Articles

Our transition back to the States has brought great challenges, but through them we have learned valuable lessons.

The Great Commission calls us “to make disciples of all nations.” The central focus is on making mature followers of Christ, not simply converts. This requires godly models lived out in humility and grace for long periods of time.

The old man’s desk was covered in papers. His hair was peppered with white and his eyes were yellowed and tired. He gestured at the piles of paper with a look of frustration and disdain.

Please, tell us your stories, the villagers said to the newcomers. The villagers were all silent and smiled as the Enlightened began telling the truth. But they did not tell stories.

Today’s population growth is driving change in unprecedented ways. The challenges and opportunities for all aspects of life are at a critical level. No generation has ever faced these issues; there are no ready-made answers. In the last 150 years the world’s population has grown from five hundred million to six billion.

Back in September-October, 2004, I was fortunate to be among the delegates to the Lausanne Forum 2004 held in Pattaya, Thailand. This event, the 30th anniversary conference of the first Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization organized by Billy Graham, called together 1,530 men and women from 130 countries.

Missionaries’ relationships with their home churches have changed over the past few decades.

The Lord called us to Africa in the 1950s. Extensive cross-cultural ministry training served us well when we arrived in Kenya in 1966. But when we were set to furlough in the United States, no one suggested that we would suffer culture shock. After all, we were just returning home.

The Church has witnessed many changes during the past century. One of the most dramatic has been the massive growth of Christianity in the non-Western world—Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, certain parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

John Esposito, arguably the most influential non-Muslim American scholar on Islam, at times sounds prophetic. His book The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? (1992) suggests Islam is a threat to the West—particularly America.