The online home for the writings of Keelan Cook. A website for those who love the church and its mission.
For the last several months, I have watched a new church building being built on the road to my house. Recently, the builders installed the church’s new sign, and I was a bit surprised. Perhaps the better word for my reaction was underwhelmed. In ...
In a job like mine, you hear stories about the church. A student serving in their first church explains to me the conflict threatening to split his church. Of course, none of this was disclosed during the search and candidate process. A consultant...
I recently stumbled across an article at The Gospel Coalition that caught my attention. The article, titled “The Increasing Value of Christian Testimonies”, resonated. In fact, I make similar claims in my Christian missions courses at the seminary...
Sending global missionaries is one of my favorite topics of conversation with pastors and church leaders. Having been an international missionary myself, it always does my heart good when a pastor or church leader starts asking questions about how...
I initially pulled this book list together during the pandemic a few years ago. Back then, all kinds of posts were appearing that recommended book lists for people to consider during our global shut-in. I even wrote one suggesting you use this ...
Reaching out across cultural barriers to engage internationals in the States is a daunting prospect for many local church members. They are unsure of culture and know little about the customs of their new neighbors. Furthermore, they (rightly...
It has been five years now, but I still remember how it felt. It happened more than once while I served in West Africa as a missionary, but it always caught me off guard. I would be working out in the bush, a long long way from anyone that could, ...
I recently picked up a book by the late, great missiologist Lesslie Newbigin, entitled Truth and Authority in Modernity. In the work, he tries to untangle the often confusing conversation concerning the issues of authority in worldview. I do not...
Periodically, I post articles written by others. The following is a guest post that may serve as a good dose of medicine if you find the church to be a little overwhelming at times. Enjoy! By: Meredith Cook If you register “I” on the spectrum of...
In just a few hours I will be hitting the road for Tennessee. This morning, the local news in Raleigh said the security line at the airport was so long it went outside the building and around the corner. It is Christmastime, and that means it is t...
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not...
I serve as the George Liele Director of the Center for Great Commission Studies and as a professor of Christian Missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
I also serve as Assistant Professor of Christian Missions at the seminary. Previously, I served as the Associate Director for the Union Baptist Association in Houston, TX.
My areas of focus cover both North American and International missions. I teach and write on church renewal and replanting as well as developing healthy sending culture in churches. I have a passion for mobilizing the church to the nations, and a love for missions history.
I lead the Peoples Next Door project, which is an initiative to equip local churches in North America to engage in cross-cultural missions among the least-reached peoples that now live in our communities. I’ve been a church planter in West Africa with the IMB and facilitated ethnographic research in Washington, DC with NAMB.
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