A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original Study Guide appears below.
Questions for Discussion
Section 1 China/Taiwan/
Questions
- Jonathan Dent in his article notes how few Canadians knew the name of Jonathan Goforth or other “national heroes of the faith.” How many can you name and identify?
- Both the articles by McGill and Dent talk about dramatic movements of the Holy Spirit. What role does the Holy Spirit play in the mission and expansion of the church? Unusual signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence seemed to cause controversy in the church. Why do these signs cause such controversy?
- How can one who has always been accustomed to the dignity and Presbyterian form of worship become prepared to look objectively at trances and visions? Do they have any place in our Presbyterian churches today?
- Dent expresses the desperate need of our church in the twenty-first century for “revival passion.” Has the Presbyterian Church in Canada merely forgotten or has it forsaken its revival heritage?
Section 2 The South Pacific Islands
- Jonathan Dent in his article notes how few Canadians knew the name of Jonathan Goforth or other “national heroes of the faith.” How many can you name and identify?
- Both the articles by McGill and Dent talk about dramatic movements of the Holy Spirit. What role does the Holy Spirit play in the mission and expansion of the church? Unusual signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence seemed to cause controversy in the church. Why do these signs cause such controversy?
- How can one who has always been accustomed to the dignity and Presbyterian form of worship become prepared to look objectively at trances and visions? Do they have any place in our Presbyterian churches today?
- Dent expresses the desperate need of our church in the twenty-first century for “revival passion.” Has the Presbyterian Church in Canada merely forgotten or has it forsaken its revival heritage?
Section 2 The South Pacific Islands
Questions
- What motivated the people discussed in these articles to give to missions (the building of the Dayspring, the support of the missionaries) and to volunteer to be missionaries? What motivates people to be interested in missions today?
- What tools and technology did the missionaries use to aid them in proclaiming the gospel message? In what ways do tools help or hinder in the proclamation of the gospel?
- The article about the Gordons noted that they used a different mission methodology and philosophies than most of the missionaries around them. What were the different mission philosophies? Which methods worked? What were the goals of each of the methods? Which is more important: a) the number of converts, or b) the quality of their commitment? What might the missionaries of the 1860s and 1870s say to us today about where our priorities should be?
- As the missionaries interacted with the indigenous peoples of the islands of Vanuatu they called for a change in the culture, that produced conflict. When is it appropriate for Christian missionaries to challenge the cultural norms of the people they are proclaiming the gospel to? Is such interference always a form of cultural imperialism?
- How might that revival heritage be enkindled in this new time? Both the missionaries and the traders were white and claimed to be Christian. How were the indigenous people to know who was living out an authentic Christian faith? How do we help people today work out what is “Christian” in name and what is truly Christian?
Section 3 Japan
Questions
- How were the missionaries discussed in these articles trained? Why is the training of missionaries important? Where did the missionaries discussed acquire their mission vision?
- How did the relationship between the Canadian missionaries and the Christians in Japan change over time? What changes in our attitudes and actions if we move from talking about “sending” missionaries to other countries-to talking about being “partners”?
- One of the key things a missionary needs to do is reach across the cultural barriers – how did Caroline Macdonald becoming an elder in a Japanese church model that crossing of the barrier? What signs do you see in other articles in this issue of Channels of missionaries doing that?
- Caroline Macdonald balanced evangelism with social service and the article on the Korean Christian Church in Japan raises the same questions. How do individuals and how does the church balance those two competing factors? Or are they competing factors?
- The Rev. Malcolm Ransom’s 1969 report fell “like a bombshell” on the Korean Christian Church in Japan, causing them some “soul searching.” How do we as Canadian Presbyterians respond when leaders from our partner churches challenge our commitment and our vision of mission and the church? Why is it easier for us to “give” our partner churches advice than it is to accept the wisdom they might offer us?