I defended my PhD dissertation at Wheaton College on April 19, 2013 – ten years ago next month. I remember the day well. All of us who labor through a PhD both anticipate and dread the day when we will stand before field experts who have been paid to nitpick their way through our work, …
Continue reading "How Not to Write a Book Review: A Response to Chip Hardy"
When people think about "missions," the Scripture passage that most often comes to mind is doubtless Jesus' so-called "Great Commission" of Matt 28:18–20. And for good reason! This passage clearly speaks to the church's call to take the gospel to all people groups and make disciples. But as many biblical scholars and missiologists have pointed …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: What is the Only Element in All 4 “Great Commissions”?"
It is not uncommon for churches to be called "Redeemer." One of the more well-known churches in my denomination, the PCA, is Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, planted and pastored for many years by Tim Keller. The wonderful church where our family worships when we're in the US is also called Redeemer Presbyterian …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: Jesus the Redeemer… of Mission!"
When you read the Old Testament, particularly from Judges onward, you encounter a lot of negativity. God saved Israel from Egypt by His grace, gave them the promised land of Canaan, provided them with His Torah and temple that they might dwell in His presence, and established the Davidic monarchy to lead them in faithfulness, …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: Israel’s Missional Failure and Future Hope"
"Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!" (Ps 9:11) "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all peoples." (Ps 96:3) Verses such as these are often found on banners overhanging fellowship halls at church missions conferences. "Missions is advocated even in the Old …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: Do the Psalms Advocate Missions?"
Those who study mission in the Bible hold one of two views concerning the fundamental mode of Israel's mission in the OT: centripetal or centrifugal. The former term refers to motion from the outside to the center (centripetal = "seeking the center"), while the latter refers to motion from the center to the outside (centrifugal …
In my experience, people often have a tough time with the Old Testament. It is long, complex, full of antiquated customs, diverse in its genres, and the significance of its parts is not always readily apparent. We believe it is God's word, so we read it and attempt to apply it, but often this process …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: What Was Israel’s Mission?"
If you're a Christian, you've heard this language so much you likely have an innate sense of what people mean when they say something like this: "We just want to be a blessing to our community." By this language people tend to mean that they want their community to receive some sort of positive benefit …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: What Does it Mean to “Be a Blessing”?"
More historical time elapses during Genesis 1–11 than the rest of the Bible put together. Have you ever thought about that? I remember talking to a friend years ago who said to me, "I don't know why Genesis 4–11 is in the Bible, really. I understand that chapters 1–3 describe creation and the fall, and …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: The Primeval History and Missions"
When you think about the fall of Genesis 3, what do you think about? I'd wager that most people rightly view this as the point at which humanity rebels against God, disobeys His word by eating from the forbidden tree, receives his judgment, and is cast away from His presence. The effects of the fall, …
Continue reading "Fill the Earth: The Fall into Sin and Missions"
Newkirks in Japan 