The topic of a recent cover story in Christianity Today is shaking up not only the world of missions, but also academia. The World the Missionaries Made is a report on the work of Robert Woodberry, a sociologist currently researching at the Political Science Department of the National University of Singapore. CT’s Executive Editor Andy Crouch calls it the CT cover story of which he is most proud. Its thesis and Woodberry’s work support a remarkable conclusion – that a generation of “conversionary protestant missionariesâ€[1] laid a foundation for democracy around the world. In effect, missions in the 19th and 20th centuries may be one of the most significant factors, and certainly one of the most overlooked, in what CT calls “the health of nations†today: [Read more…] about Missionaries Changed the World Once – Can they do it again?
Our Father's World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation
The Jamaica Call to Action (Part 3): A Plea for Prayer
The Jamaica Call to Action, based on two convictions and presenting 10 clear and actionable things that the church can do, nonetheless recognizes that even though we know what needs to be done, and we know how to do most of it, this is not enough. A problem that has eluded the best brains and that all of the powers of all of the governments on earth are unable to solve will not be solved with a to-do list, no matter how well thought out.
So the call to action ends with an urgent call to prayer:
Our call to prayer
Each of our calls to action rest on an even more urgent call to prayer, intentional and fervent, soberly aware that this is a spiritual struggle. Many of us must begin our praying with lamentation and repentance for our failure to care for creation, and for our failure to lead in transformation at a personal and corporate level. And then, having tasted of the grace and mercies of God in Christ Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, and with hope in the fullness of our redemption, we pray with confidence that the Triune God can and will heal our land and all who dwell in it, for the glory of his matchless name.
[Read more…] about The Jamaica Call to Action (Part 3): A Plea for Prayer