Why should we send missionaries to India, and not leave the work only to indigenous pastors who are already there?

John Piper had an excellent and sobering answer to this question in his sermon from this past Sunday. Watch this two-minute video:

[if the video does not appear click here]

I highly encourage you to watch or listen to the entire sermon, a message on Psalm 96 called “Declare His Glory Among the Nations.” You can download it here.

A couple of friends have done a pretty good job capturing what I’ve been up to lately:

• I’ve been spending a lot of time studying French: Todd is also getting ready for the French exam.  I take it on Monday 6/30.
• Both my brothers are getting married in August: Scott talks about our pre-wedding mantrip to Boston.

It has been a patience-testing month in terms of our developing missions plans.  As we look for a mission agency, there are a few people we need to talk to that have proven somewhat difficult to get in touch with.  Please pray for patience, and also that we would be able to establish communication with those who we need to talk to.

The next month will be a busy one for us.  Starting tomorrow, we’re having out-of-town visitors for 16 of the next 21 days.  Heather’s parents and my uncle/aunt/cousins from San Diego are coming in; we’re looking forward to being with some of our favorite people!  You can pray for interaction with others that brings glory to God.

We’re thankful for the ministry that continues at GBC. God is faithful to provide, to mature the church, and to bring new people.  We’re working hard as elders to make a lot of plans for the fall season of ministry, and I’m looking forward to teaching a class on the Holy Spirit starting next week.  As you think of it, please continue to pray for our ministry here - both that is is fruitful in seeing people believe the gospel, obey the savior, and disciple the world; and that it is something God uses in preparing us for future ministry.

Finally, a website note.  Given the somewhat sensitive nature of the area of the world where we are seeking to do ministry, we’ve decided to keep our older content secured with a login system.  If you go to ewz.com, you’ll now see that you need to login in to view anything from the archives more than a month or two old.  If you would like to have access to this content, please register using the link on the right sidebar.  We’d be glad to approve you if we know you!

Quick update from my last post: the semester ended well and we passed everything, I finished all my grading work, and Heather and I had a great vacation.  Still working on learning French.  The exam is June 30.

Since we first started thinking and praying about ministry in India, I’ve been reading all I can about India’s history and current events. Since it is now the summer and I know you all have all kinds of spare time for reading, I thought I would pass on some materials I’ve enjoyed, and recommend to you.

I know most of you are not planning on moving to India, but I encourage you to read material like this from time to time to enlarge your world vision and deepen your ability to pray for what God is doing.

Books:

	Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World by Mira Kamdar This is the first book I read about India, and I think it would be a good first book for you to read about India. Describes the social and technological advances of the “New India,” and looks to an optimistic future in which India is a modern world power.
	In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India by Edward Luce Covers similar ground to Planet India in addressing the growth of India and its role in the world, but contains significantly more detail and though appreciative of India emphasizes more strongly than Kamdar some of the challenges facing the country.
	India - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette by Nicki Grihault A small paperback that summarizes a little of Indian history, religion, and customs; packed full of things you would want to know before traveling there and interacting.
	India by Stanley Wolpert The cover says “if you were only to read one book about India in a lifetime, this should be it.” It is an excellent book, introducing the history, culture, and religion of India in a literary and balanced way. The weakness is that it is about twenty years old and therefore does not consider the tremendous changes in India over that period of time.
	Doing Business in India For Dummies by Ranjini Manian A useful book for those who want to work in India, whether in business or otherwise. Covers some general cultural issues but also deals with issues that arise specifically in a workplace situation, relevant laws, visas, economic climate, etc.
	The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones Originally written in 1925 by a British protestant worker in India, this is a fascinating look at ministry in pre-independence India. Certainly you would not want to read it as a textbook for theology (liberal); but due to some brilliant writing and serious cultural reflection there are still plenty of food for thought here for anyone bringing the gospel to another culture.
	Living Water and Indian Bowl by Dayanand Bharati Actually, I haven’t had a chance to read this one yet. It has been recommended to me as a “insightful analysis based on personal experience of Christian work among Hindus and the error and inadequacy of Western Christianity in the Hindu world.” It is at the top of my summer reading list.

Websites:

• Google News: India: Daily news aggregator.
• Culture of India: a good overview from Wikipedia

Magazine:

• India Today: We’ve been subscribing to the print edition of this magazine since the beginning of the year; great way of keeping up.

There are a number of other books that I would like to read; perhaps I’ll keep this list updated as I do.  I hope you all have a great June!

Taking a quick break from research for this week's major paper "God's Glory and the Disciples' Mission in John 17", I thought I'd let you know about a few things that have been going on... Login to view the rest of the post.

Scott & I recently had an opportunity to write to a letter to someone from a missions organization introducing who we are and the vision for the ministry we are seeking to do. I thought it would be of interest to those of you keeping track of us online, so I've included what I can below... Login to view the rest of the post.