Improving Missions Websites
One of the earliest editions of “Missions on the Web” offered tips and techniques for those developing their agency’s first website. Surprisingly, most of the principles discussed there still apply.
Dos and Don’ts in Speaking to ESL Audiences
“You’ve gotta take the bull by the horns,” I declared. The students looked puzzled. As an “English as a First Language” (EFL) speaker, I was talking to my class of twelve students who were all “English as a Second Language” (ESL) speakers from around the globe. Since they all spoke English, I assumed that they fully understood everything I said.
Building Teams, Building Walls
The modern mission compound is alive and well. Its walls aren’t of stone or mud brick, but they are just as real. The distance between missionary and local is just as great, and the unintended insult is even greater.
Between the Dark and the Daylight
Almost all missionaries have been told to respect culture at one time or another. A veteran missionary introduced me to the idea in an anthropology course in 1965.
Ugly Americans or Ambassadors of Christ?
Missionaries are ambassadors representing Christ. They either present the ugly face of the home culture as a mask for the gospel or present the glorious gospel of the King.
What Do You Do When Sins Seem Ignored
After months of internal wrangling, the denominational pastors board finally reached a decision. Despite the objections of some national pastors, the board approved a young man as national church president. He had recently returned from doctoral studies in the West, and was the most highly educated of all the pastors.
Changing Traditional Missions: The Law of the Boomerang Effect
Recently I reached the milestone of a decade of leadership at CBInternational (CBI). It gave me pause to reflect on changes in the mission world since the early 1990s when I began my assignment. It seems like a lifetime and a world ago.
Inside Out and Outside In: The Radically New Society Described in Ephesians 2
Have you ever felt like an outsider? Of course! Perhaps you were the last one picked for a game in the school yard? Or maybe you were the only one of your friends not invited to a party?
Cross-cultural Challenge
Though they may take on different forms than in the past, traditional “cross-cultural” challenges will continue to be an important aspect of missionary life during the twenty-first century.
Mission and Church Partnership Dynamics: Lessons from SIM-ECWA in Nigeria
What happens when an international, interdenominational faith mission agency decides that a national church it birthed has reached maturity and is ready to assume full responsibility for the church and related ministries?