The Spread of Islam: 5th Reason to Advance in Missions Today

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

The events of September 11, 2001, have radically changed most people’s outlook about Islam and the Muslim countries of the world and have brought both the religion and the people into even more prominence than before. Unfortunately, what it has produced mostly is fear and anger. However, as terrible as the disaster was, it has made Islam no better or worse a religion than it was before.

Islam as a religion is spreading rapidly in the world, perhaps as fast or faster than Christianity. However, our attitude toward Islam cannot be governed by a competitive spirit, or fear that they will become too numerous. We must be motivated by the genuine concern that because of Islam there are millions of people who are being terribly led astray and lost from the truth that is capable of changing their lives and destiny forever.

Islam has been responsible for a great deal of fear and ignorance in this world, so Christians must not make the same mistake. We must approach Islam with understanding and love.So let me ask you: What do you know about Islam? What is the Muslim holy day during the week? What are the five pillars of Islam? What is the Quran? Did you know that Muslims believe Jesus to have been sinless and that he was born of a virgin?

Every Christian should be informed and understand as much as she or he can about Islam, for the sake of the millions of people who are following a teaching that will lead them forever away from the God to whom they claim to submit.

One of the opinions held by many people is that Islam promotes terrorism and hostages. Without either denying that or condoning terrible acts of horrendous violence, we still must approach such an issue with love and understanding.

The whole concept of Sha’aria law, the idea that an entire country is only rightly governed by religious Islamic law, and the long history of Islam’s advance by the sword are all facets of what we must understand as Muslim evangelism, their attempt in the historic way of Islam to preserve the faith they have been given to defend.

Do you also realize that many of the things the Muslim rejects about the West, are rejected by obedient Christians also? The West in its films, music, and magazines has exported so many things that are the worst examples of our society, it is no wonder that Muslims fear the West. Christians have the chance to make a difference.

The advance and spread of Islam is a major reason to advance in missions today, because the only thing that can truly combat fear, anger, and ignorance is Christianity’s love, compassion, and understanding. In other words, we have the greatest answer in the world to the spread of Islam, and the world needs us, since they don’t know what to do.

Glenn Kerr, guest author for the MM Blog, provides 10 reasons why local churches should advance in their effort to start indigenous church planting movements in regions that do not have a gospel witness.

Glenn J. Kerr is chief translation consultant for Bibles International, the Bible Society of Baptist Mid-Missions. He has worked as a consultant for 15 years, being involved with translation projects on five continents and about 28 languages.

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Strategy in Missions, Theology and Missions, World Issues, guest author | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Thoughts on Cultural Adaptation

My friend Dave Hosaflook, over at MissioMishmash, provided some helpful thoughts (as always) about cultural adaptation on the mission field.

Here’s an excerpt:

Some missionaries seem to think that the acid test of a “true” missionary is 100% cultural adaptation: “I’m gonna be a ‘hard-core’ missionary, incarnational just like Jesus, so I’m gonna drink the water that the locals do.”

I say, “OK, whatever floats your boat”–but just remember that it’s hard to have a Jesus-like ministry–being out meeting people in the harvest fields–if you have to stay continually within 10 yards of the toilet.

And I would add that faithfulness, fruitfulness, genuine humility and love are much higher on my list of “acid tests” for missionaries than a legalistic standard of cultural to-dos that you’ve brought in from your cultural anthropology class…

He concludes that

in the end, I wonder if we overvalue cultural adaptation as a missionary virtue.  Any missionary who thinks he’s hot stuff because of his acculturation, or who puts more emphasis on it than holiness, has adopted a skewed missiological philosophy.

Becoming Albanian is not my goal; rather, it is becoming like Christ.  It’s not about the house I live in or the clothes I wear or the food I eat … it’s all about MINDSET–”Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus …“

Posted in Missiology, culture | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

A Missionator* Marriage Proposal

Mark Rogers, over at the Gospel Coalition blog, quotes the following excerpt from Courtney Anderson’s To the Golden Shore in which Judson requests his father-in-law’s permission to be Ann’s suitor:

I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death.

Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair.

(Quoted in Courtney Anderson, To The Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson [Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1987], 83.)

Read the rest of Rogers’ post for a more detailed summary and a much needed challenge to parents and all believers.

*For a brief explanation of the title “Missionator,” see the previous MM post “Networking Tips for Missionators.”

Posted in Pioneer Missions, Voices from the Past | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Three-Fold Motive of the Gospels

We covered the process of exegeting the Gospels in Greek Exegetical Methods class today at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. This  selection from Dr. Bruce Compton’s syllabus offers a helpful reminder of the purpose behind the authorship of the Gospels.

The second and third aspects are usually covered in introductory sermons in a book series. The first aspect, however, is often neglected.

The writers of the Gospels were driven by a threefold motive and goal:

The Gospels arose out of the missionary task of the Christian church. They were proclamations of the good news of redemption in Christ Jesus. The controlling concern of the gospel writers was to awaken and strengthen faith in the living Christ. They desired to set forth the reality concerning their Savior in order that others too might come to know Him. Accounts of His profound teachings and miraculous deeds were necessary to give a true portrayal of His character.

The written Gospels obviously served an apologetic function in the ministry of the church to the non-Christian world. Questions concerning the person and work of Christ Jesus arose in the minds of those who heard the oral proclamation of the gospel. Such questions were answered in these authoritative accounts.

It is obvious that the Gospels also served a catechetical function in the work of the church. While they did not eliminate the need for oral instruction of the converts, the church very early used them as authoritative material. These Gospels served to broaden the knowledge of the converts concerning their Savior and also deepened the personal assurance of the catechumens concerning the certainty of the faith which they had accepted (Hiebert, An Introduction to the New Testament, 1:28-29 [emphasis added]).

- “Greek Exegetical Methods,” pp. 18-19

Posted in Theology and Missions | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Fordlandia

Some would say our church is located in “Fordlandia,” and in some ways that would be correct. However, “Fordlandia” was the name of  Henry Ford’s “Quixotic attempt to re-create small-town America in the heart of the Amazon,” and it is also the title of a book about this attempt by Greg Grandin called Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2009).

The title caught my eye both because Ford Motor Company is in our back yard, and also from a missiological/cultural perspective. I thought it would make for some good evening reading anyhow, so I picked it up.  So far, I have found it very interesting and somewhat troubling.

Over the next few weeks, I may make a few comments on the book. Following is a quote about Ford’s attempt to Americanize the immigrants who came to work in his Detroit factories.

The majority of the Ford Motor Company’s workforce were immigrants, from Poland, Russia, Italy, the disintigrating Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, the Middle East, Japan and Mexico. . . And though ecumenical in his hiring practices, Ford still charged his Sociological Department with Americanizing immigrants, conditioning ongoing employment on their attending English and civic classes. These courses were intentionally mixed by race and country so as to ‘impress upon these men that they are, or should be, Americans, and that former racial, national, and linguistic differences are to be forgotten.’ (38)

And, note this–seemingly unimaginable picture in today’s America:

Commencement from the Ford school had the graduating workers, regaled in their native dress, singing their national songs and dancing their folk dances and climbing up a ladder to enter a large papier-mache ‘melting pot.’ On the stage’s backdrop was painted an immigrant steamship, and as Ford teachers stirred the pot with long ladles the new amalgamated Americans emerged in ‘derby hats, coats, pants, vests, stiff collars, polka-dot ties,’ singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ (38-39).

In the next post, we will talk about Fordlandia in Brazil, part of which is seen in the picture below.

- Pearson Johnson

Posted in Missiology, Voices from the Past, culture | Posted by PLJ | Print This Post |

Conrad Mbewe on the Centrality of Christ’s Cross

Conrad Mbewe, Pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in  Lusaka, Zambia, spoke recently at Inter-City Baptist Church on the centrality of Christ’s cross. Though it is a simple idea we are often guilty of crowding out that which is “of first importance” (1 Cor 15:3).

The full audio is below:

Download the sermon.

It is encouraging to hear a man of God from another continent faithfully expound the Word. Africa needs more messengers like Conrad and more churches like Kabwata Baptist who have illustrated a commitment to building and reproducing a healthy, biblical church.

Conrad Mbewe is widely regarded as the “African Spurgeon”. He faithfully proclaims the Word of God in Zambia from Kabwata Baptist Church where he has pastored for more than 20 years. KBC is presently overseeing the establishment of 10 new Reformed churches in Zambia and Botswana.

Conrad is the editor of Reformation Zambia magazine and writes three columns in two weekly national newspapers. His most recent contribution to a book is found in Dear Timothy-Letters on Pastoral Ministry, published by Founders Press. He is also the principal of the Reformed Baptist Preachers College in Zambia.

Conrad blogs at “A Letter from Kabwata.” Listen to his interview with Mark Dever and 9 Marks ministries to learn more about his ministry in Zambia.

Posted in Strategy in Missions, Theology and Missions | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Evangelism is a Process

In part two of a Sunday evening series on relational evangelism, Pastor Dave Doran explained the foundation of relational evangelism. Speaking from Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well (John 4), his first point was that relational evangelism is a process:

This seamlessly connects with Glenn Kerr’s post on the “no labor” principle of missions - others have labored in the field for years and we have the privilege of harvesting the fruit.

Posted in Missions Texts, Theology and Missions | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

The “No Labor” Principle: 4th Reason to Advance in Missions Today

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

Jesus told the disciples a very important principle after he had talked with the woman at the well in Sychar. He said: “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors” (John 4:38).

The “no labor” principle is very important for the success of missions in our present time. We are sent to take advantage of the intense and many times unrewarded work of past generations of missionaries, and reap the benefit.

When I was younger, I met and knew missionaries who had worked in certain parts of the world for twenty years without a single convert. I have read about the many missionaries of the 1800s who died of tropical diseases shortly after their arrival in their field, or who even as in the case of William Borden, contracted a disease and died in language training before he even reached the country of his desire.

Many others only established a beachhead for the gospel and are now gone. What a tragedy it would be if all their labor was lost. That is the reason Jesus sends us to reap what they worked on and we didn’t. He doesn’t want the labor lost.

Further, what a glorious testimony to their sacrifice if we come in and reap the harvest they prepared but did not see! The greatest tribute we can pay to the work of the past generations is to continue it.

None of this is meant to say the work of missions is now easy, and anyone can do it. Far from it. The term “they eat like a threshing crew” did not come into being for nothing.

Sometimes the threshers and harvesters have to work doubly hard if bad weather threatens the harvest. At the time of the harvest more hands are needed, and they are needed fast. So if this is indeed a time of harvest in missions, you are definitely needed right now.

The point is not that we come in to get all the glory, but rather that if we act now, then “both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” (John 4:36).

It seems clear to me that whether we go out into the fields themselves or whether we prepare a big meal for the tired harvesters when they come in for rest, we have a big role to play, and our time is now.

Glenn Kerr, guest author for the MM Blog, provides 10 reasons why local churches should advance in their effort to start indigenous church planting movements in regions that do not have a gospel witness.

Glenn J. Kerr is chief translation consultant for Bibles International, the Bible Society of Baptist Mid-Missions. He has worked as a consultant for 15 years, being involved with translation projects on five continents and about 28 languages.

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Serving as Senders, Theology and Missions, guest author | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Urban Ministry Internship 2010

According to the 2007 report by the United Nations Urbanization Project, there is an estimated 82.3% of the population living in urban areas in 2010. By 2050 the urban population in the U.S. will have reached 90.4%.

These metropolitan areas are filled with people from different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and social classes. The cities in the U.S. and around the world provide an incredible opportunity and challenge for churches to minister the gospel to many who desperately need it.

There is a great opportunity for those who are interested in Urban and Multi-Ethnic Ministry to gain invaluable ministry experience this summer. Inter-City Baptist Church is once again offering an Urban Ministry Internship program for the summer of 2010.

The Urban Ministry Internship is intended to provide university and seminary students who are interested in urban and multi-ethnic ministry an opportunity to interact with a variety of ministries in the Detroit urban area during the summer.

The interns gain experience in urban campus ministry, upper socioeconomic outreach, lower socioeconomic outreach, multi-ethnic ministry, and urban church ministry. The program also includes required reading, interviews, and reports in relation to urban ministry.

If you are interested in ministering the gospel in Detroit and learning more about urban and multi-ethnic ministry this summer, please contact Ben Edwards for more information: bedwards@intercity.org.

Posted in Announcement, Urban Ministry | Posted by bedwards | Print This Post |

Proper Contextualization

Mike McKinley, pastor of Guilford Baptist Church in Sterlin, VA, was recently interviewed about his role in “revitalizing” the church. Mike and his family were joined by seven other members from Capitol Hill Baptist Church to minister to the Guildford church body. Shortly after his arrival, the Guilford church family voted him into the position of pastor.

In the interview, Mike provides a clear and instructive answer to a question regarding the role of the homogenous principle and contextualization in church ministry:

I’m made uncomfortable, however, by attempts to contextualize that in fact become efforts to cater to a small sub-group of the population.  Some types of contextualization are so specific to a sub-culture that they in fact alienate a lot of other groups of people.   I don’t think that’s how the church is meant to be. . . .

If we make choices to “reach” 20-somethings by contextualizing our music, clothing and slang to make them more comfortable, but those choices make our church culturally inaccessible to people born in different cultures or people in their 40s and 70s then I think we’ve misstepped badly.

And as I understand what Paul is saying in I Corinthians 9, we’re supposed to give up our personal preferences and “rights” in order to remove unnecessary barriers to the Gospel.  Our contextualization shouldn’t raise more barriers than it removes.

Read the entire interview.

Mike’s book Church Planting Is for Wimps is set for publication on April 30, 2010.

Posted in culture | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

The English Language: 3rd Reason to Advance in Missions Today

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

Americans who speak English have a kind of love-hate relationship with languages; they love their language and hate other languages! However, because of the past influence of the British Empire and the success of the United States as the major world superpower, English is the closest thing to a world language that there has been.

To know English from birth has tremendous advantages. In comparison to other languages, English is difficult to learn. Further, since everyone else wants to learn English, the native speaker who is willing to learn how to teach others English is in great demand.

What I have just said by no means justifies the idea that everyone else should learn our language and that there is no need for a missionary to learn another language. Such an attitude, that missionaries can expect everyone else to learn their language and they can go anywhere with English, is nothing short of arrogant.

It is also a great hindrance to the gospel, and is contrary to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22: “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” But that still does not negate the fact that the native speaker’s knowledge of English is a great door-opener and facilitator in travel and connections.

I know seven other languages besides English, but my knowledge of English as a native speaker is still very useful to me the world over.

Let me say a few more words about language learning. Sometimes mission agencies do not stress the tremendous importance of being prepared to learn another language in their deep desire to get candidates to the field.

However, sending a missionary out without the preparation and determination to learn another language is like sending a soldier into battle without a weapon. I have both great sympathy and no sympathy at the same time for the would-be missionary who finds it difficult to learn another language-great sympathy if he is still trying, but no sympathy if he gives up and goes without it.

Human beings have an inherent ability to learn language, I can honestly say a God-given ability. Some may do it better than others, but all the linguistic study on language learning I have done says that anyone who has learned one language can learn another. In other words, if you can read these words, you can learn another language.

Two things are important. First, the major obstacle for adults in learning another language is attitude, particularly their attitude toward their native language. Second, it is important to use the best method of language learning available, and use it every day. I could say more, but you will need to take my linguistics class for that. [Here are a few language learning options via the MM Director.] In conclusion, the native English speaker who can learn another language is a dynamite commodity as a missionary.

Glenn Kerr, guest author for the MM Blog, provides 10 reasons why local churches should advance in their effort to start indigenous church planting movements in regions that do not have a gospel witness.

Glenn J. Kerr is chief translation consultant for Bibles International, the Bible Society of Baptist Mid-Missions. He has worked as a consultant for 15 years, being involved with translation projects on five continents and about 28 languages.

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Missions Resources, guest author | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Religions and the Bible: Study Notes

Last fall, I did a series on Religions and the Bible for our campus ministry at Wayne State University in Midtown Detroit. The series looked at the basic beliefs of other faiths and compared them with the Scriptures.

I posted my notes on our campus ministry blog, and thought they may be a help to others who would like a basic overview of another religion in trying to witness to someone. Here are the religions we covered with links to the notes:

(NOTE: Some are broken down into two blog posts.)

1. Jehovah’s Witnesses: History and Basic Beliefs;  Biblical Problems
2. Mormonism: History and Basic Beliefs;  Biblical Problems
3. Christian Science
4. Unitarian Universalism: History and Basic Beliefs;  Biblical Problems
5. Scientology
6. Eastern Religions: Taoism and Confucianism
7. Buddhism: History and Basic Beliefs;  Biblical Problems
8. Hinduism
9. The Baha’i Faith: History and Basic Beliefs;  Biblical Problems
10. New Age Movement
11. Judaism: History and Basic Beliefs;  Biblical Problems
12. Islam
13. Catholicism: Part 1;  Part 2

- Ben Edwards

Posted in Missiology, Missions Resources | Posted by bedwards | Print This Post |

Three Great Challenges to the Church

From Gerald Priest’s Church History II Syllabus, p. 35:

Three great challenges, all quite different in nature, confronted the church during the period of Latin-Teutonic Christianity between 500 and 800: (1) the heresy of Arianism; (2) the evangeli­zation of the barbarian tribes in Europe; and (3) the threat of Islam.

All three continue to be a challenge. Evangelical Protestant Christianity is still confronted with the heresy of Arianism in the cults and liberalism; and is now endeavoring to reach a “Christianized” but agnostic people of Europe with the true gospel. Today the threat of Islam is greater than ever before. Its goal is still defeat of the “Christian West” and world domination.

Most themes throughout history, especially church history, do not go away. They just migrate into different shells. It is with tremendous confidence that we can stand upon the bedrock of the Word of God and oppose these changing-yet-ever-the-same challenges.

Posted in Theology and Missions, culture | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Ipad for Travel

Interesting article on the National Geographic’s Travel website about the use of Apple’s new iPad for travel. While it’s not exactly cheap, it should come down in price and could be a great tool for those who travel extensively overseas: missionaries, mission board workers, pastors, etc. For now, I’d say that Amazon’s Kindle is a better bang for your buck.

For more reading on this subject, check out the reasons why the iPad will revolutionize the way we travel and the reasons that it won’t.  More details on the specs of the iPad.

Posted in Missions Resources | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Biblical Theology of Missions

I am ramping up to and looking forward to leading and teaching a course on “Biblical Theology of Missions,” which is an offering of Northland International University’s new online program. The course is a master’s-level course and is part of Northland’s Graduate School.

I have had contact with Northland since my college and seminary days at Bob Jones, working at Northland Camp as a counselor and program coordinator for four summers. My heart for missions was greatly stirred while working at the camp, so I am grateful for the opportunity to teach (and certainly learn alongside of) a number of Northland’s current graduate students.

If you are able to get online, and are ready to work on a Master’s degree, I would encourage you to consider joining in. Head over to Northland’s Graduate School Online and go from there. The course starts March 22 and runs for eight weeks.

- Pearson

Posted in Missiology, Missions Resources, Theology and Missions | Posted by PLJ | Print This Post |

Top Ten Conference Impressions

It’s been just over a month since we returned home from the conference. This has given me some time to reflect on what aspects of the conference were most influential and memorable. Here are my “Top Ten Lasting Impressions,” in descending order–all of them just happen to be alliterated.

10. CLIMATE. The cold winds, icy parking lots, and consistent snowfall  These were especially memorable for so many who journeyed up from the south. Yet, even though I live in the lake-effect snowbelt of Northeast Ohio, the weather conditions at this year’s conference were still impressive. Our drive home was the worst winter driving conditions I’ve ever experienced in my life.

9. CUISINE. We were served seven full meals during the 2 1/2 days of the conference. As well, the Global Cafe (which was a transformed gymnasium) served non-stop complimentary Starbucks coffee. In addition to these, our group took two excursions and explored some famous Detroit cuisine at Sylvia’s Sub Shop and Astoria Pastry Shop. I’d recommend the pizza at Sylvia’s and the turtle brownies from Astoria. In the past month, I’ve been tempted to drive two hours just to enjoy those foods again.

8. COTS. During our three nights in Detroit, we slept on cots that were on loan from Detroit’s American Red Cross Disaster Relief. The cots were surprisingly comfortable, uncomfortably noisy, and (so we were told) good preparation for the potential hardships of pioneer missions.

7. COST. As I think back on the conference, I’m continually amazed at how much I got for how much I spent. I paid $40 for the conference! I guarantee that’s the cheapest conference I’ll attend in the next few years. In addition to full room and board, conference materials, and a line-up of missionary speakers flown in from all over the world, every attendee was given five free books. Thanks to the generosity of Desiring God and 9 Marks ministries I came home with Piper’s Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ,  Dever’s What is a Healthy Church? and The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, J.C. Ryle’s A Call to Prayer, and Doran’s For the Sake of His Name. What generosity from every side!

6. CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCE. Because so many non-Americans were at the conference (both speakers and attendees), there was a refreshing global perspective. Although it doesn’t happen enough, I love when my little bubble gets burst and my horizon gets expanded. I’m too often consumed with a (good and necessary, but) very narrow focus: my family, my church family, my to-do list, my town, my goals, etc. This conference helped me to refocus on the bigness of the world, the bigness of the needs, and the bigness of God’s heart and plan.

5. CONCERT. On Tuesday afternoon Pastor Doran led a congregation-wide “Concert of Prayer.” During the hour we prayed a few rounds of (1) personal prayer, (2) one-on-one prayer, (3) small group prayer, and (4) congregation-led prayer. Each cycle was seamlessly introduced and concluded with a prayerful song. For me this time of prayer was a highlight. Four hundred believers grew in one heart for God’s global purposes. I was spiritually refreshed. I was also given an example for more effectively leading my congregation in corporate prayer.

4. CARE. Although we were supposed to get home late Wednesday night (1/6), we finally made it home around 9pm Thursday, about twenty hours later than expected. That’s because a brake line in our van broke about a half-mile from Inter-City (thankfully, we were still so close). This mishap gave us a firsthand view of the day-in-day-out hospitality in this church family. We were served well at the conference! And we were served well after the conference! Two of the janitors who were cleaning up the gym were especially gracious–getting us bedding from their homes for the night, giving us several rides to-and-from the brake shop, loaning us their van while we were car-less on Thursday morning, etc. We were overwhelmed with their warm, personal care for us.

3. CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. As I’ve already mentioned, the times of corporate singing were particularly meaningful. The singles in our group have consistently kept recalling how impressive and sweet those times of singing were.

2. CONVICTION. I experienced the conviction of the Holy Spirit many times at the conference. Although there are many ways I’ve continued to experience conviction, the one phrase that I’ve not been able to get out of my mind is the wrap-up comment Pastor Doran made on Monday night, “Be more concerned about walking with God than you are about doing something great for God. Your relationship with God is at the center of your effectiveness in the Great Commission.”  As I’m so prone to focus my time and energy on doing God’s work at the expense of growing in my knowledge of God, this admonition has hit me dozens of times over the last five weeks.

1. CONFIDENCE IN THE GOSPEL. I think the most lasting impression I have from the conference is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be inevitably successful because the Lord Jesus is unthwartably sovereign. Every speaker was evidenced and urged evangelistic zeal in light of this confidence. J.D. Crowley’s message on Acts 1:8 exemplified this infectious confidence in the certain success of Jesus’ powerful Gospel.

For these reasons and more, everyone from our group is still talking about how this was one of the most valuable and enjoyable conferences we’ve ever been to.

Joe Tyrpak is a 30-year-old pastor serving at Tri-County Bible Church in Madison, Ohio since July 2005. Joe is a careful student and fervent preacher of the Scriptures. Many of his sermons are available at TCBC’s SermonAudio.com page.

Joe has written several excellent song texts from the Psalms at Church Works Media. On the side, Joe is a connoisseur of hot teas and ginger ales, finds rich artistic inspiration in classic Disney animation, and is a committed Philadelphia Eagles fan.

He and his wife, Hannah, were married in 2005, and have two daughters, Karis and Tori.

Posted in SGI National Conference | Posted by joetyrpak | Print This Post |

The “Political Correctness” of Missions: 2nd Reason to Advance in Missions Today

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

I have never been big on political correctness. It seems to be mostly just another form of social pressure. However, when it comes to missions, political correctness has taken on a new meaning for me. I’ll tell you why.

Political correctness involves affirmative action programs, non-discrimination, and other approaches to life to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance, no matter what his or her ethnic background or social position might be.

This in itself is not a bad thing. Affirmative action programs were developed to counter the tendency of merit programs to select people mostly from the same background or social standing because of their greater numbers.

Therefore, rather than being considered for a scholarship or a position in a medical school on the basis of merit alone, a quota system is designed to make sure that there are a variety of groups of various ethnic makeup and background that are accepted into a school or a program.

The negative aspect of this is twofold: 1) sometimes someone gets in who can’t make the grade, but they are accepted because of their ethnic background; 2) sometimes someone who is really qualified doesn’t get in because the quota for her or his ethnic background is already filled.

So which is better, quota or merit? And what about discrimination? First, let me suggest that biblical missions is totally non-discriminatory, as when Peter said in Acts 10:34-35: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”

Furthermore, biblical missions does not choose between quota and merit, but rather uses both. Consider Rev. 7:9-10: “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

That looks like a quota system to me; it takes some from each possible group of humanity. But missions is also a merit system: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

The merit is the merit of another, Jesus Christ; it is called grace. Furthermore, this system is not limited by the confines of human resources, and there is no number limit: “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22).

So when it comes to missions, I guess I really do believe in political correctness. In fact, missions is the most politically correct thing there is to do!

Glenn Kerr, guest author for the MM Blog, provides 10 reasons why local churches should advance in their effort to start indigenous church planting movements in regions that do not have a gospel witness.

Glenn J. Kerr is chief translation consultant for Bibles International, the Bible Society of Baptist Mid-Missions. He has worked as a consultant for 15 years, being involved with translation projects on five continents and about 28 languages.

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Theology and Missions, culture, guest author | Posted by glennkerr | Print This Post |

The Barbarians are Enemies of the State!

At the beginning of volume four of Philip Schaff’s classic, History of the Christian Church, he describes the transition period between the Roman empire and the Medieval age. One of the key pieces of this transition was the Barbarian’s plunder of Christian Europe.

Europe was peopled by a warlike emigration of heathen barbarians from Asia as America is peopled by a peaceful emigration from civilized and Christian Europe.¹

Many European Christians wrung their hands in fear. “Who will carry on the Christian tradition? Who will preserve the teaching and morals of the Christian society?” was their concern.

In this state of bewilderment and uncertainty, a few men rose up to point people beyond the dismal present to future prospects. Schaff highlights two of them, Augustine and his pupil Orosius:

St Augustin [...] intimates in his great work on the City of God, the possibility of the rise of a new and better civilization from the ruins of the old Roman empire; and his pupil, Orosius, clearly expresses this hopeful view.

“Men assert,” he says, “that the barbarians are enemies of the State. I reply that all the East thought the same of the great Alexander; the Romans also seemed no better than the enemies of all society to the nations afar off, whose repose they troubled. But the Greeks, you say, established empires; the Germans overthrow them.

“Well, the Macedonians began by subduing the nations which afterwards they civilized. The Germans are now upsetting all this world; but if, which Heaven avert, they finish by continuing to be its masters, peradventure some day posterity will salute with the title of great princes those in whom we at this day can see nothing but enemies.”² (italics added for emphasis)

God did use the Germans in a profound way, particularly one young monk in the 16th century. The heathen Angles, Saxons, and Normans were used by God to establish a society in which the Scriptures would thrive and extend to the utter reaches of the earth. Extended from these societies is our own country, which enjoys the privilege of access to the Scriptures largely due to the labor of Germanic and English men.

Who are our “enemies of the state?” I don’t have in mind actual, convicted criminals and terrorists (though the same principle would hold true). Rather, my thoughts are on normal, everyday people who migrate to this country. What about the influx from our neighbors to the south? What is your reaction to their status as the largest minority group in the land?

How do you view your foreign-born gas station attendant? Or fast food cashier? Or other service employees? Are they America’s twenty-first century “enemies of the State” in your mind?

Based on comments I have overheard and sensational email forwards I have received recently, it is evident that many of us - yes even Bible-believing, conservative Christians - harbor racism in our hearts.³ I confess my frequent lack of love toward these types of people who don’t seem to have anything to offer back to me.

We would do well to remember what James said to the scattered churches (who were immigrants in various regions, by the way):

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality [cf. vv.1-7], you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

-James 2:8-10

We cannot allow our political ideology (conservative and constitutional as it may be) to infringe upon our ultimate trust that God is at work in our communities, our country, and around the world and that He will accomplish His purposes for His glory.

Operation Desert Storm occurred when I was just five years old (August 1990-February 1991). I recall a prayer request being offered for the US troops at a prayer meeting during the time of the conflict. As the pastor prayed for the circumstances, he attached the phrase “and we pray for the ground forces who will be heading into Kuwait in approximately six hours according to CNN.”

What struck me odd (more through my dad’s retelling of the incident than my feeble memory of it) is the irony of informing an omniscient God of the battle plans that CNN reported. This prayer, offered with innocent intention I am sure, is illustrative of the perspective many believer’s have regarding God’s sovereign control of all things political, personal or otherwise.

In a little over a week I plan to attend a conservative political convention in Washington DC with my two younger brothers. Though my main role will be chauffeur and supervisor for them, I do hope to learn more about the political process and how I can be involved in the shaping of our country. I am not advocating a “que sera sera” perspective on political and social issues. Just that we keep our priorities and affections in order.

So watch CNN (or, better yet, a slightly more conservative network!), be informed about and involved in our government, and positively influence society as the Lord gives opportunity. But don’t fail to see the “smiling face” of God behind a “frowning providence” of immigrants, down-and-outers, and “problem people.” God is at work in this world for reasons behind our comprehension. Our task is to joyfully worship Him, while we edify the church and make disciples of the lost.

- Tim Aynes

²Ibid., pp. 6-7. View the text in Google Books.

³Comments like “they’re taking over our jobs” or “why do we have to write everything in so many languages?” or “America will never be the same with them here.”

Posted in Strategy in Missions, culture | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Choosing to Live in the City for the Cause of Christ

I recently came across a message by John Piper that he delivered in 1995. His message was related to a new urban-suburban partnership they were seeking to promote in their church (located in the city of Minneapolis). As part of his challenge to his church, he clarified why he would be issuing calls for people to move from the suburbs into the city for the sake of the gospel:

“The choice to live in the suburbs is the easier choice. It’s the one that most people take, if they can afford it-black or white or Asian. If you can afford it, you leave. That’s the natural thing to do. I don’t know of any church that has developed a program to help their urban people be willing to move to the suburbs.

Such programs are not necessary. Almost all the natural gravity pulls in that direction. There never has been a white flight-or any other colored flight-from the suburbs to the center of the city. Downward mobility is un-American.

Therefore, I take as part of my calling in this church to so preach and to so live as to persuade some Christians to move to the city to spread a passion of the supremacy of God in all things. Not because I think it is wrong to live in the suburbs, but because it is most definitely right-and gloriously right-to live for Christ and his kingdom in the city, and almost nothing in our materialistic, security-driven, fun-seeking culture is going to motivate you to consider it.

In short the church doesn’t need as much help to spread itself as salt through the suburbs as it does to spread itself as salt through the decaying inner city.”

I was reminded of the recent report our church heard about our church plant in Hamtramck (after which Pastor Pearson illustrated the uniting power of the gospel as a reverse prism). As part of that church planting effort, several families from our church moved to the city of Hamtramck to minister in that community.

I was encouraged by the mindset these families displayed by choosing a more difficult place to live in order to minister more effectively. (Of course, not everyone needs to move from the suburbs into the city, but conservative churches are nowhere close to abandoning the suburbs.)

I pray for more people who will fight against the self-serving mindset of our culture and choose their residence in light of eternity rather than comfort or convenience.

- Ben Edwards

Posted in Urban Ministry | Posted by bedwards | Print This Post |

Miracles & Providence

Phil Johnson posts some insightful thoughts regarding the distinction between miracles of God and the providence of God over at his always “hot” Pyromaniacs blog.

As our churches send out ministers of the gospel they will inevitably confront men and women who claim a special “access to miraculous powers,” whether it takes the form of Catholicism, Buddhism, or a regional animistic religion. Closer to home, we are confronted with similar promises of “get well soon” miracles, health/wealth miracles, relationship healing miracles, etc.

Phil’s conclusion serves as a great reminder to think and act biblically in such matters:

The faith that sees the hand of God in the natural outworking of divine providence (and understands that God is sovereign over every detail of everything that happens) is not a lesser faith than the kind of belief that can only see God at work when He intervenes in spectacular, supernatural, and miraculous ways.

HT: Mark Snoeberger (Of particular interest are his comments regarding the affect of attributed “miracles” on cessationist missionaries. This post is well worth your time.)

Posted in Theology and Missions, culture | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Technology and the Future of Evangelism in Africa

Kato Mivule, blogger at Yesu Mulungi, posted a fascinating article on the rapid rise of technology in Africa and its effect on gospel ministry. The article specifically highlights the pay-as-you-go mobile phone phenomenon: Africa currently has 300 million mobile phone subscribers; it is expected to jump to 790 million in four years.

Coupled with the surge in mobile phone usage is the recent placement of fiber optic internet cables around the perimeter of the continent, enabling high-speed internet connections to inland cities.

The final factor that Mivule highlights is the growing African middle class. Though not wealthy according to Western standards, more and more middle-class workers are able to buy DVDs, laptops, and other gadgets.

He then asks the $10,000 question: “Is it a good thing then that we are having such developments in Africa?”

His answer involves several factors: accountability to prosperity gospel preachers; the need for African churches to utilize new technologies for the spread of the gospel; and the need Western missionaries and African pastors to seriously consider how these technological advances change the minds of their current and future audience.

Read the entire post.

HT: Brigada

Other resources on use of mobile phone for evangelism:

• Mobile Phone: The Potential for Evangelism (detailed post by Internet Evangelism Day on aspects of using mobile devices to share the gospel)
• Hello Africa (fascinating documentary [by a non-Christian organization] on the use of mobile phones in Zanzibar)
• Mobile Missions International (documentary on using mobile devices to share the gospel)

Posted in Missions Resources, Strategy in Missions, World Issues, culture | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Travel and Access Possibilities: 1st Reason to Advance in Missions

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

There has never been a time like the present for easy and rapid access to the world. Those of us who have known missionaries of the last generation and who have read stories of past missionaries’ experiences in travel are aware of what tremendous difficulties those missionaries faced to get to their destinations, and how many of them never even thought of a furlough.

William Carey left England to go to India, never to return to his homeland. Even when I was in college I knew of missionaries who were contemplating an ocean voyage of many weeks to get to their missionary destination.

In contrast, my own experience as a missionary, which started later in my life, has been remarkably different. I have been with Bibles International for fifteen years, serving as a translation consultant for translation projects throughout the world.

Before I began, I had visited two other countries in my life, Canada and the Bahamas. I did not even own a passport. In the last fifteen years the number of countries I have visited has gone from 2 to 34, and I have filled up two passports with extra pages and many visas and stamps.

Of those 34, I have been in 13 for the purpose of Bible translation, and the rest have mostly been visited in the course of getting to the Bible translation projects with which I have worked, in 29 different languages. The longest trip I take to get to any of our translation projects is three days, including travel by car or truck from the landing strip to my final destination.

When I started 15 years ago, e-mail was just beginning to be available; now it is nearly universal. Even the field we have had the most difficulty maintaining communication with, Chad in Africa, now has e-mail access. I have called my wife by cell phone and by satellite phone from many remote parts of the world.

We have e-mailed Bible translations and other materials related to that work from numerous places in the world, and I have even conducted a translation checking session by means of a satellite telephone with a missionary on the other side of the world. What a day we live in!

Though the amount of travel I do is not typical of many missionaries, the access possibilities are available to all who will use them for God’s glory and the salvation of souls. I am reminded of the words of the song “Macedonia” [also published under the title "The Vision of a Dying World] by Anne Ortlund:

Today, as understanding’s bounds
Are stretched on every hand,
O clothe Your Word in bright, new sounds,
And speed it o’er the land.
Lord Jesus Christ, empower us
To preach by every means!
Lord Jesus Christ, embolden us
In near and distant scenes.”

Glenn Kerr, guest author for the MM Blog, provides 10 reasons why local churches should advance in their effort to start indigenous church planting movements in regions that do not have a gospel witness.

Glenn J. Kerr is chief translation consultant for Bibles International, the Bible Society of Baptist Mid-Missions. He has worked as a consultant for 15 years, being involved with translation projects on five continents and about 28 languages.

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Serving as Senders, Strategy in Missions, guest author | Posted by glennkerr | Print This Post |

10 Reasons to Advance in Missions Today

Glenn Kerr, guest author for the MM Blog, provides 10 reasons why local churches should advance in their effort to start indigenous church planting movements in regions that do not have a gospel witness.

The reasons range from ease of travel to the benefits of being English speakers, from the spread of Islam to the rewards of heaven.

Stay tuned to the MM Blog as we post Glenn’s “10 Reasons” over the next 10 weeks.

Posted in Announcement, Serving as Senders, Strategy in Missions, guest author | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Is it Safe To Be a Missionary?

Dave Hosaflook tackles this question with some challenging, yet helpful, thoughts over at his MissioMishmash blog.

His more recent post “Does Election Preclude Tears for the Lost?” addresses an equally tough reality: trusting in God’s sovereignty, yet grieving for the peril of the unregenerate.

Posted in Pioneer Missions | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Prepare for Urban Ministry—Be a Country Parson

I came across an interesting blog post while preparing for my urban ministry workshop at the recent SGI National Conference. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC and a leading proponent of city ministry, shared his advice for young men wanting to gain ministry experience-be a country parson. Here’s an excerpt:

“Many young leaders perceive that the ideal first ministry position would be a position on the staff of a large church with an older, mature pastor to mentor them.  The limits of this model are several.

You can’t teach a younger pastor much about things they aren’t actually doing.

And in a large church they aren’t a) bearing the burden of being the main leader, b) leading a board of elders, c) fund-raising and bearing the final responsibility of having enough money to do ministry, d) and doing the gamut of counseling, shepherding, teaching, preaching.

In a smaller church as a solo pastor you and only you visit the elderly, do all the weddings and funerals, sit by the bedside of every dying parishioner, do all the marriage counseling, suspend and excommunicate, work with musicians, craft and lead worship, speak at every men’s retreat, women’s retreat, and youth retreat, write all the Bible studies and often Sunday School curriculum, train all the small group leaders, speak at the nursing home, work with your diaconate as they try to help families out of poverty, evangelize and welcome new visitors to the church, train volunteers to do some (but not all) of all of the above tasks, and deal with the once-a-month relational or financial crisis in the church.

No amount of mentoring can teach you what you learn from doing all those things.”

Though there may be weaknesses to this approach (e.g., learning on the job as a senior pastor means your congregation suffers the full force of all the mistakes of your learning process), I think it’s at least worth noting that a leading urban ministry advocate recognizes value in country ministry.

As I have mentioned before, the legitimate passion and desire for urban ministry should not be pitted against rural ministry. Rather than seeing them as either/or, we must view them as both/and.

- Ben Edwards

Posted in Urban Ministry | Posted by bedwards | Print This Post |

Life Article on Five Martyred Missionaries

Google Books allows you to search old editions of Life Magazine. Click here to view the original January 30, 1956 Life article on the death of the five missionaries at the hands of the Waudoni and to read the responses of their widows.

*If you have not watched the documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor you should. It is an excellent portrayal of God-given grace to forgive and love even our enemies.

Posted in Missions Resources, Pioneer Missions, World Issues | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

A Ten-Millimeter Bolt in the Road

The road up the mountain was the worst I’d ever seen, but then I’d never been on such an adventure before.  This trip to India and the foothills of the Himalayas was my first experience overseas.  A year before, I had begun helping Bibles International as a volunteer, preparing translation helps for the Old Testament.

Now I was on a short-term mission trip, experiencing firsthand a dramatically different culture and dramatically different work from my usual occupation of repairing musical instruments.  My unique preparation in Greek and Hebrew years before had given me this remarkable assignment.

I came to India to attend a workshop to help native translators correct and complete their translations of the Bible.  Several times our bus had crawled past other buses and trucks on narrow curves and in crowded villages.

But reaching our destination and accomplishing our goals had more than made up for the difficultly in getting there.  My three-and-a-half-week session in the foothills of the Himalayas proved life-changing; I told the Lord while there that I would commit my life to Bible translation.

After much work, many unforgettable experiences, and many sad goodbyes to newfound brothers and sisters in Christ, we left the northern India mountains for the first step in our long journey home.  The first leg was the most dangerous.

Though the roads were paved, the rugged mountains were not particularly tamed.  On many curves I could not see the road beside the bus, only the steep drop-off.  The bus driver was careful, but we had to maneuver around road repair crews and other buses and trucks coming up the other way.

Then when we had reached the village of Haldwani at the foot of the mountains, it happened.  I heard a loud bang and felt the bus shudder toward the edge of the road.  We’d blown a tire.

There were wide shoulders in this village and we got off the road relatively easily.  We found ourselves stopped within a hundred feet of a tire shop!  There the large rear dual wheel was pulled off and repaired.

I got out of the bus to see what had caused the flat.  Protruding into the tire and still lodged securely in its tread was a ten-millimeter bolt, about five inches long.  The bolt had entered head first even though the hex head of the bolt was about an inch across!

I realized that the bolt was an example of God’s providence and protection.  He does not keep the “bolts” of life from sticking into our tires.  If he did, people would become Christians just to get the “accident insurance.”

But God works all things together for the good of his children.  Our tire hit the bolt — not on the treacherous mountain curves — but on the plains, in the town, just up the road from the tire shop.  It doesn’t always work out that smoothly, but God’s care is always evident.  We can trust him with our lives.

I have reflected often about friends and acquaintances, pastors, missionaries, church leaders, and other dedicated saints who have gone through the fire in the course of God’s service.

Sometimes what they and I have encountered was definitely much more than a bolt in the road - such as the day we laid my younger sister, a missionary in France, into the loving arms of her Savior.

Sometimes we think God should pick up all the bolts that lie in our way, but God’s plan is to put us on the road — with the bolts.  The fact that there are bolts in the road makes it no less the road of God’s purpose.

And even if the bolt should prove the end of the road, God’s purpose for the saint will be fulfilled.  Peter said that the testing of our faith is much more precious than gold, and that it is the testing that shows the genuineness of our faith, and the genuineness of God’s faithfulness.

The start of my journey to be a full-time Bible translator was not without a “bolt in the road,” and yet I knew God would lead me every step of the way and accomplish His purpose.

Glenn J. Kerr is chief translation consultant for Bibles International, the Bible Society of Baptist Mid-Missions. He has worked as a consultant for 15 years, being involved with translation projects on five continents and about 28 languages.

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Guest Contributor, Pioneer Missions | Posted by glennkerr | Print This Post |

Linguist Glenn Kerr: MM Guest Contributor

In an effort to provide greater diversity to the Missions Mandate Blog, translation consultant Glenn Kerr will provide missions articles as a guest contributor.

Glenn is uniquely gifted as a linguist, professor, student of the Word, and husband to his lovely wife Becky. As his summary below reveals, Glenn has traveled extensively in an effort to aid in the accurate translation of God’s Word into the “mother tongue” of various people groups.

Glenn’s articles are drawn from his years of experience as a language consultant and teacher. He draws from unique experiences in northern India, the central African country of Chad, and 32 other countries to which he has traveled on translation assignments.

In the midst of all of his translation work from his Grand Rapids, MI office and abroad, he invests in the lives of rising linguists and gospel ministers on college campuses. It was on one of these college campuses where I first met Glenn. Linguistics 101: the hardest, yet most rewarding block class of my undergrad studies. (Sorry Dr. Smallman [another  missiologist]. Your Cross-Cultural Communication class was a close second!)

What I respect most about Glenn is not his firm grasp of the biblical languages, or his passion to stir young people to give themselves to Bible translation, or the fact that he can spend his morning devotion time in his Greek/Hebrew Bible (and actually commune with God through it!). These are all true.

But what I most appreciate about Glenn is his humble, tender heart before God. Often in class he was moved to tears retelling the story of a national brother reading from God’s Word for the first time in his own language. Glenn’s eyes lit up when he talked about all of the resources that the English-speaking church has at her disposal and the great stewardship that God has given us.

I trust that Glenn’s articles will open your eyes to the world of Bible translation and its place in the fulfillment of the Great Commission through church planting movements. And I pray that you will consider what role God would have you and your church play in the crucial task of giving the Word to the heart language of the peoples of the earth.

-Tim Aynes
Director, MM

He has a master’s degree in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done graduate studies in linguistics at Michigan State University, and is currently in doctoral studies through the University of South Africa.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Bible translation and related linguistic subjects on an adjunct basis at three Bible colleges and universities in the US as well as his consulting work overseas.

Posted in Announcement, Pioneer Missions, Serving as Senders, Strategy in Missions | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Book Famine in Iran

According to Elam Ministries:

It is illegal for the church in Iran to print or sell Persian Christian books. One would-be publisher was told by a government officer that anyone producing Christian literature deserves to be executed. Some try to photocopy material, others use the internet, but most books have to be smuggled into the country.

The demand for Scriptures far exceeds the supply. An added problem is the shortage of literature in the Persian language. The Arab world has 10,000 titles to choose from, but Iran has less than 400. Children have under 20 Christian books.

Elam is doing their part by translating over 80 books into Persian (also known as Farsi). But there is still much work to be done. Do you know someone who is competent in Persian and could serve as a book translator? This is an excellent ministry opportunity for them to use their gift for the glory of Jesus and the edification of the Iranian church.

Posted in Announcement, Missions Resources, World Issues | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |

Death Toll of Christians in Jos, Nigeria Clash Hits 48

CDN:

LAGOS, Nigeria, January 27 - Two pastors and 46 other Christians have been confirmed killed in the outbreak of violence 10 days ago in Jos, Plateau state in Nigeria, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

In the Muslim/Christian clash, triggered when Muslim youths on Jan. 17 attacked a Catholic church, 10 church buildings were burned and 27 Christians are still missing, CAN officials said at a press conference in Jos today. Police estimate over 300 lives were lost in the clash.

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) accused the state General Officer Commanding, Major-Gen. Salleh Maina, and some soldiers of taking sides in the clash.

“Soldiers were seen in some parts of Jos watching Muslim youths shooting Christians and burning places without any efforts to stop them,” according to a PFN press statement.

Read the entire article.

Posted in Persecuted Church, World Issues | Posted by taynes | Print This Post |