January 2007

January 1, 2007

Seizing tomorrow

John wrote to his readers, “I write to you fathers . . . I write to you young men . . . I write to you dear children” (1 John 2:13-14). These three ways of addressing the believers suggest that spiritual growth is similar to the growth and development of human beings. Converts always come to the Christian faith as “children.” However, as they take advantage of the means of spiritual growth, they mature to the point of becoming “young men”—Christians who are strong, energetic and enthusiastic and capable of doing a lot of work. Eventually, the “young men” continue [...]

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January 1, 2007

How to be effective on the field

by Norm P. Recently, an article in the e-zine Brigada Today caught my eye: “Rebekah is 22 years old. Next year, she’ll move to India to begin work as a missionary there… She’s eager to know: what’s your top-ten list of tips, thoughts, ideas, and principles that can help her become super-effective on the mission field.” Here is how I would answer her: Develop a hunger for the Word of God. Know it deeply; study it daily. Spend time meditating on it. Base everything you do on it. God’s Word will keep you steadfast and focused in hard times. You [...]

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January 1, 2007

Measuring character

For many years I have been involved in researching the quantities of the church: how many believers, how many churches, how many there were last year, how many there are this year, how many can read, how many speak this language, how many speak that, how many have a Bible, how many need one, and so on. Lots and lots of numbers. The second most frequent question I am asked (the first being, “how do you know the numbers are reliable”) is, “Are they really believers?” Sometimes this question is posed from a purely denominationalist perspective. “Are they our kind [...]

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