I vividly remember one particular discussion in an Introduction to Church Planing class while in seminary. We were talking about a statistic that showed the average life of house churches was 18 months. During the discussion I raised my hand and asked why house churches were not more successful. The response of the professor has … Continue reading Success in Missions: Longevity is not Necessarily Success
discipleship
Hating My Own Sin
Everyone knows that it is always easier to see the faults of others than our own. This is true with sin also. In fact, not only is it easier to see other people's sin, it is easier to hate other people's sin more than our own. As a result, we can often be very bothered … Continue reading Hating My Own Sin
My Goals for 2018
In previous years I have tried to create goals at the beginning of each new year. However, I have often had trouble following through on these goals over the duration of the year because they have either been too complicated and/or I have had too many. Moreover, once I have fallen off … Continue reading My Goals for 2018
A letter to an aspiring missionary – Be a good church member
Dear Aspiring Missionary, Over the last 4.5 years that I have been involved in missions (2 years on staff at a missionary training school and 2 on the field) I have seen many people with the same ambition as yourself - to be a cross-cultural missionary. These men and women have pursed training and sought … Continue reading A letter to an aspiring missionary – Be a good church member
My Prayer for Pastors
"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the … Continue reading My Prayer for Pastors
My testimony by Ethan
One day when we were living in TX I came out of my room and said I want to be a believer. And my dad said ok we need to start a bible study on one day a week. Over the next few months I started to learn about the gospel, my sin, and my … Continue reading My testimony by Ethan
The Value of Reading Scripture in Another Language
Without a doubt this year in language school has been the hardest year of our lives. However, we have seen the Lord show his faithfulness and kindness in a multitude of ways. Perhaps one of the most unexpected benefits of learning a second language has been the benefits of reading the Bible in that language, … Continue reading The Value of Reading Scripture in Another Language
Why we accept every invitation we get…and perhaps you should too
In our day many of us live with calendars full to the brim and our lives have very little time for anything outside our regularly scheduled daily or weekly activities (which are often very fine activities). Over the years our family certainly fit this category although we have always been very selective in how we … Continue reading Why we accept every invitation we get…and perhaps you should too
Trust the Process – The KC Royals, Spanish and Sanctification
Ten years ago the Kansas City Royals made a move that would radically change the organization from that time forward - they hired a new General Manager by the name of Dayton Moore. At that point the Royals were beyond sad when it comes to Major League Baseball teams. In fact, they had lost at … Continue reading Trust the Process – The KC Royals, Spanish and Sanctification
Missionaries Must be Self-feeders
Several years ago Bill Hybels, senior pastor of super-duper mega church, Willow Creek in Barrington, IL, rocked the evangelical world by confessing that one area of discipleship Willow Creek had dramatically overlooked was helping their people to become "self-feeders" on the Bible. In other words, they were excellent at reaching out to the community, getting people … Continue reading Missionaries Must be Self-feeders
