'Christian Warfare in Rhodesia-Zimbabwe' takes a hard look at the history of the Salvation Army in Rhodesia-Zimbabwe and its long history with both the government and the rest of the church. Norman H. Murdoch examines in-depth the parallels between the events of the First Chimurenga, an uprising against European occupation in 1896-97, and the Second Chimurenga in the 1970s, the civil war that led to majority rule. At the time of the first, the Salvation Army was barely established in the country; by the second, it was fully entrenched in the ruling class. Murdoch explores the collaboration of this Christian mission with the institutions of white rule and the painful process of disentanglement necessary by the late twentieth century. Stories of martyrdom and colonial mythology are set in the carefully researched context of ecumenical relations and the Salvation Army's largely unknown and seldom accessible internal politics.

Civilizing Habits explores the life stories of three French women missionaries - Philippine Duchesne, Emilie de Vialar, and Anne-Marie Javouhey - who transgressed boundaries, both real and imagined, to evangelize far from France's shores. In so doing, this book argues that they helped France reestablish a global empire after the dislocation of the Revolution and the fall of Napoleon. They also pioneered a new missionary era in which the educational, charity, and health care services provided by women became valuable tools for spreading Catholic influence across the globe. Philippine Duchesne, who began her religious life in a cloistered convent before the Revolution, traveled to former French territory in Missouri in 1818 to proselytize among Native American tribes. Thwarted by the American policy of removing tribes even further west, her main legacy became girls' education on the frontier. Emilie de Vialar followed French troops to Algeria after conquest in 1830 and opened missions throughout the Mediterranean basin. Prevented from direct conversion, she developed strategies and subterfuges for working among Muslim populations. Anne-Marie Javouhey made her life's work the evangelization of Africans in the French slave colonies, including a utopian settlement in the wilds of French Guiana. She became a rare Catholic proponent of the abolition of slavery and a woman designated a "great man " by the French king. Freed from physical enclosure, these women were protected from worldly corruption only by their religious habits and their behavior. Paradoxically, however, through embracing religious institutions designed to shield their femininity, these women gained increased authority to travel outside of France, challenge church power, and evangelize among non-Christians, all roles more commonly ascribed to male missionaries. Their stories teach us about the life paths open to religious women in the nineteenth century and how both church and state benefitted from their initiative and energy to expand boundaries of faith and nation.

Now revised and updated to incorporate numerous new materials, this is the major source for researching American Christian activity in China, especially that of missions and missionaries. It provides a thorough introduction and guide to primary and secondary sources on Christian enterprises and individuals in China that are preserved in hundreds of libraries, archives, historical societies, headquarters of religious orders, and other repositories in the United States. It includes data from the beginnings of Christianity in China in the early eighth century through 1952, when American missionary activity in China virtually ceased. For this new edition, the institutional base has shifted from the Princeton Theological Seminary (Protestant) to the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural Relations at the University of San Francisco (Jesuit), reflecting the ecumenical nature of this monumental undertaking.

The church can be uncertain of itself in our digital age. Some Christians denounce the twenty-first century's media culture while others embrace the latest gadgets and apps as soon as they appear. Many of us are stumbling along amidst the tweets, status updates, podcasts, and blog posts, wondering if we have ventured into a realm beyond the scope of biblical wisdom. Though there is such a thing as 'new media', Andrew Byers reminds us that the actual concept of media is ancient, theological, and even biblical. In fact, there is such a thing as the media of God. 'TheoMedia' are means by which God communicates and reveals himself - creation, divine speech, inspired writings, the visual symbol of the cross, and more. Christians are actually called to media saturation. But the media that are to most prominently saturate our lives are the media of God. If God creates and uses media, then Scripture provides a theological logic by which we can create and use media in the digital age. This book is not an unqualified endorsement of the latest media products or a tirade against media technology.Instead, Byers calls us to rethink our understanding of media in terms of the media of God in the biblical story of redemption.

The Being With course is an introduction to Christianity with a difference. At its heart is the idea that God's greatest desire is to be with us in Jesus. Grounded in the conviction that we already have a wealth of understanding of truth, beauty and goodness that signify God's presence in our lives and everyday experiences, it aims to enable participants to discover dimensions of this presence and to live abundantly with God, with one another and with creation. This Leaders' Guide provides: * an introduction to the theological perspective underpinning the course; * an explanation of its structure and an overview of each session; * practical guidelines for leading a group; * complete materials for hosting its ten 90-minute sessions in person or online. The sessions focus on the themes of Meaning; Essence; Jesus; Church; Bible; Mission; Cross; Prayer; Suffering and Resurrection. Drawing on the practices of Godly Play, the course uses storytelling, wondering and reflection to encourage and welcome the insights that each person brings. The Being With course was devised and created by Samuel Wells and Sally Hitchiner. It is one of many initiatives of St Martin-in-the-Fields, alongside HeartEdge, the Nazareth Community, the classical music and arts programmes and work with those experiencing homelessness. Located in London's Trafalgar Square, St Martin's is a community of hope, transforming church and society through commerce, culture, compassion and congregational life.

The Alpha Team Guide is recommended for Alpha small group hosts and helpers. It includes notes for the two required team training sessions on how to lead an Alpha small group, and how to lead prayer ministry, that can be found online or on either the Alpha Film Series DVD or Alpha with Nicky Gumbel DVD. It also provides weekly key concept summary and suggested questions to help guide the discussion time for each session of Alpha. Alpha creates an environment of hospitality where people can bring their friends, family and work colleagues to explore the Christian faith, ask questions, and share their point of view. Alpha makes it easy to invite friends to have spiritual conversations which explore life's biggest questions in a safe and respectful way. Alpha's approach to hospitality, faith, and discussion is designed to welcome everyone, especially those who might not describe themselves as Christians or church-goers. Each session includes time for a large group meal, short teaching, and small group discussion.

Western missionaries in China were challenged by something they could not have encountered in their native culture; most Westerners were Christian, and competitions in their own countries were principally denominational. Once they entered China they unwittingly became spiritual merchants who marketed Christianity as only one religion among the long-established purveyors of other religions, such as the masters of Buddhist and Daoist rites. A Voluntary Exile explores the convergence of cultures. This collection of new and insightful research considers themes of religious encounter and accommodation in China from 1552 to the present, and confronts how both Western Europeans and indigenous Chinese mitigated the cultural and religious antagonisms that resulted from cultural misunderstanding. The studies in this work identify areas where missionary accommodation in China has succeeded and failed, and offers new insights into what contributed to cultural conflict and confluence. Each essay responds in some way to the "accommodationist" approach of Western missionaries and Christianity, focusing on new areas of inquiry. For example, Michael Maher, SJ, considers the educational and religious formation of Matteo Ricci prior to his travels to China, and how Ricci's intellectual approach was connected to his so-called "accommodationist method" during the late Ming. Eric Cunningham explores the hackneyed assertion that Francis Xavier's mission to Asia was a "failure" due to his low conversion rates, suggesting that Xavier's "failure" instigated the entire Chinese missionary enterprise of the 16th and 17th centuries. And, Liu Anrong confronts the hybridization of popular Chinese folk religion with Catholicism in Shanxi province. The voices in this work derive from divergent scholarly methodologies based on new research, and provide the reader a unique encounter with a variety of disciplinary views. This unique volume reaches across oceans, cultures, political systems, and religious traditions to provide important new research on the complexities of cultural encounters between China and the West.

One Step at a Time shows readers how God has a way of throwing responsibilities at people that are far too big for them, but never too big for him. Elmer and Eileen Lehman's story describes how God took two quite ordinary people and led them on a missionary pilgrimage for more than sixty years of marriage. God's path led them from a rural farm in northern New York State to a children's home in Puerto Rico, then to academic study in Virginia followed by twenty-two years in Costa Rica, and then further study in Virginia, culminating with a ministry of teaching, Missions administration, church planting, and retirement in Ohio. One Step at a Time includes eight key lessons they learned along the way that speak to others' journeys as well. Their prayer is that others would be encouraged to step out and respond to God's call upon their lives and risk their future for Him.

Sent to Heal traces the development of medical missions, one of the most intriguing, complex, and controversial phenomena in the history of the encounter of Western and Non-Western cultures promoted by Christianity. This groundbreaking study surveys the missions from their earliest beginnings in the fifteenth century until the turn of the twentieth century. Sent to Heal is a defining reference work on the philosophical, theological, missiological, and scientific aspects of medical missions. An extensive bibliography is included.

It's easier than you may think to make intelligent replies to skeptics - with a little training. Answering Skeptics covers all the major objections in chapters that are both compact and compelling, with helpful summaries. If you find yourself reaching out only to lapsed Christians, your horizons are about to broaden. Engage agnostics, atheists, and members of the world religions with confidence.

The Being With course is an introduction to Christianity with a difference. Rather than being a Bible study or a series of arguments to try to convince you that God exists, it starts with the conviction that you already have a wealth of understanding of truth, beauty and goodness that will help you, in the company of others, to recognise God's presence in your life and your everyday experiences. At its heart is the idea that God's greatest desire is to be with us in Jesus. That's the reason the world was created; that's why you were created. Over a period of ten weeks, you will discover dimensions of this presence and what it means to live abundantly with God, with one another and with creation.

This book investigates the role of the laity in the Asian Church. Lay people have three responsibilities: proclaiming the Gospel, be a witness of life, and the triple dialogue with the cultures, the religions, and the poor. Focusing on the triple dialogue, the bishops of Asia have offered fresh ideas to address three global trends in society: the revolution in communications technologies which blurs the cultures; the conflicts between followers of different religions; and the advance of globalisation which leaves in its aftermath the poverty of the masses.

Although many refer to the American South as the "Bible Belt," the region was not always characterized by a powerful religious culture. In the seventeenth century and early eighteenth century, religion-in terms both of church membership and personal piety-was virtually absent from southern culture. The late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, however, witnessed the astonishingly rapid rise of evangelical religion in the Upper South. Within just a few years, evangelicals had spread their beliefs and their fervor, gaining converts and building churches throughout Virginia and North Carolina and into the western regions. But what was it that made evangelicalism so attractive to a region previously uninterested in religion?
Monica Najar argues that early evangelicals successfully negotiated the various challenges of the eighteenth-century landscape by creating churches that functioned as civil as well as religious bodies. The evangelical church of the late eighteenth century was the cornerstone of its community, regulating marriages, monitoring prices, arbitrating business, and settling disputes. As the era experienced substantial rifts in the relationship between church and state, the disestablishment of colonial churches paved the way for new formulations of church-state relations. The evangelical churches were well-positioned to provide guidance in uncertain times, and their multiple functions allowed them to reshape many of the central elements of authority in southern society. They assisted in reformulating the lines between the "religious" and "secular" realms, with significant consequences for both religion and the emerging nation-state.
Touching on the creationof a distinctive southern culture, the position of women in the private and public arenas, family life in the Old South, the relationship between religion and slavery, and the political culture of the early republic, Najar reveals the history behind a religious heritage that remains a distinguishing mark of American society.

How should we reflect theologically about culture? Tim Gorringe presents a threefold, and interrelated, reflection organised around culture, power and mission. First, Gorringe interrogates culture through contemporary cultural studies but also through the contribution of the great eighteenth century theologian, J.G. Herder. He concludes by considering the question of cultural imperialism. Secondly, Gorringe asks where power is located in culture, and how the church relates to that, arguing that the central theses of liberation theology are far from dead. The third part turns to questions of mission, asking whether this is morally feasible in a culturally pluralist world and considering the implications of Samuel Huntington's notorious thesis of the 'clash of civilizations'. Gorringe argues that mission is in fact a vital part of a respectful multicultural society.

How should we reflect theologically about culture? Tim Gorringe presents a threefold, and interrelated, reflection organised around culture, power and mission. First, Gorringe interrogates culture through contemporary cultural studies but also through the contribution of the great eighteenth century theologian, J.G. Herder. He concludes by considering the question of cultural imperialism. Secondly, Gorringe asks where power is located in culture, and how the church relates to that, arguing that the central theses of liberation theology are far from dead. The third part turns to questions of mission, asking whether this is morally feasible in a culturally pluralist world and considering the implications of Samuel Huntington's notorious thesis of the 'clash of civilizations'. Gorringe argues that mission is in fact a vital part of a respectful multicultural society.

Popular Christianity in India explores Indian Christianity as crafted and expressed through lived experience, providing an important balance to currently available, typically theological, studies. Drawing from many disciplines, this volume unearths the multifaceted terrain of festivals, rituals, saints, miracle workers, missionaries, and visionaries in Christian India, providing a wonderful glimpse of its richness and complexities. The contributors reveal the ways in which local Christian traditions deftly challenge assumed divisions and power imbalances between East and West, Hindu and Christian, foreign and indigenous, and elite and local expressions. Whether forging complicated religious, caste, and national identities, employing religious hybridity to promote well-being, or asserting autonomy within oppressive social and religious structures, local Christianity provides a crucial means for its participants to manage their earthly needs and desires.

David Brainerd is simultaneously one of the most enigmatic and recognizable figures in American religious history. Born in 1718 and known for his missionary work among the Indians (as well as for being expelled from Yale), Brainerd and the story of his life entered the realm of legend almost immediately upon his death at the age of twenty-nine.
Much of his reputation is based on the picture of Brainerd constructed by Jonathan Edwards in his best-selling Life of David Brainerd. This new biography seeks to restore Brainerd to the context of the culture in which he lived. Combining archival research with the most recent scholarship on the Great Awakening and Indian missions, John A. Grigg argues that Brainerd was shaped by two formative experiences. On the one hand, he was the child of a prosperous, well-respected Connecticut family that was part of the political and social establishment. On the other, he was a participant in one of the more fundamental challenges to that establishment-the religious revivals of the 1740s. Brainerd's work among the Indians, Grigg argues, was a way to combine the sense of order and tradition inherited from his family with his radical experiences in the revival movement. Moving beyond biography, Grigg also examines how the myth of Brainerd came to be. He argues that both Edwards and John Wesley crafted their versions of Brainerd's life in order to address specific problems in their own churches, and he examines how subsequent generations of evangelicals utilized Brainerd for their own purposes.
The Lives of David Brainerd is the first truly scholarly biography of Brainerd, drawing on everything from town records and published sermons to hand-written fragments to tell the story not only of his life, but of his legend. The David Brainerd who emerges from this work is a man who is both familiar and remarkably new.

For many, missions is the story of heroes, martyrs, and the advance of the gospel. For others, it's the story of colonialism and missionary disasters. So how do we respond to God's call to love our neighbors as a new era emerges? Subversive mission is submission-to God and local leaders. Subversive mission offers a new way forward for outsiders called to crosscultural ministry by serving as humble alongsiders. Join Craig Greenfield on this inspiring journey in Asia and beyond as he rediscovers the fivefold missional gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, and demonstrates how each of these must look radically different in a crosscultural context. Along the way, you'll discover your own missional type through the Missional Type Inventory and come face to face with the five most common pitfalls that Westerners face in crosscultural settings. By the end of this story, you'll be inspired by a radically different way of working for change in the world. Come alongside. And join God in what he is already doing.