Perspectives- Tad de Bordenave

Tad de Bordenave, the Director of Anglican Frontier Missions, was small as a kid and nicknamed "Tadpole," which stuck. He addressed the Perspectives topic of "The Task Remaining," which he expanded to "The Scandal of the Task Remaining," which he thought was more appropriate due to the clear potential to reach all people groups with the gospel but lack of mobilization. Here are a few thoughts that Tad shared on why the task remains, how to recover the vision, and the tools that are available:

• Many Christians never go into missions because they ask the wrong questions. The point is "where is the greatest need," not "where am I called." How could you be called to a people group you have never heard of?
• Some don't sense the need because there are many missions efforts already. But over 70% of evangelical missionaries work within groups that are already predominantly Christian.
• There are many reasons to delay, from more pressing needs that take precedence at home (once we fix the floor over there we'll go), to the heresies at home (we need to get our house in order first), to the messiness of missions (we just want to get it right, so we'll keep training). These will never be resolved; at some point you just need to invest.
• We can regain the vision by recognizing the call of the church, which is to be God's witnesses to the ends of the earth. The Bible is clear on this. God's glory is being usurped by idols.
• Tad brought up justification without distinction, the idea that we as Americans have done nothing to deserve grace, yet we have all the toys (money and stuff). Why do 22 million people in Yemen live without Christ? Because we would rather enjoy our toys than accept God's call to serve.

To start to get involved, Tad recommended living virtually in a local foreign community, learning all you can about a people group, meeting them, hanging out with them, and praying for them. A two-year commitment will change you. Tad closed by narrating amazing stories of breakthrough in the Aceh of Indonesia, the Qashqa'i of Iran, and the Marwari of India, each unique demonstrations of how Christ can overcome what seem to to be insurmountable barriers.

Perspectives- Karen Michener

Karen Michener of the US Center for World Mission taught us about Eras of Mission History and Pioneers of the World Christian Movement, an essential history to understand the progress that has been made and the task remaining. She pointed out the most important point of Perspectives, a quote by an Indian evangelist: "Do not bring us the gospel as a potted plant. Bring us the seed of the gospel and plant it in our soil." Several key concepts were explored:

• Modality (local church, inward focused, stability) vs. Sodality (missions focus, risk tolerant to achieve big goals) in missions efforts. Both are necessary for healthy churches.
• Through the centuries, people groups have heard the gospel by coming to Christ-followers and by apostles going to the unreached, both voluntarily and involuntarily, all of which God has used for His glory.
• The 1st Era of Missions History was led by William Carey, with Europe as the primary sending region, and was focused on the coastlands with a church and kingdom mission.
• The 2nd Era of Missions History was led by Hudson Taylor, with America as the primary sending region, focused on inland areas with a church mission.
• The 3rd Era of Missions History was led by Cameron Townsend and Donald McGavran, with the non-west as the primary sending region and a focus on unreached people groups and a recover of the kingdom mission.
• The E-Scale rates evangelization of non-Christians from similar through very different cultures. E1 (same culture) is the most powerful because it spreads quickly and easily, though E2 and E3 are the highest priority strategic efforts because they can spark new movements.
• Missions efforts should go through the following phases: Pioneer, Parent, Partner, and Participant. As local churches gain momentum, the expat church planters should empower local leaders and step back.

Karen reminded us not to be people blind, a term for the tendency to lump local people groups rather than acknowledging the differences. She recommended "From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya" by Tucker to learn more about missions history and http://www.partnersfortransformation.net/ to get involved.