Timothy Tennent > Quotes

“Christianity is the only world religion whose primary source documents are in a language other than the language of the founder of the religion. This is unheard of among world religions. Muhammad spoke Arabic, and the Qur'an is in Arabic; the Brahmin priests in India spoke Sanskrit, and the Upanishads are in Sanskrit. Jesus spoke Aramaic, and yet the primary documents that record Christ's teachings are not in Aramaic but in Koine Greek, the language of Gentile Hellenism.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The first Baptist missionary (and the first missionary from the United States) was the African-American George Liele, the Baptist pastor of the first African Church of Savannah, who was able to purchase his own freedom and then went to Kingston, Jamaica, in 1783 as a missionary to African slaves. By the time Carey left for India, Liele already had planted the African Baptist Church of Kingston with more than five hundred”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Early on, Christians recognized that the long-term vitality of the church, as well as the extension of the church across new cultural, social, and linguistic barriers, required a secondary group of people who were not bound by the normal responsibilities of life. Religious orders developed, which called people to a life completely consecrated to God, marked by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These religious orders functioned as sodalities. Belonging to a religious order was never intended to be a general expectation of the entire church but a special, voluntary commitment for a few who felt led by God to dedicate themselves completely to Christian service. The vows were considered necessary in order to free these Christians from the heavy, time-consuming obligations of property, work, and family.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Lamin Sanneh argues that translating the gospel from the words of Aramaic and Hebrew into Greek simultaneously relativized the Jewish roots and destigmatized the Gentile cultures.22”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Since much of the emerging Majority World church is embedded in a context of religious pluralism and public persecution, we have much to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world about how to be faithful to our public witness in the midst of an unbelieving and, at times, even hostile context. Western missionaries must not go out and reproduce privatized versions of Christianity, rather they must commit to discipleship for an engaged public witness.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Early on in his writings, Lull recognized the need to develop a Christian apologetic that specifically and directly responded to Islamic misunderstandings and objections to Christianity. Lull spent nine years learning Arabic and carefully studying Islamic philosophy and theology. Eventually he developed a multivolume, Trinitarian apologetic, known as Ars Generalis Ultima (The Ultimate General Art), which answered Islamic objections to Christianity and advocated a method for talking to Muslims that is sometimes known as the Lullian method. Lull was convinced that the military confrontation represented by the Crusades was a mistake. Rather, he believed that Muslims should be addressed in love, not hate, and by the force of logic, not the instruments of war.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The disciples begin to "speak in other tongues" as the Spirit enables them (Acts 2:4). This manifestation should be understood as more than a mere sociological event that enables foreign visitors who were in Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover and Pentecost to hear the gospel in their own language (Acts 2:6-12). Rather, it was a theological statement whereby God takes the initiative to overturn the chaos of Babel, which symbolized the global rebellion against God (Gen. 11:1-9), and in its place empowers the church for a global mission of redemption to the ends of the earth. At Pentecost, the birthday of the church, a small group of Jewish followers of Jesus are baptized into the reality of the infinite translatability of the gospel for every language and culture.' In the theology of Luke, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for global mission is linked to the infinite translatability of the Christian gospel.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Modality/Sodality
Ralph Winter has pointed out that the two redemptive structures of local church and missionary band function as modalities and sodalities respectively. A modality is a structured organization with diverse responsibilities and includes men and women of all ages. In contrast, a sodality involves a secondary commitment beyond membership in the modality, and membership is generally restricted in some way.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“However, using the word church meant that the followers of Christ could not avail themselves of this option. They "could not be a society offering personal salvation for those who cared to avail themselves of its teaching and practice."6 Instead, the followers of Christ boldly claimed that the message of the gospel was for all peoples. By using the word church, God was, in effect, summoning the entire world to a public assembly (ekklesia), which would proclaim that Jesus is Lord. It was a direct challenge to the public cult of the empire, claiming that Caesar was not Lord. Instead, "Jesus is Lord" became the first creed of the early church (1 Cor. 12:3).”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Some accounts of Christianity in India leave the impression that Christianity in India is a movement that coincides with the British colonial presence there. It should be remembered, however, that the early religious forms of what is today known as Hinduism came from migrating Aryans who originated outside of India. There are many people groups in India who were Christians for centuries before the British presence was established.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“It is important to realize, however, that the Crusades are not the only story of the Christian response to Islam during the Middle Ages. The fourth historical focus highlights the life and ministry of Raymond Lull (1232-1315), known as the Father of Islamic Apologetics.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The five "solas" of the Reformation are widely regarded as summarizing the key themes of the Reformation: sola Scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solo Christo, and Soli Deo Gloria (Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, for the glory of God alone). These five themes continue to serve as valuable confessions of Protestant identity. However, it is also important to note the absence of the church in the five solas. One could argue, of course, that the church is presupposed or assumed by all five, since it is only the church that can make these confessions. However, for many, these five confessions find their primary locus in the heart of an individual who trusts in God's Word as revealed in Scripture and has placed his or her personal faith in Jesus Christ by the grace of God. Central to the Reformation is the belief in the priesthood of all believers. God's salvation is mediated directly to the believer through Jesus Christ. This affirmation reveals that the Reformation was as much about ecclesiology as it was about soteriology.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“After the dramatic conversion of the Saxons, Augustine inquired about a suitable location to build a church. To the surprise of Augustine, Queen Bertha brought him to the ruins of a Christian church, which had been constructed centuries earlier.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Therefore, very few Christians who read the book of Acts realize that at about the same time as Acts 19 records the apostle Paul preaching in Ephesus, the apostle Thomas was preaching the gospel in India.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The stereotypical view many
secularists have of missionaries is that of people who arrive on the mission field uninvited and unannounced and then proceed to "destroy the culture" through the imposition of Western cultural values. In actuality, the missionary commitment to vernacular language translation meant that the missionaries were often (even unknowingly) agents of cultural preservation and local empowerment.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“self-governing, self-supporting and self-extending"40 This "three-self" concept continues to inform missiology today and is still widely used as a benchmark for measuring church indigeneity, although the phrase "self-extending" was later amended to "self-propagating"41 This policy encouraged self-determination regarding ecclesiastical structures and discouraged reliance upon foreign funds.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“It is ironic that Koreans already were being martyred for their faith even before there were any known Christians in Korea.26”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“This story helps to highlight the importance of a proper understanding of ecclesiology. Because Protestantism was born out of a reaction to abuses that were present in the institutional church of the medieval period, there has always been a healthy recognition within Protestantism that the church can become co-opted by sin. The notion of "ecclesia semper reformanda debet," that is, the church always needs reformation, is an important principle within Protestantism. The church in every generation must listen afresh to the Word of God and be summoned afresh to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the new realities the church has been called to embody. However, the Protestant emphases on the fallibility of the church, the necessity of personal conversion, and the free exercise of conscience at times have exposed our vulnerability to a weak ecclesiology.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The pietistic Moravian mission was like a traveling monastic order, but rather than a celibate clergy, they were sending out entire families as models of Christian community.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The full extent and far-ranging influences of Pietism on Christianity are beyond the scope of this chapter. However, it is important to note that the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation did not produce any missionaries.18 It was the advent of Pietism two centuries later that produced the first Protestant missionaries, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Henry Plutschau, who went to India in 1705 through the Danish-Halle mission. However, the Moravians and the mobilization efforts of Count Nicolas von Zinzendorf will be the focus of this historical spotlight because the Moravians represent the first major Protestant missionary movement.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The second theological perspective that influenced many of the Reformers was the belief that the Great Commission passages already had been fulfilled during the lifetime of the apostles.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“The Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits are not, technically speaking, monastic orders but mendicant orders.13 This means that these communities
were not cloistered behind walls for contemplation but were sent out into the community as teachers and exhorters. Mendicants were not assigned to one particular monastery or convent but were free to move around, as needed, from place to place." Sometimes they are called friars, rather than monks, to emphasize the public nature of their work in the world.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Even those who know the chronology of missions history still sometimes cite Carey as the "father" because of the length of his ministry in India (forty-one years), because of his commitment to Bible translation, or because he was an English speaker. However, when Carey arrived in India in November 1793, the German Protestant missionary Friedrich Schwartz already was in the forty-third of what would eventually be forty-eight years of ministry in India. Furthermore, the first Protestant missionaries, Ziegenbalg and Plutschau, translated the New Testament into Tamil by 1715, less than a decade after their arrival in India. There were several
well-known English-speaking missionaries before Carey, including John Eliot (1604-1690) and David Brainerd (1718-1747). In short, looking at the pure chronology of missions, it is difficult to see why Carey is considered the "first" or the "father" of modern missions. However, this is why missions history must be seen not simply through the lens of chronos but also through the lens of kairos.
William Carey can be referred to as the Father of Modern Missions, but not because of any of the reasons that are normally offered. William Carey is the father of modern missions because he stepped into a kairos moment, which stimulated the founding of dozens of new voluntary missionary societies and propelled hundreds of new missionaries out onto the field in what became the largest missions mobilization in history.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Because the Moravians were themselves a marginalized and persecuted community, they had a special burden for other displaced and suffering peoples. This commitment often came at great sacrifice. For example, of the eighteen missionaries who were eventually sent from Herrnhut to work with the slaves on St. Thomas, half died within the first six months.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“the Moravians were known to send missionaries to difficult places to work among marginalized peoples.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Theologically, this commitment to full mobilization was possible only because of the Moravian ecclesiology, which emphasized the central role of the laity, downplayed denominational affiliation, and refused to associate the church with the state, as was the common practice in Europe at that time.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Second, the Holy Spirit endues the church with God's authority. In responding to some Pentecostal exegetes who emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit only in empowering believers for witness, Max Turner makes the
observation that several of the key manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts are not linked to an empowerment-for-witness theme.' In several texts people are filled with the Holy Spirit to give service or direction to the church. For example, in Acts 6 the seven deacons are filled with the Holy Spirit to serve the church (6:1-7). Similarly, in Paul's farewell to the elders at Ephesus, he acknowledges that it was the Holy Spirit who had appointed them as overseers of the church (20:28). In Acts 11:27-28, Agabus is filled with the Holy Spirit to inform the church that a severe famine will spread over the entire Roman world. In Acts 15 the Holy Spirit directs the church in their decision regarding the terms through which Gentile believers were to be admitted into the church (15:28). The Holy Spirit extends the judgment of God on both the church and on the unbelieving world (5:3, 9; 13:9-12). Thus, the Holy Spirit serves not only to empower the church to witness but also is the "teacher of the church" and the "executor of Christ's will in the world" (John 15:26; 16:14-15).7 The Holy Spirit conveys revelation to the church by communicating to the church the will of God, thereby helping to bring the church under the authority of Christ. The early church regularly confesses that it is the Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical authors and, thereby, delivered to the church the Word of God (Acts 1:16; 4:25).”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Luke's record of Paul's return to Antioch at the conclusion of his first missionary church-planting journey clearly demonstrates that Paul understood that he had been commissioned by the church at Antioch for the work and that he was, therefore, accountable to report back to them.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“Occasionally you will read or hear statements that Carey was the first missionary of the modern period or that he was the first Protestant or even the first Baptist missionary. However, none of these statements are true.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century

“we should recognize the antiquity of Christianity in Asia. Later, Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived in China and discovered that the message of the gospel had already preceded them. This is an important reminder of the relationship of the missio dei to the missionary agent. Missionaries sometimes have mistakenly seen their role as "bringing the gospel" to a particular people group. However, one of the important lessons of the missio dei is to recognize God's primary agency in the missionary task. The missionaries did not bring the gospel to China; God brought the missionaries to China.”
― Timothy Tennent, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century