tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19895955104394032252024-03-05T06:02:47.629-06:00I Am DebtorInforming, Challenging, and Mobilizing Independent Fundamental Baptists to Reach the Unreached in Our GenerationDebtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-84066283016111094522009-12-01T13:25:00.005-06:002009-12-02T08:59:13.110-06:00The Best Solution to the Missionary Support CrisisI know, I know. It has been a LOOOOONG time since I last posted. My new position with my church has tied me up considerably. Hopefully, I will now begin to get into some type of posting routine.We had left off discussing missionary support issues in the midst of what I consider a crisis. I think it would be good to explore one solution to this crisis further. Increasing missionary support levels Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-85727397881152330142009-09-07T14:48:00.030-05:002009-09-14T16:56:46.723-05:00Is There a Missionary Support Crisis?In my mind (and in the minds of many others) there is a coming missionary support crisis. Is it really a crisis though?Cri-sis : an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially: one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome.I wish I had the time to do the research necessary to bring even more clarity to what is happening withDebtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-43077862610662428562009-08-23T02:45:00.044-05:002009-08-24T10:00:37.879-05:00Higher Support, Fewer MissionariesTHE PROBLEMWhat is the primary problem within the current model of missionary support among Independent Fundamental Baptists (deputation with off-site church support)? I have tried to deal with various complimentary sulutions to the current missionary support crisis in previous posts, but most of them work outside of the support structure itself. The central crisis, as I see it, is the continued Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-80489603942600919552009-08-18T10:00:00.001-05:002009-08-18T10:43:54.556-05:00These Weeks in the Mission BlogosphereFrom Mission resources, to the missionary spirit of Independent Baptists, to Swarming, over the last few week I have read many good Mission posts. Here are a few of my highlights from the last several weeks in the Mission Blogosphere:MissionaryHelp.com - This is a site I ran across recently. He has recently pointed out several new resources that could benefit the Mission. Two resources deal with Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-4504774482785629602009-08-12T08:00:00.001-05:002009-08-12T08:07:33.575-05:00Resource: Books on Paul the MissionaryI think that sometimes we forget who Paul was. Oh, we always remember certain things about him. For example, he was an apostle - and not just any apostle. He was an apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, upon whom special revelation was showered, who acted with a special authority. This is the Paul we know. Is that the whole picture though?Perhaps it would be convenient for us if that was the Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-84447113568006237562009-08-09T14:00:00.003-05:002009-08-09T14:03:37.400-05:00Missionary Support in the Bible: Off-Site Supporting ChurchesNo. No. Deputation is not in the Bible. Why do we use this model of missionary support then? Is there any Biblical support for it? Can it be altered?There are several principles and practices in the New Testament that are applicable to modern Independent Baptist missionary support. There is the primary principle concerning support being received from those being ministered to on the field - not aDebtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-87093486160177060092009-08-04T09:53:00.006-05:002009-08-04T10:16:52.665-05:00Resource: EtnopediaFor those who have been waiting for a next post, sorry. I've been out of town for a bit, but I'm back now - crazy summer! I'll start back with this short post concerning another Mission-related resource online.Etnopedia is primarily a Wiki translation project, aiming to provide multiple language groups with unreached people group information. It remains a helpful tool for English-speakers though.Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-37202147484403835382009-07-29T07:00:00.000-05:002009-07-29T07:00:00.153-05:00Missionary Support in the Bible (Part 4): Single Male MissionariesOK, before I start, let me say this. No, single male missionaries are not presented as a major issue of missionary support in the Bible. In fact, this post could just as easily have gone under another heading. However, teams of single male missionaries are evident in the NT. Their benefits to modern field effectiveness (demonstrated in Scripture) and to our current support struggles will be plainDebtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-62324810015039569842009-07-27T14:22:00.016-05:002009-07-27T15:22:09.219-05:00Resource: Mission InfoBankThere are few places on the web (that I've found) where you can get more Mission-related stuffthan at the Mission InfoBank. The InfoBank is coordinated by Global Mapping International, with such contributors as Operation World, Joshua Project, Peoplegroups.org, and Ethnologue. All of these collaborate here to offer Mission resources to Christian leaders. For my purposes here, it is made up of Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-28637421606305987502009-07-25T08:00:00.000-05:002009-07-25T08:00:02.721-05:00These Weeks in the Mission BlogosphereIt has been a bit since I had time to include one of these end-of-the-week posts. As a result, this one will include good Bogosphere discussions over the past several week. However, I will not comment on them as much as I normally would.Pragmatism in Missions: Missions Mandate provided a link to a very good article on this subject, worthy to be read. How much of our method is pragmatic? How much Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-1300199536600974572009-07-21T11:23:00.041-05:002009-07-25T00:58:00.687-05:00Missionary Support in the Bible (Part 3): Who is Supposed to Support Them?Who is supposed to support missionaries? This is an issue that we often presume we have the right answer for. However, we may be surprised with the Bible's answer. Our Independent Baptist answer to this question would be, local churches. This is absolutely right! But which churches? Do any churches have an obligation to provide support? Again, we would say, "Sure, all of the churches that Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-8069391691359614952009-07-20T11:00:00.001-05:002009-07-20T11:20:10.209-05:00I Believe in UsI believe in Independent Fundamental Baptist churches. I believe that we have greater potential to significantly impact the remaining world missionary task than any other denomination or movement. I have many reasons to believe this.We believe in the local church. We believe that it alone is called and is able to fulfill the Mission of God in our generation. We believe in its ability, through itsDebtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-17171353482495190742009-07-17T08:30:00.001-05:002009-07-17T08:36:54.840-05:00Missionary Support in the Bible (Part 2): Secular WorkThe last post may have introduced some Biblical facts that surprised you. Mind you, working in a secular job for a missionary is not a doctrine. However, it is something that should be considered as an option for every Independent Baptist missionary. It should be considered by all and sought by many, seeing that it has such significant Biblical precedent in Paul, our primary missionary model. Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-83934796938694079422009-07-16T09:32:00.052-05:002009-07-16T11:55:54.075-05:00Missionary Support in the Bible (Part 1): Secular JobsA short time ago I posted a "This Week" article that included some blogosphere discussion about missionaries working secular jobs for at least part of their support as a solution to the current crisis. I promised to talk more about it at a later time. Having established that there is in fact a coming missionary support crisis among Independent Fundamental Baptists (as well as others), and having Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-55197132328570058942009-07-13T08:00:00.008-05:002009-07-13T22:45:27.600-05:00Solutions for the Coming Missionary Support CrisisIn the last post we attempted to communicate some of the details of the coming missionary support crisis.The trends are not positive. Deputation lengths are increasing. The dollar is losing value much faster than monthly support levels are increasing. There is an urgent need for solutions to the impending missionary support crisis. The good news is that some are already suggesting solutions, and Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-70766577942158934232009-07-10T08:00:00.009-05:002009-07-13T06:27:15.006-05:00Urgent Need: Solutions for the Coming Missionary Support CrisisIt is 1965. An Independent Baptist missionary family has just been commissioned by a local church and they are heading out on the deputation trail. It's going to be a hard road. In fact, it is not meant to be easy. They say that this pre-field process is meant to 'weed out' bad missionaries, to encourage living by faith, etc. But . . . it's do-able.They minister in many churches during this Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-66189788594309330482009-07-09T06:23:00.002-05:002009-07-09T06:26:51.391-05:00The Coming Missionary Support Crisis: Coming Very Soon!I've been advertising this one for quite some time now. I just got some numbers in from an Independent Fundamental Baptist mission agency. They are more shocking than I initially suspected they would be! I am hoping to get numbers from a second agency soon to be able to verify these, but I will post the findings next week no matter what.Stay Tuned!Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-51647577493510056042009-06-28T07:00:00.001-05:002009-06-28T07:00:11.840-05:00This Week in the Mission BlogosphereHere's the line-up for this week in the Mission Blogosphere:"Simple Church", not so simple?: The MissioMishmash had a couple of good posts about "Simple Church". This is often a similar concept as organic and house church. There is quite a movement developing around the attempted return to a more New Testament model of church life. This blogger's first post contained a brief description and Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-48623797576735629312009-06-24T22:46:00.003-05:002009-06-24T22:55:29.516-05:00Be Back Soon!I usually post 3-4 times a week. I am not stopping that, but it may be a little slower for the next week. We are planning a move. That process, as you all know, takes up much free time. Don't fret though! In about a week, I should be up and running on my more usual schedule again. Check back frequently.Here's some of what is planned for the near future:Where, how many, and who are the unreached Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-71328975643094523492009-06-22T11:30:00.001-05:002009-06-22T11:32:07.033-05:00Resource: World MapNeed help visualizing the remaining World Mission task? Statistics and words sometimes do not help us to realize the condition of the world as they should. Sometimes pictures can provide a needed supplement to statistics. This is where resources like World Map come in.The World Mission Atlas Project (MAP) has turned statistical missions data into maps, allowing us to visualize the status of Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-89942667519474097152009-06-20T17:30:00.000-05:002009-06-20T17:39:55.966-05:00This Week in the Mission BlogosphereOK. Here's the line-up for this week in the Mission Blogosphere:Why are we so afraid of NT house churches? On the blog of an IMB missionary, The M Blog, there was some discussion of house churches. His first post provided a description of a house church meeting on his field. This was done in response to some objections to house churches he had seen elsewhere. The second post contained a lengthy Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-41860389411605541292009-06-19T17:10:00.001-05:002009-06-19T17:10:00.861-05:00Bringing Our Strategies in Line with God's Goals (Part 1)The Missionary Goal of God is this: His glory expressed in the worship of a maximum number of people from every people group. The question was asked in the last major post, "Will we align our strategy and resource deployment with God's goal?" Another question is immediately begged, "How do we know exactly who the groups are that God wants reached, so that we can reach them?"Are they political Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-5602065680587167842009-06-15T12:00:00.001-05:002009-06-15T12:00:00.045-05:00Resource: Skype and Its Potential for MissionsI love Skype. We use it for all of our calling (in and outbound). It saves us money and has allowed us to do things we wouldn't normally have been able to do (like letting grandma see her grandson regularly via a free video conference). So, I have regularly promoted personal use of Skype.What excites me even more about Skype is its potential for missions. What is Skype? I am no expert, but here Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-31648814379206500962009-06-15T08:00:00.001-05:002009-06-15T08:00:00.629-05:00Summary: Is Your Theology of Mission the Same as God's?You have a ‘theology of Mission’ whether you know it or not. All of your missionary strategies reflect this theology. In fact, much of your life may be a reflection of this theology. It drives your passion (or lack thereof), your motives, strategies, methods, use of money and resources, time usage, etc.Bob goes to church every time the doors are open. He hears about missions frequently, but Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1989595510439403225.post-10630649806061351822009-06-13T23:00:00.003-05:002009-06-14T16:35:35.293-05:00This Week in the Mission BlogosphereThree posts and a poem. That is our theme for this week in the Mission blogosphere.How NOT to Drop a Missionary's Support - An Evangelical foreign missionary made some good comments concerning missionary support ethics. It is inevitable that missionaries will lose some support while on the field. This is accepted. However, unacceptable is the way in which support is often dropped. No notice, no Debtor Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12495919232407390495noreply@blogger.com1