Bible and Mission

The third Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) met in Jerusalem this past week.  It was the largest gathering of Anglicans since 1963’s Pan Anglican Congress in Toronto, with ‘some 1,966 [representatives coming] from 52 countries,’ including 472 from Nigeria, 367 from the United States, 232 from Uganda, 218 from Australia, and 204 from the United Kingdom. [1]   GAFCON’s 1 st conference in 2008, just ten years ago, was the result of and response to the cultural distortion of Christianity in Western nations that came to a focus when Western Anglican provinces, along with other mainline denominations, began to reject the Church’s 2,000 year old, and Biblical, teaching on homosexuality.  GAFCON took a decidedly orthodox view on the issue of sexuality and the authority of Scripture.  The third GAFCON conference included 316 bishops, 669 other clergy, and 965 laity. [2]   The number of Anglicans worldwide is estimated at over 80 million, by far the largest bod...

The 21 st century is well upon us—and how the world has changed in just 18 years!  The world of Western, Protestant, Evangelical missions has also changed remarkably.  I have been involved in missions all my life, especially since my own first mission assignment in the mid-1980s.  The following reflections come out of the experiences and discussions I have had over the years.  As I am engaged in discussions about how to meet various needs in missions in my own circles, how to relate to supporting churches, and how to engage with nationals involved in Church ministry, I keep coming back to the following challenges in missions today.  In articulating these below, my hope is to help those involved in the discussion about steps to take in missions over the next few years in my own circles of ministry and to help others involved with similar discussions.       1.       Mission Agencies or Mission Societies? A mission ...