Missions Blog for Churches

I met Dr. Tennent while attending a world missions conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (when he taught there). This was the first time I was exposed to much of the academic assessment of these missiological trends and much of the history surrounding them. I have used a map he shared with us with many churches, as it visually represents what is happening. We live in an exciting time!

The Translatability of the Christian Gospel
by Timothy Tennent

The following is excerpted from remarks made by Dr. Timothy Tennent, president of Asbury Theological Seminary, at the school’s Fall 2009 Convocation.

In April of 1739 John Wesley was preaching in an upstairs room in London. About halfway into his sermon the supporting post that held up the floor of the room collapsed under the sheer weight of the number of people who had gathered to hear Wesley. Wesley remarked in his journal that the supporting post fell with a great noise. The floor sank, but it didn’t cave in and, to Wesley’s own amazement, everyone settled back down and he was able to finish preaching.

What do we do when it seems like the very floor under our feet is giving way? Many of the traditional props and supports which have long given stability to the world of theological education have fallen away with a great crash—what are we to do? How do we live in a time of disequilibrium, uncertainty, and change? Never in history has the Church undergone such dramatic growth and change so quickly. When William Carey went to India in 1793, 99 percent of all Christians in the world were white and lived in the Western world. Today, the vast majority of Christians live outside the Western world. We are witnessing multiple centers of Christian vibrancy, even as we see the Western world re-emerging as the world’s fastest growing mission field and the home of the most gospel-resistant people groups in the world. In contrast, all of the most gospel-receptive people groups in the world are found in either India or China. We live in an upside down world.

The support post upon which was written: “you are the center of the ecclesiastical universe,” has collapsed and we have to regain our footing in this new world we inhabit and think afresh about what this means for theological education in North America. None of these developments were predicted 50 years ago. Today, as I survey the landscape of ecclesiology and theological education in the Western world it is clear that we are living in a time of unprecedented crisis. This is not to be overly negative or alarmist, for I am reminded of the great Dutch missiologist, Hendrick Kraemer (1888-1965), who famously commented that “the church is always in a state of crisis; its greatest shortcoming is that it is only occasionally aware of it.”

The floor is creaking beneath our feet. What does this mean for Western Christians in the 21st century?
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The following is a book review on Why We Love the Church: In praise of institutions and organized religion, by Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck. I wrote this for an edition of MTW’s InVision periodical, and it had to be edited in half for it (because I wrote 1000 words before I asked and found out that they wanted only 500 words). Thanks to a gracious editor! It is certainly more readable and probably a little less edgy. I thought I would post the entire, original review here for any who may want to read it. I can save you the time and just tell you to get this book and read it yourself. It is very easy to read and is probably the quickest I’ve ever read any book. You’ll laugh more than once. I promise. I honestly hope every RUF campus minister gets a stack of these books and hands them out like candy (and if you are one and are interested, contact me so I can help you with the hook up at Moody). I hope every young adult SS teacher either reads the book so he can understand where his people are. And everyone else, because if we’re all honest, we have all at one point or another been fed up with the church.

Why We Love the Church
In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion
By Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck

There was really one thing that compelled me to read this book. On the front cover is a quote by J.I. Packer that states, “Bible-centered, God-centered. As I read, I wanted to stand up and cheer.” That excited me, kind of like getting to see E.T. when I was an eight-year-old-kid. Anything that makes J.I. Packer want to stand up and cheer excites me.

The book isn’t my normal staple of reading, although I’d probably read more if it were. The style is witty and the content meaty. It may not be as appreciated by those preceding Generation X, but almost certainly will by those in it and younger.

Its subject is the church (visible). I don’t think any Christian would say they don’t like the Church (invisible). And after writing Why We’re Not Emergent, this subject is an appropriate follow-up. There is a growing trend in American Christianity to abandon the local church in its current form and discover new ways to “be the church,” like, “three guys drinking pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks talking about the spirituality of the Violent Femmes and why Sex and the City is really profound.”

But I must admit that what I was thinking about as I started reading were all the reasons I was frustrated with the church. My wife and I went through a period where we were ready to give up on the church. Seriously. We didn’t tell people, but the hurt we’d experienced by those in the church was so deep and had affected our lives to the point that we felt like we weren’t even the same people we once were (we honestly thought our lives had been ruined). This was enough to make us discuss what our options were when it came to church. By God’s grace, he didn’t allow us to forget His Word. But I say that to let you know that this book was personal, in a very unexpected way.

The style of the book reminded me of a favorite series of mine, Calvin and Hobbes. It is full of blunt honesty and sarcasm. But it isn’t complete cheekiness. I haven’t underlined/highlighted a book this much since I read a different Calvin. This was true more of Kevin’s chapters than Ted’s, but that is no slight to Mr. Kluck.

Kevin is the pastor and Ted is the layperson. They are both excellent writers, but Ted is the professional. Although he isn’t stacking theological bricks the way Kevin does, his writing is no less meaningful. It’s mostly anecdotal, yet illustrative of what they are, together, trying to communicate about why church is essential for the Christian (and isn’t an option to be discarded at will). Reading this book is kind of like having a multi-course meal (Kevin’s chapters) with a round of dessert between each course (Ted’s chapters).

If space weren’t an issue, I would share at least sixty-eleven quotes (ask someone under fifty if that doesn’t make sense). So here are just a couple of notables. If you’re still not sure you want to read this book, go to the bookstore and turn to page 13. Start reading the Mad Lib at the bottom. The cashier will be handing you your receipt before you finish it.

The book confronts the church’s mission and the fact that many are leaving the church (or are embarrassed by the church) because she isn’t doing enough. But the authors carefully point out that the direction many are headed, who describe themselves as missional, is no different from the world and these issues are really not difficult to support. “When young people talk about the church getting involved in social justice, they almost always have in mind sex trafficking, oppression and death in Darfur, AIDS, or some other social cause.” DeYoung continues, “Most of their causes demand nothing of us Christians except psychological guilt and advocacy…the problems are almost always far away and the solution involves other people caring more.” And then the charge, “let’s make sure as Christians that our missional concerns go farther than those shared by Brangelina and the United Way.” His point? Let’s make sure we get to the Gospel.

Finally, I said the book was personal. It may seem contradictory to share this quote and tell you it convicted me, but the Epilogue (a discourse on original sin) may help explain. DeYoung writes, “in our hypertherapeutic culture, we all need to realize that sometimes being in touch with our pain and being real about our doubts and authentic about our struggles is a form of narcissism and self-absorption more than maturity. We could all use a little less complaining and a little more gratitude.” Ouch.

It’s not a spoiler for me to tell you that the consensus of DeYoung and Kluck is that we not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The church is biblical, and they make a strong case for it. If you don’t think this defense is necessary today, you would do well to read the book. It is a reactionary book, so there are some hyperbolic tendencies. Some may criticize this. I think it works.

I think everyone in Generation X and younger (the under 50 crowd) would benefit greatly from reading this. It will help church leaders think critically about shepherding the flock, and particularly how they can avoid the temptation to become another marketing machine. For lay people, it will give them a concise ecclesiology as well as help them “to be careful that their disillusionment does not become an idol, [and] that they do not find their identity in being jaded.”

Additionally, missionaries and missions leaders in the church have a lot to gain from this book. Although the context is the American church, the issues are not limited to America. And the answers given by DeYoung and Kluck are universal because they are biblical.

Click here to order this book or read further reviews of it on Amazon.com.

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There are a few presbyteries in the PCA that are doing things with missions that I’ve become aware of. In particular, and I think I’ve writeen of this before, Missouri Presbytery has created their own website to promote missions among each others churches. I’ve also recently come across the North Texas Presbytery’s site, which is using the web to keep everyone updated about their own missionaries.

Presbyteries working together just makes sense. But it takes leadership to make it work, and that’s where MTW’s Church Resourcing folks can help. We are focused on equipping leaders to lead in missions locally. We can help you with strategy as well as ideas to challenge and motivate the missions leaders to collaborate within your presbytery. Everyone doesn’t have to do the same thing at the same time to work together. Here are some ideas of what may work in your presbytery:

1. If you don’t have a missions or MTW committee at the presbytery level, get one established.
2. Establish a common priority (e.g. church planting, missionary care, helping our home-grown folks raise support faster to get to the field faster, etc…) or two. Get buy-in as you decide and then afterward get commitment.
3. Work toward that priority(s) through specific opportunities. For example, if your priority is to mobilize as many people to short term missions (knowing that it changes lives and builds passion in the hearts of participants), begin collaborating on trips, extending an open invitation for any participant within the presbytery to join your team. Recruit from new church plants and other churches that do not have an established missions ministry. It’ll probably be the ones that go on the short term trip who are the future missions leaders in those churches (or even future missionaries).
4. Use media and technology to extend and collaborate. If you produce a video, share it with other churches in the presbytery. Churches that support the same missionaries, or even a missionary who is on the same team as one they support, can gain great value from the media that you’ll use just a few times. If you have a report/presentation from the field that you can share electronically, doing so will extend your ministry and the field’s.
5. Create and foster creativity. There are gifts within your church which people have that you may not have thought of being tied to missions. Look for ways to make that connection. And then share that idea with other churches in the presbytery. Even better, share your person with their gift. You’ll foster a sense of creativity, helping others to discover creative ways they can assist and support the global church. Focus especially on gifts that demonstrate redemption. An individual act that demonstrates redemption is powerful…a collaborative act is astounding.

There are many more ideas that I could write or even that you could share (feel free to in the comments section below). But here is the key. You have to share and be open to others sharing with your church. This involves risk, and we in the PCA like to calculate quite carefully to avoid any and every risk. That’s not a bad thing. But be willing to trust and demonstrate some faith in our sovereign God, who is doing some pretty incredible things in our churches and around the world, but also in our presbyteries!

Tomorrow at 7 pm, at the Orlando Marriott, is the start of the Going Global Conference, entitled, “Mobilizing for Missions.” Plenary speakers include R.C. Sproul, Elliott Greene, Carl Ellis, and others. The conference is sponsored by the Going Global Network, which is aimed at equipping leaders in the African American church. It is a free conference, but registration is requested. Visit www.goingglobalconf.com for more information and to register.

Time Magazine, interestingly, published a recent Top Ten list on things that are changing the world. Number three was Calvinism. Yes, Calvinism…as in John Calvin. And to me, the article is surprisingly positive. It’s not how I would have necessarily written it, but I was impressed coming from Time. Keep in mind, these are things that are changing the world, not just America. Interesting missional thought. Click here to read the article.

by, Basil Grafas

I used to pastor a small, rural church in another denomination. There was a lot I liked about the work. We had people come to Christ and lives were changed. I learned the value of repentance and the value of community. On the other hand, we were a highly autonomous congregation that had little if anything to do with any other church, foreign or domestic. That bothered me. And it started getting under my skin when I started preaching through the book of Revelation.

To be honest, I really did not want to do it. Any book that Calvin refused to write a commentary about is too much book for me. It was just that several people in the congregation told me that they would never ever read it, since it had all of those strange images and codes involved. Well, I got angry. The Hal Lindseys and Tim LaHayes had convinced us that the book was all about obscure references to the future and therefore was of little value now. But I had to see for myself. And what I found was not what I expected. I found a book written to church people about the church going through tough times.

Revelation is, if you can get over the confusing word-pictures, a very clear book that is meant to exhort and encourage the church to remain a faithful witness to a world that wishes to hate and persecute it. In other words, it is the ultimately missional book. It is about suffering, despised churches caught in the vise formed by Rome and recalcitrant Judaism, being exhorted to remain faithful (chapters 2-3). We are introduced to martyrs who want to know how long they have to keep this up (chapter 6). Then we find out that these people are not scattered rarities in the church—they are the norm. They are actually part of an army of faithful witnesses who herald the lordship of the Lamb over the world (chapter 7).   (Click here to continue reading this article)

by, Joe Creech

The relationship between a church and its ministry partners—both missionaries and national workers—is a lot like a marriage. The relationship has to be developed and nurtured during the dating period in which they get to know each other. The relationship matures as they labor together in ministry. There will be various roles that both parties must learn and grow in over the years. The major difference is that this marriage takes place at a great distance. Nonetheless, establishing ministry partnerships will bring immeasurable benefits to our churches, both here at home and overseas. Through this, glory is brought to God as His kingdom is built.

We are challenged in Scripture with the beauty of partnership in the gospel. The great missionary Paul says that we are fellow-workers—partners—together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). Paul thanks others for their partnership in the gospel (Philippians 1:5). The kingdom of God will not be brought to earth by all of us running around as individuals doing our own thing. Rather as we come into relationship, joining hands with brothers and sisters and moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit, the church will be built in such a manner that the gates of hell cannot stand against it. Our building partnerships is crucial to this, because relationship sets the context in which ministry can take place. (click here to read more of this article)

by, Bill Goodman

There is a growing body of literature related to the changing face of the worldwide church. This is due to the fact that more Christians now live in what is commonly referred to as the Majority World (comprised of South America, Africa, and Asia) than in the U.S. and Europe. Timothy C. Tennet’s book, Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing How We Think About and Discuss Theology, is a welcome addition to this body of literature. Tennet is professor of world missions at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and visiting professor at Luther W. New Jr. Theological College in Dehra Dun, India. He has taught in India for 20 years and has lived in Europe for three years.

Tennet’s purpose is to pose a timely question: What can we in the West learn from our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, particularly in the area of theology?  Theological reflection is accompanying the advance of the church into new regions. Tennet affirms the point made earlier by Philip Jenkins that the theology of the Majority World, as well as morality, is generally more conservative than what is found in many circles in the West. (Click here to continue reading this review)

A MAJOR TREND IN MISSIONS
One of the most significant trends in missions today is the increasing number of churches that are focusing their ministry participation. The reasons for this direction include the following motivations:

• Desire for greater long-term impact in missions
• Desire to identify God’s unique calling for their church in missions
• Commitment to greater coherence and alignment in ministry involvement
• Interest in supporting fewer missionaries with more funds
• Desire for deeper relationships with the field
• Interest in collaboration with other sending churches

THE NEED FOR FOCUS
Developing a missions ministry is a bit like digging a well. To reach water, one must dig a well with the proper dimensions: it must be deeper than it is wide. Not only will such a well more likely reach water, the water will be fresh and plentiful.

Many churches are discovering that to have a lasting impact in missions, their missions ministry must have the right dimensions. It must be deep: the investment of prayers, energy, and finances should be significant. And while they may support people all over the world, their primary emphasis must not be too wide, perhaps focusing on one or two areas of commitment. No matter what size, all churches would do well to identify as precisely as possible the Lord’s missions direction for their congregation.

Through prayer and study, the following issues can help churches develop the right dimensions for going deep in their missions ministry:

Existing relationships
Does your church currently support a missionary? Is a church member serving as a missionary? Do you have other connections to an ongoing ministry? If so, you may want to deepen an existing relationship rather than start a new one.

Church members’ vision
Are there members or leaders of your church who have experience and/or a desire to work with a particular people group or area of the world? Have members of your church participated in short-term projects that have given them a heart for a certain group of people? God very often uses the vision of a few people to lead an entire church in the same direction.

Unique Connections
Does your church have a unique relationship to a region? Perhaps people from a particular country live near your church, and members have developed an interest in working with them locally and overseas. Or perhaps the nationality of a church member could serve as a
natural bridge to a part of the world.

Church relationship
Do you have a close relationship with another church that is already working with a particular people group? Developing a partnership for ministry may be a natural and effective way to go forward.

Ministry emphasis
Do you desire to participate with a particular type of ministry? Or do members of your church have certain skills or occupations that could be used most effectively in a specific field?

Some churches have developed a small committee to explore these and other issues in order to bring a recommendation to church leaders. Selecting a missions focus is no small task and one that must be supported by much prayer, study, and time. This investment on the front end will help determine God’s leading for a significant long-term commitment.

PARTNERSHIPS: A NEW MODEL FOR MISSIONS
Once an emphasis is determined, your church may want to explore joining others who share your commitment. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says a “cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Historically, the three strands of missions ministry have been churches, agencies, and field workers—though each has had to work fairly independently. Today, however, advancements in communications and transportation have appropriately given churches a desire for more direct involvement in field ministry. Mission to the World affirms this development, and is committed to facilitating churches in deeper connection to the field. Effective field ministry requires that this connection be coordinated, so that churches, MTW, and the field are working closely together and in a common direction. In order to accomplish this, Mission to the World is establishing partnerships for the development and support of ministry teams all over the world. The partnership would work closely with the field team to devise a common strategy for such responsibilities as:

• promoting the ministry in the U.S.
• recruiting and assessing short- and long-term personnel
• praying for the work and workers
• providing pastoral care
• determining what resources are needed in the field and working to provide them
• advocating for the persecuted Church
• providing financial support to a team ministry account
• helping connect field work with related people groups in the U.S.

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