Christ. The mercy side of us that is there in the image of God cries out "Its not fair for a man to die and go to hell if he is seeking God." I was involved in a conversation like this yesterday.

Rarely does the justice we have in the image of God adequately reflect the justice God has. We may not cut in line to go to the movies or we may feel sorrow for the mistreated and innocent, but those just touch the top of the iceberg. If we sincerely look at God's justice, sin is grounds for immediate and unmerciful death. A common statement is "its not fair for bad things to happen to good people, or that good people should go to hell." The bible is pretty clear though: our good works are like dirty rags to God (Isaiah 64:6), not one seeks God (Romans 3:11, Jeremiah 5:1-3), it is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:9-10). The truth is that we deserve to die now, and again and again. BUT by Christ's sacrifice, we take His place.

SO my response (especially to those still having doubts on Christianity) on this issue is: I realize this is a problem. These people can't be in relationship with God unless they become like one without sin. In order to do this they must be saved under Jesus' name. If there are places where Jesus' name is not proclaimed, it is our duty to tell them. This whole thing is why I am involved in missions. It is because God loves these people that we go and give them the chance to respond to the gospel. I tell these who have yet to put their faith in Jesus, "join me in letting the nations know," if you are so concerned than go with me.

Worldview

2007-09-14T14:58:00.000-05:00

The typical American Christian worldview is something like this:

What is real? Well, God is real. He is basically on the throne, although a lot goes on in the world that He allows to happen because of man's evil choices. I fit into this scheme of things as His child who doesn't have a lot to say about cosmic events.

What do I believe? Among other things, I believe the Bible. I believe that God chose the Jews to finally bring forth the Messiah so He could start the Church so I could become a Christian -- which means I'm different from the world, but if I live true to God I'll have a good life with His blessing. I also believe things are going from bad to worse, and when they get really out-of-hand, God will give up on humanity, Jesus will return and I'll go to heaven.

What do I think is best? I think being a good Christian is extremely important -- living a clean, godly life, reading the Bible, praying, witnessing,giving money to the church and missions and attending church services.

What is my behavior like? I try to do thinks I know are important; but I don't do them as regularly as I should or would like to. I attend lots of meetings. And I'm basically trying to have the best life I can until Jesus comes back for me.

A more biblical based worldview:

What is real? God is minutely in charge of everything, even to the extent of using Satan and man's wrath to fit into His unchangeable purpose of blessing His people in order to bless every people on earth. I fit into a very specific role in that plan.

What do I believe? Among other things such as the doctrines of the faith, I believe God has been orchestrating His specific plan for all of history. I believe that everything that happens fits into His unchangeable purpose. And I believe there is a time coming when He will finish His plan. I believe that time is soon, and I believe my sense of vision of His plan is not a coincidence: I believe He wants to use me now in some significant way.

What do I think is best? Fitting into that plan [Here are some possible ways]. Seeking first His kingdom. Using all the disciplines of biblical Christianity to point in the direction of that purpose. It is extremely important for me to maintain good health, cultivate good relationships, keep my finances in order so that I can give as much as possible to the Cause, walk in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake, and develop all my skills and spiritual gifts for my part in the big picture. I need to pray against the enemy strongholds so that God's kingdom can come on earth as it is in heaven, and pray that God would thrust forth laborers into His harvest. I must evangelize my own people group through personal evangelism, unite with other believers in this cosmic battle against satanic forces, and remain clean and pure as a vessel fit for God's use in His plans! All of this is extremely important because God is carrying out His purpose through us, His people!

What is my behavior like? It looks like typical Christian behavior, only a little more radical. I've never prayed so much in my life; I become angry over Satan's control over a certain unreached people group and I refuse through prayer to let Satan have his way over them. I'm getting together with Christians who mean business, because I know better than to tackle the strongholds of Satan by myself. I'm also studying the Bible and the world like never before, because I've realized how little I know about the whole picture. I spend a lot of time evaluating everything I do to pull it into captivity to obedience to Christ in His great Cause. I evaluate what I have and do according to the fact that it has a purpose far beyond making my own life comfortable. I find I don't do much in the way of trying to "keep up with the Joneses"; who cares about such small ambitions anymore? I'm feeling less of a need to escape; so I watch less TV and spend less money. I'm beginning to act as if I don't quite belong her in my old Western culture for much longer.

Taken from Vision 2020 by Bill and Amy Stearns, pages 166-168

Veiws on Calling and God's Will

2007-08-30T14:07:00.000-05:00

... A continued coversation from JD Greear's Blog, Entry entitled "How Do You Know What You are 'Called' to as a Christian?"

I agree wholeheartedly with JD & yucko. This issue is very pervasive in college. Kids are asking all the time the question "what has God called me to?" There are constant fears of falling in line with "the one life trajectory that God has for us." The more I think about it, the more that statement puts God in box, saying that basically we can so easily mess up God's Will.

An analogy we encourage those making major life decisions is instead of asking, "What does God have for me to do," ask, "What is God already doing in the world, and how has he gifted me to be a part of it." We need to take the focus off ourselves and see our role in line with the big picture: It's all about knowing God and making Him known. We give the challenge as JD does. There are pockets of people who don't have access to the gospel (10,000 unreached people groups). We know God has said that he will redeem "panta ta ethne" (all the families/people groups of the world.) Why not be involved there?

Spiritual Warfare: Illness

2007-08-21T14:25:00.000-05:00

I recently had a friend return from a two week mission trip in Central Asia. When she got back, she felt severely ill, so went to the emergency room. The doctors (and all of us) wanted to check for severe Central Asia diseases, you know the "interesting" cases. Our friend commented she felt like she was on House, or Gray's Anatomy with many specialists coming to see her. The final diagnosis: viral meningitis. Probable scenario: someone on their team carried a gastrointestinal virus with them to Central Asia. Nine of the 14 team members were sick on the trip. What seems to have happened is on the final days when most were feeling better, the virus went to her head, causing the meningitis.

Ironically, most people fear going dangerous places for their safety, but sometimes God may show us how vulnerable we are, no matter what the location. I have found the most safe place to be is where God has called you, not necessarily the easiest place to live. Its like the shirts from Adventure places, "You can die sky-diving, falling in the air hundreds of miles per hour or you can fall off your couch." How true. We can't be afraid of life in Christ, if we are His, we are in His hands.

I was thinking earlier as we were in her house with 10-15 other people. This team went over there to share the kind of love she is experiencing with the people of Central Asia. If this had happen to a person over there, there would not be this out-pouring of love and support. Praise God we have an opportunity to know Him and his body the church, and I pray this situation doesn't scare some people into not want to go (she contracted the initial virus here in the states), but urges them to go all the more, to deliver this kind of grace and love to those with no access to this Gospel. Praise and Glory be to His Name in all the Earth.

May situations like this show us God is in control. We need to follow after Him and let Him take care of the circumstances. Now I am not saying to jump in the deep end of the pool if you can't swim, or to see how long you can lay in the snow naked. But, while there are destinations with more risk, God uses situations for His glory. The safest place we can be is where he calls us.

Going Cross-Cultural: Durham

2007-04-19T15:10:00.000-05:00

So over the past two years the Lord has shown me ever increasingly how much he cares for people. Different personalities, colors, nations, he is just in love with his creation, and wants them to reciprocate that love back on Him. Hence we read in his word to go out and tell people all the amazing things He has done in our lives and wants to do in yours. Evangelism is easy. Tell some who looks like you, acts like you and speaks like you about Jesus and you can get your message across. Cross-cultural evangelism and then frontier missions (telling people who haven't had an opportunity to hear) is hard.

The small group I am involved in is participating in Hope for Durham. We have decided to work in a halfway house in downtown that focuses on getting drug addicts to be full hearted submitters to Christ instead of the chains of the drug life. Thier director had asked us to come in and help them fill out applications and talk about interveiws. The first night, the four of us (Hoplers and Hoffmans) got our material and walked to the place, ready to impart our knowledge. When we got there, they were moving the girls house, so there would be no teaching tonight. So we did what thought natural and volunteered to help them move, thinking this would give us an opportunity to build relationships.

Through this cross-cultural experience, I was kicked in the face spiritually. I walked away with a changed attitude:

We are no better than they. Just because I look like I have things together doesn't mean jack. I'm a sinner, their a sinner, God sees no difference. I walked in thinking that I was better than them, because I have a job, and I go to a church, and I look like I know what I am doing. Through them God brought out my fear, the desperateness at the bottom of my heart that I am in need of a savior. I thought I was going to teach them about how to apply for a job, they taught me about life.

I told one guy, "I love Durham", citing the catchy phrase around the Summit Church. He laughed in my face. I was so offended, but he showed me I love Durham because I know the middle class Durham. Durham to me is my friends and my church. He, who has lived in Durham, in its ghettos for 45 years, told me all the stories I like to forget about: crime, drugs, violence. He told me how Durham is a trap that you can't get out of. Durham is despair, darkness, sin.

I was humbled that night, and later excited. Durham is a hopeless place, without Christ. Durham is a dark and dirty place, without Christ. Durham redeemed under Christ looks a lot more like how Jesus described his kingdom. And He has called us to redeem Durham. This cross-cultural experience taught me to depend on God, and see these people I will share with as He sees them, no worse than me, but as people who need to know of Christ's love.I am excited to see what God will do. Though I have a little part in changing Durham, I serve a big God who wants it changed.

Missiology: Reaching Muslims using the Koran

2007-03-17T22:36:00.000-05:00

Where do religions come from? We know that all mankind came from Adam and Noah. Division begins at the Tower of Babel. God scatters man and confuses their language. Once things settle, God chooses a specific man to share his revelation with. From this point in scripture, it seems that Abraham is pretty aware that there is one God, its not until later that scripture mentions other gods. At this point, God has been distant with man. God calls Abraham into relation with Him and begins a process of renewal for the world through His covenant with Abraham; again, God wants all peoples to know Him. Later on we see scripture say, “Thou shall have no other god before me.” So we know that other people believe in other gods. Exodus 32 shows the process of this transferal from the one true God into other gods. The people want a physical presence of God, but God doesn’t give that to all people. The people turn from their previous knowledge of the one true God and worship a calf instead.

Therefore I believe that other religions are just perversions of the real thing. Other religions thus have connections back to the Truth. Don Richardson explains similar cultural connections in his book Eternity in Their Hearts. There thus should also be redemptive analogies back to the truth, where you can turn back these perversions. Kevin Greeson’s book, the Camel Training Manuel shows ayats (verses) from the Koran that point to the truth of the one true God who redeems His people through His sacrifice. The Koran can be used as a bridge to lift Jesus above prophet status, although it will not share the fullness of Christ’s plan for redemption.

Most people know that Islam has a foundation built on Christianity, thus Judaism, if you look closer into the Koran there are ayats that point to Christ as more than just a prophet. It confers with the new testament that Jesus has conquered death, that Muhammad himself was unsure about his eternal fate, and that Allah tells Muhammad to look at the “before books” (Old Testament and New Testament) for answers. Ayats from the Koran itself actually give more validity to Christ than Muhammad. Most followers of Muhammad feel that the Koran is too holy of a book to read, and that few people can actually interpret the text. Hence, for the most part, using the Koran as a bridge to the gospel is more effective with Imams (Islamic priests) than with the general population of Muslims.

Wrapped up in one passage (Surah Al-Imran 3:42-55), one can see that Jesus is not just a prophet. This text can help raise Jesus up to the deserved position of Savior. This Koranic text says that Jesus was holy, Jesus had power over death, and Jesus knows the way to heaven. This is the crux of the Koranic text to lead seekers into reading the Bible for themselves

Here are some other interesting ayats in the Koran

Surah The Sandhills 46:9 “Say: I am not the first of the apostles, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you: I do not follow anything but that which is revealed to me, and I am nothing but a plain warner.” Muhammad himself testifies that he is not the greatest, he does not know where his followers are going, and he is only a warner.

Surah Jonah 10:94 “But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers.” This is a direct reference back to “the Book before you” aka the Bible. The Koran de-emphasizes itself.

Surah The Woman 4:136 “O you who believe! believe in Allah and His Apostle and the Book which He has revealed to His Apostle and the Book which He revealed before; and whoever disbelieves in Allah and His angels and His apostles and the last day, he indeed strays off into a remote error.” Again note the “Book which He revealed before” lifting up the Bible along with the Koran.

Surah Cattle 6:115-116 "And if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah's way; they follow but conjecture and they only lie. Surely your Lord-- He best knows who goes astray from His way, and He best knows those who follow the right course." Allah’s words can not be changed

Surah The Table Spread 5:65-66 "And if the followers of the Book had believed and guarded (against evil) We would certainly have covered their evil deeds and We would certainly have made them enter gardens of bliss And if they had kept up the Taurat and the Injeel and that which was revealed to them from their Lord, they would certainly have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet there is a party of them keeping to the moderate course, and (as for) most of them, evil is that which they do" Those who follow the Torah and Gospel will be blessed

Surah The Woman 4:171 “but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him” Jesus was sent from Allah in heaven in the form of a baby in Mary.

Surah Ta Ha 20:121 "Then they both ate of it, so their evil inclinations became manifest to them, and they both began to cover themselves with leaves of the garden, and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so his life became evil (to him)." Allah is Holy, and we have sinned against Him to cause evil

Surah The Sandhills 46:9 “Say: I am not the first of the apostles, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you: I do not follow anything but that which is revealed to me, and I am nothing but a plain warner.” Muhammad confesses he does not know where he nor his followers will go after death.

IMPORTANT NOTE: as said before, most Muslims have a high respect for the Koran, therefore while using these bridges we must use a gentle spirit. I would not confront a Muslim about these issues without first reading the book. The book will walk you step by step on ways to ask questions and order and bring it all together. My purpose is to expose the reader to some issues, so that you will be interested and dig deeper.

Wounds

2007-03-12T15:51:00.000-05:00

Original Post from JD Greear's website

This subject is amazingly deep. God can not heal those who aren't wounded. Its in the midst of sufferings that God shows us his power and love.

Peter says the ultimate form of this happened on the cross "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24). If God is not afraid of wounding his own son for his glory, than how much more will he need to wound us for us to become dependent on him.
Its amazing to see Christians suffer victoriously. It was at the site of Stephen's execution that Paul saw Christ’s power and love before his own conversion. Tertullian says that “the blood of martyrs is seed for the church.” When Christians suffer victoriously to the point of death God is revealed in supernatural ways that cause those who watch to reflect on their own beliefs and some to question the claims of Christ.

I believe God may wound us for compound reasons. Its through common suffering that bonds and healing can be formed. When in a difficult situation you may believe you are all alone. By suffering in some of the same ways the world suffers, we as Christians can act as a bridge for someone to receive Christ. Someone going through death of a relative, divorced home, abuse, addiction, ect, is closed off to your advice unless you yourself has been there. Not to take Peter out of context, but to a lesser extent, by our wounds, our friends and family can see how we have been healed, and accept that healing for themselves.

The story of Job shows us yet another reason why God may wound or allow others to wound us. The story defies the idea that God only punishes the wicked, in case the testimony of Jesus nor Hebrews 12:7-8 doesn’t speak loudly enough. Job was a man considered righteous by God. God than allows Satan to destroy Job’s life. Satan takes his family, his earnings, his physical health, his friends; everything but his very life. What would be the purpose of wrecking a righteous man’s life. Through Job’s wounds, he proves that God by himself is enough to sustain him. Job never curses God but suffers victoriously.

For the glory of God, previous Judeo-Christian communities were demolished, so that other people would know that He was their God. Examples include the Israelites in captivity and exile being taken over so that the surrounding nations would have a chance to hear from God. Brutal wars in the old testament were fought for God’s glory. All those people died by the sword to destroy the God’s they worshipped and so that other nations would know that the God of the Israelites was the one true God. Jump past Christ’s life. The Barbarians took over the Romans, who were taken over by the Vikings all so that the conquering nation could have a chance to hear the gospel. These wars were fought by humans for earthly land and possessions. God allowed defeat and bloodshed, suffering and woundedness so that eventually more peoples would praise Him.

The crux of the whole issue is God being jealous for the glory He deserves. He will do anything He has to for personal relationship with His creation. He wounds us as individuals so that we may grow in our dependence towards Him, and others can watch with a strange awe. He may wound us as a people, as Americans so that the gospel will be carried to places who haven’t had an opportunity to hear of what He has done. When we go through these sufferings, their is comfort knowing that God’s purposes are holy and just, we know He is using us as His vessels to receive glory.

Worship

2006-12-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

Worship is the heartbeat of God. He rejoices when we take time out of our lives to make a display that we desire his presence. It’s amazing how much worship is wrapped around culture. While God accepts many styles of worship, the worshipper feels more or less connected based on the style. This gets very specific. Most peoples worship through music of some sorts. Reading through “All the World Is Singing” showed how culture forms the basis of worship. Many times when a missionary gives the good news to a people group, the message is packaged in a Western form of logic, vocabulary and individualistic connotation. Same goes for worship music and church style. Many times a new church will look like one from the West: 25 minutes of hymns or guitar/keyboard based music, and a 45 minute sermon. Other cultures prefer drums, gongs, and local instruments in timing and rhythms that sound weird to westerners (for an example go to Heart Sounds International). Other cultures listen to bible stories for hours at a time and get frustrated with westerners who can only preach for an hour. From this book it was amazing to see how much joy the local believers had when they could worship God with their own idiom and style of music. Some described it as “God was speaking to their heart, using their heart language.” The church was then more prepared to evangelize their own community. They would go through out the villages playing their new songs and the villagers would stop what they were doing to come out and listen. This is so much better then us as missionaries trying to use our methods. Reading the book gave me a taste of what heaven would be like. Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"”. I can’t wait to be praising God in the key of G with 4/4 timing, right beside someone else dancing to an African drum, next to someone from a Muslim background reverently bowing before God.

Missiology: Indigenous Church/When to leave?

2006-09-18T08:13:00.000-05:00

This discussion comes from questions raised in a book called "Searching for the indigenous church" by Gene Daniels. Currently I am reading "Career Defining Crisis in Missions" by Paul Keidel which has insights into the same topics, hence look forward to an updated discussion.

So the overall question raised is, can we as outsiders recognize or create a truly indigenous church?
First we need a working definition of an indigenous church. A community of belivers who worship Christ according to thier cultural norms. The structure and methods of the community are created through the host culture seeking God in Scripture.
To help us separate our conception of church with seats and western music and logical/academic sermons I'll use the term Christward movement to describe what may be called an indigenous church.

According to Daniels, we will never be able to explain the indigenous church and it is not something that we as outsiders can search out or find. That was two-part, let me digress and give my thoughts. If we as outsiders come into a culture preaching Christ, we use our Western background as a framework. We need to completely reduce the gospel to it's message and not the Western message we make it. The key message: the God who created us enabled us to have relationship with Him by the means of Christ on the cross. We often make it about progress in Christ, individualism, we are prone to works-righteousness, we use 4/4 timing and modern music. This is not the gospel. So back to Daniels', if we actively seek out the indigenous church/christward movement, we begin by looking for what we know as a church, we may find bits and pieces,but also unfamiliar forms of worship and reasoning. So we feel the need to teach the "right way" In the end we change the movement to fit our interpretations of the host culture instead of allowing the host culture to decide. As a missionary it was Daniels' goal to establish a Church. He began with what he knew and ended up with something his young native leaders did not konw. They looked around and said this was not thier church, but his. Now that is a reality check! Daniels realized that he did not know how to create an indigenous church or what one might even look like! Which brings us back to the question at hand, can we as outsiders ever know or even describe what we desire the world to be full of, a truely indigenous christward movement within every cultural. This book, nor this blog leaves you with no answers, just more questions.

Another question raised: when is it time to go home?
Another reality check for Daniels, is the day his lay leaders told him it was time to leave, that they wanted to run their Chirstward movement. When does a missionary say "yep you're right you don't need me," and when do they assert themselves and say, "I think that you still need me and I'll stick around." One strategy is the Pauline approach of leaving the direct involvement of the new christward movement and starting another evangelistic outreach to another community while overseeing the other movements he started. He often went back and visited and wrote letters to instruct and encourage different communities specifically dealing with their unique situations (hence the epistles). While this is a good model, it is harder to enact. I think Paul was the greatest administrator ever. Agan, since we don't know what we are looking for in order for a Christward movement to be sustainable, our first response is to stick around. Is there a place for the missionary to serve once the fellowship has reached this ambigious state of indigenous? Is the missionary's job done just because they have fulfilled thier "two year stint, and need to return home for forlough?" Can we honestly convince ourselves that we are no longer vital for this movement to continue? is it our place to guide, or the Holy Spirit? That one I can answer, it is the Holy Spirit's job to guide every community of believers. The missionary has the akward job of deciding if the people are prepared or ready to listen with out thier aid. Maybe, if from the very beginning we never put ourselves in leadership, but simply the bearer of a great message, placing the gospel and scriptures in the hands of others we will be able to watch as the Holy Spirit leads a group of believers to do what He created them for, to worship and love thier creator.

Not many answers, but alot more questions.

Blogging about blogging

2006-09-06T23:19:00.000-05:00

So after having a blog for 3 months and actually blogging for a grand total of two times, I have learned that I am bad at blogging. I wanted to express myself and share with the world the wisdom I have gained and alass I see my wisdom as nil.

Lessons from Work, Life

2006-07-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

I have a theory on life...

People are horrible, rude and inconsiderate, I know its because of the fall of man. So I work as a server in a restaurant. I have always worked in a restaurant. People are demanding and selfish. Its amazing to me the expectations people have, if everything is not perfect, kick scream and fight until you have it your way. This is America where the service industry says, "meet all of needs or I don't have to pay for it." Instead we should be seeking what God has for us, which may mean a horrible experience in a restaurant. So my theory ... If anyone wants to become more like Christ, examine who they are and see how selfish they are, in order to repent and be kind to others, there are three easy steps.

1) Work in the service industry.
If people actually knew what serving others was like in a job setting where customers are always right, they would easy learn how to treat other people. Some how there is justice in being mistreated and showing grace. You learn not to mistreat others. I have suggested to my fellow co-workers that it should be a manditory law, something like the mormons have, that everyone must spend one to two years in the service industry. I'll talk to my goodfriend George and see what he can do for me.

2) Get Married.
So I wish someone would have warned me before I got married what it would actually be like. Don't get me wrong, my wife is amazing and I enjoy being with her every second. What I didn't know is that God would use my relationship with my wife as a mirror to show me how rude and selfish I actually am. If I knew I was this selfish I wouldn't marry myself. Its amazing how this whole principle of justice works. When my wife and I respond to one another in grace after being mistreated, we repent and change. When we respond by selfish desires, we escalate our selfishness until the stupidity of what we are doing overwhelms us. I am excited to grow closer and closer to Christ as Melissa and I love one another in grace. This is not to say to that there should be a law to get married. That would be bad. Become a server if you want to see how selfish you are, be warned that when you become married you won't have a choice but to see how selfish you are.

3) Have children.
This one I have less experience in. By less I mean I have spent time with my two year old nephew. By time I mean we have had him come over for a couple hours once and then we see him with his parents. So let me be frank, I am speaking from no experience. That being said, I am anticipating a time when we no longer can focus on our own wants and needs, and try to "get things out of one another" because we will have something that is completely reliant on us. We will get a joy that passes all things and be shown more of the personality of God, however, when I want to go to bed, or eat or go out and play, ect. won't matter anymore. I will follow in line with the schedule of our little Hoffman no questions asked. I can't tell a newborn baby, "I don't want to change your diaper, change it yourself." Nope my responsibility, just another mirror of how bad of a person I am. So I have been warned about this one. I can deal with my self and be prepared to dispise who I am even more, repent and grow closer to God.

Graduation, come and gone

2006-06-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

Its amazing that life never slows down. Here I am thinking I will have free time after school is done. Now I am just keeping my life busy at the same rate with other projects. I am getting stuff done and feeling productive. God is going to have to teach me how to rest. I have been convicted lately by the strong Old Testament calling to take a Sabbath as God rested. It'll be interesting to see how it will take root.
This whole new way of life has been weird. With moving and focusing on support raising life is just switching gears. I am anxious to get into somewhat of a routine. Working doubles, going home to see family and weddings every week are all good things that make life more hectic. More to Come