BEEKMAN LECTURE 2: Job’s Missional Ethic in the Context of God’s Mission and Bible Translation

Details

Year: 2025

Track(s):

Plenary

Resources

Abstract

This presentation examines Job 31 as a missional ethical creed that integrates integrity before God with justice, compassion, humility, and accountability. Drawing on missional hermeneutic frameworks, it argues that ethics is central, not peripheral, to God’s mission, and therefore indispensable for all engaged in Bible translation. Participants in the missio Dei are called to discern and embody ethical practices of integrity, transparency, cultural respect, and humility. Read missionally, Job 31 reveals that the credibility of God’s message depends on the integrity of God’s messengers. In short, there is no mission without missional ethics.

About the Author

Global Missional Leadership

Kirk grew up in Papua New Guinea (PNG) amongst the Kewa people as a missionary kid (MK). As an adult, he joined Wycliffe US as a media-communications specialist and served with SIL International and the local Bible Translation Association. While in PNG, Kirk met and married Christine from NSW who was teaching at SIL’s primary school. Later Kirk served with Wycliffe Australia in media-communications, governance and executive leadership roles. From 2008-2020, Kirk was the Executive Director of the Wycliffe Global Alliance—comprised of over 100 organizations.

Kirk is now involved in research, training and teaching where he draws upon his years of mission executive roles and leading organizational change in a global mission agency. Kirk uses an interdisciplinary approach through the fields of missiology, intercultural studies, missional leadership and globalization. Kirk and Christine attend Warrandyte Community Church. The Franklins have three adult married children and three grandsons.