"The Great Commission is immense, and just like any immense task it requires vision, dedication, and a lot of manpower. That being said, there are many times when I want to stop and say to the Western church: 'Stop sending them! Stop sending under-qualified missionaries!' "
Guest Post by Todd Wilhelm (link)
In what would be a stunning development it appears both the Gospel Coalition and 9Marks are moving away from being a mouth-piece for celebrity Christian “leaders.” Over the course of the last week, both para-church organizations have featured articles written by obscure pastors of very small churches in the United Arab Emirates. Last week the Gospel Coalition featured an article by Josh Manley, senior pastor of the Ras Al Khaimah Evangelical Church in the United Arab Emirates. You can read my article about this here.
Now 9Marks has featured an article written by Steve Jennings, pastor of Immanuel Church of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. I have never attended services at either one of these churches, but my best guess is they both have about 50 members. Both churches are part of what I would term an informal confederation of five Evangelical churches in the UAE. These five churches are functionally Baptist; all are 9Marks compliant, including the obligatory requirement to sign a member contract prior to being allowed to become a member.
Jennings informs us via his bio on his churches website that he is pursuing an M. Div with Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. I assume he is referring to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am told that “Southern Seminary” is how the elect refer to it. Perhaps they find it “unhelpful” to publicize the fact that it is a Baptist seminary?
The title of Jennings’ article is “Stop Sending Missionaries: Why More Isn’t Always Better.” I would recommend you read the article, it can be found here. The premise of the article is that there once was a shortage of missionaries, the pendulum has now swung the other way and too many missionaries have arrived, and many of them are poorly trained misfits who do more to harm the cause of Christ than help. Says Jennings:
“A lot of people are going to the nations who, frankly, shouldn’t be going—at least not yet.
Here’s the question I wish more churches would consider: Why would you send someone to plant churches abroad who you would never hire as a pastor or nominate as a lay elder? Why does it seem that “passion” rather than proven faithfulness is the main criterion for sending men and women to support those church planters? Why on earth is the bar set lower for the frontlines than it is for the local church?
The Great Commission is immense, and just like any immense task it requires vision, dedication, and a lot of manpower. That being said, there are many times when I want to stop and say to the Western church: “Stop sending them! Stop sending under-qualified missionaries!””
If Jennings claim can be believed, that is, if there is an excess of unqualified missionaries arriving in countries in the 10/40 window, then why are the usual cast of gospelly celebrities aggressively pushing for thousands more of young college kids to hit the mission field?
What really confuses me is David Platt is leading this missionary recruitment drive. This is the same David Platt who is Director of the SBC International Mission Board. As the Director, Platt recently announced that the SBC missions budget, since 2010, has spent $210 million more than what they have collected. Because of this, Platt said, they will need to cut 600-800 individuals from their payroll. (See my article on this subject here.) Platt is looking for many veterans on foreign mission fields to take an early, voluntary retirement. (Some have suggested this is to purge the old guard and replace them with a new crop of missionaries that hold to the same doctrines that SBTS and Southern Baptist leaders are advocating, that is, Neo-Calvinism.) I am not that skeptical. I take Platt at his word; he is attempting to get the budget under control. That being the case, how does Platt think these thousands of new missionaries that the CROSS Conference is hoping to enlist will be paid?
Back to Jennings article – he states:
“If you would not make a man an elder in your church, then don’t send him to plant churches anywhere, much less overseas. If you are sending someone who isn’t elder material or isn’t quite there yet, then I would suggest sending them somewhere with an established church where you know their spiritual development and ministry will be seen by faithful shepherds.”
Jennings then goes on to list a litany of characteristics potential missionaries should possess. Basically, what he defines are the biblical qualifications for an elder. I wish Jennings would give us his definition of what a missionary is. It seems he thinks it is somebody like himself. He came to Dubai as an intern under David Furman, senior pastor at Redeemer Christian Church of Dubai, and shortly thereafter was sent to Fujairah to plant a church. I would agree that an individual who is pastoring a church needs to fulfill the requirements Jennings suggests; however, I would not technically classify any of these five 9Marks pastors in the UAE as missionaries. Platt and his cohorts, in the CROSS Conferences, continually challenge the young college students to go to foreign lands to minister to people groups who have never heard the Gospel. The five 9Marks pastors in the UAE rarely come in contact with local Emirati citizens. Their job consists mainly of pastoring churches of expat Christians. Attempting to proselytize Muslims is against the law. From all indications I have seen and read the professional missionaries Jennings is advocating for have been totally ineffective in leading Muslims to the Lord. One must wonder if the untrained individuals Jennings laments about showing up in the UAE could do any worse than the professionals? Listen to what John Folmar, Senior Pastor of UCCD, said at CROSS Conference 2013:
Go to the original post for the audio (link)
Additionally, sending “missionaries” (as we historically think of them) to many countries in the 10/40 window is not practical or legal. The only option in many Muslim countries, and countries such as China, is to go as a “tent-maker;” that is, to go to a country with a work visa, gainfully employed. As Folmar mentioned above, it is very hard to make in-roads among the Muslim population. They are not going to visit a church.
“Despite several decades of Christian witness and presence in the UAE, it has often been observed that the Church seems to have had little impact on Emirati people in terms of conversion from Islam to Christianity. In her masterly survey of American missionary work in Arabia, Emirati scholar, Fatma Al Sayegh highlights where the Christian influence was effective. She comments:
The missionaries influence was not just limited to the medical field. New ideas such as the importance of modern education, dignity of labour, the value of hand crafts (shunned by the Arabs) and appreciation of amenities of modern life were introduced by the missionaries.
But she also highlights the reason why the Christian missionaries did not succeed in a mass movement from Islam to Christianity. She explains that the missionaries encountered a people who were:
Tenaciously bound to their faith. Islam was not only a religion but also a way of life. By becoming a Christian, the Arabs believed, they would not only be cut off from the rest of society, but also change their allegiance. The feeling of rejection and social boycott explained the insignificant number of converts.”
Andrew Thompson, “Christianity in the UAE: Culture and Heritage” pages 32-33.
I think the closest comparison I have that American Evangelicals would understand would be attempting to convert Mormons. If you were to plant a church in Salt Lake City you would not have Mormons coming in droves to attend your church service. Even if you developed a friendship with a Mormon and he was attracted to Christianity it would be very hard for him to convert. Not only would he have to go against all he has been taught, but he would also have to give up all his family and social contacts. He would literally be ostracized from all his Mormon friends and family. Multiply this by about 100 for the difficulties a Muslim would face if he converted to Christianity. Muslims can be put to death for converting to another religion.
In my opinion, the only way to share Christ with Muslims is through sincere friendships. These friendships can take years to cultivate. As with any person, when they see you have a genuine love and concern for them they will begin to trust you and open dialogues are possible. Even then you may never see any fruit from your efforts. This is why I question Jennings’ assertion that only extremely knowledgeable Christians able to teach, refute error, etc. should be coming to places such as Dubai. Phooey, I say. If you love the Lord and have a burden for Muslims, get a job in Dubai and move over here. Once here, intentionally seek a friendship with an Emirati. You may make only one such friend. That is enough.
"Other members of the mission made their way to the Trucial States in 1901. One of them, the Rev James Moerdyk, stayed in Sharjah and rented a home which he called the ‘first Christian house in Sharjah!’ Although he was not medically qualified, Moerdyk wasted no time in setting up a treatment clinic. Al Sayegh notes that many people came to him because they believed all missionaries were medical men. The Bibles and other religious literature given to them did not act as a deterrent. Nevertheless, Moerdyk commented on the resistance to the Bible wherever he went as it was believed by the local Muslims to be a forbidden book. It soon became clear that the people welcomed the medical ministry but had little time for the religious messages of the missionaries.
Moerdyk stayed for two months, the longest any American missionary had stayed on the Coast and he boasted that he now knew the land and her people. He categorized the people into three groups: ordinary people and slaves, spies, and open enemies who were eager to speak evil about the Christian and his Bible. His open efforts to proselytize led to the local ruler forbidding his citizens to rent space to him and the imams told their faithful to boycott him and burn any of his materials.
There is deep suspicion that the accounts of Moerdyk had been falsified in order to impress his prayer supporters back in the USA. Al Sayegh points out that in a country where more than 95 percent of the population were illiterate, Bible sales seemed oddly robust!”
Andrew Thompson, “Christianity in the UAE: Culture and Heritage” pages 72-73.
“The Roman Catholic Church has helpful guidelines which identify four kinds of interfaith encounters. They insist that interfaith dialogue should not be the domain for the specialist, but for anyone and everyone of faith. According to the Catholics then, the four main areas of dialogue are life, organizations, Education and Salvation.
Dialogue of Life
Muslims and Christians live and work together, love, suffer and die. The distinctiveness of this dialogue is not to be found in its purpose, but in a pattern of behaviour by which persons are welcomed, their speech heard and their differences accepted. To behave in this way, we do not need to be great scholars or theologians, or be advanced in the way of holy living. It is enough to be people of faith and hope, of good will and charity.”
Andrew Thompson, “Christianity in the UAE: Culture and Heritage” pages 161-162.
For further information:
Living in Secret As a Catholic in Saudi Arabia
A Platt-Full of Trouble: The IMB’s Fiscal Crisis
Paige Patterson Declares War against the IMB: “How Many Wars You Got Left Boy?
LAMP Theological Seminary
Numero Uno?
Right doctrine over right relationship. That is what this sort of position seems to scream. It is not about winning an argument or proving you have the right doctrine…love is what is to signify our status as God’s people NOT “rightness.”
Divorce Minister wrote:
But neo-Calvinists will counter (as I once would have) that ANYBODY can “love” – even Catholic heretics like Mother Theresa and mainline apostates like Albert Schweitzer. No, they will argue, the only real test for God’s work is correct doctrine, because only God can grant the light to see and believe Truth. Without that Truth, even the most (seemingly) genuine works of love are mere camouflage.
Of course, this theory flies in the face of I Corinthians 13:1-3, and I was always very uncomfortable when I read it…
How about worry about yourself and not speaking ill of Christians who are fulfilling the Great Commission! What about in my own country, do I need to be elder qualified or a seminary trained person to witness and spread the gospel? Who do these men think they are?
I'm tired of hearing 9 marks neo calvinists spend more time quoting each other and Spurgeon than the Word of God, and they spend more time talking about everything other Christians do judging them from the pulpit than focusing on not running of Christians with their authoritarian pharisee/sagisee type rule!!! Lording their cr#p (ed.) over the body of Christ.
Ok,sorry I had to get that off my chest wheeew.
If elders = missionaries, then are they trying to nail shut the door for women who are missionaries because women cannot be elders; particularly in the Middle East?
The first half of the article is showing up twice. At the end, there are a few paragraphs that I’m not sure are in the right place. I suspect something went wrong with cut-and-paste.
Jamie Carter wrote:
That would essentially leave nobody to talk to Muslim women in many countries because they aren’t likely to talk to a foreign man.
I would generally agree that missionaries should meet the *behavior* qualifications of elders. It sounds like the Calvinists are complaining about doctrine, rather than poor behavior of undertrained missionaries, if I understood correctly.
@ Eeyore:
I am not opposed to sharing truth per se. However, one has to wonder how these folks would have responded to Jesus so indiscriminate healing of people. Is their god so small that they think God cannot guide people to Himself without their messaging?
@ HoppyTheToad:
I’m reminded of Jesus saying something like whoever isn’t against us is for us, so don’t try to stop others. Sounds like it applies here.
@ Jamie Carter:
38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward. – mark 9
Jamie Carter wrote:
This is a good point. How do we balance it with the behavior of the big-wig celebrities this blog often exposes? Also, James (I think) warns that not many should try to become teachers because God will hold them to a higher standard. Whatever the balance is, I think the proper attitude of people considering missions work/teaching/preaching/pastoring/etc is one of…maybe not fear and trembling…but caution about their spiritual maturity (or lack thereof). Of course the standards are lower for regular people sharing their faith in their every day lives.
I suppose my natural tendency is to be skeptical of anyone seeking power, especially political or religious. This goes double if the person is young and wants it now, rather than “maybe someday”. I often read comments online about how most church youth groups are led by single men in their 20s, which tends to result in the leaders trying to be cool. If I ever let my kids do youth group, I’d much rather them be in one led by people whose kids are grown (if they had them) and have had more, and not less, life experience than me. Of course I am also wondering if youth groups would be better if they were service oriented, but that is off-topic.
I agree. They should stop letting “just anyone” become a missionary; for example, pedophiles like Jordan Root.
Do not, under any circumstance, come to China as a missionary. Every westerner, whether Christian or not, is regarded as a missionary, and thus watched to a point where you can actually put local churches on the mainland, in danger. Or you feel the LORD is calling you to evangelise Chinese non-believers then work with chinese churches in your own cities.
Also go on line, find churches here in Hong Kong and see where you might partner with us. Chinese churches both here and 'up north' are doing wonderful work not only in China and here and along the Silk Road, but also with Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. Pray for them, and realise that the LORD has given them success because they are not white.
And then there is this acceptable practice in the Middle East, Christian men deliberately convert to Islam BEFORE a divorce to get over on the Christian women they divorce so as to gain total custody of their children.
Christian women in Jordan are at the mercy of Shariah courts over child custody when their husbands convert to Islam. by Aaron Magid
“A divorced Christian woman who converts to Islam can gain custody rights over the children and also be eligible for an inheritance from her husband. The Christian women interviewed, however, emphasized that their religion was an integral part of their identity and culture. Mary and Sarah therefore feel it is unjust to force them to renounce their Christian faith to acquire basic rights, which should instead be guaranteed by the government for all citizens.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/jordan-law-christians-convert-muslims-women-divorce.html#
somewhere between their ‘right doctrine’ and their ‘membership contracts’, these people have lost their way
maybe it’s time for them to go back to the four Holy Gospels of the Bible again and again and again, until they no longer think that ‘right doctrine’ did not surface until Calvin’s ‘Institutes’,
and the only ‘membership contract’ needed is the Presence of the fire of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian
. . . as was promised “The Father has set His seal” on Christ and also seals us in Him . . . this seal indicates the indelible effect of our anointing with the Holy Spirit
I went out as a missionary in 1985 to Colombia. I was fluent in Spanish, culturally "literate" after 10 years of working with Hispanics in the Sates (both in a job and through my church), and equipped for Christian education. Although not "elder material" (and I do believe that, for the most part, elders/pastors should be male), I had a ministry of training teachers and developing material. I had to leave after seven years due to a family emergency, but God blessed the time I had there and allowed me to train many young adults as teachers, as well as teach hundreds of kids and write Sunday School material. I often wondered what God had done in those seven years. I now have Facebook friends who are pastors, directing children's ministers in their local churches, and working as missionaries to the unreached in other parts of Latin America. "Missionary" can have a very broad meaning in terms of skills and spiritual gifting. God gave me the opportunity to do it all over again when I came back to the States. I am still a missionary!
Tying in another subject Todd recently posted, I was with a few people chatting with a retired pastor. He apparently is going back to school despite being in his 60’s. He has a desire to have more qualifications to teach leadership in other cultures. I have respect for the guy but given my understanding of what “leadership” currently means, this is not something I’d want to export. What ever happened to being a servant?
The problem may not be too many missionaries but too many missionaries that preach and teach something other that Jesus. Now maybe I’m wrong about his concept of “leadership” but he should be aware how vulgar the word has become to so many in the church. There is much to commend the Western culture but our concept of “leadership” and our over-reliance on it is not one of them.
We all do Know,don’t we, that it is extremely difficult to convert Buddists, Daoists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims. And we do all Know that in our cities there are just these people, whom God brought to us because it is easier to talk to non Christians in cities where we have the freedom to do so?
Maybe we should start talking about our faith to those living around us?
I’m not sure I agree with your opening, Todd. I don’t believe the Gospel Industrial Complex is moving away from celebrity driven marketing. Rather, I see this as an implementation of their typical power play MO. “No name” writers can be featured by the Big People if they bring two things to the table – a sense of the Other (I’ll bet a missionary to suburban Annapolis wouldn’t get this kind of coverage), and theological lock-step (as you point out, both are 9Marks compliant). This ends up being a lesson and motivation to all other pastors out there – the Big People are the gate keepers, and the only way to have a platform and voice is to hold the party line. Anyway, that’s my take on it.
Dr. Fundystan, Proctologist wrote:
I have got to agree. The ” Big-Names” in the business will always be there. And the Neo-Cals are no different.
Todd said, “Here’s the question I wish more churches would consider: Why would you send someone to plant churches abroad who you would never hire as a pastor or nominate as a lay elder? Why does it seem that “passion” rather than proven faithfulness is the main criterion for sending men and women to support those church planters? Why on earth is the bar set lower for the frontlines than it is for the local church?”
Great timing. Last night I was composing a letter to my son from which I take:
“… why would the qualifications of pastor be less than those of elder?”
Maybe the world is waking up to the idea that simply because a man likes the idea of a position beyond servant doesn’t qualify him for it. His “calling” can’t be vetted, there is apparently a higher incidence of narcissistic traits among (western-trained) pastors, there are cultural norms that place prestige upon all the high profile church position, including missionary. My immediate concern was the influx of 20-something seminary grads assuming pastoral positions, as though it’s a typical paid position. If sanity prevailed we would stop dead in our tracks and realize our tithes and offerings are meant for the homeless, hungry, mentally ill, trafficked, and vulnerable in our own neighborhoods. And we would embrace the wisdom offered by Clarissa in each of her comments above. Ironic that that wisdom comes from a woman.
After the Coup, the Cleansing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives
Janet wrote:
Obvious:
TO GET THEM OUT OF THE WAY.
TO GET RID OF THEM.
Eeyore wrote:
Purity of Ideology, Comrades.
Purity of Ideology.
With the added benefit of “Since MY Theology IS Perfectly Parsed and Really Truly Reformed, that PROVES *I* MUST BE OF THE ELECT!”
Since under Calvin you can NEVER be sure you are Really Truly of the Predestined Elect, you grasp for all the PROOF! you can.
Divorce Minister wrote:
In one word, YES.
What would God ever do without them?
Just like Spiritual Warfare types, God is SOOOOOOO lucky to have them.
@ Dr. Fundystan, Proctologist:
Bingo. And in this instance the pastors in a foreign land are affirming the need to basically redefine missionary.
My guess is this has been in the works for a while. Platt is the celebrity figurehead to lay off the over 50 long term old fashioned missionaries. OK, they got rid of them and now we are seeing a plea from their expertbbuddies overseas. What they want are church planters as missiornaries.
They want to export more Hotel California churches.
With these types they are playing chess moves ahead. Fiscal mess they barely mentioned then it is a full on crisis. People over 50 need to go. If they don’t the next retirement deal will be worse. Blackmail. They have a few months to make a life decision.
So they got rid of them from start to finish in 4 months!
But wait! Platt is all ready talking about hiring 300 new kind of missionaries which remain undefined.
These men are corrupt. We have too many examples of how they have played people to take over churches, organisations, and rebrand. They use other peoples money to advance themselves and their agenda. They have no qualms throwing people who trusted them to the curb.
Only one way to fix it: stop giving them money.
Lydia wrote:
Sociopaths ALWAYS plan and play twenty chess moves ahead.
That’s why They Always Win. ALWAYS. WIN.
Why couldn’t I be a Sociopath and Manipulator like my brother?
Lydia wrote:
And risk Eternal Hell?
I’m not sure why anyone who wishes to evangelize Muslims feels as though they must go to a country where such evangelism is outlawed. There are large populations of Muslims in the US. But of course such friendship evangelism (where free speech is not outlawed) does not have the “foreign missionary” designation and one cannot write secretive letters home about being unable to identify the location of their ministry. And they don’t have the forum to tell all sorts of stories about how they are suffering for Jesus in dark lands where Satan and his demons are in control. I too want all you missionaries to leave whether you have the 9Marks seal of approval or not. Come to my great state of Michigan. Buy a home for a real deal in Detroit. Get a job and help our economy. And then reach out in friendship to Muslims and others. Whatever you do, don’t join the Republican bandwagon and deny all refugees entry unless they are already Christians.
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
It is rather bizarre and scary so many think these guys represent Jesus.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
And the Christianese custom of “Must Provide Own Support” means that a missionary has to be a moocher as well, guilt manipulating
the suckershis sponsors back home (through Missionary letters) for more and more and more without letup. Under those circumstances, the tendency to Pad Pad Pad is easy to understand.@ Ruth Tucker:
Platt put his life on the line for Jesus from the Dubai Marriott. He is a real man, you know.
@ Ruth Tucker:
“Missionary to Darkest Africa” or similar has always been a Prestige Posting. Shows how you’ve really Acquired the Fire for The LOOOORD unlike all those Lukewarms in their comfy Suburbias back home.
Bragging Rights and Brownie Points at the Bema, nothing more.
Lydia wrote:
I keep wondering what’s the diff between the Kingdom of God and some Third World Kleptocracy Dictatorship? Only one I can see any more is God just Holds the Biggest Whip.
Ruth Tucker wrote:
Where? This economy is not producing decent jobs.
So you’re saying the neo-Cals plant an unsustainable amount of churches to create the appearance of growing the Kingdom to back up their talk about how great they are at reaching the unreached, but really have as limited of success as every other modern ministry. Now, can you tell us about evangelical churches in the United Arab Emirates?
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Yup! ( take the dollars from ’em too and pass them out to the new kids on the block )
To the blessed Deebs, and all the TWW faithful:
Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas to you!
” … how does Platt think these thousands of new missionaries that the CROSS Conference is hoping to enlist will be paid?” (Todd Wilhelm)
SBC’s reformed church plants in my area directly support “missionaries” from their congregations, bypassing the SBC Cooperative Program (CP) and International Mission Board (IMB) funding completely. The young reformed members of these churches don’t even know what “CP” is! Platt knows this strategy from his own pastoral experience before being tapped to head the IMB.
Regarding those long-time SBC foreign missionaries being forced to take early retirement because of a funding shortfall, why couldn’t SBC simply redirect funds from the North American Mission Board (NAMB) church planting program to keep these seasoned missionaries on the field? NAMB has a $60 million budget in 2015 to plant 1,000 new churches in the U.S. (most are being led by young reformed pastors, although NAMB won’t admit that). What should the priority be? Perhaps the plan by SBC’s New Calvinist leadership is to plant reformed churches which will fund missionaries out of their own pocket … also, thereby, planting reformed theology not only in the U.S. but on foreign fields. I personally thing SBC’s aggressive church planting effort is more about planting theology than churches (certainly appears to be the case in my area).
@ Divorce Minister: I will be contacting you after Christmas. My stepfather is quite sick and in the hospital and has become confused. My mother in law received further bad news regarding her cancer and is going to move in with us immediately to begin chemotherapy so we need to return to her home in Cape Cod to get her dog and some furniture. My mother is severely limited due to bad degenerative disease and she needs me to help her each day. Please forgive me for my silence. God is working things out but it takes a lot of time and emotions.
Dr. Fundystan, Proctologist wrote:
I agree with you good doctor. I was being sarcastic, but it is admittedly hard to discern that through the wrtitten word!
@ dee:
Caring for aging parents is a stressful phase of life. (So I’ve heard.) I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Yes,Ruth Tuner,,,,I absolutely agree with you. In fact I would go so far as to say that the reason the West is mow being flooded by Muslims, Buddists, Hindus, is so that we can reach out in friendship to them.
Janet wrote:
I agree with you on giving. Just to clarify, that quote at the beginning of your comment was from Steve Jennings, not me.
Here’s an open letter I wrote to Bob Kauflin’s son Jordan Kauflin who helps run Redeemer Arlington.
https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2015/12/23/an-open-letter-to-jordan-kauflin-pastor-at-redeemer-arlington/
dee wrote:
You and your family are in my prayers Dee!
Lydia wrote:
Not possible (decent jobs) without a thriving and vibrant manufacturing base.
ION:
Forgive me a brief tangent, but John Beedon (professional Yorkshireman and solo ocean rower) is just 74 miles from Cairns, Australia, having rowed single-handed some 7000 miles from San Francisco. He started on 1st June and has been at sea for over 200 days – hoping to finish on Boxing Day.
Anyone interested can follow John’s progress at solopacificrow.com.
I share your opinion. I’m still waiting for these Gospel Glitterati to take their efforts to the KSA. As a former expatriate in the KSA I had an interesting experience when a customs official found my Bible in my luggage. Let’s just say he wasn’t too happy about it.
Have you read the story about the sheik who requested a Bible because he was “sick of the killing?”
http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/July/ISIS-Trainer-Turns-to-the-Bible-Sick-of-the-Killing/
dee wrote:
Prayers for you during this time Dee….I have an 85 year old mother and at some point, we are going to be faced with her well, aging…( so far, mom is in great shape…thank God….perhaps physically better shape than me…)
Max wrote:
As has been said here…” it is all about Calvin, not Jesus….”
K.D. wrote:
There is no Christ, there is only CALVIN.
“There is no Dana, there is only Zuul.”
— Ghostbusters
Max wrote:
Question, massmind:
How does this differ from the Communist Party aggressively planting Marxist-Leninist Ideology on foreign fields in the past century?
Or the early Caliphs aggressively planting Islam from Iberia to India some 1200 years before that?
Clarissa wrote:
And the only hope Islam has of adapting itself to the modern world (instead of trying to turn everything back to As It Was in the Days of the Prophet) is going to come from Muslims in America and the West. Those who live in that future-shocked world.
Dee – my prayers for you and your family as you deal with all that is going on with the elder members of your family. We are dealing with my aging parents too and it’s not easy. I live a long ways from them and can only help out by phone. It’s never easy no matter if you live close or not. I just wanted to mention that I’m having my 17th foot surgery on my left foot on Wednesday, Dec. 30th. The doctor says it shouldn’t be too painful. That remains to be seen. I would appreciate everyone’s prayers. I have to take down all my Christmas decorations on Monday and Tuesday of next week so that I am ready for the surgery.
Love to all and Merry Christmas.
Mae wrote:
Right of Pillage works for new recruits for ISIS, taken from traditional tribal warfare from Medieval Ireland to the Arabian Peninsula. As well as echoing Witchfinders-General during the Burning Times from Magdeburg to Salem.
Muff Potter wrote:
You can only go so far with burger-flippers, Tort Lawyers, and Investment Bankers.
Janet wrote:
Well, Wisdom HAS been personified as a woman from ha-Tanakh to Mount Olympus.
And the Hebrew/Aramaic word used for “Holy Spirit” is of FEMININE gender.
To all you talking about decent jobs, I never suggested there would be any good jobs here in Michigan. But hey, Paul was a tent-maker missionary. He worked with smelly animal skins. There are loads of vacant lots in and around Deeee-troit (as we like to call our great city). Come and set up a little business and make tents. (We’ve got lots of road-kill, too.) I was talking about friendship and evangelism, not good jobs. Isn’t that how it works, my dear, dear, Apostle Paul?
K.D. wrote:
K.D., if you visit New Calvinist churches (I have), you may not hear Calvin’s name dropped in every service, but you will hear a lot about “God”, only occasional mention of Jesus, and hardly a word about the Holy Spirit. While they may say they are Christ-Followers (they use that term instead of Believers), you just don’t hear these young reformers holding up the name of Jesus as Christians should.
dee wrote:
Dee, just read this. Thinking of you all during this time, and that in addition to caring for everyone else you can get some downtime for yourself. I’m sure the pugs will be very sensitive and a solace for you all (I’ve found our four-legged friends an incredible help in the past).
Todd Wilhelm wrote:
Lol. I totally understand!
Hi Ruth Tucker,
Thanks for dropping by with a comment. I did check out your name and found your website/s. At seminary, I was introduced to your co-authored book with Walter Liefeld, entitled “Daughters of the Church”. I would highly recommend it.
I see that you have your own story about being unceremoniously dumped from faculty at Calvin Seminary. Yes, unfortunately, this is very typical for women, even with suitable degrees and proven teaching experience.
You may be new to The Wartburg Watch, but you can see that there are many stories here of unjust treatment of many believers by many institutional administrators. Seems to go with the territory.
I think that many others could appreciate the journey that you have had.
Check out Ruth’s story at:
http://www.ruthtucker.net/2006/09/ruth_a_tucker_p.html#comments
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
It’s Christmas Eve, so I am not going to say what I am really thinking. Most missionaries who raise their own support (I was one for 15 years) are above-board, respectful of their supporters, and live at a much more modest level than their North American brethren. There are those who are not, but the average missionary is not a big-spender/moocher. I currently support several overseas missionaries who live humbly and creatively…partly so that they are at a comparable level to the people they serve. It’s easy to paint everyone with the same brush, but please don’t do that. As a result of my 15 years of missionary service, I will probably work at least 5-10 years past the retirement age of many of my peers. I’m not complaining as it’s a choice I made, and God has always provided for me…but it’s to let you know that we are not all “moochers.”
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
Plenty of mid level gov bureaucrats, though, to make life more miserable for us.
Ruth Tucker wrote:
(… Partly in response to what Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
…)
Good jobs aren’t easy to find in Alloa either (though they do exist). But I believe God has an opinion on Christians might do about this. And I’m not referring to mid-week meetings in which contented middle-class christians pass out palliative care in the form of tea and sandwiches to the Poor People, as has generally been suggested to me over here.
An oft-quoted verse in prosperity circles comes from Deuteronomy and states that it is the Lord who gives you power to make wealth. The verse actually commands When you have eaten and are satisfied, beware lest you forget the Lord your God, and say in your heart, “My faith and my rigorous adherence to the Six Spiritual Laws of Success have made me this wealth” – it is the Lord who gives you power to make wealth.
Well… OK, so I’ve updated it slightly. The point is that, having put it back into context, consider the possibility that the Lord who does not change is still willing to invest his Kingdom with the power to make wealth. Suppose further that this is such as to reflect the character of the King Himself: so, this is not wealth that makes me rich. Rather, it would be wealth that benefits a community, and especially the disadvantaged and downtrodden. In other words, it would – for instance – create jobs. It never ceases to amaze me how many christians don’t believe this is possible, or believe that God must do it “through” secular governments and businesses, and that even then God has to get lucky with The Economy.
That’s my own calling. You might say I’m a missionary to the capable unemployed. As I’m sure all missionary work is – Ruth and others could doubtless tell many a tale – it’s extremely hard. But it can be extremely rewarding too.
Nick Bulbeck wrote:
Agreed. Real wealth vs. faux wealth. I see the Deuteronomy passages you’ve cited as the Almighty issuing a challenge to the children of men:
Which will it be? I’m from Missouri, show me…
@ Nick Bulbeck:
To me, the power God provides is brains, labor, risk, delayed gratification and long term commitment and his wisdom. We should teach all children this focus instead of looking to others or gov to always provide for us. When people who share these things come together they can accomplish much.
Todd Wilhelm wrote:
I also appreciated the clarification. Josh Manley was an intern at Capitol Hill – See Here. So it looked like more of the same to me.
Barb Orlowski wrote:
I was glad to see Ruth Tucker commenting here. I really enjoyed “Daughters of the Church.”
I accidentally posted under my real name. So now you know who I am.
@ Harley:
It happens to the best of Us.
Best regards,
God
Ruth Tucker wrote:
My brother did his residency in Detroit and neoned his years there.
Jackson Jackson wrote:
Thanks Jackson X2,
I did not know Manley was an intern for Dever. I did know he worked for Mohler. I wrote about him a few weeks ago here:
https://thouarttheman.org/2015/12/13/why-are-the-uae-churches-obsessed-with-formal-church-membership/
He was hand-picked by John Folmar to come to the UAE and plant the RAK church. The “congregational” church had no say in the matter. I questioned Folmar on this; suffice it to say it is never wise to question “dear leader.”
Ruth Tucker wrote:
What can you say about a city with the quaint local custom of Devil’s Night, i.e. torching abandoned buildings on the night of October 30th every year. One reason why Deeeee-troit has block after block of nothing but burned-out house foundations except for the occasional house and liquor store.
I knew a guy from Port Huron in upstate Michigan once (Michigan Wildman — if you ever met him, you’d know why I called him that). He had nothing good to say about Deeeee-troit; according to his descriptions, it sounded like Zimbabwe with a US zip code. He used to say if I ever got to Michigan, he was going to take me to Cash Corridor after midnight. AFTER telling me in detail how once his car broke down there and what happened when he had to hike out. Even allowing for exaggeration factor, I told him I wasn’t going any place where I might have to shoot my way out.
Lydia wrote:
Talent and focus are necessary, but not sufficient. For one thing, they form a very small and incomplete subset of the background resources God has provided. For another, Jesus’ famous pseudonym “Emmanuel” means “God with us”, and in my observation, human talent/character work best when God supplements them day by day, in real time, with input that humans on their own don’t have. (To take an example pertinent to this thread: in the stories of Islam-to-Christianity conversions currently emerging from the middle east, dreams/visions of Isa and healing miracles make an important contribution.)
Human resourcefulness and ingenuity can, and do, accomplish much. But God’s power is shown when he takes active part alongside us and supplies what is beyond the reach of our resourcefulness and ingenuity. As I indicated above, living that way is often difficult among Christians here. They’re not used to doing things with God, and for one reason or another, are deeply resistant to the idea. I’ve often encountered the false antithesis: EITHER we accomplish everything by the strain of our back and the sweat of our brow, while God sits on a cloud somewhere, OR we sit around waiting for God to do everything by fairy-magic while we do nothing. That you can live by neither of these is sometimes just impossible to explain.
On the topic of people who want government handouts and similar – that often comes up, too. I tell people I’m working with the unemployed and they ask, How do you deal with the lazy scumbags who refuse to work? or words to that effect. The answer is that I don’t – I can’t help someone like that. But the capable unemployed community is entirely different.
Nick Bulbeck wrote:
The 21st century church has lost touch with this truth … and as a result, we are doing church without God in far too many places. There’s a whole lot more to living in the Kingdom of God (in the here and now) than we are experiencing. The organized church doesn’t really have much spiritual life flowing through it.
dee wrote:
Dee, you & your family are in my prayers.
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Detroit is coming back from tough times. Though I am from West Michigan, I cheer on our beloved biggest Michigan city. But my main original point was that one does not have to go to “darkest Africa” to serve as a missionary—especially a tent-maker missionary. Read Paul’s letters sometime. He lived through some “devil’s nights” of his own.
I don’t believe I am a neo-Calvinist, but I am uncertain Mr. Jennings is completely wrong for several reasons: 1) we have heard about evangelical cults being planted in African countries ( some of these cult like Christian sects have caused a backlash from the natives) and 2) sometimes just having zeal doesn’t convert to being a missionary. Where I disagree with Mr. Jennings is that the Southern Baptists, the denomination Mr. Jennings may come from, has traditionally done a great job vetting foreign missionaries. Also though I disagree with Neo Puritanism, and have some concerns about abuse that are birthed in its polity, Neo Calvinists are Christians. Unfortunately these Neo Puritans may not respect those who are not Neo Cals, and may view those who believe in free will as that fighting word, “remonstrant.” And what of egalitarians who may be conservative Calvinists? I hope they would understand that there are people who don’t agree with them who are also Christians. I also wish they weren’t attempting take over the SBC by stealth.
Nick Bulbeck wrote:
I never mentioned “talent”. Nor would I in such a scenerio. Talent is much too faddish to pin down. I am a bit perplexed why you interpreted my words in that respect. The other thing is It is up to us to seek Gods wisdom. That does not mean it comes easy or that I recognize it when I should many bad decisions later.
I want to see people free and growing. Not dependent and under the thumb of rulers whether it is church or government. That does not mean we don’t need help. That is what Christian community is supposed to be about. We are to reflect Him back into our communities.
Mark wrote:
New Calvinists are indoctrinated to believe that they have been called into the world for such a time as this to restore the gospel that non-Calvinists have lost. Al Mohler, the champion of New Calvinism in SBC ranks, puts it this way:
“Where else are they going to go? If you’re a theological minded, deeply convictional young evangelical, if you’re committed to the gospel and want to see the nations rejoice in the name of Christ, if you want to see gospel built and structured committed churches, your theology is just going to end up basically being Reformed, basically something like this new Calvinism, or you’re going to have to invent some label for what is basically going to be the same thing, there just are not options out there, and that’s something that frustrates some people, but when I’m asked about the New Calvinism—where else are they going to go, who else is going to answer the questions, where else are they going to find the resources they are going to need and where else are they going to connect. This is a generation that understands, they want to say the same thing that Paul said, they want to stand with the apostles, they want to stand with old dead people, and they know that they are going to have to, if they are going to preach and teach the truth.” (Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
So, the rest of us – SBC’s non-Calvinist millions and other believers across the planet – are not “committed to the gospel and want to see the nations rejoice in the name of Christ”?! … “there just are not options out there” ?! … “where else are they going to go” ?!
Such arrogance! Regarding stealth take-over of the largest non-Calvinist denomination in America, it appears that these young reformers justify their deceptive actions by such words from their leaders.
Does anyone know if there are any denominations or non denominational churches left that don’t prescribe to reformed theology? I am having a hard time finding a church that hasn’t been indoctrinated by Neo Cal beliefs. It’s getting really frustrating.
Dear Deb and Dee,
There is a lot money being thrown around in missions right now because of this whole “Business as Missions” movement (which I’d love to see WW tackle). The BAM movement is seriously bad news and Neo-Cals will likely put a lot of money into it, both out of profit and influence motives. The good news is that not everyone in evangelical missions is onboard with BAM.
Todd’s article is spot on. We lived in a middle eastern country for two years due to my husband’s job. It doesn’t matter how many missionaries are sent. Mass conversion of Muslims is not gonna happen.
We knew undercover missionaries who had worked along side the nationals for over 20 years, learning their language, customs, etc. Consistently, we heard stories of a smattering of conversions that ended up NOT being genuine. Long story short, Muslims would show interest and convert to Christianity but then it became apparent that their motive was to befriend westerners either for financial gain or in order to get help obtaining visas to the US or other western countries.
Westerners don’t understand how in Muslim culture, your entire existence is tied to the faith – you can’t get a job, schooling, etc if you convert to Christianity. Not to mention being entirely cut off from your family. The west has a mostly “live and let live” mentality. If I converted to another faith, my family would be disappointed, but otherwise my life would carry on as usual.
And what Todd said about the churches in the Emirates not reaching the nationals – so true. They are ministering to the expatriates only. Otherwise, we’d see the church leaders locked up in prison.
M. Joy wrote:
Not all that much different from the milieu in which the First Century church operated–but it appears the hearts of Jews of thewere a bit more open.
Christina Dowers wrote:
There are plenty of them: Methodists and most charismatics have Arminian leanings. There are (or at least once were, back when it seemed I could find a healthy church before I moved to the Deep South) many churches in which it’s a non-issue.
Ruth Tucker wrote:
I don’t follow or understand your reference to tent-maker missionary. Tent making, in Paul’s world, was a skilled occupation learned through an apprenticeship program. It involved weaving, cutting and sewing and tent makers also had the ability to make awnings from linen to shade windows most likely for the wealthy. It was a portable occupation which had a broad customer base. I don’t think there is anything equivalent today. The closest I can think of is something like a plumber, electrician or auto mechanic, but even these require an investment in capital and you can’t just go to some vacant lot and hang out a shingle because there may not be a need for your services due to competition.
@ Joe2:
If I understand Ruth’s analogy aright, she meant: come and earn your living in the workplace, so that you can build the church without being a financial burden on others – even though it may not be easy or glamorous. That was the point Paul himself made: I do have the right to earn my living from the preaching of the Gospel, but it seems more important to me to preach it free of charge.
But I agree with you on the difficulty involved in setting up a business. Slightly tangential again, but for someone of any age, starting to earn a living can be much easier said than done. In the UK and, I believe, in the US, we have a growing problem with working poverty: “going and getting a job” doesn’t mean you’ll be able to afford to eat. I realise this is not the point either you or Ruth were making!