Technology: The New "Roman Road"

This is a follow-up to an earlier post, Strategic Use of Telecommunications Technology in Africa. Because of our growing proclivity toward technology, I do think we western missionaries need to be careful that we don't jump to technological methods without careful thought. However, as Troy Carl points out in this insightful article, The 21st Century Roman Road: How Technology Is Changing Missions, technology needs to be one of the tools in our missiology toolbox, but it needs to be appropriate technology used appropriately:

Too often, when we consider incorporating technology into our mission work, we make the decision based on our own frame of reference...The pace and saturation of technological advances pose unprecedented challenges to the mission community. How can we stay relevant and effective in a digital world, especially one characterized by high levels of poverty and reliance upon oral communication styles?

• How **can** we stay relevant and effective in our missions work in a digital Africa?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Statistics Gone Visual

Another interesting and unique source of demographic statistics -- Gapminder:

The information is available from other sources but the Gapminder folks present it in interesting ways. Check out some of these and then explore the site for graphs, maps, downloadable charts and presentations, reports on a wide variety of information. Some of the maps include timelines so that you can see changes over a period of time -- the map on adult HIV infections shows changes from 1980-2007. Caution: some of these will take a long time to load over slow internet connections -- even in Nairobi, some are slow:

• Percentage of adult population (15-49 years) infected with HIV (Swaziland has the highest percentage at 26%; Nigeria has only 3.1% but that represents 2.63 million adults who are HIV-positive)
• Blog on trends in HIV/AIDS
• Wealth and Health of Nations -- correlates life expectancy at birth with income per person (GDP per capita) -- Sub-Saharan African peoples dominate both the low life expectancy and the low per capita GDP.
• Data downloads (430 different documents)

Gapminder even has a downloadable desktop application that runs on any platform under Adobe Air. They say (I have downloaded it but not installed it) that you can access the data whether you're online or off.

Other statistical information that might be of interest:

• UNAIDS 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic (most recent data)
• UNAIDS graphic of global HIV infection (2007 data)

How could you use information like this in your work?

For the Kingdom,

Bob A

Missions DNA

Sunday morning was a great experience. We attended the early service at Parklands Baptist Church in Nairobi, not knowing that they were beginning a 5-Sunday emphasis on the various departments (i.e., ministries) of the church and were focusing on missions on Sunday. Simon Mwangi Ndegwa is the Associate Pastor of Parklands BC and, while I may be ignorant due to the limits of my experience, I do not know another African who has a heart for the nations like Ndegwa.

The service began as usual with music led by the praise team. Then, there was a flag procession. The flag bearers circled the platform and the map of Africa that is inset into the platform. Then the church prayed for the nations. Simon was scheduled to preach on missions. Frankly, he never really got to his sermon (as printed in their order of worship). But, he did preach -- he challenged the church that they had a responsibility to pray for and go to the nations. At the end of his sermon, Simon prayed for the nations again -- even that Somalia would become a missionary-sending country!

Then, the fun began. Simon's altar call was for those who would respond to God's call to the nations. He even asked for a show of hands of those who did not already have passports -- only 2 people raised their hands and he told them to get the application paperwork and to get it done! How could they say they were ready to go to the nations if they didn't at least have a passport? The early service is, relatively speaking, lightly attended but a large number from the congregation responded by going forward. It was a stirring service.

I walked away from the service both thrilled and burdened. Thrilled at the emphasis on missions and on the response; burdened wondering what the church would do as next steps. This church has a great reputation for missions having already adopted at least 2 unreached people groups in Kenya and supporting national missionaries to those people. But, how will they expand their reach to the nations outside of the borders of Kenya? Who will train them?

• Is the Great Commission really for African believers?
• What are you doing to equip national believers to go to the nations?

For the Kingdom,

Bob A

(worship pictures courtesy of Bert Yates; Bert's blog on work with legacy churches in Kenya, Yates-IMB-Kenya)

Effective Volunteer Trips

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Erich Bridges is a global correspondent for IMB, SBC (and a friend). He writes a blog on global events, issues and trends called WorldView Conversation.

Recently, Erich wrote an excellent post on church mission trips, They came. They saw. They left. (The picture above came from Erich's post.) In the post, he quotes Johnny Hunt, President of the Southern Baptist Convention:

I see a lot of churches led by enthusiastic young pastors who ride off to the mission field with no vision, no strategic relationship, no plan. They 'fire a shot' here and there and come home with some great stories, but it often ends there. Don't try to be Indiana Jones, the solo hero who barely makes it back alive. Be a team player, a coach and a mobilizer.... Work with a knowledgeable mission partner who knows his field. You'll make a much more lasting impact.

Most missionaries I know -- and I know a lot of them -- would give their eyeteeth to work with churches and volunteer groups that followed Hunt's advice.

• In your experience, what makes an effective volunteer missions team or partnering/engaging church?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Joshua Project Unplugged

The Joshua Project has long been a source of information on the people groups of the world. Up to now, one has always had to be at a computer (or have a printed copy -- if that even exists) to see the information. Now, though, **if** you have an iPhone and a wireless data account (or an iPhone or iPod Touch and a Wifi connection), you can have the Joshua Project unplugged -- information on the world's people groups at your fingertips wherever you are.

I've not tested this but am planning to install it on my iPhone (which is now a glorified iPod Touch):

Joshua Project Mobile

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Orality in Your Tool Kit

Oral or literate methods -- which is most appropriate and most effective in communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa? While I don't intend to try to answer that question in this post, I do want to point out a couple of resources.

When our organization began talking about orality several years ago, there was some misunderstanding of the purpose. Some assumed that one would only use oral methods with illiterate people. Not true. The terms orality and literate refer to learning styles, not the ability to read. There are many, many people who have very high reading skills but are still oral learners. (I wish there was a better term for non-oral methods rather than literate -- I think the term itself leads to huge misunderstandings.) Steve Evans says that stories enter the heart and affect change and that's precisely what we hope happens when we share the Gospel.

While I'm quite sure there are many resources available, here are a couple of websites that might serve as a starting point for learning about orality:

Lausanne Movement Conversation on Orality -- blog by Steve Evans
Oral Strategies -- resource website hosted by IMB

• Do you have stories of how oral methods effected change when other methods did not?
• What other orality resources do you know about?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Church Planting Movement Resources

David Garrison, author of Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World, has started a new web site (or, maybe I've just discovered it), Church Planting Movements. Resources, best practices, a forum, definitions, examples -- good tools here for learning about CPM's or for sharpening your church planting skills.

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Could the Internet be Used to Reach Sub-Saharan Africa?

This is somewhat of a follow-up to my post of 3 February 2010, Strategic Use of Communications Technology in Africa. In the following article, a former Apple Computer executive says that it should be possible to reach the entire world with the gospel via the internet within 10 years:

GMO: Potential There to Reach World with Gospel by 2020 | Christianpost.com

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet for evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training in Sub-Saharan Africa?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Blogging Pause

It's likely that I will not be able to post for almost 3 weeks. I'm traveling to the US and, while I'll have great internet access, between meetings and family time, I won't have much time. Thanks for your patience.

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Have Missionaries Failed?

First, do no harm (Primum non nocere) is a primary maxim of medical ethics -- should it apply to Christian missions as well? In his blog, Onesimus Online, William Black has raised the question of whether there is any longer a need for western missionaries in the majority world and, if so, what role should they play. It's an article that will challenge your thinking:

When Missions Becomes Toxic

About halfway through the post, Black makes this statement:

I would like to suggest that there are very few places left in the world where a Western Christian presence is advisable, at least the way it has been practiced in the recent past. I have several reasons motivating me to make this suggestion.

Some of the things that he mentions as reasons have their roots in much of the history of modern evangelical missions, not just the recent past (of course, recent is a relative term). Still, he makes some valid observations.

Personally, I think for western Christians to stop going would be disobedience to Scripture. But where we go, how we work, and what we do are serious issues with which we must wrestle. These questions don't just apply to missionaries from the northern and western hemispheres but to anyone from anywhere who responds to God's call to have beautiful feet (Romans 10:9-15).

• Is there still a place for western missionaries in Sub-Saharan Africa?
• If so, what is their place? How would you answer the questions of Where should they go? How should they work? What should they do?

For the Kingdom,

Bob A