Flawed Modern Missionary Methods

Flawed Modern Missionary Methods Summary: This article is my view of why some of the way we do things in missions today is just wrong.

Topics are:
1) Missionaries are distanced from church people.
2) We expect missionaries to put on a song and dance show for the church people, but the churches never let them actually do what is their ministry.
3) We are locked into a Madison Avenue mentality that says, only with spending a lot of money can you do anything serious.
4) We have distorted and destroyed biblical spirituality.
5) We are experts at missions, all the while never “producing” or “reproducing” ourselves.

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Missionary Attrition (Dropouts)

Missionary Attrition

Missionary Attrition (Dropouts) is my thoughts on missionary dropouts. I saw an interesting article here, Dropouts-Burnouts-Forceouts-Never-Should-Have-Goneouts, which I will use as an introduction to my thoughts on the subject.

Missionary Attrition (Dropouts)

Introduction

Let me begin by saying that it is extremely expensive to get a missionary on the foreign mission field working. Besides the years of personal and educational preparation that the missionary himself has to shoulder, once he “officially begins deputation” the costs are shared or shouldered mainly by local churches and the people of God. This “business of missions” should first of all be understood to “NOT BE A SECULAR BUSINESS”. Although many aspects of missions is like a business (money funds the activity on the foreign field, there are workers, there is the acquisition of funds, fundraising, promotion, etc), the basic thrust of missions is spiritual, and cannot be reduced to simple business economics.

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Definition of Fundamentalism

definition of Fundamentalism

Definition of Fundamentalism is an article I wrote on what is fundamentalism (from my point of view as a missionary dealing with many different churches).

I came across an interesting book by South African Johan Malan called “The Old Testament Law and the New Testament Grace“. One of his chapters immediately perked my interest, Christian Fundamentalism. Mahan “attempts” to define what is distinctive about Christian Fundamentalism. I say attempts because I doubt anybody can pin it down completely, but Malan gives it a pretty good shot.

I reproduce his main points on Definition of Fundamentalism for your consideration but read the article (link above) because it appears to be very interesting.

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Churches falling into Satan’s mindset

Churches falling into Satan’s mindset is some thoughts on how we do ministry. It is part of a work which I am working on for publishing in an ebook format. It is taken from “Satan Anthology Workbook” by David Cox. It is a commentary on Isa 14, a passage about Satan and his methodology and thinking…

I will make myself like the Most High. (Isa 14:14)

Satan expresses his purpose to overtake God. Notice the problems in Satan’s logic. If he is the greatest there is, then you do not measure that greatness by another’s greatness. You would simply say, “I am Lucifer, and I will be Lucifer.” To concede that somebody else is greater than you is to surrender your assertion of being the greatest.

Irony in Satan’s thinking

Note the irony here of what Satan says. Satan’s sin centers on his intense desire to be just like God. The key word here is “like”. He cannot become God, so at best he will be “like” God. This is a concession that he recognizes that he is not eternal, that

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