The online home for the writings of Keelan Cook. A website for those who love the church and its mission.
I wonder if you think like I do. When I read through the gospels, I often wonder what it would have been like to walk alongside Jesus in the flesh. Even more, what would it have been like to walk alongside Jesus in his resurrected body? What was i...
During my time serving overseas as a missionary, I lived in rural West Africa. Rustic doesn’t quite describe the living conditions. No electricity. No running water. That meant water had to come out of the ground, and it had to do so by hand. I h...
We live in an anxious age. If you don’t believe me, check out this book, or this article, or this article that even discusses a rise in anxiety before the pandemic, or this research. And if you don’t trust any of those sources, here’s Fox News say...
This article has been a long time coming. If you are a long-time follower of my writing (and I mean long time), you may recall an article I wrote back in 2015 titled, “A Word of Caution Concerning ‘Relationship Evangelism’.” In that article, I wr...
I’m presently making last-minute travel arrangements to head to Dallas at the end of the week. This year marks my 11th year in a row attending the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting. It’s my 13th meeting in total. Yes, I go because of my...
The following is a reaction to a post by Dr. Ray Van Neste on his blog, Oversight of Souls. Read that post first. I came to Africa to share the gospel with moralists. In reality, I believe that term embodies the worldview of the people here. The...
This post comes with an assignment. Before you go any further, you need to read Acts 5:12- 42. This post will make a lot more sense if you do. The word of God is powerful. As a matter of fact, the best words I can use to describe it are the on...
I saw you on Monday. I was in the cafeteria eating spaghetti with corn, and like an angel, you floated into the room, you and your posse of six other girls. It was love at first bite. As you stood in the lunch line, shining with radiant beauty, I ...
People really like quoting John Piper. I am surprised there is not a Facebook game based around the concept. It could be called Piperville. One quote that gets tossed around a lot in my circles (that is right, even I have circles) is the followi...
I wrote this piece several years ago while serving in Africa as a missionary. I have changed the name of the gentlemen in the story, but the event is real. It impacted me and I pray it does for you as well. I pray we understand the value of a good...
This past weekend I saw something I have not seen in a while. It was Prayer Hands. As you well know, Prayer Hands are the officially adopted prayer position of the western church. For time and memorial they have been emblazoned upon countless p...
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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