Category: Mission

Jesus as attractive

Jesus is the most attractive man in human history. No one matches him in the qualities we all want and need in a person. He’s incomparable, even if most of the world ignores him. Even when many Christians will view this claim as a teasing overstatement. Which is why we need to pause and reflect …

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The paper mill

I live in a paper mill town. For decades Camas was infamous for the fragrance it shared with its neighbors. No one for miles around could escape us if the wind was blowing their way. But that’s changed—new process scrubbers have made a huge and happy difference. Yet another worse sort of pollution is still …

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New Year Goals

The New Year is here. Is it time to lose thirty pounds? To find a spouse? Or, if you’re married, to build a happier marriage? Is it time to clean out the garage? Or the closet? Or maybe the fridge? Surely there’s some bold new ambition to chase! Here’s mine. I want a closer bond …

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The Demonized Lady

I was in Ethiopia last month to observe and support a Christian “follow-up” ministry. The leader, Rich, was a Bible translator in Nigeria for many years. After translating the New Testament into a regional language he spotted a problem. Many new converts brought along their old ways of worship to their newfound Christianity. So for …

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The City of God

Augustine, the lead pastor of the church in Hippo, North Africa, spent more than a decade writing the City of God—from 413 to 426. It was his response to news that Alaric, commander of the Goths, had sacked Rome in 410. So Christians in the Roman Empire were shaken. Christians throughout the Empire, including the …

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Is the Spirit in?

A growing field in Christian missions is called member care ministry. Workers in this field help global workers—missionaries—with emotional and spiritual hurts that have come from their time in ministry. Our question for today, then, is: Why the wounds? And who’s doing the damage? We may have heard the easy answer to the Why question: …

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“Anthro…what?”

Last week I used some ordinary jargon in a conversation: “Churches seem more anthropocentric than ever.” My friend was puzzled, “anthro…what?” “Sorry,” I said, “they seem more human-focused and less God-centered—‘theocentric.’” Why the jargon? Using obscure terms when normal speech works is a bad habit. And that, in turn, can fog a conversation. If, for …

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A Bottom Line

“Let all things be done for building up.” This call wrapped up Paul’s response to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 14:26 on the question of spiritual gifts. He was dealing with a divided and spiritually immature church—“infants in Christ”—who wrestled, ironically, with how to be godly in their new relationship with God. So here’s my …

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Who?

“Christendom” is the collective rhetorical tag for all who are now or have been associated with historical Christianity. To outside observers—whether Hindu, Buddhist, Islamist, or secularists—the links are loose and ill-informed. But the result is that Christendom – that is, the Western world – is a monolithic spiritual opponent. And when outside observers are hardened …

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