Micro and macro thinking

Some of you will be familiar with the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test (MBTI). Some love it and treat as a key to understanding everybody. Others detest it and see it as useful as a Buzzfeed test! Whatever you think about it, it does highlight the ways in which people see the world. I am especially thinking about those people who who see detail but tend not to appreciate the bigger picture. This would by the "S" in the MBTI. Others see the big picture but struggle to see detail. These, according to MBTI are "Ns".( I don't score anything on the "S" or detailed side of things!) The "S" sees the micro and the "N" sees the macro.

In mission studies there is a need for seeing both micro and macro thinking. I tend towards the macro, seeing the big picture of God's mission in this world. There is a need, however, for the micro thinking of how to actually achieve effective participation in that divine mission. Others tend to the "how to" of mission but fail to "look up" to see if they are still heading in the same direction as God. 

How do we maintain that balance? 


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A missiological poser

Wow, I haven't posted since 2008. Well here's a little missiological poser for you to start off again. No, not poser as in "he's a right poser" but as in posing a little conundrum.

I know of an ethnic group which has no word for ‘God’. The translators of the Bible decided to use the word "Dios," which is Spanish for God. However, this group do have a word for ‘spirit’, because they believe that there are many spirits, for example in the trees, in the waterfalls, and of the animals. These spirits can be good, bad, or indifferent to humans. Because the group do not have a word for the Devil either, the translators used their word for ‘spirit’ with a suffix which means "the biggest" to describe the Devil.

Do you think this is theologically correct? If so, why? If not, why not?