We often talk about going and sharing the good news. Yet some of the saddest words in the Bible are: “But he went out and began to talk freely” (Mark 1:45, ESV). Jesus just healed a man with leprosy and gave him stern instructions: “See that you say nothing to […]
Discipleship
“but you make it a den of robbers” (Mt 21:13, ESV). Here is a danger in innovation, efficiency, and so-called progress. It is possible to turn a house of prayer into a place of thieves, even in the name of Kingdom stewardship. A little pragmatism here and some capitalism there, […]
A Danger of Innovation
Roland Allen’s influence greatly shaped 20th century missions and continues to influence the expansion of the Church. Though best known for writings such as Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? and The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, his thoughts were not always appreciated. His adolescent grandson once asked to read […]
“Until I’ve been Dead Ten Years”
I want to share one more photo from our time on Ellis Island. Sociologists talk of transnational migration. This simply means that movers often return to their countries of birth. This photo addresses Chinese migration to the U.S. and is a simple reminder of transnational migration. Here are some excerpts […]
Returning to China
Sarah and I celebrated our 20th anniversary earlier this month in New York. We ventured over to Ellis Island and went through the museum on immigration. If you have never been there, you need to do so. The entire island is a testimony to the outworking of Acts 17:26-27. I […]
No Place is too Far Away
From 2006-2010, I hosted a weekly (mostly) podcast. Compared to today, fewer podcasters existed then. Blogging was king. When my site (northamericanmissions.org) was being developed to host the podcast, I was asked: “Would you want to start a blog instead of doing audio?” My immediate response was, “No. Blogs are […]