Theology, opinion, fiction, and the occasional limerick.
Today I received word that pioneer missionary Harold Reiner had passed away. Ever since I met him in 1989, Harold has been one of my heroes. His son Tim had graciously invited me–then a seventeen-year-old kid who had never been outside of the country (Canada doesn’t count)–to spend two months with them in Brazil. Throughout…
Two nights ago I was awakened by what sounded like bare feet shuffling in front of our door. I jumped out of the hammock (ok, I half-rolled, half-fell out of the hammock) ready to do battle with the intruder. To my great relief, it turned out to be a medium-sized waterfowl (we still don’t know…
I am constantly in awe of the intrepid band of missionaries who planted the seeds of the Gospel in the northeast region of Brazil–the region where our family now works. These hardy men and women suffered tremendously for privilege of spreading the good news to the nordestino. It is an honor to be able to…
If you have not yet read Part One, you can do so here. Tuesday dawned bright and clear. I got out of bed and looked apprehensively out the window–wonder of wonders, our rental vehicle was still there. Excited about the prospect of getting to Florida, we bundled into said rental vehicle and pulled out of…
“Andrew, did you park your van in the driveway last night?” The voice penetrating my slumber belonged to Sally, our hostess for the previous two days. We had spent New Years day and the following Sunday at Capitol Allentown Baptist Ministries in Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. CAB Ministries has supported us faithfully ever…
Author’s note: This post has been edited for content to make it more “history” and less “commentary”. A few days ago I posted some video footage of Northeast Brazil in the 1950s. This next series of videos was shot about the same time. All four comprise a documentary made by our BMM missionaries for recruitment…
The following is a letter I wrote to a teacher who marked my son off for using the word “Indian” in reference to the Navajos. She preferred the term “Native American” as “Indians live in India.” Greetings! This is in response to your note about my son’s use of the term “Indians” in his assignment….
Never mind the fact that it is just an insignificant pastor of an insignificant congregation in Florida. Never mind that similar events would be a lot more common in the Arab world if the Bible were actually allowed in the Arab world. And never mind that the whole thing is being blown out of proportion…
The Tragic Fruit of Non-Cessationist Theology True Story #1 Nina Rodrigues is a little town in the interior of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. It is small, but very well kept. The populace is traditional—mostly Roman Catholic, but there are also a few Charismatic churches. In one of these Charismatic congregations not too long ago…
As we hiked around the city of Caririaçu the other day, Nathanael and I happened on what appeared to be a dead end street. Curious as to why the city government decided to end the street at that location–with a large neighborhood just beyond–we walked toward the fence. When we reached it, we discovered that…