Four Disciple Making Essentials
You want to make disciples because it was Jesus’ last command and one of the most important expressions of love you could show to another human being. I cannot think of a more important focus. Disciple making is to help a person place his or her faith in Jesus Christ (evangelism, conversion) and then to […]
Roots and Renewal: Why History Matters
Over the greater part of a decade, I served as a missionary in Central Europe, where the currents of history run deep. If you have ever traveled through that part of the world, you will have noticed something remarkable: though secularism has asserted its dominance, Christianity’s imprint remains unmistakable. It lingers not only in the […]
A Lesson from the Church in Croatia
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT) In the years since Croatia’s break from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, evangelical Christians in the country have both enjoyed and endured a burgeoning of religious expression. And with this newfound freedom, the question has now […]
Remembering Saint Patrick and Hope for Today
“Kiss me. I’m Irish!” That was the phrase on my friend‘s coffee mug. When I saw it, I thought, “I have no idea what that means, but I sure could have used that mug in high school.” Among Irish mythology, the story goes that kissing an Irish person will bring you luck. The legend originates […]
Flip the Script in Disciple Making
Let’s imagine that India and China go to war. Let’s pray they never do, but for the sake of this illustration, the two largest nations in the world are revving up for battle. India decides, “We are only going to send our generals into battle. After all, the generals have the most training, experience, and […]
Learning from Lausanne: Reflections on an Evangelical Movement of World Missions
As many of us in America turned our eyes to the recent political election, you might’ve missed what happened a couple months ago when 5,000 believers from 200 countries gathered together in Seoul, South Korea for the Lausanne Movement’s Fourth Congress on World Evangelization. Prior gatherings had been held in Cape Town (2010), Manila (1989), […]
A New Missional Era
For the last year couple of years, I have been using a phrase that many people don’t seem to recognize. When referring to our task of taking the gospel to a hurting and broken world, I have spoken of a “new missional era.” Everyone clearly understands what new means, most know what an era is, and […]
The Father, Son, and Spirit Are Missionaries
In recent data presented by the Barna Group, we discover that a good percentage of young American Christians struggle greatly with the concepts of evangelism and missions.[1] This comes as no surprise to anyone that has engaged this age group and listened well. What is simultaneously fascinating and alarming about this scenario is the fact […]
