Letter to a Short-Term Missionary

The God-given desire to relieve suffering and come to the aid of victims of hardship should certainly be affirmed and encouraged. But to care well requires preparation. Learning precedes effective helping. And integrity simply must direct our marketing—over-promising the impact of service projects may disillusion enthusiastic young hearts.

Short-term mission trips are worth it. When done well, when rightly promoted and structured, they can be some of our best training ground for a lifetime of effective service.

The Biggest Issues Being Discussed In Christianity Are All Connected

So who are we and how does that impact these interconnected issues? Once we fully identify with Jesus (which is God’s ultimate goal for our lives, Rom 8:29-30 & 2 Cor 3:18)

• Our worship and worshippers become so Christ-focused that our ecclesiology is no longer an issue…
• Segregation in the church becomes a church united…
• Parents are then reconnected with their kids in a spiritual setting and they are equipped to intentionally disciple their children…
• The church’s mission naturally flows out of our identity and our practices become more in line with the ministry of Jesus…
• Which results in our young people growing up with real faith that will last through their adult years…

The More We Learn The Less We Know

A problem with learning is it tends to shatter the falsehoods we build as faithfully accurate. Learning is a wrecking ball to traditional religion; a religion which survives only because people like us refuse to….learn.

In one way it is true, the more we learn the more we know. Of course this is accurate. Yet, in the scheme of God being eternally large we find that the more we gather regarding His Truth, the more Truth multiplies as to what there is available to know. From that factor, the more we learn the less we know.

Much Ado About ‘Nones’

Each of these stories, in various ways, combines and collapses three categories: “Atheist,” “Agnostic” (these two combined currently constitute only about 5 percent of the U.S. population) and “Unaffiliated,” that is, those who do not claim a particular religious affiliation (the so-called “Nones,” who constitute about 15 percent). But if you read the Pew Forum’s report on the rise of the Unaffiliateds, you’ll find that 70 percent of them believe in God; 60 percent call themselves either “religious” or “spiritual,” and 40 percent of them pray. Lumping together this group with atheists and agnostics, or calling their increase a rise in “unbelief” or a case of “losing our religion,” is sloppy analysis at best.

Seven Deadly Thoughts of Leaders

1. “It won’t hurt to compromise a little.”
2. “I can give my family time later in life when I’m more established.”
3. “No one really pays attention to what I do.”
4. “I need to be careful not to rock the boat.”
5. “I can put off that tough decision until later.”
6. “That person messed up five years ago. He doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
7. “My main goal is money.”

A Year of Eating Locally… for the Peace of the City

So that’s why we spent 75% of our grocery money in Codman Square so far this year.
We value local jobs.
We value energy conservation.
We value having locally grown and/or organic produce in our neighborhood.
We value relationships with the people who work and live in our neighborhood.
We value being able to walk to our grocery store, and seeing neighbors when we do.

What happens at an atheist church?

The audience – overwhelmingly young, white and middle class – appear excited to be part of something new and speak of the void they felt on a Sunday morning when they decided to abandon their Christian faith. Few actively identify themselves as atheists.