Webinar: An Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Cross-Cultural Risk
May 31, 2022
Description:
Followers of Christ living in unreached areas of the world often face elevated risk (physical, relational, emotional, etc.). What is God’s perspective regarding following Him when these real dangers are present? How do we manage our journey faithfully? In this webinar participants will: 1. Be introduced to the concept of risk assessment and management 2. Gain a Biblical perspective on Risk 3. Reflect on 3 Essential Elements of a Theology of Risk 4. Acquire one critical skill for decision-making in or during uncertainty risk
Presenters:
Neal and Anna Hampton: In their transparent and unique style, Neal and Anna share God’s Word woven with personal experiences from nearly thirty years of full-time missions, including almost two decades of living and working in war-torn Islamic countries. Their passion is for Christ and encouraging others to develop courageous passionate faith in Him. Neal is a life-long student, practitioner and trainer in the area of shepherd leadership and life development. He has worked with numerous field leaders across multiple sectors in the for-profit, non-profit, para-church, and educational worlds. CRU, Mission Aviation Fellowship, United States Armed Forces, YWAM, Network of International Christian Schools, SIL, IMB, WEC, Frontiers, International Assistance Mission, Avant, and ReachGlobal are just a few of the more than 100 organizations he has served. Neal holds a Bachelor of Science from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. He has over 20 years of experience serving in the Persian and Turkic regions of the world as a humanitarian aid worker, team leader, and Country Director of a large international team operating in the high risk environment of Afghanistan. He and his wife, Anna, serve with Barnabas International since 2010. Anna holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Bethel University and a Doctor of Religious Studies from Trinity Theological Seminary. She is a Bible teacher and speaker at international women’s events in Central Asia, the Middle East, and in the US. They have traveled in almost 70 countries providing consulting, training, debriefing, pastoral counseling, leadership, member care, crisis response, developing materials, monitoring global trends and opportunities while developing expertise on cross-cultural risk as they’ve focus primarily on global workers on the front lines of Central Asia and the Middle East. Anna’s book, Facing Danger: A Guide Through Risk and the training Neal developed from it, Risk Assessment and Management (RAM) Training are based on Anna’s doctoral dissertation on a Theology of Cross-Cultural risk. These two resources are quickly being utilized by global workers all over the world. Visit her at her at https://theologyofrisk.com/ to learn more.
Missio Nexus’ leadership thoughtfully summarize books, giving you the Leader’s Edge to help inform, stimulate and provoke profitable discussion. The Author Interview is an informal conversation with the author to to give you more insight to the book.
This book appeals to a fresh look at the biblical data on the concept of vocational call, comparing differing definitions and descriptions of the call advocated by various denominations and mission organizations as a factor associated with religious vocation. To do this, the author reviews the current understandings of God’s call, summarizes the history of this concept in Western tradition, and discusses the range of challenges of this concept in light of biblical, cultural, and practical issues related to these understandings. Finally, the book reimagines what it means to be called of God that serves believers across the scope of national, cultural, and social strata now and into the future (page 16).
Leader’s Edge No portion of Leader’s Edge or Author Interview may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, nor copied for public use without the permission of Missio Nexus. Send a request to: Info@MissioNexus.org
Pursuing Partnership: New Light on Timeless Texts – Week 21
May 30, 2022
Ephesians 5: Paul and His Subversive Passage on the Family
Wall Fragment with Two Women; Unknown; A.D. 1–75; Fresco
By Wendy Wilson, Missio Nexus, Mission Advisor for Development of Women
Ephesians 5: Paul and His Subversive Passage on the Family
A note from Wendy Wilson, MissioNexus, Mission Advisor for Development of Women:
As we have begun to better understand the Greek and Roman cultures of the first century into which they wrote, the letters Paul and Peter become even more astoundingly counter-culture in forming the new community of Christ-followers. It causes us to pause and ask whether later cultures like ours have actually been reading fallen power structures back into the epistles, rather than seeing how the Kingdom of God was actually turning them upside-down?!
The link to the blog article is below . . .but here is an excerpt from “Ephesians 5: Paul and His Subversive Passage on the Family”:
“In the first half of the Book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul lays out the Christian’s new identity in Christ. In the second half, he provides the “so what,” or the ramifications. As he outlines what Spirit-filled living looks like (Eph. 5:18ff), he envisions a community in which people show Christ’s love by serving one another. And one of the places where such service happens is in the household—where he, in his era, would have found spouses, kids, and slaves under one roof.
People living in the first century under Roman rule would have been familiar with instructions for respectable families known as “household codes.” . . . In the common understanding, a free man reigned unilaterally as king in his home, served by his wife, children, and slaves. But in Paul’s subtly subversive remix, the male householder served to the point of laying down his life . . .
In borrowing but repurposing, Paul creates a Christian innovation. He appears to be upholding society’s structures, yet his major adaptations infuse the codes with absolutely upside-down gospel values that actually contradict the codes. When we try to inject power back into the structure, we exchange Paul’s emphasis for that of Aristotle’s. Why would we want to do that?”
Be sure to enjoy the recording of Dr Glahn’s recent Missio Nexus webinar on new understandings about 1st century biblical culture that assist us in interpreting confusing texts:
Dr. Sandra Glahn is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is an author, co-author, or general editor of more than twenty books including Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible. Learn more about her at her website: aspire2.com.
From our recent North America project in Jerome, Idaho, participant Lezah recalls: “We came to a house that said, “NO Soliciting & Keep Out”. There was even a metal rope blocking off the driveway. From the outside this house was very closed off. In God’s perfect timing the owner just happened to walk outside as we were passing by. She had lost both of her parents within a year of each other and then the pandemic hit. She was a believer, single, and feeling lonely. I got to share my testimony and my journey in singleness. How much I need the church for community, growth, & fellowship…we had a great conversation with her.” Sometimes the people or places that seem the most closed off might just be the people or place God has been preparing.
Along with ministering to this hurting sister in Christ, she witnessed the whole body of believers in Northridge Fellowship participating through serving in a variety of ways. “I loved that whole families served together. It was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ working together.” In putting together gift bags containing the Jesus film, Gospel tracts, a letter from the church, and invitations to come to the church, everyone joined together for the work of the ministry.
“Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.” Acts 2:44-47 Lovingly joining together as the body of Christ to see more and more come to faith in Jesus, as well as encouraging, equipping, and coming alongside each other in the work is always what Christ’s people were meant to be doing.
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International Commission equips and enables believers worldwide to conduct church-based evangelism projects to reach unbelievers and make disciples. You can find free resources to learn more about sharing Jesus with people in your own backyard and around the world at internationalcommission.org/training.
This book appeals to a fresh look at the biblical data on the concept of vocational call, comparing differing definitions and descriptions of the call advocated by various denominations and mission organizations as a factor associated with religious vocation. To do this, the author reviews the current understandings of God’s call, summarizes the history of this concept in Western tradition, and discusses the range of challenges of this concept in light of biblical, cultural, and practical issues related to these understandings. Finally, the book reimagines what it means to be called of God that serves believers across the scope of national, cultural, and social strata now and into the future (page 16).
[memberonly]
Best Illustration
George Scott (1835-1889), who had only one leg, approached Hudson Taylor about missionary service in China. Taylor asked, “With only one leg, why do you think of going as a missionary? Scott replied, “I do not see those with two legs going, so I must.” Scott was accepted for missionary service and went on to become the first missionary in the Wenzhou Province of China where he spent 24 years as a highly effective mission leader. Page 225
Best Idea
There are two essential definitions on calling: (1) appeal to divine, supernatural origin (calling is the persuasion or experience whereby a person feels directly summoned or invited by God to take up the work of the ministry [Niebuhr]); and (2) obligation to the common good (calling is a transcendent summons, experienced as originating beyond the self, to approach a particular life role in a manner oriented toward deriving a sense of purpose or meaningfulness and that holds other-oriented values and goals as primary sources of motivation [Dik and Duffy]. Page 237
Best Take Away
“A call of God is the unmistaken supernatural intervention of God whereby he enlists an individual for a divine purpose. Such a divine call is effectual in that its accomplishment is all but guaranteed by the will of God and critical to the advancement of the purposes of God in history for a particular people.” Page 299
Our Recommendation
We recommend this book to missions pastors, missionaries, and mission agency staff in charge of discerning the call of missionary candidates. The book asks valid questions for individuals and groups to consider, in light of the biblical, cultural, and practical challenges related to the concept of calling.
Best Quotes
“Studies of missionary attrition commonly acknowledge the challenges related to raising children, health and medical concerns, finances, and, famously, inter-missionary conflict as leading reasons why people leave their place of missionary service… A 5 percent annual attrition translates into a loss of 20 percent (or more) of the missionary workforce over the course of a traditional four-year term of service.” Page 23
“The Ancient Hebrews had a deep understanding of how faith and work came together in their lives. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that they used the same word for work and worship.” (Austin Burkhart) Page 38
“And since the fourth century, the term ‘vocation’ had come to be associated all but exclusively with the ‘divine call’ to the monastic profession.” Page 50
“The equating of calling to so-called secular pursuits led to an elevated respect for all sorts of ‘nonreligious’ work.” Page 56
“Capitalism once and for all severs the relationship of work and calling.” (Jacques Ellul) Page 58
“This process of discernment can be understood as a kind of ‘internal call’ that stands in wait for validation that is expressed as the ‘external call’ provided by the relational partner (e.g., the Church, a spouse, or Christ himself).” Page 72
“The Catholic conception of calling can be summarized as divine, inclusive, and indelible, thus enrolling every Christian in the work of God, through the Church, in the context of essential relationships.” Page 74
“For Luther, all believers share a common calling—the call to service. It is this service—rendered through the word as a minister of a local congregation—that was made possible by a divine call mediated through the members of a local assembly.” Page 84
“When it comes to the understanding of calling, student descriptions can be grouped together under several categories that include mystical vs. rational, process vs. immediate, and specific vs. vague.” Page 91
“Calvin (and others) firmly believed that a legitimate call of God not only predisposed the individual to aspire to a ministry role but also was accompanied by the necessary giftings to successfully fulfill the responsibilities of the calling.” Pages 98
“However, whereas Paul’s conversion results from calling, Paul’s apostleship results from appointment.” Page 156
“Only at decisive moments and in decisive ways did God intervene supernaturally to commission a worker, chart a particular course, or point in a specific direction. The rest of the time, He accomplished His purposes through saints obeying the moral will of God.” (Garry Friesen) Page 165
“In its theological usage, calling is associated with the activity of God who reaches out towards his creation and either collectively or individually names/identifies, invites, or summons. Additionally, God can call in the sense of causing or making something or someone to become someone or something else.” Page 168
“Cross-cultural critiques repeatedly emphasize that existing career theories are predominantly U.S.-biased and do not effectively account for the experiences of women, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals coming from more collectively oriented cultures with an interdependent self-concept.” (Andre Pekerti) Page 170
“Calling, as we understand it today, really functions only in the context of a twenty-first-century, First World Western culture that assumes career choice and an individualized, self-fulfillment objective. How believers in the West understand calling just does not fit with most of the world.” Pages 178
“According to the 2018 US census, Native Americans have the highest poverty rate among all minority groups, at 25.4 percent. The African American poverty rate stood at 20.8 percent, while the white poverty rate from the same report was given as 8.1 percent.” Page 210
“The church has considered persons with disabilities to be the focus of ministry to, rather than ministry by.” Page 220
“Taking the time to pray and nurture the possibility of mission service, all the while building into one’s marriage, is a more prudent approach than simply obliging the not-called spouse to submit and follow. In the end, a fruitful, contented partnership will do more good to the kingdom of God than a half-hearted partnership in a challenging ministry assignment.” Page 258
“A joint study by the Barna Research Group, Fuller Seminary, and Pastoral Care Inc. reported that 33 percent of pastors confess to having been involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church.” Page 267
“I believe that in each generation God has called enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. It is not God who does not call, it is man who will not respond.” (Isobel Kuhn) Page 271
“Over the last 500 years or so, the meaning of calling as described by the Reformers has become thoroughly embedded in the warp and woof of church denominations, religious NGOs, Christian colleges, and other ministry agencies. Furthermore, calling as a means of discerning career options has become a common element in the decision-making process for both Christian and secular students to find their place in the world.” Page 280
“We can be assured that God may still call today, even if history is not repeated in the same way, for the following reasons: (1) God has not changed; (2) God’s plans have not changed; and (3) God’s promises are still valid.” Page 283
“God has the rightful authority, the freedom, the wisdom, and the power to bring about everything that he intends to happen. And therefore, everything he intends to come about does come about. Which means, God plans and governs all things.” (John Piper) Page 288
“God’s plans cannot be thwarted and that he is able to bring about the conditions necessary for his will to be accomplished, regardless of apparent political, social, or other human obstacles.” Page 293
“The language that is more in line with how God works in the lives of his people is related to guiding and leading.” Page 300
“The vast majority of believers can and should rather expect God’s leading, which he promises repeatedly to those who seek him. Such leading comes through wisdom as provided by the Holy Spirit in prayer, through the Scriptures, and the counsel of godly men and women. Such leading is personal, contextual, inclusive, and applicable in all walks and aspects of life.” Page 309
Leader’s Edge No portion of Leader’s Edge may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, nor copied for public use without the permission of Missio Nexus. Send a request to: Info@MissioNexus.org
Webinar: Peer 2 Peer for Marketing and Communications Staff: Foundations for an Effective Communications Department
May 23, 2022
Description:
Your organization may be doing great “heart” work, but how does it compare to the outward appearance of your message? In this webinar, we’ll look at the importance of sharing the heart of your organization’s ministry with your audience. We’ll explore a wide range of functions and tools that make up an effective communications department and ensure that your organization has a dynamic and unified message.
We’ll introduce you to our “Outward Heart Matrix.” This matrix provides a robust look at the many moving parts of a communications department. It has more than 100 distinct items organized into eye-opening and insightful high-level categories. We also recognize that every communication team has its own strengths and gifts which will impact what you can execute well. We’ll help you consider the non-negotiables of your communication strategies as well as areas you may need to concede until the right people are trained or recruited.
Presenter:
Dave Wied, along with his wife, Alissa, are the founders of Outward Heart (www.outwardheart.org). Outward Heart comes alongside existing and emerging ministries to help equip them to effectively share their purpose and passion. Dave and Alissa’s entrepreneurial spirits and formal design training give them a unique blend of creative and administrative perspectives to serve a wide range of organizations. Dave previously worked in marketing and communications for Wycliffe Bible Translators and with a marketing agency. Together, he and Alissa most recently served with Living Hope International.
Does Paul Really Think Women are Gossips and Busybodies?
A note from Wendy Wilson, MissioNexus, Mission Advisor for Development of Women:
Earlier in this series we addressed the issue of how English translators have often used male pronouns and descriptors for words that carry no gender assignment to men specifically, but rather speak to “people.” Because our language can use the word “men” to also mean “humans,” we are sometimes confused in our reading of the English text as to whom it is addressed. Other times, the translator makes an interpretive decision in intentionally choosing men rather than people. Here’s an interesting example from 1 Tim 1:3 of why it matters . . .
The link to the blog article is below . . .but here is an excerpt from “Does Paul really think women are gossips and busybodies?”:
“English-speaking evangelicals are three to four times more likely than the population at large to use male wording when the original author had “people” in mind. And 1 Timothy 1:3 is an example of an instance in which it hurts us to do so. While we know the word “men” can really mean “people,” we still tend to read the word “men” in 1 Timothy 1:3 as “males.” And that leaves us thinking that males were the ones doing all the teaching, including falsehood, in Ephesus.
Yet the word rendered “men” in 1 Timothy 1:3 is indeed the neuter pronoun tisin. Tisin carries no suggestion of male or female (as the NET Bible’s rendering, “people,” correctly suggests). So Timothy was to teach certain people not to teach strange doctrines.
We know that some of the younger widows were teaching false doctrine, because two chapters later, Paul writes the following description of them: “And besides that, going around from house to house they learn to be lazy, and they are not only lazy, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not” (1 Tim. 5:13). . .
Does Paul think women are more prone than men to gossip? Nothing in the text suggests such an idea. Indeed, gossip is not a female weakness; it is a human one. Sticking our noses into others’ business is not a female weakness; it is a human one. And teaching false doctrine is not a male weakness; it is a human one. Let us be careful to avoid projecting gender stereotypes onto the Scriptures. Otherwise, we may fail to hear warnings intended for us all.”
Dr. Sandra Glahn is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is an author, co-author, or general editor of more than twenty books including Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible. Learn more about her at her website: aspire2.com.
Yupik New Testament Bible Translation
May 20, 2022
By: Jeff Schaap
Located 150 miles off the coast of mainland Alaska, St. Lawrence Island has been home to the Yupik people for over 2,000 years. And after almost 60 years of translation work, the community has the complete Yupik New Testament!
Discover more about this beautiful island and its people, learn the incredible story of the Yupik New Testament translation, and hear from the translation team, local pastors and the Yupik community as they describe what it’s like to finally read God’s Word in their language.
Wycliffe’s mission is to serve with the global body of Christ to advance Bible translation and work together so people can encounter God through his Word.
This content is submitted by Jeff Schaap of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA, a Missio Nexus member. Member organizations can provide content to the Missio Nexus website. See how by clicking here.
The relational world we live in is governed by social norms and etiquette that shape our decisions more than I think we care to admit. Is it too late to call? Did I just cut them off? Were they waiting for that parking spot? Will they be mad if I take the last tortilla chip? We care about, for good reason, what other people think and we want to carry ourselves in a manner that reflects well on us, our family and even our Heavenly Father (Philippians 1:27).
Every once in a while, our lives include circumstances, crises, or problems that drive us to push through social parameters in order to address the issue. My daughter was sick the other week with a very high fever. We saw the doctor who prescribed the proper medicine, but all that I could do was wait for the prescription to be filled. A short time later, with car keys in hand, I called the pharmacy to double check that it was ready for pick up.
“Sir, we have not received anything for your daughter.” Excuse me?!?!
Now I am normally a patient guy, but when my kids are suffering certain etiquette gets put on hold. So I called that doctor’s office back and in a very clear message, told them “they needed to send that script over right now!” I stayed on the phone until I was confident that it was being sent.
The situation was important enough that I couldn’t afford to keep silent. I needed people to know how important that this was and that I wasn’t going to stop until my daughter was taken care of.
Luke 11:5–8, tells a similar story.
A man has a friend arrive late only to realize that he has no food to offer his guest. So, at midnight he goes to another friend to ask for bread. Who would be bold enough to wake up a friend or neighbor after midnight to ask for some food? I mean I would just tell the guest I’ll make him breakfast in the morning.
Understandably, the friend and neighbor responds ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? Verse 8 clearly lays out that the man’s persistence is what will ultimately create action and ultimately success in resolving the problem.
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
There are times in this life where the Gospel shakes up social norms and can potentially cause discomfort. A necessary discomfort, in my opinion, that results in people getting involved by combining resources to make a much-needed difference.
Those of us that are in roles where we raise our own support need to ask ourselves, how important is it to me? If it’s not important to us why would anyone partner with us to make a difference? To help us answer this question, here are a few ideas to wrestle with.
Looking Outward
What problem are you tackling?
Can you clearly pinpoint what issue you are working to resolve? Can you articulate the scope and scale of why you are needed? The more you know your mission the more people will have confidence that you will be able to make a difference.
Who is depending on you?
This should include general people and specific people you meet as you dig deeper into your mission. Jesus came to save the world, all of humanity, Jews and gentiles, you and me! Knowing individuals you are helping makes your mission very personal and powerful.
Looking Inward
How important is it to you?
How do you connect personally to this issue? Can you step away from this work at any time or are you willing to call every friend you have in the middle of the night because you can’t sleep until the problem is solved?
What solution are you providing?
Your approach will be refined the longer you are serving in any area. So to whatever level you are able to, share your vision and game plan. When people can understand what you are doing, they will want to empower you to extend your solution further and deeper into your mission field.
Looking Upward
Who is calling you to this work?
If your answer is not one of, if not all of, the following: God, Jesus, the creator of the heavens and the Earth, Yahweh, Emmanuel, Adonai…… then you should probably stop and reassess your life plan. If we are mobilizing God’s people and their resources, then we must make sure that He is the one commissioning us to the work.
How will their life be impacted?
Life Change is contagious. We are all saved and part of God’s family because someone before us had an encounter with someone who had an encounter with Jesus. The people you are serving today experiencing life change will have a similar rippling effect into the future. Spend some time with the Lord allowing Him to give you a glimpse into how your efforts could change the world of tomorrow.
Let’s take a moment and talk about the soundly sleeping friend that was awoken by the knocking on the front door. He was probably sleeping in a one room hut directly next to his children and wife just feet away from the closed door. He ultimately got up and provided aid because he realized how important this was to his friend. Persistence and passion!
People are drawn to passion, and they are influenced by persistence. You are surrounded by friends and neighbors who God wants you to share your passion for your mission with. God wants to put on display your tireless effort to make a difference in a way that will cause people to take notice. God is wanting people to get involved in building His Kingdom and to care for a world that desperately needs Jesus and God wants to use YOU to stir them into action.
This article is provided courtesy of Lily Casteel of Support Raising Solutions, a Missio Nexus member. Member organizations can provide content to the Missio Nexus website. See how by clicking here.
Webinar: Results of Mobilization Research
May 16, 2022
Description:
What contributes to effective missions mobilizers? During this webinar, we will share the results from the Agency Mobilizer Training survey conducted by Missio Nexus and the Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention. You’ll learn how those engaged in the North American mobilization arena are doing to set up their mobilizers for success and what factors lead to more effective mobilization.
Presenter:
David Jacob is the founder and director of the Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention. He also serves as the missionary in residence and chair of the intercultural studies department at Trinity Bible College and Graduate School (ND). Since 2008, he has been an Assemblies of God missionary assigned to a sensitive country in Northern Asia. David is the author of It’s Your Call: To a Missional or Missionary Life, has a Master of Arts degree in Missional Leadership, and is currently an Intercultural Studies PhD candidate.
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