Monthly Article
A Word from the Deaf of ION
The Deaf constitute a people unlike any other on earth. Mission scholars define them as a people group composed of profoundly Deaf men and women, usually Deaf at birth or before the acquisition of language, who use sign language as their preferred language ...
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A New Day in India
We now face the most difficult days in the recent history of India. Our president is bound to establish our country as a Hindu nation following the demands of Muslim and Buddhist countries all around him. Yet these are possibly the best days the church of...
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Restoring Missional Vision in Theological Education
Most of the emerging churches are made up of first-generation believers. Therefore, they come with totally different sets of worldviews. They lack deep discipleship under the lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives, which would transform their worldviews. T...
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Orality Research Primer
Walking the intersection of science and faith Prepared by Adriana Donaldson, Charles Madinger, Nicholas Nickl, and Emily Pohl A Primer for Research in Orality Go ye therefore, and teach all nations Matthew 28:19, KJV Congratulations for havin...
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Reproducibility DNA
While interviewing candidates for missionary service, one missionary couple came through who were church planting candidates for a mega-city in Northeast U.S. After getting to know each other a bit, I asked, "What are you going to do differently to address ...
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Connecting for Change: The Orality Movement – More than Storytelling
At about 8 am on Tuesday morning, March 22, 2016, at the airport in Brussels, Belgium, a terrorist bombing took place. Two Living Water International (LWI) co-workers and I had just landed a couple of hours earlier, en-route from Liberia, West Africa, on ou...
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Elements of a Strategy Change
Yankelovich, a research company, provided the world with a study that said the average American was exposed to 5,000 advertising messages every day. Common sense says that we cannot process that much input. A study in 2014 by Media Dynamics, Inc., confirmed...
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Why Prayer Support is Essential
While I was leading a Bible Storying session on spiritual warfare, one woman spoke up and said, “I don’t have to worry about spiritual warfare. I don’t witness, so Satan leaves me alone.” What blessings this lady was missing in seeing others have a personal...
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Orality: The Next Wave of Mission Advance (Revisited)
The Orality Movement has strong roots. The past ten years have been particularly strong. We were getting organized and I wrote the following news release, which Mission Frontiers picked up and ran for its January-February 2004 edition. For those new to the ...
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Connecting for Change: Changing in order to connect
HOUSTON, TX (ANS – October 7, 2015) – Why are things the way they are? Why are people the way they are, and why do they do what they do? These are vitally important questions that can be transformational and life changing when taken to heart. I personally n...
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Talking Up Orality
Your help is needed to put in a good word for orality, especially among the literate elite. Literates must take the responsibility of changing to relate to orals who cannot go the other way. Those who fall in the top 13% of American readerdom control publis...
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Connecting for Change: Questions that Matter Most
HOUSTON, TX (ANS – September 1, 2015) – Why are we doing what we are doing? What are we here for? How did this get started? What is the origin and history of some particular practice or custom? These are all great questions that can prompt important convers...
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Accountability
Pastors occasionally connect with me about evangelism and discipleship for their church. It was great talking with a church planter / preacher in another state recently regarding his attempt to preach hoping to disciple his congregation. Together, we contra...
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Mission Summer Blitzes
Many followers of Jesus in the United States go on mission trips during the summer months. The majority drive into Mexico. However, an increasing number travel to help a career missionary as they serve among an unreached people group.
Stop! In the name of Love
The Supremes’ lead singer, Diana Ross, pleaded with her man not to leave her and go to another woman. The lyrics of that 1965 hit cried, “Stop! In the name of love before you break my heart. Baby baby, I’m aware of where you go / Each time you leave my door...
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Who should be in your storying group?
Donald McGavran, a missiologist, defined the Homogeneous Unit Principle as “a section of society in which all members have some characteristic in common.” The global work in missions for people groups was built around the HUP. IMB defines a people group as ...
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Ministering with Bible Stories
When you seek to meet the needs of others, how can you use Bible stories? Listening to people is the key. Trust that the Holy Spirit will bring Bible stories to mind, so listen to the Lord while listening to the person in need.
Going for Local
A missionary artist in West Africa taught me how to walk into a local market empty-handed and walk out with indigenous materials. She would look for scraps of fabric, discarded candy wrappers, plants with staining qualities useful for painting, and newsprin...
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