Portland, OR Fall 2012 Perspectives
Fall 2012
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"Perspectives is a dynamic
experience that will forever change your view of
what God is doing in the world. It
smashed my stereotypes and reordered my
priorities in world evangelization after
three decades of ministry. You may
never read your Bible or church
history the same way again!"
Rev. Matt Welde (Presbyterian Church USA)
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement provides a
God-sized vision to lead a life of purpose and passion, just as Jesus did.
What is your part in God’s global vision?
Welcome to the Portland, OR
Perspectives course. Please explore our site and feel free to contact us with
any questions. We invite you to join us on this 15-week journey of discovering
God’s heart for His people!
Use the numbers at the top of this page to explore the different topics that this class will encompass and the instructors that will be presenting them.
Class Dates & Time:
Monday Nights, 6:30pm
- 9:30pm
August 27th – December 10th
(No class
on November 19th for Thanksgiving)
Class Location:
Grace
Bible Fellowship
12420
Northeast Siskiyou Street
Portland,
OR 97230
Contacts:
Class Coordinator: Sarah
Shackelford
Email: Phone: 909-967-1194
Co-Coordinator: Jim Gleason
Email: Phone: 503-679-5673
“Take Perspectives – it will ruin you for the ordinary.”
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Instructor
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Lesson 1
The Living God is a Missionary God
God's purpose is three-fold: against evil—kingdom victory; for the nations—redemption and blessing; and for God—global glory in worship. God's purpose revealed in promise to Abraham. Exploring God's purpose for the nations: Blessing to the nations described.
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Instructor
James Davidson
Frontiers, Central Point OR
Jamie led a church planting team to a warn-torn country in the Middle East from 2009-2010. Now, on his way back to the Middle East, Jamie works in mobilization and loves to speak, teach, and talk about God's heart for the world. He is most qualified to teach on topics relating to sharing the Gospel cross-culturally and God's heart for glorifying himself among all peoples. Jamie has taught in 14 different states nationwide at various conferences, Perspectives classes, and church events.
Jamie and his wife, Amanda, reside in beautiful Washington state where he enjoys writing, speaking, and challenging his wife to cooking competitions. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, August 27, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 2
The Story of His Glory
Exploring God's purpose for Himself: How God has been steadily unfolding a plan throughout all nations and generations to bring about His greater glory, ultimately drawing to Himself the worship of all the peoples. Passion and prayer for God's glory.
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Instructor
Gilbert A Gleason
Portland OR
Gilbert Gleason's initial exposure to missions came as a missionary kid on with the Navajos of Northern Arizona. He witnessed their passion for reaching others in their tribal group with the Gospel. Following his training at Biola University and Western Seminary, he has served for more than forty years in
in the pastoral ministry at Grace Bible Fellowship in Portland, Oregon. He has made trips to Peru and Papua to encourage and support the church's missionary teams there.
He authored “Love So Amazing: The Missionary Biography of Bert and Colleen Elliot.” b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, September 3, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 3
Your Kingdom Come
Exploring God's purpose regarding evil: How God has accomplished a defeat of evil powers in order to open a season of history in which the nations can freely follow Christ. The kingdom of God as the destiny of all history. Christ's mission seeks a hindering of evil to bring about a sign of the coming peace of the kingdom of God. Our prayers contend with evil in order to bring about the transformation of society with Christ's kingdom in view.
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Instructor
Roger Trautmann
Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Portland OR
Dr Trautmann is passionate about encouraging the people of God to live into the mission of Christ. He has served as a pastor over 20 years as well as extensive service training ministry leaders in east Africa. He is associate Professor of Pastoral ministry at Multnomah Biblical Seminary and directs Mentored Ministry formation program and Chaplaincy track program
He is married to his lovely wife Iola and they have three grown children and five grandchildren. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, September 10, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 4
Mandate for the Nations
Jesus shows great strategic interest in Gentiles; wise strategic focus by initiating a global mission on a few disciples among the Hebrew people. The Great Commission and the ways of God's sending in relational power. Dealing with the ideas of pluralism (all religions the same) and universalism (all persons saved).
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Instructor
C.C.
Portland OR
Our speaker was born and raised in Oregon and currently serves as one of the pastors of a church in Portland. Before pastoring, he served with a non-profit in the US, London, and North Africa. He has been married for 24 years, and has two daughters and one son. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, September 17, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 5
Unleashing the Gospel
The first followers of Jesus: obedient in costly, foundational ways. The climactic act of the book of Acts is the freeing of the gospel to be followed by Gentiles without Jewish traditions as a requirement. A foundational act of God which speaks to the situations where the gospel is hindered today. Strategic suffering and apostolic passion.
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Instructor
Jim Morris
OMF International, Salem OR
Jim and Louise spent 40 years as missionaries helping to reach East Asia’s peoples—30 years church planting among an unreached tribal group in North Thailand, four years as the North Thailand Field leader and six years as OMF’s International Director for Overseas Ministries. They were responsible for the pursuit of OMF’s goals in evangelism and for ensuring that OMF members are given the support and guidance they need to carry out their ministries in East Asia. More recently they served as Interim U.S. Director for OMF International.
Growing up in Kansas, Jim accepted Christ at age 15 through Youth for Christ. A year later he dedicated himself for whatever God chose. He became a serious student of the Word, and through his studies became interested in pioneer missions. He earned a diploma from Prairie Bible Institute, received his BA from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, studied two summers at the Summer Institute of Linguistics and did graduate work at the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California.
Louise grew up in Springfield, Oregon, and was born again on Easter at age 11. She graduated from Prairie Bible Institute and received her LVN degree from the School of Missionary Medicine at Biola.
Jim and Louise joined OMF in 1957 and headed for Thailand where they were married two years later.
The Morrises then began a church-plant-ing ministry among the unreached Pwo Karen people of North Thailand. They had the privilege of being the first to tell many of these people about Jesus, reinforcing their message with medical help, literacy teaching, and translation of selected portions of Scripture.
The first 16 years of ministry among the Pwo Karen saw little in the way of results. Then in 1974 God answered prayer in a special way and began to fulfill his promise to deliver those who were the “captives of the tyrant†(Isa. 49:24). Jim and Louise worked among the Karen for another 16 years to disciple the believers, train the leaders and to mobilize a church-planting movement among the Pwo Karen of North Thailand.
From time to time the Morrises were called away from the Pwo Karen to serve in a variety of support roles, including being house parents to missionary kids, teaching at the North Thailand Bible Training Center, supervising new workers in the Orientation Course at OMF International Headquarters in Singapore, serving as the North Thailand Field Leader, as the OMF International Director for Overseas Ministries, and as Interim U.S. Director.
Jim and Louise have three children and 12 grandchildren. They are now living in Salem, OR, and are serving as the U.S. Strategy Coordinator for reaching East Asia’s peoples. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, September 24, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 6
The Expansion of the Christian Movement
The story of God's purpose continues relentlessly from Abraham's day until the present moment. An overview of the largest and the longest-running movement ever in history—the world Christian movement. How the gospel surged through the peoples and places of the world. Important insights for our own day.
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Instructor
Ron Billings
Trinity International University, Corvallis OR
Ron Billings was born in Everett, Washington and grew up in Oregon and the Philippines, where his parents were missionaries. His grandparents and great-grandparents were also missionaries, with China Inland Mission. Ron’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother were recruited by Hudson Taylor from England and Australia, respectively, and they met and married in China (as did Ron’s grandfather and grandmother, who was from California). Ron’s mother and grandfather were both born in China. Ron’s father was born in Oregon with a Native American heritage, and he met Ron’s mother in college in Seattle. After serving with the military, Ron attended the University of Texas at Austin where he received way too many degrees: a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, an M.B.A., an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, an M.S. in Computational and Applied Mathematics, and a Ph.D. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. Ron first took the Perspectives class while he was an undergraduate in 1986, and as usual it wildly transformed his plans for the future. While in graduate school, he coordinated the Perspectives class in Austin from 1987 to 1992. He also worked for twelve years in the electronics industry as an international standards negotiator and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe. He then started his own software-development company. Dr. Billings has served on the faculty of Concordia University in Austin, Texas; Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; Oregon State University in Corvallis; the University of Oregon in Eugene; Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon; and Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois (for which he served as the Professor of Record for many Perspectives classes on the West Coast). He lives in Corvallis, Oregon, with his German wife Bina whom he met in the house church they attended. He likes to say that he married half the single women in the church. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, October 1, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 7
Eras of Mission History
The greatest explosion of growth ever has taken place in last 200 years in three "bursts" of activity. Why we could be in the final era of missions. The global harvest force comprised increasingly of non-Western missionaries.
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Instructor
Bruce Benson
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Oregon City OR
My wife Jan and I worked for over 37 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators, 30 of those in Peru. In 2003 the Huamalies Quechua New Testament was published and distributed. In 2011, the Huallaga Quechua Bible was published and distributed.
We are currently retired (as of October 1, 2015) and are looking forward to what God has for us next. Perspectives will continue to be a vital part of our lives and we are prayerfully considering other ministry opportunities. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, October 8, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 8
Pioneers of the World Christian Movement
Today we anchor the race by continuing what others have begun. It's a day of finishing. All the more reason to learn the wisdom and the heart of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in earlier generations. Reading the writings of William Carey and other leaders to discern what these people have left to us. Exploring the contribution of women in missions throughout the centuries.
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Instructor
R. Jordan
Beaverton OR
R Jordan uses her 30 years experience in children's missions education to empower churches in developing global outreach strategies for their children's ministries. She makes history relevant and memorable through the use of audience participation and a variety of media. Ruth's husband John, is the World Missions Pastor at Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, Oregon. Contact Information: (503) 952-6901; email: ruth.jordan1922@gmail.com.
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Class Info
Date: Monday, October 15, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 9
The Task Remaining
God's pressed His purpose forward until the present hour of amazing opportunity. Understanding the concept of "unreached peoples" to assess the remaining task. Recognizing the imbalance of mission resources shapes strategic priorities. The basic minimal missiological achievement in every people group opens the way for working with God against every kind of evil so that the gospel of the kingdom is declared and displayed with clarity and power. The need and opportunity of urban mission.
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Instructor
John Jordan
Village Baptist Church, Beaverton OR
As pastor of World Missions at Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, Oregon, John's responsibilities include overseeing the care of 39 missionary families as well as another 22 adults preparing for long-term service. John also trains and sends over 50 people a year on short-term missions trips to restricted access countries. John is an instructor for both the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course and for Developing Global Vision. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, October 22, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 10
How Shall They Hear?
Culture and intercultural communication of the gospel. Communicating the gospel with relevance at the worldview level helps avoid syncretism (blending of cultural error with God?s truth) and also enables powerful movements of the gospel. Sensitive missionaries will look for ways that God has preserved or prepared people to hear the gospel, often finding redemptive analogies for God's truth.
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Instructor
J.W. Matt Hennessee
Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, Portland, OR, Portland OR
Bio of:
J.W. Matt Hennessee
Senior Pastor, Vancouver Ave. First Baptist Church
3138 No. Vancouver Ave., Portland, Oregon
Pastor Hennessee was elected as the fourth Senior Pastor of Vancouver Ave. First Baptist Church on December 29, 2004. He began his pastorate on Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, January 15, 2005 and was formally installed on May 29, 2005. Prior to his installation at Vancouver Ave. 1st Baptist he served as Associate Pastor at Portland’s St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church from January 15, 1989 to January 15, 2005.
He is a native of Columbus, OH; lived in Michigan and moved to Oregon in 1988. He had a very distinguished career in senior leadership roles in city and state government in Ohio, Michigan, and Oregon. He then entered the private sector as an executive in a variety of positions at Nike, Inc., CEO of a small private financial/technology business; Vice President of Streamlined Solutions, a division of the Rentrak Corporation; (presently) Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Energy Film, a division of Artscape Inc., all located in Portland, OR.
He has also served in a variety of volunteer roles in the non-profit world locally, nationally, and internationally for many years including medical boards, alternative education boards, higher education boards, and a number of commissions whose mission was superior service in education and economic development.
Pastor Hennessee has traveled nationally and internationally for business and speaking engagements. He has spoken on a variety of subjects including: economic empowerment, diversity, the importance of pre-school education, and organizational and financial development.
He earned his B.A. at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH in Religion, Sociology, and Anthropology; the Masters of Divinity from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, CA; and is presently enrolled at Portland Seminary a part of the George Fox University Campus earning the Doctorate of Ministry degree (EDG: Spring of 2018). He is very active working in the Portland community across denominations to engage and create an active model for peace. He leads several initiatives to bring faith, community, and law enforcement together in all dimensions.
He is passionate about building on the success of the past, loves history, loyal to the importance of honoring those who came before us, making the path for the next generation, generating funds for continuing education for all who wish to pursue it, determined to do everything he can to help everyone succeed, and enjoys bringing people of diverse races, cultures, and backgrounds together.
He has one son Matt Jr. (Lisa); they have three children and reside in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
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Class Info
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 11
Building Bridges of Love
The incarnation as a model of missionary humility. How missionaries can enter appropriate roles in order to form relationships of trust and respect to develop a sense of belonging, and thus to communicate with credibility for understanding. Explore the intricacy of identification in another culture. Explore the even greater complexity of presenting identity with integrity in a globalized, terrorized, pluralized world. Recognizing the dynamics of social structure in order to initiate growing movements of ongoing communication throughout the society.
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Instructor
Betty Sue Brewster
Fuller Seminary (Retired), Vancouver WA
Retired: Senior Associate Professor of Language and Culture Learning, School of Intercultural Studies.
Currently: Language and culture learning consultant
Betty Sue has traveled in over 100 countries, teaching and consulting in the area of language and culture learning. Her teaching and writing focus on practical, hands-on learning through relationships. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, November 5, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 12
Christian Community Development
A survey of world need. Dynamic balance of evangelism and social action. Hope for significant transformation as a sign of Christ's Lordship by Christian community development. Exploring the charge that missionaries destroy instead of serve cultures. Healing the wounds of the world between the peoples.
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Instructor
Jonathan Martin
Black Butte Ranch OR
Jonathan lives with his wife, Janie, in Sisters, Oregon. Jonathan taught in several colleges and universities in Central and East Asia for over a decade working with Muslims, and then spent 15 years pastoring at Good Shepherd Community Church in Boring, Oregon. He is now on staff with Co-Serve International and has the amazing privilege to learn from and help train leaders all over the world. He is the author of Giving Wisely, Breaking the King Saul Syndrome, and Reconstructing the Church: Paul's Letter to the 21st Century. Jonathan and Janie have three children and 4 grandchildren. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, November 12, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 13
The Spontaneous Multiplication of Churches
Look beyond institutional features of churches to understand churches as dynamic movements of Christ Himself being followed. Such a view of churches as organic, living things opens up the practicality of seeing them multiply rapidly as movements and also flourish in society bearing the fruit of social transformation. Churches as counter-communities, acting as salt and light, bringing change to their cultures. How movements multiply by connecting with entire families and larger social structures.
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Instructor
Mikel Neumann
Portland OR
Mikel and Karen Neumann served as church
planters in Madagascar for 25 years. After that they
moved to Portland OR where Mikel taught in the
intercultural studies department at Western
Seminary. He has also taught in Perspectives for
over 10 years being professor of record for Western
Seminary. The Neumanns have traveled to over 40
countries some more than once to hold seminars
in cell group ministries and other subjects. Mikel
has published a number of articles and a book on
international cell group ministry. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, November 26, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 14
Pioneer Church Planting
The hope of planting churches among unreached peoples. How the breakthrough of the gospel in an unreached people requires that the gospel be "de-Westernized". The difference of contextualizing the message, the messenger and the movement. Distinguish and appreciate people movements, church planting movements and insider movements.
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Instructor
Galen Currah
Community Vision International, Portland OR
Galen & Jennifer Currah served as pioneer church planters in West Africa in the 70s, community developers in the 80s, teachers in the 90s, and CPM trainers in the 2000s. Galen currently coaches CPM workers by distance and edits training materials upon request. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, December 3, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 15
World Christian Discipleship
What it means to integrate life for Christ's global purpose as a "'World Christian". Into the great story for His glory: a Person-driven life as a way of. pursuing a purpose-driven life. The basic practices of world Christians: going, sending, welcoming and mobilizing. The essential disciplines of World Christian discipleship: community, giving, praying and learning. Simplifying your lifestyle as if in "war-time". Exploring the practical ways of pursuing God's purpose. Business and mission. Short-term mission. Welcoming international visitors. Wisdom in working with local churches and in partnership with Christians in different parts of the world.
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Instructor
Bill MacLeod
MissionConnexion, Sun City West AZ
Bill MacLeod is the Director of MissionConnexion which he founded in 2001 during his fifteen years as a missions pastor in Portland. He has been a mobilizer for over 40 years dedicating his life to city-wide people movements while serving in an evangelistic organization, a national men's movement, a local church as missions pastor, and as founder/executive director of a regional church-missions-mobilizing effort. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, December 10, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Instructor
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Class Info
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