Him We Proclaim

In response to Missions Agencies Send No One , posted yesterday on The Gospel Coalition, career missionary Ross Hunter (my dad) wrote these thoughts. Now I love Training Leaders International, (the author of the TGC post is their president), and I think  Darren Carlson was writing toward a vision of what should be, not what is currently. So read the article, and then entertain an alternative perspective: Who Sends? by Ross Hunter "Missions agencies send no one."  Practically speaking, in my experience it is not quite so simple. There is an interesting dynamic going on in the missionary sending process of this century. God is using the universal church (in many cases "churches", "individuals", and "sending agencies" of whom many rely upon Bible Schools and Seminaries outside the church for training), to send out his missionaries. Exceptions are recognized.  The mission agency essentially sends the missionary, through the rec...

Three missionary friends I greatly respect, who do not know each other, recently shared Amy Peterson’s “Farewell to the Missionary Hero” , published in Christianity Today on September 14 th , 2015. I encourage you to read it. She has some great thoughts such as this one: We need to hear stories about the real struggles and joys of missions work. These kinds of stories have the power to improve our missiology; unless we are honest about the challenges missionaries face, we won’t find realistic solutions. But if we are forthright about what the job requires, we’ll stand a better chance of attracting the right people and preparing them adequately for long-term service, rather than sending them home early, disillusioned and depressed. In the article the author praises writings such as the following saying, “In unedited and unmediated forms, missionaries can tell their stories directly to a wider audience than ever before.” I hope to provide an alternative perspective than the one Pe...

This thing all things devours; Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats mountain down. Time.   We divide time into three clear categories-past, present, and future. And I think that there are three types of people here today, each relating with one of these: The Dreamer, the Reminiscent, and the Reactor. I’ve been each of these. In much of high school I was the Dreamer. I lived in the future. Dreaming of the mountains I would climb, the day I could drive on my own, what it would be like to have a girlfriend, and what I was going to do with my life. I would memorize entire outdoor catalogs and knew the order of the gear I would one day buy for my hobby. I dreamed about what life on my own would finally look like. What life would be like in college, and figuring where I would live afterwards. I was homeschooled, but I would spend an embarrassingly long time dreaming. My mom could never unders...

Do you know any MKs in college? I'm thinking especially of those whose parents are still serving abroad. They're in a fairly unique position--and so are you. Here are 10 ways to encourage and bless MKs in college, and by extension, their families also who continue to serve the Lord abroad: 1. Discipleship. Live near the college? How about inviting them out for coffee every now and then and just talking about life. Invite them into your home for dinner. Just the simple act of sharing moments of life and being a stable friend is a huge encouragement. Maybe you don't live near the college, but near where they spend the winter break: no problem. try and connect once a week for the three weeks they're off. The impact might be greater than you think! 2. Adopt an MK for Holidays. Holidays can be very uncomfortable for MKs. Often times, they have nowhere to go, especially for shorter holidays, like Thanksgiving. Everybody is asking where everyone is spending the summer/wi...