Category Archives: Missions

When Hurting Helps 3: Redefining Poverty

Read Part 1: A Popular Call to Some Good Things Read Part 2: Ignoring Churchplanting and Evangelism When Helping Hurts bases all of its practical tips on the first third of the book. It is refreshing to read a book … Continue reading

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When Hurting Helps 2: Ignoring Churchplanting and Evangelism

Read Part 1. With nearly 250,000 copies sold, When Helping Hurts is touching a nerve in the church. As I worked through the text keenly interested because of the ministry God has called me to, I was consistently disappointed. My … Continue reading

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When Hurting Helps 1: A Popular Call to Some Good Things

Poverty fighters need boldness to get at the root of endemic poverty. As Spurgeon said, “If you really long to save men’s souls, you must tell them a great deal of disagreeable truth.” And is that not the case in … Continue reading

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Does Deputation Deserve a Good Attitude?

I have a bad attitude about deputation. Not the kind of bad attitude that would break Paul’s command to “Rejoice at all times.” More like the frustrated discontent we conservatives have when we think about the bloated US federal government. … Continue reading

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An Apologetic for Evangelizing Children

In the business of pastoral ministry, how many pastors invest time in child evangelism? Probably, the majority of pastors would count on their Sunday School and children’s ministries to evangelize their children. After all, most churches have numerous services, programs, … Continue reading

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Lasting Love Vs. Temporary Love: An Interview With a Rural, African Churchplanter

Over the last few days we have had the privilege of hosting Pastor and Mrs. Wastemore Sarireni in our home and at our church in South Africa. This couple lives in an undeveloped area in Zimbabwe with the church they … Continue reading

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Why Our Rural African Church Remembers Reformation Day

Yesterday morning in the village where I live and minister, I preached to and prayed with a smaller group than usual, but there were still three African languages present. Most of the people live without running water and very few … Continue reading

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Reasons Missionaries Can’t Get Along

1. They cannot overlook personal faults and idiosyncracies such as differences in communication style, sense of humor, perspectives on leadership, or common courtesy. 2. They are philosophically different regarding issues such as the use of American funds, the nature of … Continue reading

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Evaluating the “Altar Call”

Somewhere around 400 times I have led altar calls in my early days of ministry. Somewhere around 2,500 times in my life I have stood as the pastor called people to make a public decision at the end of a … Continue reading

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Marks of an African Indigenous Church

Beginning somewhere around the early 1900’s Africans began forming their own congregations outside of the official denominations of the Europeans. Historians and missiologists now classify this group as the African Indigenous Church (AIC). These independent assemblies have become the most … Continue reading

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