Global theology represents one of the most important trends in theology today. What does it mean to do theology in a global context? How can Christian theology be understood as a conversation between different parts of the world and various streams of Christian history? This concise introduction explores the major issues involved in rethinking theology in light of the explosion of world Christianity. Combining the voices of a Western and a non-Western theologian, it integrates Western theological tradition with emerging global perspectives. This work will be of interest to theology and missiology students as well as church leaders and readers interested in the changing face of world Christianity.

Throughout the history of the Christian church, two narratives have constantly clashed: the imperial logic of Babel that builds towers and borders to seize control, versus the logic of Pentecost that empowers "glocal" missionaries of the kingdom life. To what extent are Westernized Christians today ready for the church of the Pentecost narrative? Are they equipped to do ministry in different cultural modes and to handle disruption and perplexity? What are Christians to make of the Holy Spirit's occasional encounters with cultures and religions of the Americas before the European conquest? Oscar Garcia-Johnson explores a new grammar for the study of theology and mission in global Christianity, especially in Latin America and the Latinx "third spaces" in North America. With an interdisciplinary, "transoccidental," and narrative approach, Spirit Outside the Gate offers a constructive theology of mission for the church in global contexts. Building on the familiar missiological metaphor of "outside the gate" established by Orlando Costas, Garcia-Johnson moves to recover important elements in ancestral traditions of the Americas, with an eye to discerning pneumatological continuity between the pre-Columbian and post-Columbian communities. He calls for a "rerouting of theology"-a realization that theology cannot make its home in Christendom but is a global creation that must come home to a church without borders. In this volume Garcia-Johnson considers pneumatological insights into de/postcolonial studies traces independent epistemic contributions of the American Global South shows how American indigenous, Afro-Latinx, and immigrant communities provide resources for a decolonial pneumatology describes four transformations the American church must undergo to break free from colonial, modernist, and monocultural structures Spirit Outside the Gate opens a path for a pneumatological missiology that can help the church act as a witness to the gospel message in a postmodern, postcolonial, and post-Christendom world. 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.

Description: This work models a creative exercise in ecclesiology based on a Latino/a practical theology of the Spirit, which designs theological discourse based on its encounter with the Spirit in human culture. Hence, it is a theology appreciative of and attentive to the ""multiple matrices and intersections"" of the Spirit with cultures. Garcia-Johnson offeres an appreciative and critical analysis of the uses of culture among Latino/a theologians, followed by the proposal for a postmodern Spirit-friendly cultural paradigm based on the narratives of the cross and the Pentecost. He develops a practical theology for a Latino/a postmodern ecclesiology based on three native Latino/a theological concepts: mestizaje, accompaniment, and manana eschatology. The resulting ecclesial construct-The Mestizo/a Community of Manana-reflects a transforming manana vision and models the visible cruciform community in which the transforming praxis and historical transcendence of the Christ-Spirit works from within. The work sets forth practical guidelines for implementation of the ecclesial construct in the urban context of devastated communities and offers suggestions for further development in Latino/a theology. Endorsements: ""The most important theological questions at the turn of the twenty-first century are ecclesiological-what is it to 'be' and 'do' church? Oscar Garcia-Johnson's provocative and critical Laino/a postmodern ecclesiology of the Spirit is an important and needed contribution to contemporary theological dialogue. The Mestizo Community of the Spirit is a must read for those interested in 'listening' to the emerging and creative Latino/a 'voices.'"" --Eldin Villafane Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Founding Director, Urban Ministerial Education, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary ""In this stunning and original theological work, Oscar Garcia-Johnson dips deep into the flowing stream of the Latino/a community and finds there a new theological paradigm where a culture of the Spirit emerges. This is a culture where revelation and praxis come together and where cruciformity is not only a Christological praxis but is a transforming social ethic. . . . Pastors as well as theologians will soon have this book at the top of their'must read' book list."" -Ray S. Anderson Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary ""Garcia-Johnson challenges the Latino/a church to become a mestizo/a community of manana by allowing the Spirit to guide it within the complexity, unpredictability, and randomness that is Latino culture in a postmodern world. He presents a contextualized Latino/a theology that recognizes the importance of the Holy Spirit in the community that believes in God's future. I am grateful to him for showing us how Latino/a churches can be committed communities of survival, hope, and belief."" -Juan Martinez Assistant Dean for the Hispanic Church Studies Department and Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Pastoral Leadership, Fuller Theological Seminary Oscar Garcia-Johnson's postmodern ecclesiology of the Mestizo/a Community is a powerful testimony to the fact that constructive Latino/a theology has not only arrived but has come of age. . . . Here is an inspiring 'commuting story' of the church that speaks both to the Latino/a communities and the rest of us. --Veli-Matti Karkkainen Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary; Docent of Ecumenics, University of Helsinki, Finland About the Contributor(s): Oscar Garcia-Johnson is an adjunct Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Hispanic Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. In addition, he is an ordained minister serving as Regional Minister with the American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles. He lives with his wife Karla and his son Chris in Sylmar, California.