CMS requires that its missionaries have at least a year (or equivalent) of Bible or theological college studies under their belts. If the assignment is to ministry leadership or teaching position, then more formal qualifications will be required. Indeed in many Majority World countries, a research degree is now almost a standard requirement for teaching positions in their training colleges.
If you're getting ready to go, you'll need to factor in the time and expense involved in such studies. Here are a couple of example pathways based on stories of people I know.
Andrew finished his undergraduate studies and did a Diploma in Education to qualify as a teacher. He thought he might be a teacher in a mission setting overseas. All the while he was actively involved in his local university student group, getting ministry experience in student work. When he finished his DipEd he went straight to Ridley to begin theological studies. As a Ridley student he began his application process with CMS and upon graduation went straight to St Andrew's Hall for CMS training before going overseas as a missionary working in university student ministry.
Emma completed medical studies and an internship. She then took a year out to study at Ridley, before commencing specialist medical training. She then took a posting in a remote area hospital which enabled her to support the local church as a CMS affiliate. Mission remains high on her agenda and she is thinking about an overseas posting with CMS.
Jonathan finished his law studies and worked for five years, all the while remaining active in local church work. He saved aggressively in order to be able to study full-time for the next four years, in preparation for full-time ministry either in the local church or as a missionary. He ended up being ordained with the Anglican church, serving in local churches, doing more theological study and ending up the State Director of CMS Victoria. Hey, that's me!
Each of these stories indicate that planning to take some time out to do serious Bible or theological studies is essential and costly. If you don't plan for it in a deliberate way, it might not happen. So plan!
Assuming that you're already a young worker, you might plan to:-
- take a year out of full-time employment to do a GradDip or similar one year course
- chip away at subjects part-time while you work, aiming for at least one full-time semester
- develop an appetite for theological study, upgrade and take time out to complete a degree.
I tell Christians that Bible college study is valuable for anyone who wants to increase their involvement in and passion for God's work in his world. Do it! You may even end up getting ready to go overseas with CMS!
Click here for Part One!
Click here for Part Three!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Getting ready to Go! - Part One
What kind of preparation is required for missionary service? What do you need in your kit bag before you go with CMS to another country and culture? How much experience - and of what kind?
CMS sends long-term workers who cross cultures with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Let's assume that you're already a follower of Jesus Christ and someone for whom the Good News is simply the best news ever. Living for the Lord Jesus and his mission in the world is already your number one priority. In fact, God's heart for all the nations, and for all peoples and cultures, is something that resonates strongly with you - to the point that you've considered some sort of missions work.
That being the case, the next step is to get some serious cross-cultural ministry experience under your belt. CMS looks for people who have a proven record of such ministry. Many have worked with overseas student ministries, or with churches that have multicultural or ethnic-specific congregations. Others have gone on missions exposure trips overseas, or to Australian indigenous communities - often more than once! Get as much experience as you can!
Getting this sort of experience will help you work out if you enjoy cross-cultural work. You might find yourself developing an interest - even a passion! - for a particular people group or language. Relationships might come easily for you within a certain culture. Finding joy in cross-cultural ministry is important. It is one of the things that will sustain you in the long term. If, upon persisting, you find that ministering cross-culturally consistently frustrates you, then it's probably not a good long-term option!
There are lots of options for getting this sort of experience in Melbourne and across Australia. If you need help finding something - drop me a line!
Click here for Part Two!
CMS sends long-term workers who cross cultures with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Let's assume that you're already a follower of Jesus Christ and someone for whom the Good News is simply the best news ever. Living for the Lord Jesus and his mission in the world is already your number one priority. In fact, God's heart for all the nations, and for all peoples and cultures, is something that resonates strongly with you - to the point that you've considered some sort of missions work.
That being the case, the next step is to get some serious cross-cultural ministry experience under your belt. CMS looks for people who have a proven record of such ministry. Many have worked with overseas student ministries, or with churches that have multicultural or ethnic-specific congregations. Others have gone on missions exposure trips overseas, or to Australian indigenous communities - often more than once! Get as much experience as you can!
Getting this sort of experience will help you work out if you enjoy cross-cultural work. You might find yourself developing an interest - even a passion! - for a particular people group or language. Relationships might come easily for you within a certain culture. Finding joy in cross-cultural ministry is important. It is one of the things that will sustain you in the long term. If, upon persisting, you find that ministering cross-culturally consistently frustrates you, then it's probably not a good long-term option!
There are lots of options for getting this sort of experience in Melbourne and across Australia. If you need help finding something - drop me a line!
Click here for Part Two!
Friday, May 03, 2013
The Man Who Married Us
This Monday I spoke briefly at his funeral. Geoff was 94 and my mentor and friend. For over twenty years he and his late wife Helen rose early in the morning to pray for me, and many others, by name and according to the details of our lives and ministries. I know this, because they often told me so and offered good evidence of their prayerfulness by their pertinent enquiries about such and such a matter that I’d mentioned before. Their love and concern for us was palpable. Their home was a place of welcome, hospitality, humility, biblical wisdom and prayer.
Geoff had been a WWII veteran in three theatres of war, and returning to Australia answered the Lord’s call to serve in pastoral ministry. He grew up in the inner east, but planted a church in Croydon, serving it for 25 years. His subsequent itinerant ministry took him to countries in almost every continent, and to the little Asian congregation in Richmond where we first met.
One Friday night, he was leading the Bible study on the life of Jonathan, the son of Saul, who led his armour-bearer up the hill towards the enemies, leading God’s people to an inspiring victory. He looked at me and asked (rhetorically), ‘Will you be a Jonathan?’ The group burst out in laughter, for everyone (except Geoff) knew that was my name. Geoff wondered aloud if that had been a prophetic word. He prayed for me that night, and on many other occasions since.
Geoff was a retired Pentecostal minister with a blessed bathtub. In his Croydon home many a person got baptised (even re-baptised) and emerged out of the water gushing with the gift of tongues. It was one of his special ministries, but he never pressed it on me or on anyone else. We disagreed on re-baptism and many other doctrines, but none of that affected the depth of love he had for me, or I for him.
What united us was our love for Christ and the Bible, and a shared passion for evangelism. Geoff and Helen’s lives were transparent in their godliness, humility, and Christ-likeness in a way that I had not seen before or since. I’ve met many who have had more robust theological resources, more ‘successful’ ministries, a greater Christian following… but none who have more clearly exemplified God’s love in Christ to me.
His funeral was funny, uplifting, Gospel-centred, and filled with the grace of God in Christ. I guess I was a bit ‘on duty’ as one of the speakers. Grief followed after when I had time one evening this week to think on what I’ve lost now that he has gone to his reward. His and Helen’s life and ministry make me want to love people more deeply, grow in prayerfulness and passion for the Word, and actually live out much much more the things that I say I believe. You can hold me to that.
Geoff had been a WWII veteran in three theatres of war, and returning to Australia answered the Lord’s call to serve in pastoral ministry. He grew up in the inner east, but planted a church in Croydon, serving it for 25 years. His subsequent itinerant ministry took him to countries in almost every continent, and to the little Asian congregation in Richmond where we first met.
One Friday night, he was leading the Bible study on the life of Jonathan, the son of Saul, who led his armour-bearer up the hill towards the enemies, leading God’s people to an inspiring victory. He looked at me and asked (rhetorically), ‘Will you be a Jonathan?’ The group burst out in laughter, for everyone (except Geoff) knew that was my name. Geoff wondered aloud if that had been a prophetic word. He prayed for me that night, and on many other occasions since.
Geoff was a retired Pentecostal minister with a blessed bathtub. In his Croydon home many a person got baptised (even re-baptised) and emerged out of the water gushing with the gift of tongues. It was one of his special ministries, but he never pressed it on me or on anyone else. We disagreed on re-baptism and many other doctrines, but none of that affected the depth of love he had for me, or I for him.
What united us was our love for Christ and the Bible, and a shared passion for evangelism. Geoff and Helen’s lives were transparent in their godliness, humility, and Christ-likeness in a way that I had not seen before or since. I’ve met many who have had more robust theological resources, more ‘successful’ ministries, a greater Christian following… but none who have more clearly exemplified God’s love in Christ to me.
His funeral was funny, uplifting, Gospel-centred, and filled with the grace of God in Christ. I guess I was a bit ‘on duty’ as one of the speakers. Grief followed after when I had time one evening this week to think on what I’ve lost now that he has gone to his reward. His and Helen’s life and ministry make me want to love people more deeply, grow in prayerfulness and passion for the Word, and actually live out much much more the things that I say I believe. You can hold me to that.
Friday, April 05, 2013
My theme verse for the year ahead
It's a bit late for new year resolutions, but then I've had an unusual start to this calendar year with a new job and all. Each year, as I pray and plan ahead, I pray for a Bible verse that will perfectly encapsulate God's leading for me for the season ahead. Here is the Word for the season ahead. Paul, apostle, evangelist, church planter and missionary, writing to the Corinthian Christians says:
And as your faith grows, I hope that our sphere of activity, our involvement with you, your involvement with us, our partnership together, may greatly expand.
Why? For what reason? So that we can preach the Gospel, take and sow the seeds of the Good News of Jesus Christ in regions beyond you.
That's how missions societies like CMS work. They work together with local Christians for the sake of taking the Gospel to regions beyond.
They have a dual work: first, to see that faith continues to grow locally, to be active among local believers; and second, to build partnerships locally so that the Gospel goes beyond the local into all the world.
I am sometimes asked to defend the existence of missions agencies. 'Isn't CMS just a 'middleman'? Why can't a church do their own thing in country X?' Of course they can! I'm tremendously excited by churches that want to engage globally, and encourage such activity!
But there are many smaller churches that do not have the resources or connections to engage directly. So the missions agency acts to gather up such enthusiasm and resources. Because we've been doing it for a long time, we've also developed a large body of expertise around the enterprise of global mission. We've made a lot of mistakes in the past 214 years!
Churches and Christians who 'go it alone' run the risk of making mistakes we've already made and hopefully have learnt from. There are many examples of bad missiology unfolding all over the world today - well meaning people who are painfully unaware of everything from sheer cultural blindness to blatant neo-colonialism. To grow in faith means to grow in wisdom too - and mission specialists exist to encourage churches (large and small) in that. All for the sake of telling the whole world about Jesus.
15 ...Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow,
our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,
16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you...
What perfect words for someone involved in missions work! My great hope is that your faith - the faith of mission partners in churches everywhere - may continue to grow. And as your faith grows, I hope that our sphere of activity, our involvement with you, your involvement with us, our partnership together, may greatly expand.
Why? For what reason? So that we can preach the Gospel, take and sow the seeds of the Good News of Jesus Christ in regions beyond you.
That's how missions societies like CMS work. They work together with local Christians for the sake of taking the Gospel to regions beyond.
They have a dual work: first, to see that faith continues to grow locally, to be active among local believers; and second, to build partnerships locally so that the Gospel goes beyond the local into all the world.
I am sometimes asked to defend the existence of missions agencies. 'Isn't CMS just a 'middleman'? Why can't a church do their own thing in country X?' Of course they can! I'm tremendously excited by churches that want to engage globally, and encourage such activity!
But there are many smaller churches that do not have the resources or connections to engage directly. So the missions agency acts to gather up such enthusiasm and resources. Because we've been doing it for a long time, we've also developed a large body of expertise around the enterprise of global mission. We've made a lot of mistakes in the past 214 years!
Churches and Christians who 'go it alone' run the risk of making mistakes we've already made and hopefully have learnt from. There are many examples of bad missiology unfolding all over the world today - well meaning people who are painfully unaware of everything from sheer cultural blindness to blatant neo-colonialism. To grow in faith means to grow in wisdom too - and mission specialists exist to encourage churches (large and small) in that. All for the sake of telling the whole world about Jesus.
My hope is that your faith will continue to grow... so that we can preach the Gospel in regions beyond.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Why Good Friday?
Why is Good Friday 'Good'? Christians will say that it's because it's the day of Good News, which is what 'Gospel' translates to in a literal sense.
'Euangelos' = 'eu' (good) + 'angelos' (news, or messenger of news, ie. an angel who delivers divine news). Incidentally it's where we get 'evangel' and 'evangelism' and 'evangelical' from.
An 'eulogy' is 'eu' (good) + 'logos' (word/s)... or good words that we say about someone at their funeral, because I guess it's impolite to say bad stuff about someone at their funeral. But I'm getting distracted..
Good Friday is when Christians remember the death - by crucifixion - of Jesus Christ. Pretty gory, bloody and generally distasteful and messy. Check out Mel Gibson's movie 'The Passion of the Christ' if you're in any doubt.
If there's anything 'good' about Good Friday, it must be that the death of Jesus - horrific and gut-churning as it was - actually and absolutely proves something to us: that God loves us. In fact, God loves us enough to go through all that, and die for us.
Can we understand the actual mechanics of it all? Probably not. I've spent years in theological study and I reckon I've got a good grip on it, but there's still aspects of the willing death of Christ that boggle the mind and wrench at the heart.
But the Bible is crystal clear that Good Friday stands at the centre of all cosmic history. And that Jesus' death for us is the absolute proof of God's love for us (Romans 5:8). So the question is, 'Is there a God? And if there is, does God love me?' Christian answer: Consider Christ. Consider Good Friday. Have a look at the Bible account of Jesus' life and teaching and death. Read it with an adult intelligent mind and see if it gives a credible answer. Actually, see if it gives you good news worth celebrating this Easter. Happy to chat or correspond!
Blessings on you this Easter season.
'Euangelos' = 'eu' (good) + 'angelos' (news, or messenger of news, ie. an angel who delivers divine news). Incidentally it's where we get 'evangel' and 'evangelism' and 'evangelical' from.
An 'eulogy' is 'eu' (good) + 'logos' (word/s)... or good words that we say about someone at their funeral, because I guess it's impolite to say bad stuff about someone at their funeral. But I'm getting distracted..
Good Friday is when Christians remember the death - by crucifixion - of Jesus Christ. Pretty gory, bloody and generally distasteful and messy. Check out Mel Gibson's movie 'The Passion of the Christ' if you're in any doubt.
If there's anything 'good' about Good Friday, it must be that the death of Jesus - horrific and gut-churning as it was - actually and absolutely proves something to us: that God loves us. In fact, God loves us enough to go through all that, and die for us.
Can we understand the actual mechanics of it all? Probably not. I've spent years in theological study and I reckon I've got a good grip on it, but there's still aspects of the willing death of Christ that boggle the mind and wrench at the heart.
But the Bible is crystal clear that Good Friday stands at the centre of all cosmic history. And that Jesus' death for us is the absolute proof of God's love for us (Romans 5:8). So the question is, 'Is there a God? And if there is, does God love me?' Christian answer: Consider Christ. Consider Good Friday. Have a look at the Bible account of Jesus' life and teaching and death. Read it with an adult intelligent mind and see if it gives a credible answer. Actually, see if it gives you good news worth celebrating this Easter. Happy to chat or correspond!
Blessings on you this Easter season.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Priscilla and Aquila
On the past two Sundays I've been preaching from Acts 18. Last Sunday the focus was on Priscilla and Aquila, from the second half of the chapter. Paul slips out of the picture as he leaves Corinth and Ephesus, but we get the clear picture of the Gospel strategy of leaving Priscilla and Aquila behind as the new leaders of the church in Ephesus. As if that weren't enough, we then get the dynamic duo taking Apollos under their wing and instructing him in the way of the Lord 'more adequately'. So it's really 2 Timothy 2:2 in action in Acts.
The question the passage poses is, 'How does the Gospel grow?'
The answer it supplies:
In particular, by Gospel teaching that is accurate (v25) and adequate (v26).
The good folks at St Mark's have made the sermon available here. Do let me know what you think! While you're at it, I'd also like to know what you'd like to see here on the blog. Happy to serve!
The question the passage poses is, 'How does the Gospel grow?'
The answer it supplies:
- by Gospel teamwork; and
- by Gospel teaching.
In particular, by Gospel teaching that is accurate (v25) and adequate (v26).
The good folks at St Mark's have made the sermon available here. Do let me know what you think! While you're at it, I'd also like to know what you'd like to see here on the blog. Happy to serve!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Finding the friendlies on mission
I'm preaching this fortnight from Acts 18, at St Mark's Forest Hill. What a delight to be in the book of Acts! It contains the story of the beginnings of Christian mission, as the first followers of Jesus took the Good News from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.
Last Sunday I looked at the first half of Acts 18. Here's the basic outline:
Two principles of Christian mission
We also looked at the encouragement from God in verse 10 of that chapter. I won't give it all away, you might like to listen to the sermon, available from St Mark's here:
http://www.stmarksfh.org/Home/downloads
Blessings on you this weekend.
Last Sunday I looked at the first half of Acts 18. Here's the basic outline:
Two principles of Christian mission
- Find the Friendlies
- Expect the Enemies.
We also looked at the encouragement from God in verse 10 of that chapter. I won't give it all away, you might like to listen to the sermon, available from St Mark's here:
http://www.stmarksfh.org/Home/downloads
Blessings on you this weekend.
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