Bible and Mission

Issues Facing Missions Today 20: ‘Power’ as Service in Paul’s Apostolic Role Pressing still further the critique of an understanding of ministry as leadership, explored earlier, I intend to illustrate Paul’s own rejection of the notion of power located in skills and offices.  He instead favours a notion of functional power as itself service . To do so, I will venture three theses: (1) Paul is self-denigrating in regard to his status of an apostle; (2) Paul locates power in his ministry in the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit; and (3) Paul’s understanding of his ministry is cruciform (cross-centred).  These theses seem to me to undermine thinking of ministry as 'leadership'. Paul’s Self-Denigration of His Status as an Apostle In perhaps Paul’s earliest letter, Paul finds himself in the awkward position of having to defend his authority as an apostle to a church that he had himself established.  The Galatian church had, to some extent, been persuaded by teache...

The Church 3: Saying the Creed as the Beginning of Missionary Proclamation Here is a simple request of the contemporary Church: Let us say what we believe.  Let us confess our faith with and to one another.  Let us clearly state the truth that we believe to a world that neither knows the truth nor, as often in our day in the West, believes that there is truth.  To do this, let us regularly say one of the universal Creeds—the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. [1]   In the face of denominational decline and the increase of independent churches, the tendency has been to whittle away at anything perceived to be too ‘churchy’—or ritualistic.  The result is that churches have reduced Christian worship to a few songs and a sermon.  Gone are pastoral prayers, weekly Eucharists, confession of sins—and the public confession of faith using one of the Creeds.  Yet saying a universal creed in worship is the beginning of Christian mis...

Issues Facing Missions Today 19: The Daniel Plan?! What do Liberation Theology and the Prosperity Gospel have in common?  They both peddle a Gospel that emphasizes physical well-being.  Now we have Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, and Mark Hyman’s version of this teaching in The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013).  Just what’s wrong with this?  Well, lots.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being healthy and fit.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all be so and, for that matter, have no physical challenges at all?  It’s a great idea to eat well.  But we’re looking down the road at some seriously confused ideas about the Christian life when spiritual life is confused with diets and when clerics and churches start messing in this area.  I’d like to list several of the dangers I see, without presuming to hit on all the issues by any means. First, this isn’t the Gospel.  This kind of an emph...

Issues Facing Missions Today 18: The Need for Servants, Not Leaders—Not Even Servant Leaders Introduction Sometime in the 1970s and 1980s, many people stopped speaking about Christian ‘ministry’. [1]   People were no longer called by God into the’ ministry’, they were now trained to become ‘Christian leaders’.  Christian organizations needed leaders just like any organization.  So-called megachurches—in reality not churches but organizations with a campus and regular services and programs—needed leaders, even Chief Executive Officers.  Not only trained in theology and ministry, these leaders needed skills in how to lead, to run an organization, and to manage finances.  Moreover, to accomplish the mission of the Church, ‘out-in-front leaders’ were needed, and the woes of the Church could be stated in such a way that the problem to address was the need for Christian leaders.  In this essay, I would like to offer a brief (all too brief) sketch or part...

Issues Facing Missions Today 17: Six Uses and Misuses of Scripture in Leadership Studies Introduction: Just how might someone go about using Scripture to discuss leadership?  We have seen an endless stream of publications on ‘leadership’ in the Church since the 1970s. [1]   The Church has, of course, always been concerned with ministers and ministry, but the language of ‘leadership’ is a more recent focus.  A fascinating study of these ‘leadership’ books would be to examine them in light of how they have engaged Scripture and what other authorities (such as the social sciences) they use to make their case for the characteristics and practices of so-called Christian leadership.  This could, actually, be a master’s thesis.  Instead, I would like to tickle out several hermeneutical issues for those who have undertaken or intend to undertake this task.  Six Ways to Use and Misuse Scripture for Leadership Studies: First , one might discuss Bibli...