Strike the Match with J. D. Payne

Last week, two U. S. news stories broke on sexual abuse: one addressing the sexual abuse of children connected to New Tribes Mission (Ethnos360) and one addressing sexual abuse of 700 people at the hands of Southern Baptist church leaders.

In this special episode of Strike the Match, Dr. Tate Cockrell is my guest. We spend time addressing several matters related to this topic. Where did the Church make mistakes along the way? What can agencies do to prevent sexual abuse? How can an organization develop a culture of accountability? What should an agency do whenever abuse becomes known? What is the place of church discipline? What is the relationship of legal matters to report and the nature of the Church as a redemptive community? While this is a topic some listeners will find very comfortable, it is one that the Church must address.

Dr. Cockrell may be found on Twitter @tatecockrell and Facebook.

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The Church often overlooks the role of artistic expression in Kingdom advancement while limiting such expressions to worship music. However, artists are a powerhouse of Great Commission potential.

In this episode, Dr. Byron Spradlin is my guest. Byron is the president of Artists in Christian Testimony International. You need to be familiar with this unique sending agency. Byron and I talk about the importance of artistic expression in missions and a couple of examples of how artistry is being used among unreached people groups. He also shares some thoughts on what pastors can do to empower and send their artists to the nations.

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Dr. Steve Leston is my guest in this episode of Strike the Match. Steve is the president and CEO of To Every Tribe. We discuss the importance of multiplying leaders and training church planters. Steve shares about To Every Tribe and their unique training approach that includes “The Eight Phases of Pioneer Church Planting.” Be sure to pay attention to their unique two-year church planting training process. It is very impressive!

Check out their site for the resources mentioned. Also, you may find Steve on Twitter @steveleston.

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Dr. Steven Rutt has written the definitive works on Roland Allen. And both of these books were published in 2018. Roland Allen: A Missionary Life is an outstanding biography on the man behind such books as Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? and The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church. And Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission describes the views of this Anglican priest that continue to influence missions and New Testament studies.

Allen was one of the leading missionary thinkers of the 20th century. His views help shift a paradigm from colonialistic mission-stations to contextualized church planting and leadership development. His writings would later influence leading missiologists such as Donald McGavran and others within the Church Growth Movement. His principles related to the spontaneous expansion of the Church would shape missionary practices of advocates for church planting movements, and later disciple making movements, and those encouraging Training for Trainers (T4T). In fact, if you are involved in evangelical mission work today, you have been influenced by Roland Allen.

Check out our conversation and hear of Rutt’s journey into the world of Roland Allen. Then get copies of his books.

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Dr. Rutt may be contacted at [email protected]

For the past week, international news has covered the death of U.S., missionary John Allen Chau. Sometime between November 16 and November 18, Chau was killed by the North Sentinelese on the isolated North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean. He was there to share the gospel with this unengaged-unreached people group.

Media sources and social media feeds rarely communicate a balanced perspective. While I did read one article that was a display of fair and balanced journalism, most labeled Chau as a health risk, colonialist, and/or mentally ill.

This special episode of Strike the Match provides the other side of the story. My guest is Dr. Pam Arlund, a member of the International Leadership Team with All Nations. Dr. Arlund served as a Bible translator and church planter in Central Asia for ten years. She now trains and coaches others to make disciples and multiply churches. Dr. Arlund is a well-informed, credible source.

Chau was a missionary with All Nations. According to Dr. Arlund, he received training, had an entrance strategy, and had a strategy for life and ministry on the island.

Dr. Arlund also speaks to the matter that before leaving, Chau received some health care training, worked on obtaining proper vaccinations, and quarantined himself before getting on the boat. She also addresses the concerns regarding colonialistic practices and Chau’s sanity.

One matter that came as a surprise was that Chau believed the travel restriction had been lifted from the North Sentinel Island. According to the articles linked below (shared by Dr. Arlund), the travel ban was lifted earlier this year until 2022. This included the ban on the North Sentinel Island.

India: Andaman Islands-Restricted Area Permit Abolished

No More Restricted Area Permit for Foreigners Visiting 29 Andaman Islands

29 Islands in Andaman and Nicobar Removed from RAP

Dangerous Tribe Islands to Open to Tourists for the First Time-Despite Previous Murders

We need to pray for the peace of God that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7) for Chau’s family, friends, and those connected to All Nations. They mourn. For them, this is a hard reality. May we remember our brother who gave his all for the advancement of the Kingdom.

“John fell in love with a people that he never met,” says Arlund, “and that he loved them even at the moment they were attacking and killing him.”

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All Nations may be reached at AllNations.US or by email at [email protected]

We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. We all have our influences. For me, that person was Charles Brock. On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, Charles passed away. The obituary may be found HERE.

I was introduced to Charles and his missiology and thoughts on church planting in June 1996. During this encounter, I had my “Damascus Road Experience.” Such was not a conversion to Christ, but rather a radical transformation in my missiology, ecclesiology, and ministerial direction.

This episode of Strike the Match is produced in Charles’ honor. I hope you are blessed to hear of my unexpected journey into the world of church planting. Charles advocated:

In this episode, I also reference Church Growth International. Be sure to check out Charles’ site and get a copy of Indigenous Church Planting: A Practical Journey.

The 20th century was called the Age of the Refugee due to the numbers of forcibly displaced people. Presently, 69 million individuals have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Twenty-five million of these are categorized as refugees.

Matthew Soerens, U. S. Director of Church Mobilization with World Relief, is my guest on this episode. Matthew also serves as National Coordinator with the Evangelical Immigration Table and is co-author (with Jenny Yang) of the book Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, and Truth in the Immigration Debate. During our discussion, we talk about the hot-topic issue of refugees and immigration and why the Church should engage with the peoples on the move.

Matthew may be found @MatthewSoerens, He also shared some valuable resources located at WelcomingTheStranger.com. Be sure to check them out and get a copy of his book.

Samford University launched a new undergraduate degree and program this fall. Dr. Scott Guffin is now the Executive Director of the Christian Ministry Program and my guest on this episode.

We discuss this new program and its 5 Key Distinctives: 1) Biblically Grounded; 2) Theologically Evangelical; 3) Missionally Focused; 4) Baptist Connected; and Academically Rigorous.

We also address the core components of the major (Biblical interpretation; Apologetics and Theology; Mission of the Church; Leadership; and Internships) and faculty mentoring. “We want to make disciples who make disciples,” Guffin shares, “So, we’ve designed our curriculum with that in mind.”

This new program is also flexible and offers courses to other majors across the university. Guffin has a vision and passion to see all students, regardless of their degrees/vocations, trained in disciple making and missions. He notes, “every student in every walk of life could engage with this curriculum on some level.” Here is the email address he provides: [email protected]. Reach out to him.

Check out our conversation. Hear what the Lord is doing. Share this episode with others.

Jon Hirst is my guest in this episode. Jon serves as the Director of Program Innovation at SIL International. He is the co-editor (with Jim Reapsome) of Innovation in Mission: Insights into Practical Innovations Creating Kingdom Impact, co-founder (with Mindy Hirst) of Generous Mind, and hosts webinars at InnovationInMission.com.

We talk about fresh thinking that creates value and offer some help to leaders facing challenges. Some questions we address include: What is the place of innovation in the Church? How does a poor theology of failure lead us to resist the new things of the Spirit? Is failure a sign of a lack of faith/commitment? How should we live when we do what God desires but fail to see immediate results? Can success be measured by closed doors?

The Church has been innovating for 2000 years. Jesus has been building His Church and change has been taking place. As the Church follows a dynamic Spirit into the world, She has to adjust to change.

Our God is a creative God. And He has created us to be creative as He leads us to an ever-changing world with a never-changing gospel.