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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > Christian mission & evangelism
In search of holistic Christian witness, missionaries have
increasingly sought to take into account all the dimensions of
people's cultural and religious lives-including their songs,
dances, dramatic performances, storytelling, and visual arts.
Missiologists, educators, and practitioners are cultivating new
approaches for integrating the arts into mission praxis and
celebrating creativity within local communities. And in an
increasingly globalized and divided world, peacemaking must
incorporate the use of artistic expressions to create understanding
among peoples of diverse faiths. As Christians in all nations
encounter members of other religions, how do they witness among
these neighbors while respecting their distinct traditions?
Building on sessions at the 2018 Missiology Lectures at Fuller
Seminary, this book explores the crucial role of the arts in
helping people from different cultures and faiths get caught up in
the gospel story. Scholars and practitioners from throughout the
world present historical and contemporary case studies and
analyses. Their subjects include the use of Christian songs during
the Liberian civil war and Ebola crisis, social critiques in
contemporary Chinese art, interreligious dialogue through choir
music in Germany, aesthetic practices of the Zapatista movement in
Chiapas, Mexico, and how hip-hop music empowers urban young people
in globalizing Mozambique. These essays foster a conversation about
the work that missiologists, art critics, ethnodoxologists, and
theologians can do together to help guide church leaders in
promoting interfaith and intercultural relationships. While
honestly identifying weaknesses in the church's practice, the
contributors call all Christians to understand the power of art for
expressing cultural and religious identity, opening spaces for
transformative encounters, bridging divides, and resisting
injustice. Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and
innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of
Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from
both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose
missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.
By tracing the origins of mission right back to God's character,
and then seeing how it unfolds throughout the storyline of the
Bible, we begin to understand how important it is to him. As we see
his heart for mission and the nations, we are challenged to
discover God's plan for us too. Will this change our priorities as
individuals and churches? Dare we see our place in God's plan and
own the task of reaching the unreached? This practical,
thought-provoking and accessible resource is the latest in the
popular IVP/Keswick Ministries series of study guides.
In the sixty years following the Spanish conquest, indigenous
communities in central Mexico suffered the equivalent of three
Black Deaths, a demographic catastrophe that prompted them to
rebuild under the aegis of Spanish missions. Where previous
histories have framed this process as an epochal spiritual
conversion, The Mexican Mission widens the lens to examine its
political and economic history, revealing a worldly enterprise that
both remade and colonized Mesoamerica. The mission exerted immense
temporal power in struggles over indigenous jurisdictions,
resources, and people. Competing communities adapted the mission to
their own designs; most notably, they drafted labor to raise
ostentatious monastery complexes in the midst of mass death. While
the mission fostered indigenous recovery, it also grounded Spanish
imperial authority in the legitimacy of local native rule. The
Mexican mission became one of the most extensive in early modern
history, with influences reverberating on Spanish frontiers from
New Mexico to Mindanao.
"Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right there where you
are. . . . You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have
the eyes to see." --Mother Teresa Lifelong educator Mary Poplin,
after experiencing a newfound awakening to faith, sent a letter to
Calcutta asking if she could visit Mother Teresa and volunteer with
the Missionaries of Charity. She received a response saying, "You
are welcome to share in our works of love for the poorest of the
poor." So in the spring of 1996, Poplin spent two months in
Calcutta as a volunteer. There she observed Mother Teresa's life of
work and service to the poor, participating in the community's
commitments to simplicity and mercy. Mother Teresa's unabashedly
religious work stands in countercultural contrast to the
limitations of our secular age. Poplin's journey gives us an inside
glimpse into one of the most influential lives of the twentieth
century and the lessons Mother Teresa continues to offer. Upon
Poplin's return, she soon discovered that God was calling her to
serve the university world with the same kind of holistic service
with which Mother Teresa served Calcutta. Not everyone can go to
Calcutta. But all of us can find our own meaningful work and
service. Come and answer the call to findyour Calcutta
"Reforming the World" offers a sophisticated account of how and
why, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American
missionaries and moral reformers undertook work abroad at an
unprecedented rate and scale. Looking at various organizations such
as the Young Men's Christian Association and the Student Volunteer
Movement for Foreign Missions, Ian Tyrrell describes the influence
that the export of American values had back home, and explores the
methods and networks used by reformers to fashion a global and
nonterritorial empire. He follows the transnational American
response to internal pressures, the European colonies, and dynamic
changes in global society.
Examining the cultural context of American expansionism from the
1870s to the 1920s, Tyrrell provides a new interpretation of
Christian and evangelical missionary work, and he addresses
America's use of "soft power." He describes evangelical reform's
influence on American colonial and diplomatic policy, emphasizes
the limits of that impact, and documents the often idiosyncratic
personal histories, aspirations, and cultural heritage of moral
reformers such as Margaret and Mary Leitch, Louis Klopsch, Clara
Barton, and Ida Wells. The book illustrates that moral reform
influenced the United States as much as it did the colonial and
quasi-colonial peoples Americans came in contact with, and shaped
the architecture of American dealings with the larger world of
empires through to the era of Woodrow Wilson.
Investigating the wide-reaching and diverse influence of
evangelical reform movements, "Reforming the World" establishes how
transnational organizing played a vital role in America's political
and economic expansion.
What does it mean to be a small missional community in a deeply
secularized society? Drawing on a wide range of practical insight
with mission in one of the most secular contexts of the West,
Pilgrims and Priests blends this experience with a thorough
analysis of relevant biblical, historical, sociological,
theological and spiritual sources that bear relevance to missional
identity in the challenging circumstances presented by the secular
West. It presents a hopeful perspective, rooted in a realistic
appraisal of reality and rich theological reflections. The result
is an important resource for thinkers, practitioners and all who
are fascinated by the future of Christianity in the West.
It's no secret that the evangelism methods of yesterday are not
yielding the kinds of results they did in the 1970s and 1980s. So
how are new Christians hearing the Gospel today? How are they
finding churches? And what makes them stay at a church? The answers
to these questions have the power to dramatically alter the way we
do outreach. And Dr. McIntosh has them. Based on ten years of
scientific research, Growing God's Church shows pastors and church
leaders how people are actually coming to faith in the 21st
century. It covers factors such as our motive for ministry, the
priorities churches set for themselves, the reality of churchless
Christians, generational and gender-based differences in evangelism
effectiveness, the name of your church, the influence of pastors,
and much more. The appendix includes a copy of the survey that
provides the basis for McIntosh's arguments and an overview of the
study is provided in the first chapter.
Perhaps, after all, the decolonising agenda isn't extra baggage the
church needs to carry on top of everything else. Perhaps, instead,
it is the very heart of what the church should be about -
disrupting, uncomfortable, and bringing about a kind of 'holy
anarchy'. In Holy Anarchy, Graham Adams points to a realm in which
all dynamics of domination, not least in the church, are subverted.
It cuts across the loyalties and boundaries of religion and fosters
the greatest possible solidarity amongst the different. Urgent and
timely, the book weaves together themes around Empire, liberation
and decolonial practice with an exploration of the nature and scope
of church community, interreligious engagement, mission, and
worship.
"Das messianische Judentum ist die Religion judischer Menschen, die
an Jesus (Yeshua) als den verheissenen Messias glauben. Es ist eine
judische Form des Christentums und eine christliche Form des
Judentums, welche die Abgrenzungen und die Glaubensvorstellungen
beider herausfordert." (Dr. Richard Harvey). Diese Forschungsarbeit
will dazu beitragen, messianisch-judische Theologie und Praxis
bekannt zu machen und verstehen zu lernen. Von ihr profitieren
nicht nur Juden, die an Jesus als Messias glauben, sondern auch
Christen und Juden, sofern diese sich darauf einlassen, eine
Bewegung verstehen zu wollen, die aus beiden Traditionsgutern
"schoepft", die mitunter kontrovers diskutierte Ergebnisse liefert,
die aber gerade darin zugleich hilfreiche Impulse fur das
theologische Gesprach zwischen Juden und Christen offeriert.
Throughout the age of Western colonial expansion, Christian
missionaries were important participants in the encounter between
the West and peoples throughout the rest of the world. Mission
schools, health services, and other cultural technologies helped
secure Western colonialism, and in some cases transformed or even
undermined colonialism's effect. The very breadth of missionaries's
focus, however, made the involvement of women in missionary work
both possible and necessary.
Missionary groups thus faced more immediately the destabilizing
challenges that colonial experience posed to their own ways of
organizing relations between women and men. Examining the changing
prospects for professional women in the missions, the contributors
to "Gendered Missions" ask how these shaped, and were shaped by,
crucial practical, political, and religious developments at home
and abroad. While the focus is on the tumultuous period that
historian Eric Hobsbawm calls "The Age of Empire" (1875-1914),
attention also is paid to how gender has been debated in later
colonial and post-colonial missions.
Scholars from any field concerned with colonial and postcolonial
societies or with gender and women's history should find this book
of special interest. In addition, "Gendered Missions" should appeal
to readers in church history, mission studies, and the sociology of
religion.
Mary Taylor Huber is Senior Scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching. Nancy C. Lutkehaus is Associate
Professor of Anthropology, University of Southern California.
"Ten Who Changed the World" is seminary president Daniel Akin's
powerful tribute to the transformational work done by some truly
inspiring Christian missionaries. With each profile, he journeys
into the heart of that gospel servant's mission-minded story and
makes a compelling connection to a similar account from the Bible.
David Brainerd (1718-1747; missionary to Native Americans) reminds
Akin of Paul's missionary life in 2 Timothy. The faithful ministry
of George Leile (1750-1820; missionary to Jamaica) is aligned with
Galatians 6.
William Carey (1761-1834; missionary to India) lives out the Great
Commission of Matthew 28. There are parallels between Adoniram
Judson (1788-1850; missionary to Burma) and Romans 8.
Lottie Moon (1840-1912; missionary to China) displays the power of
a consecrated life described in Romans 12. The work of James Fraser
(1886-1938; missionary to China) illustrates Revelation 5. Eric
Liddell (1902-1945; missionary to China), his life documented in
the film "Chariots of Fire," illuminates Hebrews 12.
Together, John (1907-1934) and Betty Stam (1906-1934; missionaries
to China) embodied Psalm 67. William Wallace (1908-1951; missionary
to China) was a shining example of Philippians 1. Jim Elliot
(1927-1956; missionary to Ecuador) is a bold reminder of Psalm 96.
They were not professionals. They were not celebrities. We don't
even know their names. We know very little about them, except that
they were everyday people who were drawn to Jesus. When Jesus asked
them to join him in his mission, they stepped up, answered the
call, and went out in his name. And amazing things happened as a
result. They were the 72. Pastor and evangelist John Teter explains
how Jesus trains ordinary people to accomplish an extraordinary
mission. He unpacks the story of the sending of the 72 to reveal
how they were equipped in evangelism and discovered opportunities
to herald God's kingdom in concrete and tangible ways. Filled with
vivid stories of Teter's remarkable experiences in ministry and
church planting, this book shows how we can live out God's call and
witness the transformation of those around us. You too have been
called by Jesus. Discover how God empowers you to play your part.
Welcome to the 72.
Christians today define mission more broadly and variably than ever before. Are we, as the body of Christ, headed in the same direction or are we on divergent missions?
Some argue that the mission of the Church is to confront injustice and alleviate suffering, doing more to express God's love for the world. Others are concerned that the church is in danger of losing its God-centeredness and thereby emphasize the proclamation of the gospel. It appears as though misunderstanding of mission persists.
Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert believe there is a lot that evangelicals can agree on if only we employ the right categories and build our theology of mission from the same biblical building blocks. Explaining key concepts like kingdom, gospel, and social justice, DeYoung and Gilbert help us to get on the same page--united by a common cause--and launch us forward into the true mission of the church.
This book explores the technological innovations and management
practices of evangelical Christian religions. Beginning from the
late 19th century, the author examines the evangelical church's
increasing appropriation of business practices from the secular
world as solutions to organizational problems. He notes especially
the importance of the church growth movement and the formation of
church networks. Particular attention is paid to the history of
evangelical uses of computer technology, including connections the
Christian Right has made within Silicon Valley. Most significantly,
this book offers one of the first academic explorations of the use
of cybernetics, systems theory and complexity theory by evangelical
leaders and management theorists.
Das Deuteronomium unterscheidet sich in seiner Sprache und
literarischen Gestaltung deutlich von den anderen
alttestamentlichen Buchern. Es ist "deuteronomisch". Andere Bucher
und Texte ahneln ihm, sie sind "deuteronomistisch". Man spricht von
"deuteronomistischer Literatur" und von "deuteronomistischer
Bewegung". Dahinter stehen inhaltliche Beziehungen, aber zugleich
gemeinsame Sprache und literarische Technik. Unsere Kenntnis der
Welt des alten Orients ist inzwischen immens gewachsen, die
Sprachwissenschaft bluht auf, die Fragestellungen verandern sich,
der Computer ermoeglicht neue Zugriffsmoeglichkeiten. Auch in Bezug
auf Deuteronomium und Deuteronomismus ist es an der Zeit, die alten
Basisfragen neu zu stellen und neu zu tasten nach Bestatigung,
Abwandlung, Neukonzeption. Dieses Buch will dazu einen Beitrag
leisten.
With practical, biblical wisdom, this book casts a vision for the
local church as the engine of world missions-for the joy of all
people and the glory of God.
Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Word and deed
go together. One without the other is not enough. We follow Jesus
into all the world, and we follow his example in all we do. Mission
mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration
of the gospel go hand in hand. God gives us the Great Commission,
Matthew 28's call to go wherever Jesus sends us, making disciples
and proclaiming good news to all nations. And we become people of
his Great Compassion, Matthew 25's vision for treating others as we
would treat Jesus himself, caring for the needy and living justly.
Borthwick offers practical ways for us to live out the Great
Commission and Great Compassion in every sphere of our lives.
Holistic discipleship means learning and looking, praying and
giving, welcoming the stranger, simplifying our lives and standing
with and for others on God's behalf. Small steps can make a big
difference in the mission of God. Will you answer the call?
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