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 ...
A podcast episode with NC Baptist on recent demographic trends in North Carolina and how those impact Great Commission ministry.
A couple of months ago, I made the mistake of posting an off-handed comment on Facebook. The next thing I knew, I was in meetings with some folk from our state convention in North Carolina talking missions strategy about that off-handed comment. ...
One of the joys of my job is serving as cohost for our seminary’s missions podcast, The Sent Life. Scott Hildreth and I talk each week about Christian missions and a whole bundle of topics that relate to it. The following is a series we did which...
Welcome! If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve been to my website before, probably clicking on an article somewhere along the way. Historically, many of my site visitors are repeat offenders, but that is what I hope for when it come...
This article is the second in a two-part series on Christ’s command in Matthew 7:1-5. In this artile, we provide a specific application of this command. This first article provides necessary background and proper interpretation for the passage. Yo...
Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. Nowadays, few Bible verses are quoted quite so often as this one. Not so surprisingly, few are misquoted quite so often. And yet, I truly believe Jesus’ original intended meaning for these words in h...
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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