It has been said the story of humanity is the story of migration. I agree. However, I would revise this statement to read: The story of humanity is the story of migration because God is the God of mission. The topic of migration always seems to be in the news […]
Evangelism
The missio Dei conversations of the 20th century shifted the focus of mission from an ecclesiocentric position to a theocentric position (specifically, Trinitarian). Mission did not belong to the Church, but to God. The world did not set the agenda for the Church to carry out mission, but God established […]
Before the Proto-evangelium, the Proto-missio
Today is Yom Kippur. Leviticus 16:1 describes the Day of Atonement by referencing Yahweh‘s words to Moses about the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. He is told that “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Lev 10:3). This […]
Yom Kippur and the missio Dei
When C. Peter Wagner published his 1990 book, Church Planting for a Greater Harvest, he included these famous words: “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.” The reality is this “truth” was not true in 1990 and it is not true today. Can church planting be […]
Church Planting is not the Single-Most Effective Evangelistic Methodology
Six years ago, the Payne Gang moved from Louisville to Birmingham. The Lord had called me to serve as one of the pastors of The Church at Brook Hills. It was announced this past Sunday that His leadership has taken me in another direction. After much prayer, fasting, and seeking […]
My Move to Samford University
David Hesselgrave passed away yesterday. Some of you are very familiar with his name and legacy. Some of you do not know of whom I write–however, you have felt his influence. Trust me on this. David was one of the leading missiologists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. […]