The Missions Show

What does it look like to meet physical needs, share Christ, and risk persecution to serve in a 99.9% Islamic country? Two anonymous, female ABWE missionaries in North Africa join us over the phone to share from their experiences in tilling the soil, building trust, avoiding security risks, and praying that God gradually opens hearts to the gospel.

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Dreams and visions in the Islamic world. Miraculous healings. “Power-encounters.” What is the role of the Holy Spirit in missions? Are miracles still normative in front-lines missions—and specifically, what about the apostolic sign gifts seen throughout the Book of Acts? There’s perhaps no one better to ask than Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, one of the leading New Testament scholars of our day, and author (most recently) of Spiritual Gifts: What They Are and Why They Matter and articles like “Why I Am a Cessationist.”

Thomas R. Schreiner has been a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky since 1997 and is the James Harrison Buchanan Professor of New Testament Interpretation. He has also taught New Testament at Azusa Pacific University and Bethel Theological Seminary. He received a B.S. from Western Oregon University, a M.Div. and Th.M. from Western Seminary, and a Ph.D. in New Testament from Fuller Theological Seminary. Schreiner’s writings include commentaries on Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and 1–2 Peter and Jude, and forthcoming commentaries on 1 Corinthians and Revelation. He has also written a theology of the Apostle Paul, a New Testament theology, and a theology of the entire Bible. He is a pastor at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Schreiner is married to Diane, and they have four children and eight grandchildren. You can follow Dr. Schreiner on Twitter.

In the episode, we mentioned some helpful resources including:

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Announcement:

We’re giving away 2x free VIP tickets (a $220 value!) to For the Church in Kansas City, Sept. 24-25! Enter by Sept. 19 to be eligible for the prize. Go to missionsshow.com/giveaway to enter now.

More money, more problems. Wealth, generosity, pay scales, financial practices, and differing standards of living can all be hair-trigger issues in dealing with relationships with nationals while serving on the foreign field. Sometimes when we mean to help, we end up hurting those we’re serving in the long-term. And it’s not just limited to developing countries; anywhere we go in the world, different cultures are likely to have different views of wealth. How do we avoid misunderstandings with nationals? How can we avoid fostering dependency on Western missionaries, or unintentionally fostering an attitude of paternalism? ABWE Vice President of Training John Taylor joins us to discuss five problems with the “wealth of nations,” four solutions that don’t work, and some better strategies that do.

John and his wife Jacky were appointed as missionaries by ABWE Canada in 1991 and served in Odessa, Ukraine for more than 22 years. There, they served on the leadership team of two church plants, served as team leaders, and mentored and assisted many Ukrainian church planters and pastors. John was co-founder of the Church Ministries Institute (Eurasia), and served for many years as its president.

John holds graduate degrees in missions, theology and education. John is passionate about facilitating learning in communities of faith, and joined the ABWE training team in 2016, while Jacky has a passion for the lost throughout the world and for developing relationships with unbelievers.

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

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

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Christianity isn’t spreading into Africa; it’s already there. But as our guest this week shares, it is afflicted by the problem of syncretism, hyper-charismatic influence, so-called prosperity “gospel” teaching, and weak theology. How can pastors and missionaries confront these threats and help the African church develop theologies that are rich, sound, and historically rooted? Conrad Mbewe answers.

Conrad Mbewe—called the “African Spugeon” by some—has pastored Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia for nearly three decades. He holds a Ph.D. in Missions from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and is Chancellor of African Christian University, Zambia. He is also a prolific itinerant preacher who has ministered globally with a passion for writing be it his books, blog, articles for sites like The Gospel Coalition, 9Marks, Ligonier, and Desiring God, or as a national weekly columnist. You can follow him on Twitter.

If you missed it during the episode, don’t forget to check out these helpful resources from Pastor Mbewe:

We also referred to our past interview with John Morgan of ABWE on problems of syncretism and animism in West Africa. Listen to that episode here.

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

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

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Tentmaking. Platform. Business as mission. BAM. All terms that are used sometimes interchangeably throughout the missions community—but what do they mean? Is it really practical to use a for-profit business venture as a ministry platform in another culture, and how can we make sure we’re doing it the right way? How can there be any time to make disciples if a missionary spends 40+ hours working per week in a “secular” arena? Is there a biblical basis for using business as mission? In honor of Labor Day, we pick Scott Dunford’s mind as he shares from his three years’ experience on the field and significant research in the area of work, vocation, and mission.

If you missed any of the resources Scott mentioned, see below:

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