First published in 1970. This series includes a selection of historically important nineteenth and early twentieth century narratives written about Africa by missionaries and other figures connected with the church. The introductions are designed to place the narratives in their appropriate historical contexts, offer fresh biographical studies of the authors, and provide a critique of modern scholarship. This is number 14 and looks at A.M.Mackay.

First Published in 1970. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In 1875 the Livingstonia Mission landed on the west shore of Lake Nyasa. The first advance of the missionaries into Ngoniland was in 1878, and this 1899 work describes the enforced setting up of the mission among the Ngoni people, warriors of the Zulu race.

Frederich Stanley Arnot was among the first of the Plymouth Brethren to take the gospel to Africa in the late 19th-century missionary expansion across the Kalahari desert, opening Protestant missions in Barotseland, Angola and Katanga in the 1880s.

In "The Missionaries", Norman Lewis brings together a lifetime's experience of travelling in tribal lands in a searing condemnation of the lethal impact of North American fundamentalist Christian missionaries on aboriginal life throughout the world.

An important work for the nineteenth century history of East Africa. It contains a new introduction with a biographical sketch of Krapf.

Within a decade, St. Paul established the Church in the four provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. This informative study focuses on the social background to the Apostle's missionary journeys with comparisons between his methods and those of the modern day. The book divides into five parts; the first examines the social and religious world which the Apostle inhabited in AD 50; the second addresses how St. Paul presented the Christian Gospel and his financial policy of self-support for the new churches. Here, contrasts are made between St. Paul's financial and missionary principles, which differ alarmingly from those of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The rapidity of the Apostle's appointment of responsible church leaders is sharply contrasted with the slowness of the present in the third part. Part four deals with St. Paul's procedures for authority in churches, where those of the present day fail to address the conscience of the local church. Conclusions are provided in part five and the clarity and vigour of Allen's style ensures the reader's interest is maintained to the end. 'Many missionaries in later days have received a larger number of converts than St. Paul; [...] but none have so established churches. We have long forgotten that such things could be.' Extract from Chapter One.

First published in 1913, Missionary Principles is a classic textbook by genre, but in its controversial evaluation of the Church's missionary theories, it is by no means wholly traditional. At the centre of this discursive study, Allen asserts the distinction which needs to be made in missionary aims between the extension of the Church and the preaching of Jesus Christ. The book is divided into four major chapters, entitled: The Impulse, The Hope, The Means and The Reaction. The impulse, hope and means of missionary work can all be embodied by Jesus Christ, who is viewed as the source, the end and the worker. It is always with this objective in mind that Allen guides the reader through Christ's wishes as to how the Word should be spread. In the final chapter, Allen examines the results of believing in the Holy Spirit's inspiration and the effects this has on the missionary's understanding of moral purpose and motive of missions, both at home and overseas. 'It is not the same thing to seek the manifestation of Christ in the growth of the Church, and [...] the effect of that upon all missionary work is most profound.' Extract from Chapter Two.

Proposes an understanding of development in which the physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of life are seamlessly interrelated.

"A masterpiece of integration and application that draws widely on the best Christian and scientific sources on development and draws solid conclusions from what we have learned from experience in ministries around the world." From the Foreword by Paul G. Hiebert

"A book from which Christians of every church tradition can draw deeply and profit greatly. The practical wisdom found here can only be the result of what is expressed by its title: 'walking with the poor.'"¬ --Stephen B. Bevans, Catholic Theological Union

In this revised and updated edition of a modern classic, Bryant Myers shows how Christian mission can contribute to dismantling poverty and social evil. Integrating the best principles and practice of the international development community, the thinking and experience of Christian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and a theological framework for transformational development, Myers demonstrates what is possible when we cease to treat the spiritual and physical domains of life as separate and unrelated.

As incredible as it may seem, the American missionaries who journeyed to China in 1860 planning solely to spread the Gospel ultimately reinvented their entire enterprise. By 1900, they were modernizing China with schools, colleges, hospitals, museums, and even YMCA chapters. In Cultures Colliding, John R. Haddad nimbly recounts this transformative institution-building-how and why it happened-and its consequences. When missionaries first traveled to rural towns atop mules, they confronted populations with entrenched systems of belief that embraced Confucius and rejected Christ. Conflict ensued as these Chinese viewed missionaries as unwanted disruptors. So how did this failing movement eventually change minds and win hearts? Many missionaries chose to innovate. They built hospitals and established educational institutions offering science and math. A second wave of missionaries opened YMCA chapters, coached sports, and taught college. Crucially, missionaries also started listening to Chinese citizens, who exerted surprising influence over the preaching, teaching, and caregiving, eventually running some organizations themselves. They embraced new American ideals while remaining thoroughly Chinese. In Cultures Colliding, Haddad recounts the unexpected origins and rapid rise of American institutions in China by telling the stories of the Americans who established these institutions and the Chinese who changed them from within. Today, the impact of this untold history continues to resonate in China.

Ever wonder why people fall asleep in church? It happens. We?ve all seen it. We shuffle into rows of seats that grow more comfortable with every new fundraising campaign. We slouch down and settle in for an hour or so, as singers and storytellers and preachers and teachers take their turns filling our ears. And almost without fail, at least one of us nods off while listening to the greatest story ever told. The church was not meant to be like this. The church was meant to be on its feet, in the world, making all things new. The church was meant to be sent. Kim Hammond and Darren Cronshaw want to help us--all of us--rediscover our sentness. Dive into Sentness, and explore the six postures of a church that's keeping pace with God's work in the world. Rediscover the gospel that first quickened your pulse and got you up on your feet, ready to go wherever Jesus called you. Get Sentness, and prepare to get sent.

It can no longer be assumed that most people--or even most Christians--have a basic understanding of the Bible. Many don't know the difference between the Old and New Testament, and even the more well-known biblical figures are often misunderstood. It is getting harder to talk about Jesus accurately and compellingly because listeners have no proper context with which to understand God's story of redemption.
In this basic introduction to faith, D. A. Carson takes seekers, new Christians, and small groups through the big story of Scripture. He helps readers to know what they believe and why they believe it. The companion leader's guide helps evangelistic study groups, small groups, and Sunday school classes make the best use of this book in group settings.

Missionaries and their medicine is a lucid and enthralling study of the encounter between Christian missionaries and an Indian tribal community, the Bhils, in the period 1880 to 1964. The study is informed by a deep knowledge of the people amongst whom the missionaries worked, the author having lived for extensive periods in the tribal tracts of western India. He argues that the Bhils were never the passive objects of missionary attention and that they created for themselves their own form of 'Christian modernity.' The book provides a major intervention in the history of colonial medicine, as Hardiman argues that missionary medicine had a specific quality of its own - which he describes and analyses in detail - and that in most cases it was preferred to the medicine of colonial states. He also examines the period of transition to Indian independence, which was a highly fraught and uncertain process for the missionaries. -- .

In Tropical Idolatry, R.L. Green examines how thinkers within the Society of Jesus attempted to convert indigenous peoples of New Spain, the Philippine Islands, and the Mariana Islands to Catholicism during the early modern period. Through the close readings of Jesuit authored theological treatises and historical texts, all placed firmly within a rich, vibrant, and nuanced Catholic intellectual tradition, the evolution of ideas on the topic of indigenous religion within an imperial context becomes apparent. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate the importance that both religious and political beliefs played in the establishment of the Church in the Spanish Pacific world. The intent is to reconsider some commonly held assumptions regarding the Jesuit missionary enterprise and its role in the origins of global Catholicism.

This book presupposes that pastors and seminarians deeply desire to answer the question of all questions: how do I make disciples of Jesus Christ? The Great CoMission: Making Sense of Making Disciples is a helpful guide for pastors in the field, yet "meaty" enough for seminarians in the classroom. In The Great CoMission, readers will encounter useful principles for discipleship and solid biblical theology for ministry. This unique book approaches the Great Commission from a rite-of-passage framework, therefore allowing for serious consideration of the internal mechanisms of Matthew 28:16-20 by focusing on the relationship between initiation, instruction, and Jesus' promise to be with the church to the end of the age. Morton writes from a Wesleyan, cross-cultural, and missiological perspective, avoiding the popular method of using the Great Commission merely as a holy launching pad for retelling the story of a mega church.

This book represents the first critical edition and scholarly annotated translation of a pioneering report on the predicament of cross-cultural understanding at the dawn of globalization, titled "A Brief Response on the Controversies over Shangdi, Tianshen and Linghun" ("Resposta breve sobre as Controversias do Xamty, Tien Xin, Lim hoen"), which was written in China by the Sicilian Jesuit missionary Niccolo Longobardo (1565-1654) in the 1620s and profoundly influenced Enlightenment understandings of Asian philosophy. The book restores the focus on Longobardo's own intellectual concerns, while also reproducing and analyzing all the Chinese-language annotations on the previously unpublished Portuguese and Latin manuscripts. Moreover, it meticulously modernizes all romanizations with standard Hanyu pinyin and identifies, on the basis of archival research, most of Longobardo's Chinese interlocutors, thus providing new insights into how the Jesuits networked with Chinese scholars in the late Ming. In this way, it opens up this seminal text to Sinologists and global historians exploring Europe's first intellectual exchanges with China. In addition, the book presents four introductory essays, written by the editors and two prominent scholars on the Jesuit China mission. These essays comprehensively reconstruct the historical and intellectual context of Longobardo's report, stressing that it cannot be viewed purely as a product of Sino-European cultural exchange, but also as an outgrowth of both exegetic debates within Europe and of European experiences across Asia, especially in Japan. Hence this critical edition will greatly contribute to a more globalized view of the Jesuit China mission.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, a fascinating look at the world of Christian women celebrities Since the 1970s, an important new figure has appeared on the center stage of American evangelicalism-the celebrity preacher's wife. Although most evangelical traditions bar women from ordained ministry, many women have carved out unofficial positions of power in their husbands' spiritual empires or their own ministries. The biggest stars-such as Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, and Victoria Osteen-write bestselling books, grab high ratings on Christian television, and even preach. In this engaging book, Kate Bowler offers a sympathetic and revealing portrait of megachurch women celebrities, showing how they must balance the demands of celebrity culture and conservative, male-dominated faiths.

This hand sized NKJV edition is the perfect travel companion for readers who like to take their Bibles with them throughout the day. Though it fits easily into backpacks and purses, you won't have to sacrifice readability or study resources. The exclusive Thomas Nelson NKJV Comfort Print (R) typeface was designed to be easy to read at any size, so you can experience deeper engagement in God's Word. This edition also includes over 73,000 cross-references, a concordance, and full-color maps so you have everything you need for serious study at your fingertips. Features include: Presentation page Red letter words of Christ 73,000+ cross-references trace the connections in Scripture Concordance Full-color maps Clear and readable 7-point NKJV Comfort Print Commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson, 130 international and multi-denominational Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians worked for seven years to create a completely new, modern translation of Scripture that retained the purity and stylistic beauty of the King James Version. The New King James Version is faithful to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text, and provides transparency to the recent research in archaeology, linguistics, and textual studies in the footnotes. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising-perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.

Praise for "Church Unique"

"There is a screaming need today for leaders who will rise above quick fixes and generic approaches. Now, Will Mancini has brought an indispensable book to the church leader's toolbox, providing a thoughtful and creative process that will galvanize your team to unleash God's vision for your church."
--Howard Hendricks, chairman, Center for Christian Leadership;distinguished professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

"Will Mancini's vision for vision is contagious. "Church Unique" doesn't hold back--challenging existing paradigms, yes, but also providing new maps for churches to engage in God's mission."
--Ed Stetzer, director, LifeWay Research; coauthor, "Comeback Churches" and "Compelled by Love"

"If leaders are to steer the church through the challenges of the twenty-first century successfully, they will need help to negotiate the complexities of the spirituality, culture, history, and institutional structures that make up organizations. Will Mancini is a savvy navigator and "Church Unique" is an impressive blueprint for organizational renewal."
--Alan Hirsch, author, "The Forgotten Ways" and "The Shaping of Things to Come"; founding director, Forge Mission Training Network

"Will Mancini has done us all a great favor in releasing the practical ways he helps church leaders envision their own unique future.?His insights provide you the coaching you need to prepare for your next ministry chapter."
--Reggie McNeal, author, "The Present Future"

"If you don't know the unique purpose of your church, read this book now!"
--Jim Tomberlin, founder, Third Quarter Consulting; former regional pastor, Willow Creek Community Church

"Will Mancini's love for the local church and skill for facilitating vision makes this a must-read. He is a Sherpa, not a travel agent. He has the experience; he knows the trail."
--Lance Witt, founder, Replenish Ministries; former executive pastor, Saddleback Community Church

Conversion has played a central role in the history of Christianity. In this first in-depth and wide-ranging narrative history, David Kling examines the dynamic of turning to the Christian faith by individuals, families, and people groups. Global in reach, the narrative progresses from early Christian beginnings in the Roman world to Christianity's expansion into Europe, the Americas, China, India, and Africa. Conversion is often associated with a particular strand of modern Christianity (evangelical) and a particular type of experience (sudden, overwhelming). However, when examined over two millennia, it emerges as a phenomenon far more complex than any one-dimensional profile would suggest. No single, unitary paradigm defines conversion and no easily explicable process accounts for why people convert to Christianity. Rather, a multiplicity of factors-historical, personal, social, geographical, theological, psychological, and cultural-shape the converting process. A History of Christian Conversion not only narrates the conversions of select individuals and peoples, it also engages current theories and models to explain conversion, and examines recurring themes in the conversion process: divine presence, gender and the body, agency and motivation, testimony and memory, group- and self-identity, "authentic" and "nominal" conversion, and modes of communication. Accessible to scholars, students, and those with a general interest in conversion, Kling's book is the most satisfying and comprehensive account of conversion in Christian history to date; this major work will become a standard must-read in conversion studies.

The first comprehensive study of the role of gender in British Protestant missionary expansion into China and India during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is the first comprehensive study of the role of gender in British Protestant missionary expansion into China and India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Focusing on the experiences of wives and daughters, female missionaries, educators and medical staff associated with the London Missionary Society, the China Inland Mission and the various Scottish Presbyterian Mission Societies, it compares and contrasts gender relations within different British Protestant missions in cross-cultural settings. Drawing on extensive published and archival materials, this study examines how gender, race, class, nationality and theology shaped the polity of Protestant missions and Christian interaction with native peoples. Rather than providing a romantic portrayal of fulfilled professional freedom, this work argues that women's labor in Christian missions, as in the secular British Empire and domestic society, remained under-valued both in terms of remuneration and administrative advancement, until well into the twentieth century. Rich in details and full of insights, this work not only presents the first comparative treatment of gender relations in British Christian missionary movements, but also contributes to an understanding of the importance of gender more broadly in the high imperial age. RHONDA A. SEMPLE is Assistant Professor ofHistory at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada.

This book presupposes that pastors and seminarians deeply desire to answer the question of all questions: how do I make disciples of Jesus Christ? The Great CoMission: Making Sense of Making Disciples is a helpful guide for pastors in the field, yet "meaty" enough for seminarians in the classroom. In The Great CoMission, readers will encounter useful principles for discipleship and solid biblical theology for ministry. This unique book approaches the Great Commission from a rite-of-passage framework, therefore allowing for serious consideration of the internal mechanisms of Matthew 28:16-20 by focusing on the relationship between initiation, instruction, and Jesus' promise to be with the church to the end of the age. Morton writes from a Wesleyan, cross-cultural, and missiological perspective, avoiding the popular method of using the Great Commission merely as a holy launching pad for retelling the story of a mega church.