Tag Archives: Missions

Missiology

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Today is the first day of the fall semester for me. I’ll again be teaching Missionary Anthropology at Abilene Christian University. Having made the mistake of switching textbooks, I once again find myself scrambling to finish my prep at the last minute.

Getting ready for class, I ran across a short video by Paul Hiebert, the man who probably wrote more about anthropology and missions than anyone else in history. I love what he has to say about the need for partnership in missions, rather than paternalism. It’s only about 3 and a half minutes, but it’s definitely worth the watch. Enjoy!


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Social media & missions

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I’ve been asked to give a class on the use of social media in missions. I’ve got lots of ideas, more than I would have time to share in one class period. However, I’m slowly learning that my cyber-friends are much wiser than I. So I’m appealing to you. Help me out with some thoughts on this topic. To make it easier, let’s keep it broad. Rather than focusing merely on missions, let’s think about non-profits in general and religious groups in particular.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on things like…

  • What are some non-profits that do an especially good job with social media?
  • Who are some individuals who excel in the use of social media?
  • How have you seen Facebook used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • How have you seen Twitter used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • How have you seen blogs used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • What about some of the other social media, like Google+, LinkedIn, etc.? How do you see them being used well?
  • What are some “best practices” that would span all social media?

Is that enough to get some thoughts rolling? Can you see how I’m not worried about having enough to talk about?

Thanks for any input you can give.

Rethinking Mission Work

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On Fridays, I sometimes recommend other blogs that I think have some especially worthwhile reading. I want to steer you over to Mark Woodward’s blog today. He has done an insightful series called “Rethinking Mission Work.” It’s an analysis of how we in the churches of Christ have selected and funded missionaries and mission efforts. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I do find the discussion to be very timely. You can find the series here:

Besides reading the blog on Mark’s site, you can join in on a post-by-post analysis of this series which Jay Guin is leading over on his site. You’ll find more discussion on Jay’s blog:

Happy reading, folks!

For those keeping score at home, I lifted the image straight from Mark Woodward’s blog.

Short-term mission resources

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I have a lot of hesitancy when it comes to short-term missions. Seems like everyone is doing them these days. Some churches have basically replaced long-term missions with short-term ones, which is a mistake, in my opinion. Many short-term efforts end up being little more than group vacations for those that go. While education isn’t always the answer, it can’t hurt, either.

That’s why I was pleased to find a number of resources from David LIvermore. He’s written several books on Cultural Intelligence that are generally helpful. He also has a book called Serving With Eyes Wide Open which is specifically about short-term missions.

While buying the book would be an excellent idea for everyone involved in short-term missions, there are resources on Livermore’s site that can be read for free. At the bottom of the page about this book, there are a number of articles. I especially recommend:
Leave Your Baggage at Home
Ten Things I Hate About STM
Head Over Heels for Short-Term Missions

We’ll get back to our pacifism discussion next week. Happy reading!

Help that harms

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Tony Campolo wrote an excellent article last week that ties together several things that I’ve written about on this blog. He points out the harm that Christian relief has done in Haiti, not only now, but over the last few decades. He also reminds us that the hot trends in mission trips (building houses, etc.) aren’t helping the people we intend to help.

Really dealing with poverty takes long-term planning and carefully thought-out strategies. It’s not simple.

Maybe I’m just playing the role of Chicken Little, crying that the sky is falling when everyone knows that it’s not. Or maybe I’m able to see that the emperor has no clothes. Whichever it is, at least Tony Campolo agrees with me. Misery loves company.

Edit: (3/8/10, 9:45 a.m. CST) — Jay Guin’s blog reminded me that I could well include a couple of resources here:

  • When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Dr. Brian Fikkert of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development and the Department of Economics and Community Development at Covenant College
  • Tending to Eden by Scott Sabin