6 distinctive features of Mission

Reading thru the life of Hudson Taylor. He set up the China Inland Mission (CIM) and here is his 6 distinctive features, which I think are still applicable today:

1. Missionaries will be drawn not from any particular denomination but from all the leading Christian churches - provided they could sign a simple doctrinal declaration (How could we agree on that??)
2. Missionaries would have no guaranteed salary, but trust in the Lord to supply their needs. Income would be shared. No debts would be incurred. (But thats not practical!!!!)
3. No appeal for funds would be made.(He must really take his faith seriously!!)
4. The work abroad would not be directed by home committees but by people on the spot, in the field (people who actually know what is going on)
5. The activities of the mission would be systematic and practical. Evangelism would seek to establish footholds in strategic centres
6. The missionaries would wear clothes from the region and worship in building built in the style of the area (geared to the times, anchored to the rock!)

Food for thought...

Rambo

Talk about a good boys night out! Went with Pete Comfort and Jonny to watch this epic! You know what you get with Rambo, but even this was too much. Some really interesting thoughts came to me during watching this.

First you have the missionaries going into a country to help yet they cause a lot of problems. It made me think. These missionaries were warned to not go in, yet they went in. Was it obedience to God? Was it to ease their conscience? In the film it is actually quoted that there were doing an honourable thing. One of the mercenaries said he was the devil doing what God couldn't do. So going in as outsiders, does it help or does it cause more problems. Also, watching LOST with Katrina and the episode we watched last night 'Stranger in a strangeland' was about how Jack walked among them but wasn't part of them. It can have good effects, like with Hudson Taylor gaining the respect of the Chinese, but it can also be harmful. I know I'm mixing fact with fiction even fantasy but an interesting point I think!

Second you have the pure brutalness of this movie. I asked Pete how this got made and even passed. But this actually happens in Burma. It is horrific, but this type of stuff happens. I don't know if Sly was trying to make a political point or a moral point and if anything is going to happen about this but its mad, worse its evil and is anyone doing anything about it? The way movies go as well, we are manipulated by the director, writer, music so we actually want the good guy to go get the bad guy, so here we want Rambo to go get some revenge in the only way Rambo can! But who is good then and who is bad. Is it justified Rambo killing everyone cos they are bad people. A verse that kept running thru my head was from Romans 12 v 19 "It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord". But can we wait for judgement? Is it fair to let evil continue and even prosper? That passage in Romans 12, do not repay evil for eveil but overcome evil with good - is it practical? Is it philosophical? Can ideas like that actually work in the real world? And again I know Rambo aint real but stuff like tis actually happens it the world, so my question is how does the Jesus follower respond?

Thirdly you have some pure cheese in quotes from the movie "It is better to die for something than live for nothing!" Oh yes! Come on! You got to love it!

Childlike faith

Just finished reading this book. Its good. Easy read. Thought provoking.