We had a great Southeast Regional meeting of the Evangelical Missiological Society this past weekend at Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. If you're not a member of EMS, consider joining HERE.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the publication of Roland Allen’s missionary classic, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? our theme was “Missionary Methods." We had two great plenary talks: J.D. Payne (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) gave a historical reflection on "The Legacy of Roland Allen," while Tom Steffen (Biola University) gave a stimulating lecture on his new book "The Facilitator Era." 

The video of Payne's lecture is available HERE; Steffen's is available HERE.

In addition, we had 26 papers given by mission professors, graduate students, and field practitioners. I was very excited that half of our presenters were reading a paper at a professional conference for the first time. Below is a list of the papers read and in many cases a full text copy of the paper. Some of these will be read at the EMS annual meeting in Chicago, September 20-22.

Roger Dixon (Pioneers), “The Javanese Muslim Church Experience: An Example of Contextualization"

Doug Coleman (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary/IMB), "Examining Insider Movements: Selected Biblical and Theological Issues" (note: a summary of A Theological Analysis of the Insider Movement Paradigm).

Carlos Martin (Southern Adventist University), "A Biblical Critique to C5 Strategies among Muslims"

Ed Smither (Liberty University), "Missional Hospitality: Reflections from Brazilians Ministering among Arabs"

Christopher Alley (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), "A Case for the Dialogical Model in North American Evangelical Contextualization"

Robert Reese (Mid-Atlantic Christian University), “Roland Allen and the Moratorium on Missionaries”

Cory Wilson (Reformed Theological Seminary), "A Comparison and Contrast of the Missiology of Roland Allen and Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf"

David Baca (Asbury Theological Seminary), “A Contrast and Comparison of the Ecclesiology and Pneumatology of Roland Allen and Melvin L. Hodges Noting Key Missiological Implications and Significance for the Church Today”

Jerry Ireland (Assemblies of God/Liberty University), "Missionary Methods for Addressing Animism in Zambia from 1900 to the Present: A Case Study on the Importance of a Biblical and Relevant Pneumatology in an Animistic Context"

Richard E. Trull, Jr. (Faulkner University/ Black College of Biblical Studies) "Discerning Worldviews: Distinguishing Core Perceptions in Conceptualizing Worldview Distances"

Josh Laxton (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), “The Church in the Third Place”

Justin White (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), "The Importance of Christian Community in International Church Planting: A Trinitarian Methodology"

Steven Carne (Drakes Branch Baptist Church) "Koinonia for the Nations: A Biblical Model of Church-Missionary Partnership"

George Robinson (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), "The Gospel as Story and Evangelism as Storytelling" (note: published as a chapter in Theology and Practice of Mission).

Tiffany Lillard (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), "An Indigenous Literate Leadership For An Oral Learning Community"

Gordon Olson (Liberty University), "The Relevance of New Testament Contextualization to Missions Contextualization"

Justin Carter (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) "Irenaeus of Lyons: Ante-Nicene Missionary"

Eric Vess (Advancing Native Missions) “Facilitating Indigenous Ministries: Promoting unhealthy dependency or practicing biblical advocacy?”

Patrick Hubbard (Liberty University/Living Bread Ministries), “Church Planting in a Brazilian Slum: A Case Study of Living Bread Ministry in Capao da Canoa.”

Elizabeth G. Driscoll Chavez (Palm Beach Atlantic University), "Servant Leadership in Bolivia: A Phenomenological Study of Long-Term Effects of a Servant Leader in Missions"

Michelle Raven (Liberty University), "Back to Mission: A Possibility Center Approach for Revitalizing African American Church Sending"

Chris Dowd (Bedrock Community Church), "Lessons in Team Church Planting in North America: The Case of Bedrock Community Church"

Mike Barnett (Columbia International University) “Principles and Practices for God’s Mission”

Ken Baker (Culture Connexions/SIM), "Recovering the Relational Narrative of Mission”

Steve Ybarola (Asbury Theological Seminary) “A Typological Approach to Diaspora Missiology”

Gary Corwin (SIM), "From Roland Allen to Rick Warren: Sources of Inspiration Guiding American Evangelical Mission Methodology 1912-2012"

I really like the new Switchfoot album "Vice Verses" and was fortunate to see them play much of it live a couple of months back. Have a listen to the opening song "Afterlife" and its lyric video. I've posted a few more comments below.

This song offers a bold opening to a brilliant album that in my view has a strong eschatological focus, especially as we listen to "Afterlife" in light of two other songs on the album--"Restless" and "World Where I Belong." 

It is a powerful declaration that life, and most certainly eternal life for the Christian, begins at the moment that we come to faith; not when we reach heaven. They sing in the refrain: 

And I wonder 
Why would I wait till I die to come alive? 
I'm ready now 
I'm not waiting for the afterlife

While our salvation will be complete when we enter the presence of the Lord, salvation is now and here. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV):

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
  

This semester, I challenged students to use their gifts in the creative arts to communicate aspects of the Gospel. Over the past couple of weeks I have featured several of these. This final one is by Kameish Johnson and it is an interpretative dance to the Spanish song "Tu Eres Para Mi" ("You are the One for Me"). The lyrics and translation appear following the video.

(Verse 1)
Amoroso: LOVING
Constante: CONSTANT 
Verdadero y fiel: TRUE AND FAITHFUL
Tu poder en mi es tan real:YOUR POWER IN ME IS SO REAL
Me llena: YOU FILL ME
Me observa: YOU WATCH ME
Conoces mi andar: YOU KNOW MY WALK
Y amas que te cante a Ti: AND YOU LOVE THAT I SING TO YOU

(Chorus) 
Nunca mi abandonaste: YOU NEVER ABANDONED ME
Nunca en mi fraqueza: NEVER IN MY WEAKNESS
Yo sé que tu eres mio: I KNOW YOU ARE MINE
Y tuyo seré siempre: AND I WILL ALWAYS BE YOURS
Sé que es venido a hora: I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE COME RIGHT NOW
Recordandome mi corazón: TO REMIND MY HEART
Que Tu eres para mi: THAT YOU ARE THE ONE FOR ME

(Verse 2) 
Cortéz: POLITE
Paciente: PACIENT
Verdadero y fiel: TRUE AND FAITHFUL
Tu poder en mi es tan real:YOUR POWER IN ME IS SO REAL
Me llena: YOU FILL ME
Me observa: YOU WATCH ME
Conoces mi andar: YOU KNOW MY WALK
Y amas que te cante a Ti: AND YOU LOVE THAT I SING TO YOU

(2x) 
Nunca mi abandonaste: YOU NEVER ABANDONED ME
Nunca en mi fraqueza: NEVER IN MY WEAKNESS
Yo sé que tu eres mio: I KNOW YOU ARE MINE
Y tuyo seré siempre: AND I WILL ALWAYS BE YOURS
Sé que es venido a hora: I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE COME NOW
Recordandome mi corazón: TO REMIND MY HEART
Que Tu eres para mi: THAT YOU ARE THE ONE FOR ME 

I will be reading the following paper next weekend (March 23-24) at the Southeast Regional Evangelical Missiological Society meeting at Southeastern Seminary (Wake Forest, NC).

"Missional Hospitality: Reflections from Brazilians Ministering among Arabs"
In a mid-sized city in Southern Brazil, home to the largest concentration of Arabs and Muslims in South America, a Brazilian pastor and his wife open their home and prepare a meal for Arab guests. In the midst of this encounter, which could last for several hours (no one is keeping an eye on the clock), the couple offers a model of a Christian family and verbally communicates the Gospel while showing hospitality. After interviewing 45 Brazilian missionaries in 2009 and 2010, I found that this scenario was not an isolated one; rather, Brazilians serving around the Arab world are naturally and intentionally ministering to Arabs through this shared cultural value. More than a mere cultural value, hospitality is a biblical value that is also a requirement for church leaders in the New Testament.[i] In the context of global ministry, it is a vital element for intercultural mission work as it creates an environment for relationships, authentic evangelism and discipleship, and Christian fellowship.

In this article, I have a few modest goals. First, through surveying the relevant cultural literature, I will examine how Arabs and Brazilians regard and generally practice hospitality.[ii] Second, based on survey responses from 45 Brazilian missionaries serving in Arab contexts, I will discuss how Brazilians perceive hospitality in the Arab world. In part, this will reveal some significant cultural proximity between Brazilians and Arabs toward the shared value of hospitality as well as show how Brazilians are using hospitality in mission to Arabs. Finally, I will conclude briefly by discussing the missiological implications for Brazilian hospitality in the Arab world.

Read the rest of the paper HERE.  


[i] See 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8; also 1 Peter 4:9.

[ii] It should be noted that I define Brazilian as a member of an affinity bloc of the cultures that make up the country of Brazil. With some 291 ethnic or cultural groups, the Brazilian mosaic is composed of indigenous, Portuguese, African, European, and Asian peoples, as well as some cultures that have resulted from the intermarrying of these peoples. While a great deal of cultural diversity exists, a degree of cultural cohesiveness can also be observed. Similarly, I define Arab as a member of the affinity bloc of Arabic-speaking peoples that reside in the twenty-two Arab states of North Africa and the Middle East. My paradigm for regarding Brazil and the Arab world as affinity blocs is based on the thought of Patrick Johnstone. See Johnstone, “Look at the Fields: Survey of the Task,”in J. Dudley Woodberry, ed., From Seed to Fruit: (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2008), 14-17.
 

One of my students Adeola Oyelabi has written and performed this poem "Untitled"--depicting the pain and hope of victims of sexual trafficking and abuse. After saying the poem, she discusses further its meaning. The lyrics appear below.

Ready or not , because here it comes
Who can hide from the horror inside
That threatens to kill
Me, it threatens to drown
My body and soul, from the inside out


These stains that I wear
Can’t be washed off.
These wounds that I carry
The best doctor can’t fix.

Cuz I’ve been injected with an infection that shows, an infection that grows
In this cavern of mine, this fragile mind
Is overwhelmed with the notion that I matter to no one
My only value stems from sexual tricks
Weighed down by the memories each day casually inflicts.
But underneath it all, I’m just a scared little girl

Who wonders if the true meaning of “gifts”
Can ever apply to me.
For so long I’ve been told:
Nothing
Worthless

Damaged
Bruised and broken, one thing I can do:
Cry out to the heavens.
I let loose my anger, my fear, and my pain.

Yearning to be set free.
Little do I know, it’s God that catches me.
Spinning out of control,
He offers the stability I never knew
While I’m unable to forget,

He helps me to forgive.
Forgive the person I thought I was
Heal what I thought would be open forever.
Carefully wiping away my tears,
He offers a comfort I never thought I would find.

Looking at me, He sees more than my past
More than the chains that are keeping me bound.
Breaking them, He envelopes me in His perfect love
Making me new.
I am loved.

Valued.
Cherished.
Wanted.
I am His. 

After much prayer and reflection, we have accepted the opportunity and challenge to join the faculty at Columbia International University in Columbia, SC and we will relocate there this summer in preparation for the Fall 2012 semester. I am looking forward to serving alongside one of my mentors, continuing to teach intercultural and historical studies, serving as research faculty in the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies, and joining a school that has a remarkable history of training and sending intercultural laborers into the world for the glory of God.

As we have prayed about it as a family, we believe this to be God's leading and are convinced that this is a good fit for all of the Smithers. 

That said, we are so thankful for the last six years that we've spent in Lynchburg and that I have served at Liberty University and Seminary.  I will deeply miss my co-workers and the students that I have served.

As we make this transition, these are our main prayer requests:

1. That the kids finish well at school and have good closure with friends.
2. That we transition well as a family to a new community, friends, school, church, etc. in Columbia.
3. That we sell our home quickly here in Forest.
4. That I transition well at Liberty and pass the baton well to those who will carry on my responsibilities here.
5. That I have a good transition to the CIU faculty team. 

One of my students Matt Barber made the following video.

[this video] depicts a man walking into a church all alone. He goes to the same seat he has been in since he's called himself a Christian, going through the same routine. But then, he realizes that no one else is coming to church, and gets up and sees that the sermon notes were left at the pulpit. He sees the title, "A Message to You", and starts reading. It is a picture of the sin and consummation of the gospel, that sometimes we forget that it's not just an introduction, but rather something we believe and remind ourselves forever. The Gospel must never be forgotten in the life of a Christian, no matter if we've known Jesus for 20 minutes, or 20 years.  

One of my students, Kayla Wilson, has painted a work that she calls "Bondage Breaker" and has invited the viewer into her "studio" to see the work come together in the video below. Following, she discusses aspects of the painting, the accompanying song, and her intended audience.  

This painting has several elements at play . . . first the background of the painting sets th general tone of heaven above with the world below.  I used yellow to give the viewer a feeling of hope or joy in association with heaven.  Also, Jesus appears to be moving toward the lightest part of the painting away from the darkness below. 

The black and grey tones used along the bottom of the painting represent man’s depravity and the fallen earth.  This should give the viewer an awareness of his own imperfection in relation to the brightness above.
 
The chains riding on the cross represent sin. I wanted to address not only the individual sins of this audience but also those sins participated in by the community as a whole.  Specifically for my target audience these chains represent things like alcohol/ drug addiction, child abuse, pornography, abortion, materialism and other forms of idolatry that lift individual desires above God.

The expression on Jesus’ face conveys the weight of these sins.  Parts of his arm, hands, and face are bloodied or bruised representing his humanity.  This also shows how our darkness was transferred to him but he is still able to continue into the light through his work on the cross.  I wanted to emphasize here the sacrifice made by Christ that allows us to be freed from our chains.

The hands reaching up represent the people of the world.  The different skin tones show how this message is applicable to every member of the postmodern community regardless of ethnicity.  Every hand is outstretched and reaching upward but they are not reaching for Christ himself.  Instead of reaching for the answer they are reaching for the chains he is trying to free them from.  They reach for what is tangible, familiar, and concrete.  This shows how man is continually enslaving himself to the world despite Christ’s offer of freedom.

Ironically, my favorite part of this painting is the way that those outstretched hands are reaching for their chains but are coincidently reaching in the direction of Jesus, because he carries their chains.  Sometimes our desperate grasp on the sin in our lives can awaken our hearts to our own shortcomings and remind us of the need for freedom.  Again, the painting provides the answer to this need by emphasizing Jesus as the “bondage breaker”.

The words of the song playing in the background of the video say, “I still have my doubts, I am damaged at best like you’ve already figured out.  (Chorus) I’m falling apart, I’m barely breathing, with a broken heart that’s still beating, in the pain there is healing, in your name I find meaning so I’m holding on.”

I think that these words reveal the true heart of many people who have been influenced by postmodernism, especially those who come from a Christian background.  There is this idea that man has “outgrown religion” and is too educated to really believe in the power of Jesus.  However, this is contrasted against the brokenness we see in our own lives leaving us hopeful that we were wrong in the first place and there is something more.

The overall purpose of this painting was to magnify the power of Christ’s work on the cross as the breaker of the chains that we run to.  It is also a reminder of man’s sinful devotion to the world and its trappings.  However, the beauty of this picture can be found in the idea that even our depravity can be used to draw us toward the truth, hope and freedom.

One of my students, Johannes Schroeder from Germany, has written a new song entitled "Frieden in Dir" (Your Peace Within). Johannes writes, "This project [is aimed at] the [youth] and middle-aged people of Germany. The rise of international terrorism and economic insecurity caused a shift [in the] number one concern of German people [going] from personal freedom to personal security – an indicator for a longing for inner peace." 

To view the song and video (in the original German with English subtitles), click HERE.

Johannes adds, "The song is composed in a slow 6/8 jazz-feel that is quite popular [across generations] at the moment. It also is in a minor key that creates a feel of melancholy and is suitable for soul-searching themes in songs. By nature, it is not written to be played on the radio but either in an explanatory context of a concert or meeting, or on an I-pod where repeated listening will open the message of the song to the hearer."

In Johannes' view, the song ultimately points to "Jesus Christ [is] the one who brings peace into the heart as the Prince of Peace. The message of the song is best explained while considering the lyrics."

Verse 1
Religion, fantasy, reality, you never figured it out
where to go, who is right - is this world just bad, good or unfair?
You’re honestly just looking for
Your peace within
 
Science, knowledge, power, make it all good over night
Tomorrow it will be different again what’s true today
What this world promises can’t finally create
Your peace within

Pre-Chorus
Maybe you should turn around and look somewhere else?

Chorus 1
Dream-world out there beyond the horizon
Where everyone lives as he desires
But the way to there is so hard to find
Where does the path begin that leads to
Your peace within

Verse 2
Your identity, how you perceive yourself is based on familiar things
But when relationships break you realize that people are
Not firm enough for
Your peace within.

Whereto you go, in what world you flee, what substance can really give
Expansion of mind, later the Cold turkey. You weave around and long for
Your peace within

Pre-Chorus
Maybe you should turn around and look somewhere else?
 
Chorus 2
Dream-world nowhere, not in this world
For who can find peace within himself?
Someone beyond us must be the source
Place of safety that leads you to
Your peace within

Outtro
Peace is deeper than mere thoughts
Don’t seek for it within yourself for
Within the confinements of your humanity
You won’t find your peace within.

Peace does not lie in the things you possess
For you have tried it and missed out on so much
For only someone beyond you can give
Your peace within

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Your peace within, who gives you peace, how is beyond you, where is the dream-world, Peace, for me, in me, I am looking for it…