John Span

Church:

I attend a Christian Reformed Church not listed at CRCNA.ORG

Recent Posts
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January 11, 2020

Blog

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“Unknown god altars,” “innocent natives,” and “anonymous Christians.”

In this article, I will examine how a few contemporary mission thinkers have appealed to the altar to the unknown God in Acts 17:23. We will attempt to answer the question “Does the apostle Paul actually affirm the religiosity of the Athenians via the altar, and by extension, can we affirm the religiosity of adherents of other religions or of the validity of aboriginal/indigenous religion?”

By John Span

Global MissionIndigenous - Native American

January 7, 2020

Article

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Mercy Ministry in Mission Strategy

This helpful article, written from the perspective of someone raised in Southeast Asia, highlights the allures and pitfalls of mercy ministry.

By John Span

Biblical JusticeGlobal Mission

January 6, 2020

Discussion Topic

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Three Words Affecting the Church in the New Decade

As we enter the decade of the new “roaring 20’s” many new words will find currency in our society. This piece looks at wokeness, virtue signalling, and intersectionality.

By John Span

CRCNA and SynodLet's Talk About...

December 23, 2019

Blog

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Christmas and the Real Night of Power (Lessness)

In Islam, there is a special night called the Night of Power/Destiny (or in Arabic, laylat al-Qadr). Here I compare and contrast that night with Christmas Eve.

By John Span

Ecumenical & InterfaithMuslim Ministry

November 30, 2019

Blog

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Reversion: Why Do ‘Christian Converts’ From Islam Return to Their Old Religion?

At times the glowing statistics of massive movements to Christ in the Muslim world hide another reality, namely the fact that reversions back to Islam are also happening.

By John Span

Global MissionMuslim Ministry

October 30, 2019

Blog

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John Calvin's Conversion in His Own Words

John Calvin, like many Reformers, recounted how God reached out to him in grace and took him from a life of religiosity.

By John Span

Evangelism

September 24, 2019

Blog

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Inspiring Words on Jesus From John Calvin

John Calvin wrote the preface for his cousin's translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into French. Here he enthuses on the benefits of Christ in a fashion not unlike a lover waxing eloquent on the wonders of the beloved.

By John Span

Faith Nurture

August 13, 2019

Blog

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Decoding Missionary Newsletters

Before moving overseas, I read newsletters of cross cultural workers and thought something along the lines of Well, that’s interesting. Now that I live overseas, I realize newsletters are filled with code words.

Anisha Hopkinson

EvangelismGlobal Mission

July 24, 2019

Blog

78 views

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90% Retention Rate or 90% Attrition Rate? Doctrine Matters

What kind of theology is behind the way you and I do outreach?

By John Span

EvangelismGlobal Mission

July 9, 2019

Book or eBook

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Resources for Preaching on the Miracles of Jesus

In this short piece, I will highlight four books that have been helpful in sermon preparation on the miracles of Jesus, a subject which occupies about 20% of the contents of the Gospels.

By John Span

Faith NurturePastors

Thanks, Larry:

When Phil wrote the article (2018), and when "What it means to be Reformed" was penned (2016) a person like Greta Thunberg had not captured the energies of today's...
posted on: Mercy Ministry in Mission Strategy
Thanks Martin:

Had never thought of the concept of "virtue shaming." Very illustrative.

Blessings

John

PS. Some people are also using the term "Cultural Marxism"...
posted on: Three Words Affecting the Church in the New Decade
Thank you for reaching out in a very vulnerable way. I believe that your desire to reach out to God is an indicator that your heart does not have a callous layer on it which makes it indifferent...
posted on: What Is a "High-Handed" Sin and Why Should the Church Care?
Thanks Roger:

If I might, I would take the Areopagus address in Acts 17 as an example:

a. As much as the apostle Paul was incensed at the idolatry of the Athenians, he still...
posted on: 90% Retention Rate or 90% Attrition Rate? Doctrine Matters
Martin:

You have encouraged your readers to do some background reading. I have been doing some.

First of all I went to the Sabeel website. I was quite amazed at how open they...
posted on: ‘Palestine’ and Overture 6: Ten Questions to Consider
Nick, my intention was not to impugn ill motives, but to highlight the fact that motives are a powerful driver of decisions. A friend suggested that I look into the area of "virtue-signaling...
posted on: ‘Palestine’ and Overture 6: Ten Questions to Consider
Greetings all:

Thank you for your collective responses. If I may, I think they can be grouped into a few categories:

a. An awareness that not all is well in that part of the...
posted on: ‘Palestine’ and Overture 6: Ten Questions to Consider
Thanks Bev. Beautiful music.

I pray that the collaboration that Seeds of Hope is promoting will serve as an antidote to the absolute abuse of Palestinian children as shown by Palestinian...
posted on: ‘Palestine’ and Overture 6: Ten Questions to Consider
Thanks Alex:

It goes without saying that talk is cheap. As you will notice I suggested that I advocated that the quote supposedly attributed to St. Francis could and should be re-read...
posted on: Convince, Exhort, Proclaim, and Speak Boldly: Communication Verbs in Luke and Acts
Thank you Ronald.

Blessings in Christ

JS

posted on: Thinking Theologically: Are People "All Around the World" Hungering for Jesus?