Below is an excerpt from the book When Everything is Missions by Denny Spitters and Matthew Ellison. We don’t doubt the sincerity and passion of the many proponents of “everybody is a missionary” who want to stimulate evangelism and disciple making in their communities. We appeal to the church, …
“Laura, how were you called into missions?” I wasn’t. Next question.
I grow weary of that question. I grow weary of people being gravely concerned that I've never experienced a "divine call." (And by the way, what is so special about missionaries or Christian school teachers or pastors that we say God has a "divine call" on their lives, as if choosing another …
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Missions: Organic, Locally Grown and Dead
What’s society abuzz about these days? Fresh and local. What’s the church abuzz about these days? Fresh and local - Local ministries done by local believers in our local area. We’ve redefined the Great Commission to be about loving our local neighbor. And we’ve redefined it to the extent that …
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Erin’s Birth
I would say that typically I’m not easily swayed by the crowd, but when I was getting advice about labor from mothers who had been there, I felt like I should listen. I mean, I didn’t want to be that arrogant millennial who refuses ALL advice. You should do these pelvic exercises this many times a …
Did Jesus Die Five Years Ago?
Story from Ron Yearwood, New Tribes church planter in Africa Seni Camara was my cultural informant. He was like my village dad. Whenever I needed advice on what to know or do culturally, I went to him. When I prepared my lessons for the chronological teaching, I told it to Seni first and he gave me …
Cherries
A few weeks ago we drove up to Michigan to see some friends for the last time. We stayed with Nate’s best friend, Cody, and his wife Leah for a few days, and they absolutely spoiled us: home cooked meals and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, a trip to an authentic Mexican dive and way too many …
When it takes a while to love your child
“You’ll never forget that moment they lay her on your chest. The love you have for her will be greater than any love you’ve ever felt before." “As soon as you see her, you won’t remember the pain of labor.” Erin was born around 7:30 p.m. on February 15th. I still remember the pain of labor. I …
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All the things I’m not
This past Sunday night, Nate and I shared at our church in Winston our 15 year plan for tribal missions in Papua New Guinea. It was our very first official “will you support us and walk through this with us” presentation before a group of people. We sat down in our seats. Our pastor said something. …
It’s just a finger
There are 840 languages currently spoken in the small country of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea could fit inside the United States 21 times. To put that number of spoken languages into perspective in a country that size: If Papua New Guinea were as big as America, that would put the number of …
Would you rather give an African clean water or save his soul?
We say of course that salvation is more important, but our money says differently. D.A. Carson's recent research, for example, shows that American Christians spend five times more money on poverty relief efforts than on evangelism and church planting. “Shocked that their fellow citizens are …
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