Progress of Gospel Advancement


Ed White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk on June 3, 1965. In celebration of this fiftieth anniversary, NASA released a 30 minute documentary on spacewalks and our future journey to Mars.

This is a fascinating story of innovation and progress. Of course, such is the story of the entire space program.

One of my favorite quotes from the documentary is: “when floating out in the void of space, they are standing on the shoulders of giants, making new discoveries by building on a prestigious legacy.”

NASA had to keep building upon her work to get to where she wanted to go. Her strategy was simple. Go in stages. Learn. Adjust. Keep building.

And look at what mankind accomplished in only 50 years!

After watching this video, I could not help but reflect on the reality that the history of gospel advancement is similar. We have often gone in stages, learned along the way, made adjustments, and built upon what came before. And this pattern will continue. But, oh, we move slowly. So slowly. And I’m not convinced that slow progress is always from the Spirit.

The thinking and methods that brought us to where we are today are not the thinking and methods that will carry us beyond the challenges of today.  Fresh, yet biblical, paradigms of missionary thought and practice must be encouraged, endorsed, and expected by the established Church. Problems for Kingdom advancement arise whenever the structures we develop become calcified and hinder–or even oppose–the development of fresh, biblically-grounded, paradigms for missionary activity.
It takes a long time to chip away at unhealthy calcification. This is part of the reason we move so slowly.
Look at what NASA accomplished in 50 years of space missions. Our mission is far more important and more urgent. Wise Kingdom stewards build on that which has gone before, but they don’t take fifty years to change.

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Samuel Chiang will be my guest on this week’s episode of Strike the Match. Listen as we talk about orality and missions. iTunes | Android | RSS

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