Summer is the peak time for Short Term Missions Trips, it seems. I recall my home church packing a van full of teenagers and heading for Mexico. These trips, whether to Mexico, the Caribbean or beyond, are part of American church culture. And as Americans, we think these trips really matter and are a big help to the foreign fields.
Darren Carlson, president of Training Leaders International, begs to differ. In a hard-hitting series of articles posted at The Gospel Coalition blog, he challenges many commonly-held assumptions about short term missions. They often do lasting damage to the very places they were hoping to help. If not done well, they can be a burden to missionaries and national pastors alike.
Rather than just critiquing and poking the American short term missions bubble, Carlson goes on to point out a path toward improved short term cross-cultural ministry. He encourages churches to think local first, and to partner with foreign pastors and missionaries closely on any international ventures. Manual labor is often counter-productive, when locals could be employed to help build that church or fix the school.
I can’t say more than what Darren has spelled out in this series. I just want to encourage you to take time and consider reading these articles — especially if you are a pastor or in charge of such missions trips for your church. Don’t just repeat the past, think carefully about how to make such trips truly have lasting impact.
Like most everyone else, my heart was sickened by all the news surrounding Jerry Sandusky. Now that he has been convicted on 45 counts of child sexual molestation, it seems that justice is served. Setting aside the questions of whether Penn State should have done more to ferret out Sandusky, his conviction offers an opportunity to ponder the moral impulse of our society. By and large, the general public is shocked and outraged by Sandusky’s behavior, especially since he was in a position of authority. Pedophilia is universally condemned, and this by people of many different world-views.
The Gospel Coalition blog alerted me to an excellent article in the Catholic World Report that explores why Sandusky is guilty in the public opinion. The answer is Christianity and its effect on our culture and its undergirding of our moral fibers for hundreds of years. Let me excerpt the article and encourage you to go read the whole thing.
This is 2012. Turn the historical clock back 2000 years, and find yourself in the pagan Roman Empire before Christianity arose, i.e., before the Christianization of the West. In Rome, as in ancient Greece, homosexuality was completely acceptable. To be more exact, homosexual activity was frowned on (but not very diligently) when it occurred between two free-born men, but it was cheerfully affirmed between a master and his slave, and even more, a man and a boy between the ripe ages of about 12 to 17—just the target age of Sandusky. The man generally presented himself as a kindly benefactor to the boy, taking him under his wing, so to speak, and (in return for sexual favors) helping him up the social ladder. Just like Sandusky.
If Sandusky would have lived 2000 years ago, he would not have been found guilty of anything. He would not even have been noticed. His actions would have been entirely unremarkable. There would have been no disgust, no anger. The verdict would have been innocent, and in fact, the notion that he was guilty of anything would have been unintelligible.
There is one and only one reason, 2000 years later, that Sandusky is guilty now…Our consciences, our minds, our hearts, our legal system in America have been formed by Christian moral teaching about sexuality. Subtract Christianity from history, and we would be back in Rome. In pagan Rome, Sandusky would be innocent.
The piece goes on to illustrate how natural morality, darwinianism, democracy, psychology and philosophy all fail to lead to a condemnation of the kinds of acts that Sandusky is convicted of. But the article concludes with a warning:
But again, here’s the problem. Our society is being successively and successfully de-Christianized. The moral formation is wearing off rapidly. Now that we’ve answered the why of Sandusky’s guilt, we’ve got one more question to ask: How long will we continue to feel guilty?
That is a good question indeed. But I would demur. We still have many Christian underpinnings in our society, and for that we should be thankful. I often bring up this free attitude toward pedophilia or even ritualistic sex that was so pervasive in Rome and Corinth, and other ancient cultures, when I encounter the widespread Christian pessimism about how bad things are getting today. Christianity thrived in the most pagan of cultures, and it will continue to thrive the darker it gets today. Saving our society and improving our secular culture shouldn’t be the primary focus of Christians. Living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its tranformative moral power should be. May God help us “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom [we] shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Phil. 2:15b-16a).
Three panel discussions were hosted at The Gospel Coalition by BibleMesh.com. The panel discussions which promise to be insightful and helpful, were well attended. The BibleMesh Blog has posted the video from the panel discussions. I’m going to want to carve out some time to watch these.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The Gospel Coalition Conference. The event was organized well and the layout of the convention center was easy to follow. I wish I had had more time to take in some of the extra panel discussions sprinkled throughout and the post-conference event. Apparently an extra session was called Thursday morning, where D.A. Carson addressed the Rob Bell issue, speaking on what universalism is and why it isn’t a confessionally Christian position. [Download the audio here.]
Seeing 5-6,000 people in attendance at this kind of an event was special for me. I’ve spent time in an ultra-conservative fundamentalist group, and for many years I learned to look with deep suspicion on anyone who didn’t agree with me on almost every point of doctrine and practice. To see the unity in Christ, the desire for good preaching, the passion for the Gospel in such a diverse and mixed group of people was thrilling. God uses all kinds of people, and united around the Gospel message we have room for varying points of view on secondary doctrines and matters of practice. I was thrilled at the idea of The Together for the Gospel conference back when it first launched, and I have elsewhere pointed out how the Gospel should really shape our unity. So it was a joy to finally experience on a large scale a similar event that focuses on people coming together for the Gospel.
The theme of the conference was especially meaningful to me. I’ve been studying the interrelation between the Old and New Testaments for quite some time. Seeing Christ in the Old Testament afresh has been faith building for me and has revolutionized my reading of Scripture. The topic was treated carefully and not just academically. Christ in the OT was preached as something for us to rejoice in. I believe that many preachers will be more equipped to preach from the Old Testament after having attended this conference. Many of the books recommended for preachers to read, will also prove helpful.
Dispensationalism wasn’t necessarily treated as a big problem needing to be addressed head on or anything. Some speakers said certain forms of dispensationalism bias one toward not preaching Christ from the OT. I would agree, but much of what was said at the conference can apply no matter what position is taken on dispensationalism. I don’t think reasonable dispensationalists would have been offended by the conference at all. They may have been challenged or even encouraged by it, but not offended. Not being dispensational myself, I might have missed something there. I just think the way the conference handled this point was commendable.
Finally, the book tables and exhibits were breathtaking. Lifeway Christian Stores helped sell the books, but numerous publishers had their representatives on hand to help with the book tables. My friend Shaun and I, avid book review bloggers that we are, enjoyed getting to meet several contacts that we’ve only ever interacted with on email before. We took a shift helping the Christian Focus Publications book table too, as we have been working with them closely on a social media project (through our new part time business, Cross Focused Media). From a book-lovers’ perspective, there were great discounts, giveaways galore, and a lot of excellent books on hand. That made the conference special in its own right.
On the way back, Shaun and I got to meet a blogging friend, Kevin Thompson in Janesville, WI. Kevin has interviewed me before, this time I got to interview him! (Unofficially and without recording equipment…) We really enjoyed meeting him, and both enjoyed our trip to The Gospel Coalition Conference, immensely.
For more on The 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference you can check out the Desiring God blog here for live summaries of each of the sessions.
This is a brief overview of the final two sessions on day 3 of The Gospel Coalition Conference.
Session 8: Mike Bullmore – God’s Great Heart of Love Toward His Own (Zephaniah) –Download audio–
Bullmore explained that Zephaniah, like many books in the OT and the OT as a whole, actually contains the gospel. “The Old Testament is pregnant with the message of the Gospel,” he said. “As salvation history progresses it is increasingly easy to detect the specific shapes and contours of the Gospel… The Gospel is here [in the OT] in utero.” Zephaniah begins with the sober condition of man, it appears that there is no hope because the righteous judgment of God is just and deserved. But then in chapter 2:1-3, there appears a glimmer of hope. God will remember mercy in the midst of his judgment. By the end of the book, particularly in verses 14-17, that glimmer bursts forth into a great and glorious rejoicing at the consummation of God’s salvation of his people. God does not look upon us, his people (including Gentiles too, per Gal. 3:29, he pointed out), with some disappointment, as if that’s the best God could do with us. No, He rejoices in love over us with singing. We will be and are joyful over our salvation, but God’s joy is even greater than our joy.
Bullmore also pointed out that our Gospel message should include this aspect from Zephaniah. The aim or end of everything that God is doing for us, is too often left out of our Gospel presentations. Our people need to be reminded of the great point of it all. “This vision of the consummation is the great contribution of Zephaniah”. We can’t forget to state this, it must be spoken. It doesn’t work if it is unspoken. When spoken, it will serve to awaken eagerness and anticipation for this in our hearts.
Don Carson’s message on Melchizedek was perhaps the best message on the theme of this conference. He took pains to explain the text in Psalm 110, Gen. 14, and Hebrews 7. Carson first explained that Psalm 110 is the OT chapter most quoted in the NT. He then went on to say, “Melchizadek is one of the most instructive figures in the Bible for helping us put our Bibles together and for seeing clearly who Jesus is.” He went on to argue persuasively that Melchizadek was not a preincarnate manifestation of Christ (a Christophany). Hebrews 7 says Melchizadek was like Christ. He was an actual priest-king whose life and the way he was included in Scripture, foreshadowed Jesus Christ the ultimate Priest-King.
Carson explained that paying attention to how the NT uses the OT is very instructive. They are almost always carefully reading the OT. The NT use of the OT should shape how we see the relationship between the testaments and how we preach Christ from the OT. His lecture was quite academic but designed to instruct. It wasn’t just on the academic level, though. He plainly rejoiced in and exulted over Jesus as our Priest-King. He exampled how all the functions and purposes of the priesthood is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, only it is a much better priesthood. Jesus Christ is our approachable and perfect High Priest.
Appropriately, the service ended with the Getty’s leading us in the song, “Before the Throne of God Above”.
I hope to give some final reflections on the conference, tomorrow.
Summer is the peak time for Short Term Missions Trips, it seems. I recall my home church packing a van full of teenagers and heading for Mexico. These trips, whether to Mexico, the Caribbean or beyond, are part of American church culture. And as Americans, we think these trips really matter and are a big help to the foreign fields.
Three panel discussions were hosted at The Gospel Coalition by 
This is a brief overview of the final two sessions on day 3 of The Gospel Coalition Conference.