August 2009

August 31, 2009

Hope: What happens to the unreached when they die?

I ran across an interesting conversation at jdgreear.com about the motives for mission: particularly the question of what happens to the unreached when they die. Now, this is a difficult topic, one that we have to grapple with. I think everyone does, particularly everyone in missions. I have. It can be a stone over which we stumble and break. (And perhaps I should put out a disclaimer: these thoughts, as all my blog posts, are my own, and not—necessarily!—an official position of the organization with which I work. I am given a not inconsiderable latitude for which I am grateful.) [...]

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August 30, 2009

Defining Resilient Communities: safe, whole, connected

A Biblical view: In the beginning, God created the Earth and all that was in it, and called it good. He placed mankind on the earth to rule over and care for the Earth, as a steward (Genesis 1). Man, however, was tempted and fell into sin—rebellion against God’s sovereignty and God’s purposes for man on the Earth. As a result mankind became corrupted and through man’s direction actions and lack of stewardship the Earth became broken and wasted (Genesis 3). God’s desire is to reclaim and redeem mankind and Creation, and he has launched a redemptive effort to accomplish [...]

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August 12, 2009

The plausible promise, the definition of success, and avoiding disappointment.

C. Holland wrote Aug. 3 about “Disappointment Avoidance.” I’ve been working pretty hard on some other projects and haven’t gotten this far down in my Google Reader subscriptions, but I was very interested in this particular article and how it relates to the swarmish idea of the plausible promise. In particular this passage was interesting (although you ought to click through and read the whole thing, it’s just a few paragraphs long): Obedience is not a formula, nor is it a means to an end, usually assumed to be success. Perhaps it’s a more Western ideal, even an American lesson, [...]

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