This note is on my list of Important Questions to AnswerImportant Questions to Answer
The following questions are a good representation of the major areas of my study. All fall within theolgy and applied theology categories, and all of the are very important for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God.
Discuss the [[Biblical Theology of Mission]]. Include in your response relevant biblical texts and key resources that address this topic well.
How can a deep understanding of immigration and missions to immigrants in the past help us do better ministry today?
Develop....
Move Past the Rhetoric of Multiplication
North American missionaries must find a way to move past the rhetoric of multiplication and facilitate churches shifting from a recruitment paradigm to a development paradigm.
Proofs:
- We need more planters tweet from Kevin saying the pond is drying up.
- 2018 study by Send Institute
Prepare for the Wave of Dying Churches
A wave of church deaths is looming on the horizon for North American churches. Missionaries must prepare by (1) developing potential replanters and (2) preparing churches for a process of renewal.
Proofs:
- 75% are in cities
- Clifton's statistic about planting 1100 or 1200 and closing 900.
- Numbers are all over the map (60-80%)
Respond to the Rapid Diversification of North America
Missionaries must meet the rapid diversification of North America with a healthy gospel witness that results in gospel saturation across a wide array of cultures. Furhtermore, North American missionaries from what was the majority culture in America must learn to cooperate in mission with the swelling numbers of foreign born churches in North America.
Proofs:
- De-europeanization of American Christianity
- Soong Chan Rah and his stat about Boston churches in The Next Evangelicalism
- 60% of those coming self-report as Christians
- Anecdotally - we're planting twice as many Hispanic churches in Houston as we are majority culture. Many of our replants make sense to transition toward Spanish speaking.
- Concepts of super-diversity
- Diaspora missions as neccessity that can't merely be solved by some vague calls to multi-ethnicity
- This will require more than traditional recruitment based sending models. We need a lay-driven model that works from within existing local churches.
Avoid the Threat of Cultural Captivity
The society around the church in Nort America is in the midst of massive cultural and worldview transitions that are leading to fragmentation. On the inside, the church is not immune to these shifts, and must navigate this well in order to avoid cultural captivity in one of several different directions.
Proofs:
- Nationalism on the right
- Capitol Riot
- The anti-culture on the left
- Trueman's new book Find the name!!!
- Speak of Gibson's Suburban Captivity of the Church