How Lack of Theological Training in the Developing World Weakens World Missions

Here are two examples from JP Moreland’s excellent book Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul:

I once attended a meeting of missionaries from around the world, at which a national Christian leader from Central America stood up and passionately exhorted North American mission agencies to stop sending evangelists to his country because their efforts were producing Marxists bent on overthrowing the government.

You could have heard a pin drop in that meeting, and confusion was written on everyone’s face. This leader went on to explain that the leading “Christian” thinkers in his country held to liberation theology, a form of Marxism draped in religious garb. Evangelical missionaries would lead people to Christ, but the liberals were attracting the thinking leaders among the converts and training them in Marxist ideology, which these liberals identified as the true center of biblical theology.

The leader pleaded with North Americans to send more theologians and Bible teachers and to help set up more seminaries and training centers in his country because the need for intellectual leadership was so great.

Here’s the second example:

Recently, I met a man from Fiji who was won to Christ by an evangelical missionary and who, subsequent to conversion, wanted to come to the United States for seminary training.

Unfortunately, there was no money for this sort of “intellectual” development in the evangelical missions strategy there, but theological liberals gave him a scholarship to study at a liberal seminary in Texas.

By the time I met him, he had given up his faith and was going back to Fiji with an extremely secular view of Christianity. His mission: to pastor a church!

Moreland concludes:

If evangelicals placed more value on the mind, we would give more to developing intellectual leadership around the world. Happily, some good things are now being done in this area, but we need to intensify our efforts in this regard, and this will happen only if we evangelicals come to value more fully Christ’s admonitions to be good stewards of the intellectual life

June 7, 2011 | Filed Under Missions | 4 Comments

Comments

4 Responses to “How Lack of Theological Training in the Developing World Weakens World Missions”

Ismael Hilerio on June 7th, 2011 10:55 am

I agree. It is sad to see that the liberal evangelical sector have lost their commitment to the gospel of grace to preach a prosperity and insufficiency gospel. Shane on them! And I quote: “The Church must seek to conquer not merely every man for Christ, but also the whole of man.” End of quote, Machen, Christianity and Culture. And this is a challenge! In the meantime I applause those Christian leaders crying out loud for the Glory of God!

¡En Cristo!
David Leonard on June 7th, 2011 2:41 pm

Whenever I’ve taught introductory philosophy courses at faith-based institutions, I’ve had my students read Moreland’s book to supplement the primary reading. I find that his insights help to clarify the relationship between faith and reason, and to demonstrate the relevance of critical thinking for the Christian life. Highly recommended!
Wendy McMahan on June 13th, 2011 3:33 pm

Yes! Well said. The implication for those of us who support missions efforts is to rethink (or broaden) the initiatives we fund.

Desiring God’s good work in relieving the worldwide “theological famine” is notable in this regard.
Jacob Eisu on June 23rd, 2011 7:17 am

This is awesome and so brilliant. Myself i have seen the great need for more theological schools in our world today. Many false teachers are intruding into the gospel and are taking many Christians because they have no knowledge about theology. But i believe a theological institution will be of great help to restore back the real meaning of Christianity as it’s meant to be from the very beginning of creation.