We live in a culturally diverse society. As the church continues to heed Christ's call to reflect the multiethnic character of his people, pastors and lay leaders need to gain skills and competencies to serve in multicultural contexts, both inside and beyond their congregations. With this book, Mark Lau Branson and Juan F. Martinez equip leaders to create environments that make God's reconciling initiatives apparent in church life and in missional engagement with their neighborhoods and cities. Drawing on courses they've taught at Fuller Theological Seminary, Branson and Martinez take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biblical and theological study with sociology, cultural anthropology, leadership studies, and communications. The result is a rich blend of astute analysis and guidance for the practical implementation of a deeper intercultural life for the church. Case studies, Bible studies, and exercises for personal and group reflection address real-life challenges and opportunities that arise in multiethnic contexts. Churches, Cultures, and Leadership offers not a static model but a praxis of paying attention, study, and discernment that can lead to genuine reconciliation and shared life empowered by the gospel. This new edition is updated throughout to address current trends and sources, particularly emphasizing the continuing power of racism and how churches should respond.

As the church continues to hear and heed Christ's call to reflect the multiethnic character of his people, pastors and lay leaders need to gain skills and competencies to serve in those contexts. The multicultural team of Juan Martinez and Mark Branson has written this book to equip such leaders to create environments that make God's reconciling initiatives apparent in church life and in our missional engagement with neighborhoods and cities. Generated by courses they teach at Fuller Theological Seminary, Branson and Martinez take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biblical and theological study with the disciplines of sociology, cultural anthropology and communications. The result is a rich blend of astute analysis with guidance for practical implementation of a deeper intercultural life for the church. Case studies, Bible studies and exercises for personal reflection and classroom use connect the real life and everyday challenges that inevitably arise in multi-ethnic contexts. Martinez and Branson offer not static model but a praxis of "paying attention," reflection and study that can lead to a genuine reconciliation and shared life empowered by the gospel that is personal, interpersonal, cultural and structural.

Los Angeles is a global crossroads of migrating communities that presents a case study of migration, transnationalism, and interfaith engagement with significant implications for thinking and practice in other global hubs. This book weaves together contributions from a group of internationally-recognized scholars who were brought together for the 2020 Missiology Lectures at Fuller Theological Seminary, which received funding from the Luce Foundation. They examine historical waves of migration - European Protestant, Asian, Latino/a, and Muslim - into Southern California and use sociological, missiological, and theological methods to understand the experience of migration and its effects, both on those who move and those who are already there. The result shows how migrants are inspired and sustained by faith and spiritual resources; how migration challenges faith communities about their identity and attitudes to others; how faith communities in turn impact the migration landscape through immigrant integration and public advocacy, and how migration forges new transnational and global ways of being in community and innovative religious movements. The contributors put forward a mission theology of migration and suggest mission practices in response to the suffering caused by forced migration and the injustices of immigration systems.

Que hace falta para liderar iglesias multiculturales? Moises salio de Egipto con una 'multitud mixta', y los primeros seguidores de Jesus tuvieron que aprender que el Espiritu Santo los estaba llevando a cruzar los limites entre las distintas culturas de su tiempo. Esta obra se centra sobre todo en las iglesias de los Estados Unidos y la forma en que pueden ser plenamente fieles al llamado de Dios dentro de su contexto actual. Vivimos en una nacion culturalmente diversa, y casi todas nuestras ciudades y nuestros vecindarios son testigos de esa diversidad. Esta se hace evidente en los medios de comunicacion, en los centros comerciales y en las escuelas. Aunque se nota menos en nuestras iglesias, va tambien en aumento. En este libro, queremos fomentar una atencion mayor, llena de sabiduria y de fidelidad, hacia la vida intercultural que se esta desarrollando en cada iglesia y tambien en las relaciones entre las diferentes iglesias y sus vecinos. Todos hemos crecido dentro de un contexto historico de prejuicios y de racismo. Llevamos esa influencia en la mente y el corazon, y muchas veces se refleja en nuestras acciones, decisiones y palabras. Los autores creen que la presencia del reino de Dios en la tierra, inaugurado en la vida, muerte y resurreccion de Cristo, es una presencia que se debe caracterizar por un ministerio de reconciliacion. Ese es el motivo que los llevo a escribirlo: animar a los lideres de las iglesias en la creacion de ambientes que hagan evidentes las iniciativas de reconciliacion en la vida interna de las iglesias, y en nuestra labor misionera dentro de nuestros vecindarios y ciudades."