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A FAITHFUL MISSIONARY MUST HAVE THESE FIVE THINGS.

The critical component of the ancient text to be borne into the lives of the modern audience in a sermon in the context of their worship of God is the theology of the pericope, or what the author is doing with what he is saying in the particular slice of the biblical text chosen for the sermon.

Believers ought to be living new lives of holiness, commensurate with their cured status in Christ.

My theology diploma from Union University is covered with smudgy black fingerprints. It seems that the snacks for our upcoming Vacation Bible School had been piled on the stovetop in our rural church’s fellowship hall.

As the old saying goes, biblical exegesis “is both a science and an art.” There are necessary skills and tools the biblical exegete needs to be able to give himself the best opportunity to understand the author’s intent

Although there is a legitimate place for academic study of the spiritual disciplines, it is more urgent that we practice them and practice them for the right reasons.

We not only need help in understanding what our Bibles teach us; we need flesh-and-blood models for how put that teaching into practice.

It is one thing to throw out a theory articulating why ancient ecclesial apologetics might be relevant today, but it is quite another to provide fellow apologists with a path that guides them to use this method today. Still, any theory of apologetics remains incomplete until Christians are able to put it into practice in their present lives.

So how can we as believers be more faithful in our witnessing? Using the image of a body, I want to reflect on 5 aspects of faithful witnessing.

We are seeing major shifts in how the missionary task is being carried out around the world. Globalization is complexifying evangelical missiology before our eyes, and it is opening up a diversity of strategic opportunities for gospel workers.

Missionaries proclaim the gospel simple and sufficient and teach the gospel deep and complete in the power of the Spirit so that people see and understand.

In many people’s thinking, to ask—How does systematic theology help us read Scripture more faithfully?—is wrongheaded and backward. Rather, should we not ask—How does Scripture help us get our systematic theology right?

I was in my late teens the first time I read the words “apologetics” and “apologist.” At first, I thought these words had something to do with Christians apologizing for misdeeds undertaken in the name of Christ. It didn’t take long for me to realize, however, that apologetics was precisely what I needed at that moment when I was struggling with whether or not the claims in the Bible were believable.

We all want to get better at biblical theology, because we want to understand the Bible so that we can please God by trusting him for salvation, overcoming sin, and loving him and his people with everything we are. How do we become better biblical theologians?

The same principles that have helped me solve so many complicated parenting cases are also helpful in the practice of history. When multiple independent sources agree on the key contours of a story, it is worth considering the possibility that the narrative they share is credible.

We release missionaries from our churches and send them off to where the church is not and where the church is weak.

Surely, as he teaches and leads, the pastor will be faithful in directing church members to obey God’s commands including:  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

The failure to implement an effective theological education strategy decelerates the development of competent leaders and will restrict biblical growth of the kingdom across the globe.