The Missions Show

Scripture calls Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Lamb slain for sinners. These glorious names run directly counter to the sensibilities of those belonging religions including Islam and Hinduism. Should Bible translators soften these words and concepts to contextualize God’s word?

The framers of the recently-published Arlington Statement on Bible Translation say no. This week, Scott and Alex welcome back Pierre Houssney and Seth Vitrano-Wilson to discuss the growing threats in Bible translation.

Pierre Houssney is MENA Regional Director for Horizons International. Pierre lives in Beirut, Lebanon, with his wife, Gigi, and their two children, where he leads a team of nationals and missionaries who run a center for evangelism and discipleship among Muslims. Seth Vitrano-Wilson was raised in the Mormon church, but God brought him to repentance and faith in Christ while he was living in Argentina. He has served cross-culturally in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for over 10 years, and holds an M.A. in Linguistics from Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Hear our previous episode with Pierre here.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International, CROSS Conference, Fusion, and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

Abuse Prevention National Conference 2021 attendees: use promo code ABWE21 to receive 20% off your registration.

What is a “word-driven” missionary, and how can you become one? Adoniram and Ann Judson are stirring examples of Scripture-saturated missionaries whose methods subverted human wisdom. To explain this week, author and missionary E.D. Burns joins the show.

E.D. Burns, Ph.D., is the author of The Missionary-Theologian and A Supreme Desire to Please Him: The Spirituality of Adoniram Judson. He has been a long-term missionary in the Middle East, East Asia, Alaska, and currently SE Asia. From his international location he directs the M.A. in Global Leadership at Western Seminary. A linguist and ordained minister, Burns develops theological resources and trains indigenous pastors and missionaries to the least-reached.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention. Abuse Prevention National Conference 2021 attendees: use promo code ABWE21 to receive 20% off your registration.

In Genesis, Adam was told to be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion of creation. He failed. Now, believers in Christ are called to spread the good news of Christ to the world. Are these two separate missions, or is the Great Commission a renewal of the original marching orders from Eden? Matthew Newkirk, author of Fill the Earth: The Creation Mandate and the Church’s Call to Missions.

Matthew (Ph.D., Wheaton College) is president and professor of Old Testament at Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya, Japan. For two decades he has served churches in a variety of ministerial roles including youth, worship, mercy, missions, and adult education, and has taught Hebrew and Old Testament in seminaries in the United States, Australia, and Japan. He is married to Caroline and together they have four children and reside in Japan.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention. Abuse Prevention National Conference 2021 attendees: use promo code ABWE21 to receive 20% off your registration.

In today’s technology-saturated world, we can “be” anywhere—except where we actually are. Place matters. So how can we identify what our “mission field” is around us and know the way it thinks? In this episode, Scott and Alex dive into the book of Acts for answers about worldview, context, and missional living.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

In 2020, it’s impossible to escape the topic of privilege. This week, we dive into the archives and bring back our May 2019 interview with Chad Vegas, founding board member of Radius International and lead pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, and our discussion of “gospel privilege.” Perhaps it has never been more timely.

Chad is the founding pastor of Sovereign Grace Church. After completing his M.A. in Theology at Talbot, and being the high school pastor at RiverLakes Community Church, Chad was called to plant a church in Bakersfield. His passion is to know Christ and to make him known. He has been married to Teresa since 1994, and they have two children. You can email him.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

The so-called “prosperity gospel” has infected evangelical religious life. But it doesn’t just appear in the overt claims that God wants us to be rich and healthy—it takes far more insidious forms. Is the American dream antithetical to the missionary calling? What role does suffering play in our mission to the nations? Sean DeMars, former missionary known for his appearance in the American Gospel documentary, weighs in this week.

Sean DeMars is pastor at 6th Avenue Community Church in Decatur, Alabama. He previously served the peoples of Peru by preaching, teaching, and living God’s word.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

Sometimes the missionary task is a balance between evangelism and humanitarianism. William Carey believed that the more evangelized a society was, the more civilized it became—and the more civilized it was, the more open to evangelized it would become. But was he right? C.J. Moore, missions mobilizer, Midwestern Seminary Ph.D. student and fellow, and pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Missouri, explains how Christian workers today should understand the “father of modern missions.”

C.J. served as a mid-term missionary in East Asia and Peru before joining the International Mission Board as a mobilizer. You can follow him on Twitter.

At the end of the show, we recommended these resources:

• Faithful Witness (Timothy George)
• William Carey (S. Pearce Carey)
• The Missionary Fellowship of William Carey (Michael Haykin)

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

Missions means doing hard things in hard places. So are English-speaking churches geared towards expats truly reaching the unreached, or does more need to be done? The answers may surprise you. This week, Scott Zeller, executive pastor of Redeemer Church of Dubai, reframes the issue.

Scott Zeller is involved in regional church planting and theological education initiatives from Redeemer Church. You can email Scott or follow him on Twitter.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

On August 8, 2020, a simple tweet by Brooks Buser, president of Radius International, ignited a firestorm of controversy: “Thank you for the prayers for Amdu people and team. By God’s grace, there are now members of that people group who are reconciled to God, who no longer have their sins counted against them.” Skeptics, atheists, and even professed Christians joined together to denounce the missionaries for having the audacity to proselytize. This week, Scott Dunford and Alex Kocman ask Brooks: what gives evangelical Christians the right to convert peoples? Are missionaries just glorified colonists stamping out unique cultures with minimal contact with the world—and why or why not?

Brooks and Nina Buser planted a church among the Yembiyembi people in Papua New Guinea. In 2016, they returned to San Diego. Both Brooks and Nina participate in the teaching at Radius International as well as leading and traveling to spread the word about the necessity of training.

Discount From Kregel Academic: If you enjoyed our interview with Matt Bennett on his newest book 40 Questions About Islam, you can purchase it here from Christianbook.com and receive 40% off using the exclusive discount code “ABWE.” Check it out!

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Social justice. Critical theory. Post-colonialism. Intersectionality. These issues have divided believers and unbelievers alike in the church over the last few years, and in 2020 the issue is impossible to escape. Is conservative evangelicalism beginning to compromise biblical teaching on complex social issues? And if so, what effect does that have on missions?

This week, Scott Dunford and Alex Kocman delve deep with Neil Shenvi, a noted Christian online personality who has researched and written on apologetics and the subject of social justice.

Neil is a homeschooling dad, theoretical chemist, and member of The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can follow him on Twitter.

Discount From Kregel Academic: If you enjoyed our interview with Matt Bennett on his newest book 40 Questions About Islam, you can purchase it here from Christianbook.com and receive 40% off using the exclusive discount code “ABWE.” Check it out!

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email us.

The Missions Show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund. This episode is also sponsored by Radius International and Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention.