We have had another incredible day at the School of Urban Missions in Trichy. The relationships are beginning to develop with the people here. We're enjoying some great cross-cultural interactions and we're also starting to figure out the teaching methods that are effective in this context. God has been so good to us so far.
Yesterday we learned about the foundations of incarnational ministry. Today we built on that foundation through learning about the theology of incarnational ministry. We learned about what God has to say about how we can live out God's ways in our modern context. We are orienting ourselves to live in God's Grand Narrative, based on the five acts of Creation, Separation, Israel, Jesus, and the Church. We are all living in the era of the Church. We talked a lot today about biblical characters who lived out incarnational ministry, including Nehemiah, Moses, Esther, David, Joseph, Jesus, Paul, and Peter.
In the afternoon and evening sessions, we learned about the four levels of incarnational ministry among the poor: The Model of Christ, the Method of Incarnational Ministry, the Message of Incarnational Ministry, and Incarnational Ministry as Spiritual Discipline. We looked throughout the Bible for examples of each of these dimensions of ministry. We ended our time together this evening by learning about the three gateways to transformation that are often experienced in incarnational ministry: Prayer, Praise, and Pain. Pain is the biggest gateway to transformation. When we enter into the pain of others, we gain a different perspective on God and studying the Scriptures. That theology drives the process of transformation in incarnational ministry.
Here are some pictures of events over the past couple of days:
Julie got to go shopping last night to add to her traditional Indian wardrobe...
We present information, and then we break out into small groups to learn more about what God has to say about these topics and how we can apply things we've learned to our lives.
Julie is an incredible partner in ministry and she's also a gifted teacher. I'm so glad she's here with me.
They're feeding us very well... spoiling us really. We've had different people join us for meals which has given us the opportunity to get to know each other. We now have new friends from throughout different parts of India and Sri Lanka.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We are trusting that this visit is making an impact for the kingdom of God. We are learning a lot as we go, and we are excited about the remainder of our visit.
Yesterday we learned about the foundations of incarnational ministry. Today we built on that foundation through learning about the theology of incarnational ministry. We learned about what God has to say about how we can live out God's ways in our modern context. We are orienting ourselves to live in God's Grand Narrative, based on the five acts of Creation, Separation, Israel, Jesus, and the Church. We are all living in the era of the Church. We talked a lot today about biblical characters who lived out incarnational ministry, including Nehemiah, Moses, Esther, David, Joseph, Jesus, Paul, and Peter.
In the afternoon and evening sessions, we learned about the four levels of incarnational ministry among the poor: The Model of Christ, the Method of Incarnational Ministry, the Message of Incarnational Ministry, and Incarnational Ministry as Spiritual Discipline. We looked throughout the Bible for examples of each of these dimensions of ministry. We ended our time together this evening by learning about the three gateways to transformation that are often experienced in incarnational ministry: Prayer, Praise, and Pain. Pain is the biggest gateway to transformation. When we enter into the pain of others, we gain a different perspective on God and studying the Scriptures. That theology drives the process of transformation in incarnational ministry.
Here are some pictures of events over the past couple of days:
Julie got to go shopping last night to add to her traditional Indian wardrobe...
We present information, and then we break out into small groups to learn more about what God has to say about these topics and how we can apply things we've learned to our lives.
Julie is an incredible partner in ministry and she's also a gifted teacher. I'm so glad she's here with me.
They're feeding us very well... spoiling us really. We've had different people join us for meals which has given us the opportunity to get to know each other. We now have new friends from throughout different parts of India and Sri Lanka.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We are trusting that this visit is making an impact for the kingdom of God. We are learning a lot as we go, and we are excited about the remainder of our visit.
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