#22 Muslim Converts
Following a new religion is a life-changing experience. Often, when one accepts a new religion as their own, they carry certain characteristics from their old religion into the new one. This synthesis of religions is common in Christian converts from Islam…
#21 Child Abuse Prevention
Deepak Reju, the author of On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church, encourages Christians to prevent child abuse in their congregations…
#20 Theologically Trained Missionaries
Missionary trips can be a very spiritually strenuous undertaking. Because of this, missionaries should arrive at their destination after they have been theologically trained to carry the Gospel to the nations of the world or various communities in their nation…
#19 Evaluation of Church Budgets
Like any other entity in the world with a constant flow of money and resources, churches have to manage their finances. However, this management is different from any other management. It is a stewarding of the resources that God has given a church to use for His glory and people…
#18 Five Thousand Missionaries
If I were in charge of 5000 missionaries, I would employ both the strategies of Unreached People Groups and Harvest Missions. Incorporating both strategies would lead to the greatest success and demonstrate commitment to the Great Commission found in Matthew 28…
#17 Evaluation of Church Offices
Scriptural texts like 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 14, and Ephesians 4 make it clear that the body of Christ comprises various parts. These parts are due to different gifts the Lord gave His people…
#16 Cross-Cultural Communication
In order for missionaries to be successful, they must be formidable communicators, and this can be achieved by a three-step process. First, “missionaries must understand their culture… Second, missionaries must seek to understand biblical meanings” (p. 280)…
#15 Contextualization
Should Christians contextualize the Gospel and pretend to be Muslims to become better missionaries for the sake of winning Muslims to Christ? While this theory may seem like a good idea, it is far faultier for Christians to lie about their religion rather than being honest about it…
#14 Maturity & Unity: Ephesians 4:7-16
Ephesians 4:7-16 is a wonderful passage that explains how Jesus gifted the church with the Apostles and elders in order for them to be “[His] assistants [in] shepherding His churches.” By examining this section of Scripture, readers will come to understand that Christ is the chief administrator over all other administrators, including the administrators and leaders He establishes…
#13 Identificationalism Vs. Extractionalism
Identificationalism and Extractionalism are two different methodologies for missions with those from a different culture. Extractionalism involves moving the person or people being witnessed into the culture of the missionary. Identificationalism, on the other hand, occurs when the missionaries immerse themselves into an unfamiliar culture to witness the people of that culture…
#12 The Plot to Kill Jesus: John 11:45-57
John 11:45-57 is a very interesting section of Scripture where the story of Jesus’ life begins to speed up and become more dramatic. If the prior text of the Gospel of John was an upward-sloped hill, verse 45 is where the hill turns into a mountain. In other words, the historical account of Jesus in the Gospel of John begins to become more profound and intense at the time that Jesus’ fame increases significantly after the raising of Lazarus…
#11 Resolved to Be Like Jesus
There are many characteristics of a Christian leader. Leading as a Christian requires humility, service, candor, ambition, balance, intentionality, and many other characteristics. However, to explain Christian leadership through characteristics in a short essay is a tremendous task. Therefore, Christian leadership explained succinctly can best be seen in the life, death, and ministry of the Savior, Jesus…
#8 The Kingship of the Old and New Testaments
There are many kings in the Old Testament. Ever since the Israelites first requested a king in 1 Samuel 8, one has been in charge over the land. These kings have been both bad and good; some do the will of the Lord, and others do not…
#7 Spiritual Leadership
Dr. Oswald Sanders was a lawyer and Christian leader born in New Zealand. After leaving his law practice, he served as an instructor and administrator at the Bible College of New Zealand. He also served as the general director of China Inland Mission, now called the Overseas Missionary Fellowship…
#6 Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life
Author, Jason Meyer, sets out in the book, Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life: Doctrine and Life as Fuel and Fire, to tell and inspire other Christians about the God-fearing life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Moreover, Meyer seeks to accomplish a more specific goal in his work: to remind Christians “that according to Lloyd-Jones, the Christian life is doctrine on fire” (p. 21)…
#5 The Multi-Directional Leader
Trevin Wax, a former missionary in Romania, earned his Master’s of Divinity at Southern Seminary and his Ph.D. in Theology from Southeastern Seminary. He has served as a visiting professor at Wheaton College and Cedarville University…
#4 The Significance of Genealogies in Genesis and the Theme of Eve’s Seed
The first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, is a historical narrative about the origin of the world and the history of ancient Israel leading up to the time of Israel’s slavery in Egypt. Throughout the book, there are a few things that should stand out: the literary structure, the genealogies, and the “seed” theme found in Genesis 3:15…
#3 The Roles and Responsibilities of Husbands and Wives in Genesis 2-3 and the Whole Bible
Genesis 2-3 is a beautiful story where God’s faithfulness, care, and atoning for sin are first revealed. Many people are probably familiar with this first propitiatory sacrifice of God on behalf of men and women: “[t]he Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them” (Gen 3:21)…