What we have seen recently within Iran is a symptom of a deep desire for change, yet change is already happening. The Spirit of God is moving and Iranians are responding. 50,000 of Iran's 75,000 mosques have closed, reportedly as a result of Christian influence. As change continues, may Iranians coming to Christ become a blessing to all nations.
NGO professionals can find themselves traveling from conference to conference, only to encounter the same people and organizations time after time, listen to the same first-year university level talks, and have the same conversations that sound good but effectively go nowhere. Questioning the conference industrial complex.
A recent statement issued by the Heads of Churches of Jerusalem is a timely and necessary intervention that addresses a growing and deeply troubling phenomenon: groups that claim to represent “Christians from the Holy Land” while speaking instead for biblically unfaithful political ideologies, foreign interests, and theological distortions that have little to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A tribute to Martin Goldsmith, a Jewish Christian who with his wife Elizabeth spent ten years as missionaries in South East Asia and were involved from the start with All Nations Christian College. A fluent Russian speaker, and educated in both Russian political thought and theology, Martin pioneered missiology and non-Western theology at All Nations Christian College. His influence spread far internationally.
Last week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced that the UN could run out of money by July. The main reason is that the United States has virtually ended its contributions. Why should Christians care at this time of global crisis and the dissipation of alliances unlike anything the free world has experienced since the formation of the UN? Because the issues are not merely political they're theological.
Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are children who grow up outside the country of their parents, providing them with a unique view on life and the nation of their citizenship. This continues into adulthood and here is an example, a TCK and pastor wondering which nature drives America.
Contemporary ministry culture leaves leaders without meaningful pastoral care. They are expected to be emotionally present, spiritually resilient, doctrinally precise, and endlessly productive, often without structures for accountability, confession, or rest. Leaders who finish well look different.
Here is an abridged introduction to a missions forecast from the WEA's Mission Commission warning against toxic utilitarianism as a threat to global stability. It leads to a narrow-minded view of national wellbeing and is a multi-faceted problem for those seeking to fulfill the purposes of God internationally. A related decline in philanthropy, trauma of tribalism, lack of theological education, and impact of migration present challenges to the future of World Christianity and missions that will
Christian author and thought leader, Paul Kingsnorth has issued us with a clarion call to beware of "the Machine". Les Csorba adds that it does not seek our destruction, nor does it need our rebellion. It seeks something far more dangerous: our distraction. Its quiet ambition is to replace the sacred grammar of the human soul with its own version of transcendence.
On Tuesday, at a public event at San Juan de Dios Hospital, President Gustavo Petro made statements that not only offend the faith of millions of Colombians, but also reveal a profound historical ignorance, a deliberate theological manipulation, and, above all, a dangerous trivialization of the central figure of Christianity: Jesus Christ.
“Somebody showed me mercy. I want to show mercy to others” is the testimony of Jane Thuo, an enterprising champion of women in Kenya whose ministry Dorcas Creation has so far helped 4,000 women transform their lives through growing in their faith and marketable skills. Be inspired by Jane's story.
What is the Church’s role and responsibility toward its surrounding context? Should we isolate or adapt? Should the Church not encourage its people to participate in societal concerns such as justice, mercy, and development, while maintaining Christian values? These issues and more are considered from a Middle East perspective but provide a lesson for us all.
