Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is now offering a new Ph.D. in Applied Theology concentrating in Missions with a track in North American Missiology. This degree is available to church planters, pastors, and others working in the field of North American Missiology with at least three years of field experience. The successful candidate will also meet all the admission requirements for Southeastern's Ph.D. studies. Sound good? Of course it does! SEBTS is an excellent seminary that continues to grow a reputation among serious students of the word and practitioners of ministry.

Here is some of the information now available for this new degree (and note that it does not require relocation to Wake Forest).

I am sitting in a coffee shop in Vail, Colorado as I write this. Around me are people who speak other languages, have different skin tones, and come from different cultures.

Last week, I took my daughter to California and we spent a few days in L.A.. The diversity was much more evident there. In many places, we were the only ones who spoke English as a first language.

Across North America, our airports, downtown streets, and even suburban malls have become a cornucopia of cultures and nationalities. Increasingly America just doesn't look much like me. However, as I enter the doors of many churches, I see mainly people who look like me. I recognize that there are strong ethnic churches and I do visit them, but I am concerned that too many churches are not engage in cross-cultural mission engagement when the opportunity is so clear.

I do not see the variety of people groups in our churches that I see in our cities--and this grieves me. I have written about this lack of ethnic leadership in my own denomination, but it is an evangelical problem. I have shared some resources on the topic here.

For the first time in recent history, more churches are being started in North America than are closing, yet this expansion of churches has made few inroads to internationals of non-Christian backgrounds living within our borders. This worries me, not only for the future of our country, but more importantly for the future of international missions. The question must be asked: If we as the church in North America desire to share the gospel to the world, how can we expect to be effective overseas when we cannot even reach the world at home?

The church has some waking up to do. The U.S. Census projects that 50% of the U.S. population will be of a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white by 2050. International immigration to North America has created an exponential growth among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and other non-Christian groups. Toronto, a city of over 6 million, is now 50% foreign-born.

If we take Jesus' command, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you," with any seriousness, we must be willing to share the gospel with "others" who are not just like us. And these "others" do not just mean people in different economic or racial positions. It also includes those "others" who speak other languages, adhere to foreign religions, and hold cultural values that are much different from mine and yours.

I'll let the experts figure the forces behind the upsurge in immigration. I'll let the politicians argue about whether it is good or bad and what we should do about it. But, in the meantime, I will listen to Jesus and tell the good news to those peoples increasingly present around us. And, obviously, we need some hope to engage in this essential mission.

That is why I am thrilled that practitioners and experts are now speaking out for the purposes of Christ's kingdom. I came to know Phillip Connor when he worked at the North American Mission Board under my watch in the Center for Missional Research. While there, Phillip directed the peoplegroups.info project and was the project manager and stats man behind the church planting studies I conducted while at the North American Mission Board. While at the mission board, we nicknamed Phillip "Luke Skywalker" for his perseverance and sharp intellect to get things done. Phillip is smart (he is doing his Ph.D. at Princeton University in immigrant religion), but his wife Kandace is even smarter. She speaks three languages fluently while Phillip only speaks two. They are both graduates of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary under the tutelage of Thom Wolf. Most importantly, they have real world experience working among internationals, particularly when they planted churches among South Asians, Chinese, and other people groups while living in Montreal. They continue to reach out to internationals in their new home in New Jersey.

Kandace and Phillip are releasing their first book, Who is My Neighbor? Reaching Internationals in North America for which I wrote the foreword (and part of this article is adapted from that forward). Who is My Neighbor? will not only challenge you to look beyond your own setting and give you a greater passion for internationals, but more importantly will provide you with the practical tools to go from an interest in internationals to establishing a multiplying church network. It is rare to find a book on missions so well designed and focused yet also a delight to read.

Kandace and Phillip believe, as do I, that the growing international population in our continent will not be reached through an elaborate, grandiose missions program. Instead, it requires a volunteer army of lay people, like you and me, spread all across North America committed to an incarnational ministry of proclamation and church starting, one international family and subsequently one people group at a time. Don't miss this! This book is not for the career missionary, although they could learn from it. It is for the missional Christian eager to engage across cultures. The book is only available for purchase at Phillip and Kandace's website, reachinternationals.com. So be sure to order yourself a copy, but also order one or two more to give to those people who can really use it!

Kandace and Phillip are friends. Over the past several years, we have been in the same church, worked together on many projects, and have enjoyed time together as families. Phillip and Kandace are a rare breed. They are humble. But, do not confuse humility with lack of knowledge. I count them as the most knowledgeable people I know in ministering among internationals in North America. They are friends to my family, but more importantly, they are friends to the world living in North America. You will be blessed and challenged as you read their book.

Today, the LifeWay Communications Department put out their weekly "Lifelines," which is our employee newsletter at LifeWay. Since I am in the office today, I had a chance to see the issue. It is not available on-line, but this is the actual text (no April Fools "trick," just a little "treat").

Doing their jobs well, the communication folks edited my answers. But, since the newsletter came out today, and in the spirit of April Fools Day fun, I have added the original text back in underline/italic at the beginning or end of each question.

Unlike our staff at the LifeWay building, you get to read the rest of the story... grin.

Larry McCrary is a dear friend who has been involved church planting in the United States and in Europe. There are few who have planted on two continents so his comments are worth hearing. I asked him to tell me about missiology in Western Europe and he wrote:

I like to think of Western Europe as a river with three major cultural streams affecting it right now. Each stream is a spiritual challenge in itself, but combining the three makes for extra-difficult navigation when it comes to engaging people with the gospel.

The first stream - which is decreasing in size - is that of the institutional church's decline. This may be the Roman Catholic Church in some countries, the Church of England or the Lutheran church in other parts of Western Europe, but as a whole the churches are declining in attendance. What makes this stream interesting is that, while it is decreasing in size and influence, the veneer of the institutional church still has an impact on the culture.

Continue reading Missiology in Western Europe.

One of the fundamental challenges with cultural engagement is how far to go to engage culture. It is always easy for smug people to sit on the sidelines and throw rocks at people who seek to engage cultures. I see it every day. Come to think of it, I get calls about it pretty regularly.

It seems that everyone is an expert on how far to go with engaging culture-- and the fact that you have no real experiencing in a certain culture does not keep you from opining on the subject. Sigh.

But, the fact of the matter is this: in every missional cultural engagement, some go too far and some don't go far enough. It is the nature of contextualization. It is hard. It takes a commitment to biblical principles. It takes wisdom. It takes listening to each other. And, those outside the culture need to listen to those inside. And, those inside the culture need to learn from those that have gone before them.

At the Madras missionary conference, way back in 1938, they explained that churches had to be "indigenous," or be rooted and related to their own cultural context:

An indigenous church, young or old, in the East or in the West, is a church which, rooted in obedience to Christ, spontaneously uses forms of thought and modes of action natural and familiar in its own environment. Such a church arises in response to Christ's own call. The younger churches will not be unmindful of the experiences and teachings which the older churches have recorded in their confessions and liturgy. But every younger church will seek further to bear witness to the same Gospel with new tongues" (International Missionary Council, "The Growing Church: The Madras Series," Papers Based upon the Meeting of the International Missionary Council, at Tambaram, Madras, India, December 12-29, 1938. Vol. 2, (New York, International Missionary Council), 276.)

Such a value is not easy to uphold and there are dangers on both sides.

Dean Gilliland explains:

One of the newsletters I subscribe to is Gailyn Van Rheenen's Monthly Missiological Reflections. I have always admired his writing, but last year Gailyn and I visited in the cafeteria of Dallas Theological Seminary while I was there preaching in chapel. I learned to also appreciate his passion for missiology, Christ, and the church.

His Missional Helix is very helpful for thinking biblically about missiological issues. (Zondervan recently interviewed him here.)

On his helpful webpage, Missiology.org, he cites two definitions of missiology:

Missiology: "the conscious, intentional, ongoing reflection on the doing of mission. It includes theory(ies) of mission, the study and teaching of mission, as well as the research, writing, and publication of works regarding mission" (Neely 2000, 633). "1. the study of the salvation activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit throughout the world geared toward bringing the kingdom of God into existence, 2. the study of the worldwide church's divine mandate to be ready to serve this God who is aiming his saving acts toward this world" (Verkuyl 1978, 5).

I must confess I have taken a longer hiatus than intended from my Meanings of Missional series. For those of you new to the discussion, refer to preface, part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. Now, I'd like to return to the meat of the discussion as we seek together to define - and more importantly to live - the missional mandate.

Last week, we finalized some things related to how I will be working for and representing the International Mission Board. Jerry Rankin and I visited a minute and he started the conversation, "Aren't you working for me now?"

Yep. Sure am. The IMB has contracted with LifeWay for part of my time.

And, I am ready to help more and more of our churches be working along with Jerry toward that Great Commission. (Does that make us Jerry's kids?)

Rick Meigs came up and introduced himself at a conference I was leading in Portland. I always enjoy meeting insightful people I have read online.

I like Rick's missional icon, and I have used it here. Rick has also done a great job listing definitions of missional... Click on the graphic to take a look.

There are many definitions. Some people are not happy that we would try to create a definition at all. Others think it is already defined.

But, as Rick illustrates on his site, there are lots of ideas about what the word means. Some have expressed concern that the focus is becoming, "what missional means to me." A valid concern. But, in all the discussion of what it means to be missional, I thought the best thing was to ask those who first used the word. (Crazy idea, eh?) And, we ought to also understand the theological and missiological discussion that the early users say undergirded their work.

Much as I did with Francis DuBose, I laid out my quest to better understand the various uses of the word "missional" and asked Chuck Van Engen for his insights.

Well, I am not very good at getting my "Meanings of Missional" series out on Monday. My new post is done, but I am waiting to get a couple of quotes confirmed. So, as soon as I hear back, I will post it... hopefully very soon. In the meantime... let me share about an upcoming project.
-------------------------------------

I think it is a good thing to understand and engage popular culture and practical ministry. I talk a lot about biblical fidelity, cultural relevance, local church ministry, and leadership. And I try to write some things to help pastors and leaders. But, I also think it is a good thing to engage in scholarly discussion of the issues that undergird such conversations. As such, I am co-editing a forthcoming missiology book with David Hesselgrave.

Tomorrow will be the formal beginning to my "Meanings of Missional" series. Every Monday, and on some other days as well, I will post on the meaning of the word "missional" until my formal paper is done.

I am hoping to receive some feedback, discussion, and even disagreement. The end results, I hope, will be a clearer understanding of what different groups and people mean when they use the term "missional."

I was originally planning to post "part 1" today, but I spent too much time on the phone with Francis Dubose. He was gracious enough to take the time to talk with me at length about all things missional.

Dubose is the first person I can find to use the word in the sense we use it today. Dubose, who is 85, wrote God Who Sends back in 1983.

He was a professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary where the Francis M. DuBose Award for Excellence in Kingdom Missions is given in his honor.

One more post before we turn to tomorrow's research.

Last week in class at Indiana Wesleyan University, Rick Champ, one of my students, presented a good summary of The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch. You can find the PowerPoint here.

I believe Alan is a good thinker and has been challenging us all about the purpose and structure of the church, God's mission, and the gospel. We've developed a friendship-- and have even argued about a few things. But, we share similar passions-- and I know few Christian leaders as gracious and thoughtful as Alan.

I think his analysis of cultural distance and the western church is very helpful:

Every Monday, I will post something about mission, missions, missional, or missiology.

Here is the first-- a guest blog from a missionary living in a Muslim country. He cannot use his name because, well, many people in the world are not excited about what he is doing. So, we will call him Bob.

Feel free to interact with him in the comments.

Ed

"Bob" wrote:

For a little more than a decade my family and I have been living in Asia. Our desire has been to "model and multiply missions and ministry among Muslims." By that, we mean that we want to be directly involved in praying for and sharing the gospel with Muslims, seeing them discipled and brought into the fellowship of the saints. And we want to be teaching and encouraging others to do the same thing.

Often people ask us why we do it. Why have we left our families, our culture and our homes to live in the third world with Muslims? Why are we not back in America where life is "easier," our boys can get a "good" education, where it is "safe" and we can care for our ageing parents? Honestly, sometimes I ask myself the same question.

Perhaps you have heard the following complaints, "Mission work is expensive and dangerous. Besides, most people don't want to hear the gospel anyway, otherwise why would missionaries have to go into these places undercover." Today many people are accusing mission boards of being reckless for sending people to share their faith in a dangerous, hostile world.

And it is not just foreign work that is so dangerous. Papers carry the story of a student being killed for her faith in a Colorado school. I have had a gun pulled on me in Louisiana when inviting someone to a church function. If people are not interested, why bother? Why not just join with people like Hasan (not his real name) who recently said, "I pray that there are no Bridge People in heaven--they are just evil, hateful people who deserve to go to Hell."

So, how can we answer these questions? What is the point of communicating the Gospel with non-Christians? I have a brother who is an atheist. He told me once that he was sure I was too smart to believe in the gospel so I must be doing this for the money. Now, we have been extremely blessed by the generosity of Southern Baptists through the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, but we took a fifty percent salary reduction to come here, so I couldn't be that smart if money was my motivation!

Johannes Bavinck, in An Introduction to the Science of Missions defined the aim of missions as "To glorify God, establish the kingdom, and convert the heathen." In practice, this process is generally accomplished in reverse order. We share the gospel with those who have not heard it in a way they can understand. Then we gather them into congregations where they can be discipled and join others in worship. Those congregations become a part of the Universal body of Christ, reflecting God's glory throughout eternity.

Bavink was not the first missiologist to make this correlation between evangelism and the glory of God. In John 15:8, Jesus said "This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

If you are a Christian you know the greatest joy available to human kind--a personal relationship with the Almighty Creator. We do not share our faith to "stem the Islamic tide" or "defeat the postmodern agenda." We share our faith with others out of a sense of love for God and those who are separated from Him. We share out of a concern for His glory.