Simply ChurchThere’s a (mostly) unspoken rule in Christianity. It goes something like this: God only uses a woman when a man is not available. It’s a convenient rule because it allows women on the mission field to do things that women are not allowed to do here at home. Does this seem strange to anyone else?… Read More
Amy Carmichael was born in Ireland in 1867 to a well-to-do family. She decided to follow Jesus at the age of 13. At 18, her father died, leaving the family in a difficult financial situation. They moved to Belfast, where Amy became involved with the “shawlies,” mill girls who wore shawls rather than hats. She… Read More
Lottie Moon, height 4 foot 3 inches, was a powerhouse for the gospel. Born to affluent parents who owned a tobacco plantation in 1840, she was indifferent to her Baptist upbringing until the age of 18, when she underwent a spiritual awakening at a revival meeting on her college campus. At the age of 33,… Read More
Occasionally, I get a comment on my blog that is so important, it’s worth creating a guest post so others read it. The story that Larry tells of how he came to change his mind about women in ministry is outstanding. Larry Bennett is an experienced mission’s trainer to developing world pastors and leaders. He… Read More
The church has become accustomed to measuring success by the world’s standards–not just in terms of numbers but in terms of speed. In our Western world we expect fast and instant. Think microwave dinners, air travel, Internet. I think God views time differently. A story comes to mind; the story of James O. Fraser, chronicled… Read More
We just returned from a two week trip to Taiwan, an island off the coast of China. Tony’s parents originally were called to work in China, but when the Communists took over just a few weeks after they arrived, they moved to Taiwan where Tony’s father, a doctor, opened a clinic. Tony was born in… Read More
Ricardo with veteran missionary to Venezuela, Buck Smith Puerto Ayacucho Prayer at dawn overlooking Pto. Ayacucho Here is another story about Sophie Muller. (For more information about her from people who knew her, check out the comments on the post, “The Amazing Story of Sophie Muller.“) Again, this is in Ricardo’s own words. “I was born in the… Read More
I’m currently in Taiwan speaking at a conference so the next few posts will be reposts. Looking over the Orinoco River to Columbia Earlier this month I had the incredible privilege of visiting the Amazon jungle in Venezuela. Many of those living there were tribespeople recently out of the jungle where they still live very primitive lives.… Read More
Photo credit: EugeniusD80 (Creative Commons) We were sitting in our hot tub with some dear friends who are long-term missionaries in Japan. Jim’s wife is Japanese, so they have a unique understanging of that nation. They and their family are planting simple/organic churches there. As usual, our conversation ranged widely as we put the world… Read More
Photo credit: Gravitywave (Creative Commons) Over the past few months, we have had several people from a more traditional church background and who are in the process of leaving for the mission field visit the church that meets in our home. The exchange has been valuable. Our “Jesus family” has rubbed shoulders with people sold out… Read More