Missions Blog

I love music for the way it moves my soul. These songs are the ones that I think of when it comes to missions. With the invention of Itunes you can download them all individually, except for “Sacrifice” by Echoing Clarey, which is just one of my favorite songs of all time.

1. “The Vision” by Charlie Hall on Passion: Live Worship from the 268 Generation

2. “To Every Nation” by Charlie Hall on Passion: Live Worship from the 268 Generation

3. “Sacrifice” by Echoing Clarey on Gracious Waste

4. “All the Earth” by Charlie Hall on Sacred Revolution: Songs From OneDay 03

5. “Sending” by Charlie Hall on Sacred Revolution: Songs From OneDay 03

6. “Mission’s Flame” by Matt Redman on How Great is Our God

7. “You Said” by Shane & Shane on Psalms

8. “Mother India” by Caedmon’s Call on Share the Well (Just get the album)

9. “Jesus Commands Us to Go!” by Keith Green on Here Am I, Send Me

10. “Here Am I, Send Me” by Keith Green Here Am I, Send Me

11. “A Message from Keith” by Keith Green on Here Am I, Send Me (not a song, but still good.)

What do you think of this list? What did I miss. Share with us some of the songs that motivate you to see Jesus worshiped by every tribe, tongue and nation.

I hear all sorts of crazy stuff when talking to people about missions and the unreached. Please, please don’t say these things in front of me.

1. But Michael, there is a lot of work to be done here.

2. I was reading Concentric Circles of Concern and…

3. I think we’re all called to be missionaries. I am a missionary to my next door neighbor.

4. But won’t the 144,000 witnessed just finish the job after the rapture?

5. God is sovereign, it doesn’t matter what I do.

6. I’m just not called.

7. I don’t really want to.

8. Gospel for Asia says….

9. I think that America is the darkest place on the planet because…

10. It isn’t safe.

11. Israel…

Got anything else? I read where someone said the unique thing about blogs is the interaction between the blogger and the readers, so please comment away. If you don’t get one of them I can explain it.

Missions Incredible - Christianity Today Magazine

South Korea is soon to pass even the United States in the number of missionaries they send out. I for one think that it great for the church in Korea and pathetic for the church in the US. People have known for years about this, but Christianity Today wrote up an article about it.

On a humorous note, check out this cartoon with a funny take on Korean missionary zeal.

Original

I thought that I would take the time to tell you a little more about this girl. She is from a tiny village in the mountains of Asia, living with her people who are unreached. Until a small group of my friends began working there several years ago, no one had ever attempted to reach her people with the gospel. Can you imagine what that is like? Until they had arrived on the scene there, it was as if Jesus’ death had not yet happened for them. 2 billion people just like her live all over the world without any access to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Unless someone goes to them they will continue to live in darkness.

While I was taking her picture, she starting pointing at me. When I got home and looked at the picture I thought she was pointing and saying, “I want you to come tell me about Jesus!”

Psalm 68:4-5 4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds — his name is the LORD— and rejoice before him. 5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

TIME.com: The Bloggers’ Favorite Southern Baptist

Even Time Magazine took notice of the dramatic influence that blogs had on this year’s Southern Baptist Conference’s Annual Meeting. Frank Page was considered a “dark horse” candidate for the SBC Presidency before the conference began. He had two competitors for the position, one who was backed by several Seminary Presidents, which is a big deal. In years past, this would typically be enough to get one elected, but not this year! You can read about it here and here. It is believed that the emergence of internet blogs swayed the opinion of so many people that it got Frank Page elected.

So why is this a big deal? Well it means that the old way of doing things in the SBC may be done for. No longer can someone as influential as Paige Patterson, President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and juggernaut in Baptist politics, back a candidate and guarantee his election.

Why do I care? I care because of the issues within the IMB. From what I can gather, the big movers in SBC are scared by the blogging community, possibly because they just don’t understand it, it lessons their influence or , worst yet, it brings greater accountability to their actions. For months the Board of the IMB seemed to run from and hate the fact that their every action was posted on internet blogs for all to see. Nobody’s like me could read about their interpersonal behavior and their policy decisions. We could object publicly for all to read. Their anti-biblical policies about Baptism and Tongues could have giant spot lights put on them. SBC representatives from all over country could show up at the annual meeting informed and do something about it. Frank Page’s election is supposed to signify that.

So what does this mean? I hope that it means the policies will eventually be overturned and that a larger community of people can make decisions for the convention. Good ole boy networks can die. The continual narrowing of what it means to be a “Southern Baptist” can stop.

Although every time I think about the Wade Burleson issue I hope there is a side of the story I am missing, it disturbs me that Trustees tried to silence him when he objected to what was going on inside the IMB Board. The irony of the deal is that his detractors probably gave him a louder voice than he would have had otherwise. Has the Lord again taking something someone meant for evil and used it for good. I will publish more thoughts on this in a little bit.? I will leave with Mr. Burleson’s thoughts here…

When Frank’s election was announced I was walking around the arena and just happened to be stopped by a reporter in the undergound hallway. He wanted my reaction. Soon other reporters stopped and by the time all was said and done probably over 25 media persons from around the nation stood four deep and asked questions for forty minutes. One of the questions that kept being repeated over and over again is whether or not I believed blogs played a role in this election. I said, “Absolutely.” Baptist bloggers in 2006 may well go down in history as the first time bloggers actually determined the outcome of a national religious/political election.

Why? When all three candidates were being nominated my wife leaned over to me and said, “I feel like I know all three men because of the blogs.”

I attended the Press Conference for Frank Page and I am here to tell you he handled himself with class, dignity and grace. Southern Baptists have a right to be proud of this man.

It is brand new day in the SBC.

To say some were shocked by the outcome of the election is the understatement of the year.

What do you think about all this? Am I missing something or being to harsh?

SBC Outpost » Blog Archive » Resolution on Attacking Wade Burleson Alcohol Abuse

Marty Duren of SBCOutpost has an interesting take on the alcohol amendment that was presented at the Southern Baptist Convention today in Greensboro, NC. He believes it is an attack against Wade Burleson, who on his own site said to be careful of making such an accusation. I found this quote by Marty most telling…

What is really, really crazy is that we refused to consider the resolution on Integrity in Church Membership that Tom Ascol tried to submit.

Which, oddly enough, puts us in the position of being on record as against any use of beverage alcohol, but open to the idea of lying about how many people are actual members of our churches.

Wade commented on this post by Marty…

Good observation on the irony of refusing to speak out by resolution on the brilliant resolution offered by Ascol on integrity in reporting by refusing to lie about the numbers of church members.

What compounds our collective moral lapse of judgment in refusing to address this issue in our churches is the fact that every messenger was sober when they voted.

Finally, the most bizarre sentence I have ever heard in 21 years of attending Southern Baptist Conventions was offered by a member of the Resolutions Committee in defending the decision not to allow the Convention to vote on Ascol’s resolution. In essence the member said we could not remove from our church membership rolls those missing members because we would lose the very people we needed to evanglize.

Is there any other Baptist besides me who wants to cry over that statement?

But blog world, don’t despair. The debate on these issues is healthy — and at least there is debate occurring.

Why would people not want to vote on the membership motion? In the words of two other commentors…

If they’re so concerned about losing the very people we need to evangelize, how hard would it be to take them off the membership list and put them on the prayer list or the “holy hit list.”

As best as I can tell, it would be as simple as cut-copy-paste.

I know that cut-copy-paste might be a concept that’s just a little too technical for the crowd that thinks there’s “too much bloggin’ goin’ on out there,” but I’m willing to conduct my three day, Cut-Copy-Paste seminar in every SBC church across the country if it will help. The weekend retreat would look something like this:

Introductory Session: “Optical Mice & Church Discipline - A Match Made in Heaven”

Breakout seminar #1: “Cutting”

Breakout seminar #2: “Copying”

Breakout seminar #3: “Pasting”

Concluding Session: “You Drag, You’re Dropped”

and

“Cut-Copy-Paste” seminars - thats hilarious!

Pre “Cut-Copy-Paste” Seminar SBC Total Membership - 16,000,000

Post “Cut-Copy-Paste” Seminar SBC Total Membership - 9,000,000

I am sure someone is scared that if we had to report the numbers more accurately we would lose political power. In my view that would be okay. The gospel empowered by the Holy Spirit is what can really affect this nation.