From the Editorial
This issue of Mission Round Table focuses on how a person can use their “secular” vocation as a spiritual service in an overseas (even if not cross-cultural) setting.
Mission is not a task set aside for a special class of people who go “overseas” or “cross cultures” or are ordained (or quasi-ordained) gospel workers but something for all followers of Jesus to engage in, whether they live “at home” or “abroad”. Throughout history, many have used their occupation or vocation to share the gospel and lead people to Christ. As Michael Green reports, it was the “amateur” missionaries who spread throughout the world, “chattering to friends and chance acquaintances, in homes and wine shops, on walks, and around market stalls. They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with the conviction of those who are not paid to say that sort of thing. Consequently, they were taken seriously, and the movement spread, notably among the lower classes.” Such people propelled church growth in the first century and such people are needed today.
Contents
Missional Business Overview—Contradictions Between Opportunities and Challenges – Michael Barbalas
A Reflection on Mike Barbalas’s Article “Missional Business Overview—Contradictions Between Opportunities and Challenges” – William Dugan
My Experience as a Marketplace Self-Supporting Worker – Chan Ka Fai
The Life Cycle of a Missional Business – Lloyd Oppel
Marketplace Ministry and the Church: A Practitioner’s Perspective – Jimmy Chao
A Christian View of Work in Response to the Fall: Reflections that Will Hopefully Encourage Discussion – Harvey Phillips
