Mission

Displacing Cultural Assumptions

After a long search for my missing keys, I finally found them. “Eureka!” I shouted, “I’ve found it!”
My Middle Eastern friend looked up, puzzled. “What did you just say?”

Decolonising Apostolic Ministry 5: Evolution not Revolution

Decolonisation must be by evolution, not revolution. An evolution, however, punctuated by moments of revolution, of revelation. This is a journey both systemic and deeply personal. I’m sitting in the airport on my way home from 10 days in a Middle Eastern context where the very things that have been discussed here are being wrestled …

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Decolonising Apostolic Ministry 4: Money

Part One Part Two Part Three Any review of apostolic mission must consider the way money is used. There are just so many ways in which the use of money can perpetuate structural power imbalances in the global Church. In this post, I seek to frame the conversation positively by proposing three questions which apostolic …

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Decolonising Apostolic Ministry 3: Bias

Part One Part Two In this series of blog posts I am asking the question, “what would it take to decolonise the doctrine and practice of apostolic ministry today? In today’s post, I look at two reasons why apostolic ministry as it is currently taught and practiced needs decolonising. Let’s remind ourselves of Merriam-Webster’s definition …

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Decolonising Apostolic Ministry 2: Centring the Local

In this series of blog posts I am asking the question, “what would it take to decolonise the doctrine and practice of apostolic ministry today? Read Post 1 in the series. A key aspect of decolonisation is the bringing near of authority. Post-Soviet decolonisation in Central Asia has resulted in a flourishing resurgence of local …

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Decolonising Apostolic Ministry: What?

I love Newfrontiers. I am a Newfrontiers boy through and through. And I’m arguing for a process of reflective decolonisation of apostolic ministry. One of our contributions to the global missions conversation is a robust theology and practice of apostleship. We believe that Biblical language (elder, shepherd, evangelist, apostle, etc.) is more meaningful in a …

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A Story About Rain

We are entering the rainy season here in my country in the Middle East.  I love rain. The sound of it (my kids and I are great fans of rainfall white noise while falling asleep at night), the smell of wet fresh earth after rain, the way it makes everything green again, and how my …

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How to make peace: Jeremiah 3 and 31.

Part of Jeremiah’s calling was to reach out to those living in the province of Ephraim, north of the dividing line between the southern kingdom of Judah (with its capital Jerusalem), and the northern kingdom of Israel (with its capital Samaria). The dispute between Ephraim (Joseph’s son) and Judah was an ancient one, going back …

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