There is a Christian witness here; it’s you and me! But there are parts of the world where there are no virtually no believers. We cannot turn our backs on these places.
Tag: missional church
on the one hand, the source of mission is the Church – the existing people of God, the Pentecost community – which continues Christ’s economy in a visible, sacramental and ecclesial way; on the other hand, the goal of mission is the Church as the sacrament of the kingdom, as the incorporation of creation into communion with God.
Doing Good Doesn’t Always Help
I am not calling for an end to mercy ministries. I am calling for them to be made better. I am calling for them to be more reciprocal, less one sided and thought of more as a stepping stone on the road to serious Christian discipleship within the local church.
The Church
The church is a distinct community of people of every type and all ages, and from every race, ethnic group, nation and social category, who confess that Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, is the Son of God and the only saviour of all humanity.
Bible and Mission Links 28
This round up of stuff about the Bible and Mission contains some things that are controversial, some that are interesting and heartwarming, a couple that are robust and challenging, some that are a bit geeky and a cartoon about cheese.
“God works out his redemptive purposes in this story by choosing a people to make known to all where history is leading. Jesus does not write a book to transmit the good news to succeeding generations. Instead, he chooses, prepares, and commissions a community to make the goal of universal history known.” – An excellent biblical overview which is directly applied to the work of church planting.
Tennent Chapter 1: Megatrends
“I am convinced that if we are attentive to the refreshing winds of the Holy Spirit during this tumultuous and yet thrilling time, we will have a missiological rebirth where, side by side, with the global church, we will see a remarkable renewal of the church’s life and faith like we have not known.”
Quotes to Make You Think
God works out his redemptive purposes in this story by choosing a people to make known to all where history is leading. Jesus does not write a book to transmit the good news to succeeding generations. Instead, he chooses, prepares, and commissions a community to make the goal of universal history known. This gathering work is central to his kingdom mission, and it begins in the early days of his ministry.
Post-Christian Christmas
This means realizing that we are not the majority, and we are not going to force the rest of society to adopt our ways. We are going to have to acknowledge that society has a different view of marriage from us, that we practice business differently and are not typical in how we conduct our affairs, that we use our time and resources differently, and so forth. We are going to have to know who we are better than we have in the past, distinct from the larger society in many ways.
Missionaries Know Best
I have no doubt that churches around the world have a lot to learn from missionaries; it was ever thus. Paul wrote the most extraordinary theological and pastoral letters based on his missionary experience. However, there is a good deal to be learned in the other direction, too. Missionaries need to be open to hear what churches have to say and not be so obsessed with their own agendas that they don’t take time to listen.