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July/August 2009 eJournal Editor's Note 9Marks eJournal
Editor's Note Okay, so maybe American missions work is driven by the same kind of pragmatism that characterizes so many American churches. Is that really such a big deal? Well, stop and consider the differences between planting pragmatically-driven churches in America versus planting them in most Majority World contexts. Such churches in America have the luxury of building themselves upon the foundations of a culture imbued with several hundred years of Christian influence and ethical norms. Fill a room with nominal Christians, as pragmatically-driven churches do, and you still have a dame that looks half way decent. She'll dress up alright. Now build that same church with those same pragmatic principles, yielding once again a room filled with nominal Christians, but do it in a country with strong traditions in polygamy, or animal sacrifice, or ancestor worship, or Islamic chauvinism, or Hindu castes, or nepotistic social structures, or so on. Build it on the shoulders of leaders who didn't grow up in Sunday School and were not groomed in seminary classrooms with tall genealogical trees, where orthodoxy, even if it's doubted, has been defended in book after book after book. What should we expect of this church? I've been around the Majority World block enough times to suspect something very different, indeed. Philip Jenkins and now others have checked the stats and told us that global Christianity is moving South and East. But are they talking about "Christians" saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? Some would probably tell me that these questions are rooted in arrogant, West-centric assumptions. But am I allowed to raise questions? Andy Johnson kicks off this 9Marks eJournal by pointing to the problem of pragmatism in missiology today, which is the primary concern we want to raise. The pseudonymous "Ed Roberts" and "Doug Coleman," both workers in sensitive contexts, review popular but problematically pragmatic resources. Yet another anonymous overseas worker thoughtfully engages the related subjects of contextualization and lying. Both of these articles are highly recommended. More practical matters are described in the articles on partnerships and what three churches are actually doing. Really practical matters are provided in the tool kit. Conrad Mbewe's especially is a must read. In all this, we pray that these articles and the recommended resources help your church more faithfully engage with God's work around the world. Jonathan Leeman
THINKING CAREFULLY ABOUT MISSIONS Pragmatism, Pragmatism Everywhere! Putting Contextualization in its Place Lying, Hostile Nations and the Great Commission
MISSIONS PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN CHURCH AND FIELD Missions Partnerships from the Home Church's Perspective Missions Partnerships from a Field Worker's Perspective
HOW THREE CHURCHES PUT MISSIONS INTO PRACTICE Sending Missionaries in Community Cultivating a Culture of Missions in a Small Church Developing Missions Networks Without a Denomination
A MISSIONS TOOLKIT How American Christians Can Help Christians in Zambia How to Get Businesspeople into Missions Guidelines for Deciding Whom a Church Supports A Church Questionnaire for Supported Missionaries
RECOMMENDED MISSIONS RESOURCES 9Marks Pastors' and Theologians' Forum Book Review: An Introduction to the Science of Missions, by J.H. Bavinck Book Review: Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions, by John Piper Book Review: Missionary Methods: St Paul's or Ours?, By Roland Allen
NOT-SO-RECOMMENDED MISSIONS RESOURCES Book Review: Church Planting Movements: How God Is Redeeming a Lost World, by David Garrison Book Review: The CAMEL: How Muslims Are Coming to Faith in Christ, by Kevin Greeson
MISCELLANEOUS BOOK REVIEWS Book Review: God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith Beyond a Shadow of Doubt, Book Review: Where Are All the Brothers? By Eric Redmond
Leading the Church Today with Aaron Menikoff & Friends 9MARKS ON FACEBOOK
The Korean translation of Twelve Challenges Churches Face by Mark Dever and The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever can be purchased here.
An English/Tagalog version of What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever can now be obtained for free from Action International Ministries. UPCOMING 9MARKS EVENTS
HOST A 9MARKS WORKSHOP IN YOUR AREA Want to host a 9Marks Workshop in your area? The 9Marks website now has a Workshop invitation feature. It contains pages describing what you will hear at a 9Marks Workshop, what's involved in hosting a Workshop, and an online form for requesting this opportunity. Click here to link to the 9Marks Workshop page.
July/August 2009 Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 1,000 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by 9Marks. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © 9Marks. Website: www.9Marks.org. Email: info@9marks.org. Toll Free: (888) 543-1030. |
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