The Gospel in China

When I say, ‘we should send missionaries to all needy places,’ some people hear me saying, ‘we should send missionaries everywhere.’ Or in other words, the answer to the WHERE question is that all WHERE’s are equally needy, equally valid targets for missionary efforts. But I definitely have some doubts about that… Montana was mentioned […]

Probably the most telling evidence against the strategy of the ten murdered missionaries is that shortly after their deaths, both the tribes they were targeting (the Auca and the Ayore) had been successfully contacted by missionaries disseminating the Gospel. After a couple tough-to-write entries, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to a new […]

So far, we’ve looked at how a lack of accountability and preparation contributed to the ineffectiveness of the speared missionaries. But I think it’s important to understand the mind-set that birthed those failings. How did ten young men who loved the Lord and desired to bring God glory by the proclamation of the Gospel miss […]

Here’s another factor in the strategic failure of the murdered missionaries: 2. They cut themselves off from those who could be of help Jim Elliot’s team in Ecuador was afraid of attracting too much attention to their efforts in the jungle, because they thought that too many outsiders would serve to further alienate the Aucas. […]

The next couple of posts are going to discuss why I personally believe these ten heroes were misguided in their strategy, and therefore why modern missionaries should search for another model of ministry. For the record, I don’t believe this because they were killed. Christians doing God’s work will encounter real persecution. And (as I’ll […]

Read in ‘From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya’ today the stories of some of my heroes – missionaries Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and their three friends that were killed by Auca Indians in the 50s. Probably the most balanced account of their work I’ve heard – made me consider their efforts a little more evenhandedly. Plus […]

Okay, last bit on mentors for a minute. Once you’ve got a mentor, or realize that you have a suitable mentor-figure in your life already, what’s next? What should you do to be a good disciple? This question is just as important as the ones that lead you to the mentor. A good mentor can […]

All this talk about mentors leads to a frustrating question: ‘So where do ya get one?’ Mentors, like most things worth having, are tough to find and costly to obtain. If you embark on a search for this kind of life-changing relationship, you better be in it for the long haul. Here’s some hints for […]

A mentor is a missionary’s pacesetter… Not a pacemaker. He’s not a life-support system. But he’s there to help you stay in it for the long haul. Young guys in ministry have chronic speed problems. Either we take off in a flurry of action and burn out quickly, or we shuffle along without any real […]