History of Missions

              Learning about the history of missions is very helpful. One can learn about methods that have been performed in the past. If one can take the good things done in the past and mash them up with other good things from other methods, one can come up with a very effective method. The history of missions is more then just learning about what has been done in the past. It really is about how one can do the share the gospel in a very effective way.

What is evil?

Evil is a word that is thrown around a lot. How could a good God allow evil in the world. This is a question a lot of people ask and are curious about. When humanity starts to think they know what is best for themselves or everyone around them, and do not care about what Gods will or desire is, is it such a surprise that evil is as real, present and gratuitous as it is? Because God truly loves us, He gives us a choice to follow Him and love Him back. In order to have true relational love, one needs to have a choice in the matter. Once a person is given a choice they can either choose to love God or love themselves. If a person loves themselves more than they love God, then it becomes an act of selfishness. Acts of selfishness are the opposite of what God desires humanity to be. Selfishness leads an individual to only caring about what happens to them or what they can gain. Selfishness in turn has a downward spiraling effect that destroys relationships. Acts of kindness and love are what we have to have with one another and God, and if not, then this is what one could classify or call evil as.

Technology: A Cure or Curse?

             Sometimes technology can be used as a good thing. However there are times when it is a very bad things. As people become more technological connected, they are losing affection and intimacy with one another because of continuous encounters with technology. The upcoming generations are naturally adapting to the digital age, and the digital age generation has never known a world without technology. While technology has allowed us to learn and experience things previously inaccessible, peoples constant use has left us with sagging interpersonal skills.  Creating a non-self-sufficient, technological dependent, wired online generation is not a good thing.  Putting a damper on the technological advances our kids have access to would help to solve this growing problem.

What is a missionary?

           A missionary is someone who is a christen and loves Jesus and wants to show the good news. This is important because many people have the idea that a missionary is someone who goes to a foreign land and does "churchy" things. However everyone is actually called to be a missionary, in every area of life. If one is a construction worker, they can still be a missionary, showing Gods love to their co-workers. It really does not matter what Job one has, because loving people with Christ like love and sharing your faith is the core of being a missionary.

Spiritual Warfare

             We watched a clip from the movie ferocious love in class about Spiritual Warfare during the presentation. It showed the realities about how real spiritual warfare really is. There are many more possessions in the east then in the west.Evil is very present and very real, but it does not get talked about too much in classrooms or church, it seems to be the elephant in the room. I believe many people need to become aware of the reality that there is in fact a war being fought, and do something about it other then just knowing about it.

Volunteering

             In the presentation in class there was a lot learned about presentations. Is it helpful or a hindrance? I believe that in particular situations it really is hurtful. People come and then leave out of the blue, leaving people that have become dependent on the volunteer helpless. I think if volunteering is done in a more thought out process it would be much more beneficial to the recipient.

Talking to a Missionary to the USA

The idea that missionaries actually came to the United States bothered me at first. Why is the church sending missionaries over seas and to other countries, when we really need them right here? Americans think they have it right and have all the right answers. Modern day Christians can really learn something from Christians of other countries. My eyes were seriously opened today because I could see the deep concern she had for America. Monica had a deeper wider passion and enthusiasm to reach people, here in America, then most Christians have or show.  Foreigners sometimes have wisdom, concepts and ideas that we far too often forget or look past. 

More people need to accept that they could learn something from foreigners. Our western world form Christianity is not cutting it and is ineffective. It really dawned on me how often we use words like: gospel, good news, salvation, saved, sin and sinner. Some church people use too much jargon and do not peach what Jesus would have preached. I learned that Monica never gave the spiel about the four step plan to become a Christian. The gospel we are peaching is so dull compared to the gospel Jesus preached.  It seems like the modern church is caught up in numbers, salvation, and conversions and telling people what they are saved from, rather than being focused on what they are saved for.

Another thing that astonished me was she told me she hardly ever mentions heaven or hell. I never realized how much people are caught up in talking about going to heaven or hell. She explained to me that going to heaven was not the main concern of Jesus’s teachings. The only way to truly describe it is to use the Greek word Zoe. Jesus was showing people how to live a full everlasting “Zoe” life, here and now. The focus of the gospel is not to leave and go somewhere else, but that God is coming here. The western word seems to get caught up in heaven being so great because it is paradise and there is no more sickness, morning or death. However, she reminded me heaven is so great because God, the creator of the universe, is going to be there, not because of the place and the rewards. 

Some people think missionaries that are coming to America to witness really are not going making a difference, because no one is going to listen to them. While interviewing Monica, I could tell something was different about her, she showed how deeply she loved and cared for people through her words and her tone of voice. More so then talking about the good news, she was loving people and that seemed to be the determining factor that allowed so many people to come to Christ. We can learn something from people of different cultures, but we need to be willing to accept we do not have all the right answers and they may know something we do not. After the interview my perception about foreign people witnessing to Americans was changed.