Wandering Priest » Bible

A New On-Line Journal

Doug — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:55:45 +0000

I want to introduce you to a new on-line journal: Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis. The link is http://missiodeijournal.com You can download the journal to read or save in pdf format. The issues are themed. The theme of the first issue was “Rediscovering Missio Dei” and the second issue’s theme was “Good News to the Poor.”

The articles are stimulating; as are the responses. Each issue includes book reviews. I discovered the journal when I was asked to submit a book review. When you look at the book review, you can actually hit a button and purchase the book (from amazon I suppose). The journal is in color on your screen.

The editors deserve our thanks for the effort they put into this journal. I hope you will take a look. You do not need to subscribe, the issues are free to read on-line.

The Poor You Will Always Have With You.

Doug — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:12:59 +0000

I preached on “Good News to the Poor” recently and heard that a study group was using the sermon and discussing poverty and what to do about the poor. The verse about “always having the poor with you” came up in the conversation as it often does, which led me to do a little studying.

The passage is found in a couple of places in the New Testament. Matt. 26:11 reads, “For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not have me.” (NRSV)

The other passage is Mark 14:7, which reads: “For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me” (NRSV). I underlined the section that is not included in Matthew, because I think it is critically important to how we interpret this passage.

Many people have taken the phrase, “The poor you will always have with you” as a statement of fact. Some then go on to reason, “Since we will always have poor people around, what is the use of trying to help them? We’ll never be able to help them all, so why even try?” Therefore, the verse ends up being used as a sort of rationalization for not helping the poor.

But I believe this passage is saying just the opposite. 1) Since you will always have the poor with you, you will be able to help them anytime (or always). 2) But since you will only have me (Jesus) around for a while, it is OK that this woman used her ointment on me, even though it could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor.

I would venture that Matthew’s point in the passage was not about how to deal with the poor, but was about the kindness of the woman and then Jesus’ comment about not being with them much longer.

I would venture that Mark included it, making the same points as Matthew, but also adding the extra phrase to emphasize how we should interact with the poor.

It is likely that the phrase, “the poor will always be with you” that Jesus uses comes from Deuteronomy 15:11, “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’ ”

Do you have any thoughts? Please comment.

Mission Trainer’s Forum at the NMC

Doug — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:34:39 +0000

We have hosted a gathering for missions professors, missiologists, and missions trainers now for about a dozen years, picking up the meeting after it had been idle for several years. The one day event takes place at the annual National Missionary Convention. Attendance ranges from 20 to 40 each year. It is an occasion where the professors can come together and hear what each other is doing, hear a guest speaker, share some of their own papers, and be blessed by being together. The meeting will be in Lexington, Kentucky.

This year’s guest speakers will be Robert Gallagher and Ash Barker. Dr. Gallagher is the current President of the American Society of Missiology and whose book Mission in Acts I read in 2004. Ashley Barker is about to complete his PhD focusing on the Incarnational approach to missions, with special emphasis on the slum dwellers of the world. Our emphasis at this meeting is theology of mission, and both will be addressing issues related to the Holy Spirit. It should be a great time. Ash’s latest book, Make Poverty Personal, has been picked up by Baker Books after first being published in Australia. Incidentally, both Robert and Ash are from Australia.

At the missionary convention I will be presenting a workshop on Creation Care, something I did at last year’s convention where some 80-100 people participated. Creation Care is an important issue, especially to the college generation, and a high percentage of people who attend the convention are college aged.

I’m looking forward to a great convention. Will I see you there? Hope so.

Oregon Christian Convention

Doug — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:37:13 +0000

Last week I had the opportunity of bring four evening messages at the Oregon Christian Convention. This was the 158th year of the convention. I’ve been to the convention many times in my life; it is part of who I am. It was an honor to be asked to speak.

My title was Unfinished Agenda: His Commissions, Our Commission. I spoke on Creation Care, poverty, prayer, and the Great Commission. My aim was to show the our Lord gave many commissions, not just one (Mt. 28:18-20). The title for the final message was “The Greater Commission,” and my conclusion was to say that mission is all about relationships: our relationship with God, our relationship with others; and our relationship with Creation.

Robyn joined me for several days, and it was great to have time with my Oregon family: Mom and Dad, my two sisters and their husband, my aunt and uncle and cousin who hosted me.

May I Rant a Bit?

Doug — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:51:13 +0000

For years people have sat in front of computers and made lists of “unreached people groups.” This has been a major mission paradigm, particularly among Evangelicals, since the Lausanne Conference in 1974. As can be expected, of the compiling of lists there is no end. The latest iteration makes the claim that a group of people is unreached if less than 2% of them are Christian.

I have one question. Says who? Isn’t it arrogant and arbitrary to pick out a number (apparently picked out of a hat as there is no Biblical precedence for such a definition) and then to use that number to determine whether a people group is reached? Why isn’t the number 5% or 8% or 20% or 63%? Is there a tribunal on high that makes these sorts of decisions? Were people from the majority world included in the selection of this number?

Furthermore, what determines that a people is reached? I’ve been a Christian since I was a child, have three degrees in Bible and theology, and there are still parts of me that need to be “reached.” The Great Commission includes the phrase, “teach them ALL that I have commanded you.” That ALL is very emcompassing. Maybe being reached should reflect this part of the Great Commission.

Why don’t you weigh in on this? My sense is that missions strategy should be determined contextually, and the context of most of the world’s Christians long ago moved away from the evangelical Christian think tanks in the USA. If the average Christian is a 21 year old woman from the slums of Lima (check it out — that is a pretty accurate definition in terms of demography), who makes about one dollar a day, I have a feeling that part of being reached for her, part of being in the Kingdom of God, has to say something about her hunger, lack of access to clean water, having no job or access to eduation for her children, and so on. Jesus addressed those sorts of issues as he reached people, right?

Mark Your Calendar

Doug — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:16:44 +0000

If you have not heard about this year’s North American Christian Convention, please check it out their website. The dates of the convention are July 6-9, and it is being held in Indianapolis.

There are some great speakers — Brian Jones, Ben Cachiaras, Dick Alexander, Mary Kamau (from the Hope Partnership in Nairobi, Kenya), and Gene Appel. And there are some very special guest speakers too — Francis Chan, Rick Warren, and Tony Dungy. It will definitely be worth your while.

When you come, be sure to check out the CMF display.

A Polish Nun?

Doug — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:00:28 +0000

Here is a really good article from the New York Times. I loved his line about wanting to be a Polish nun when he grew up!

Spectacular

Doug — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:33:05 +0000

Today driving home from church services, westward on 56th street here in Indianapolis, I looked up and saw two birds flying in tandem. At this time of the year you see a lot of Canada geese flying, so my first thought was Canada geese. But that thought was dispelled in a second as I got a closer look.

They were totally white when viewed from behind them and alongside them, the right shape. Definitely swans. I drove just a little above the speed limit (40 mph on that road) to catch up to them, being preturbed when lights forced me to stop, only to catch up with them again. These swans flew pretty much in a straight line, parallel to the road for about three miles, me fast on their tail. When I caught up to them I could see that their facial areas had some black. I was not sure which type of swan they were, but it was rapturous following them!

When I got home I quickly got out my field guides (I consulted four field guides as each has just a little different information from the others) to see if it was possible to determine which swans I saw. They had to be either tundra swans or trumpeter swans. I settled on tundra because these migrate through our area more than trumpeter swans. Until you have racingly followed a pair of swans in flight, you might not appeciate this as much as I did. And if you want to mediatate on this, check out I Kings 4:29-34, especially verse 33.

The Magnificat

Patrick Gerber — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:57:02 +0000

What do you think of when you read or hear read the words of Mary’s song, the Magnificat, Luke 1:46-56? Three answers come to mind. First, some think of the great classical music based on this passage. Pachibel and Bach set these words to music, for which we should all be grateful.

Second, this passage probably makes most people think of Christmas celebrations at their church as these words are often used at that time. To them, these words are associated with children, decorations, eyes all aglow, reindeer, the manger, and presents.

But there is a third way of thinking about this passage. Many of us in America completely miss this, but to Christians from the majority world it jumps out. When they hear phrases such as “he has scattered the proud,” “he has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly,” “he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty,” it reminds them of their daily life. Many Christians around the world are oppressed. They are mistreated. They are disenfranchised. They live in poverty and squalor.

Which is the correct way to think about this Scripture? The eyes of the beholder have an awful lot to do with what we see in a Biblical text.

Sheep and Goats

Patrick Gerber — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:46:15 +0000

I never understood that Bible passage that talks about the Son of Man separating the sheep from the goats (Mt. 25:31-33). I wasn’t raised on a farm and whenever I was with farm animals, it was always cows and horses. In America, sheep are do distinct from goats, that it just didn’t make sense that they would need to be separated – they already are separated!

Then I went to Kenya as a missionary and lived for years with the rural Maasai people who have herds, including sheep and goats. While the Maasai have individual words for sheep (inkerra) and goats (inkineji), the most commonly used word is intare, which refers to “a herd of combined sheep and goats.” Some wag even came up with an English translation for the word intare—“shoats”, though it never really caught on.

Maasai sheep and the goats are intermixed, and to the untrained eye (like mine), it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the two, especially when the animals are not fully grown. Since the animals habitually graze together, they seem as one, the same. Hence, the background to separating the sheep from the goats.