July 12, 2013
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Calvinism & missions? Indeed! Ekballo # 1: TULIP & prayer to the Lord of the harvest
July 10, 2013 was the 504th anniversary of John Calvin's birth.Many Christians are perplexed (understatement!) at how Calvinism / Reformed theology can result in a vibrant engagement in evangelism and missions.
A brief review... the acronym TULIP is sometimes used as a brief summary of Calvinism/ Reformed theology. I realize there's much more to it than this, but here goes:1. TOTAL DEPRAVITY
2. UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
3. LIMITED ATONEMENT
4. IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
5. PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS(Please see here for more on TULIP.)
In April, between bronchitis and a sinus infection, I was privileged to attend the Ekballo Midwest Conference in DeKalb, Illinois. The organization To Every Tribe (http://www.toeverytribe.com/) is grounded in Reformed doctrine (see here for more on their vision, mission, distinctives and core values). There are plenty of Christian conferences out there, but this one caught my eye in particular as I noticed that the first conference talk was on prayer. (If you're been reading my blog here, you know that has been something God has laid on my heart over the past few years. (For more about that, please see my posts Naphtali News: the Ministry of the Word & Prayer (the second portion) and Silent Night - Not! ~ "Prayer also will be made for Him continually" ... day and night.)
The Ekballo Conference was one of the most Christ-centered and God-glorifying gatherings of believers I've ever been a part of; that's why I said I was privileged to be there. The conference name Ekballo is taken from the Greek word for "send out" in Matthew 9:38:
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
1544 ekballo ek-bal'-lo from 1537 and 906; to eject (literally or figuratively):--bring forth, cast (forth, out), drive (out), expel, leave, pluck (pull, take, thrust) out, put forth (out), send away (forth, out) ~ from Strong's Concordance.
Over the next few days, Lord willing, I'm hoping to post the three plenary talks (audio only available) from the conference:Scott Anderson -Friday, April 19 - Ekballo Plenary Session 1
Ekballo: The Essential Nature of Prayer in the Gospel Mission
http://youtu.be/fuA3p5X32sEDavid Sitton - Saturday, April 20 - Ekballo Plenary Session 2
Ekballo: Propel the Church, Harvest the NationsDalton Thomas - Saturday, April 20 - Ekballo Plenary Session 3
Ekballo: Martyrdom and the Eternal Purpose of the ChurchIf you are a Christian, I ask that you would make the time to listen to all of these messages. I pray God would give each one of us a holy, glorious ambition for lives –– that we might not settle for and waste our lives on shoddy, cheap ambitions. May God conform us into Jesus' image: transforming our hearts to that of Jesus' compassionate heart, and transforming our desires to His desires; that we might not be lukewarm and lethargic about the great commission, but rather we might press on to take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of us, not loitering –– but having a single-eyed passion to press on for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus –– that we might be made willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3) and present ourselves to Him as holy sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2), ready to be used however and wherever God desires in His mission of taking the Good News of great joy to all the people groups of the world for the sake of His name ... far as the curse is found ... that ALL the earth might be filled with knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea ... that ALL the peoples might praise Him! ... According to Joshua Project, there are currently 7,183 unreached groups, with a total of 2.9 billion souls ... So long as Jesus tarries, still there is room at His table, my brothers and sisters –– room for more souls to come and feast along with us on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Here's Scott Anderson's plenary talk given Friday night, April 19, 2013: "Ekballo: The Essential Nature of Prayer in the Gospel Mission". (Anderson is the executive director of Desiring God.) This message will give you a little insight into you how those of us of the Reformed ilk pray for missions. (BTW: Anderson included some of the story of Adoniram and Ann Judson; tomorrow (July 13) is the 200th anniversary of their arriving in Burma.)
http://youtu.be/fuA3p5X32sE
http://youtu.be/fuA3p5X32sE - Scott Anderson // Ekballo: The Essential Nature of Prayer in the Gospel Mission
Related:
Romans 12:1-2 ~ Ann Hasseltine Judson: a willing sacrifice – Are you?
200 years ago ... Adoniram & Ann Judson ~ Don't waste YOUR marriageJohn Piper's biographical message on Adoniram Judson, "How Few There Are Who Die So Hard! Suffering and Success in the Life of Adoniram Judson: The Cost of Bringing Christ to Burma" <http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/biographies/how-few-there-are-who-die-so-hard>. Also available in E-Book format here for free: <http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/adoniram-judson
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Comments (3)
nice
Finally got back here to listen! I understand why you wanted to go to the conference and why you are sharing it. I really like how he showed how the scriptures reinforce God's call and how that Jesus' authority comes through His obedience to the Father and His death secures our safety - not in safety from death or disease, but in actual safety of His care. We should not value our lives and our safety or prosperity above risking all of that for the gain of serving Christ -even though it takes our lives here on earth. The story of Adoniram Judson is amazing and almost unprecedented in these times. But we experienced "sending" a young family to China, whereupon the husband was found to have cancer and had to receive treatment. They are still in China, still serving the Lord.I am looking forward to the other messages, if you have them to share.
@James2012 - Thanks.@quest4god@revelife - I was so encouraged by attending this conference; there was no fluff there. I posted the second plenary talk a short while ago, and I hope to post the third in the next couple days... In the meantime, you can find all the talks from the conference (as well as other videos) at To Every Tribe's YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/EkballoInitiative.