bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Female Mission Strategists: A Historical and Contemporary Perspective
Authors: Tucker Ruth
Published: March 2013

Although women have been very prominent in foreign missions for more than a century, they have generally played a secondary role in the field of missiology. Most mission boards and seminary faculties have been male-dominated, except for a time in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when women formed their own “female agencies” and training schools. During this period women made significant practical and scholarly contributions to mission strategy. With the demise of the women's missionary movement, however, such opportunities sharply declined. That is now beginning to change. In recent decades women have once again become more involved in the strategy of missions, especially in areas involving women's work, cross-cultural communication, literature, education, lifestyle, urban ministries, and mission specializations.
Psychocultural Study in Missiology: Middle Eastern Insecurity
Authors: Jennings George J.
Published: March 2013

Many mission leaders have been confronted with counseling problems, although until recently there has been reluctance to incorporate psychopathologies and therapies into training and experience on a professional level. However, Hesselgrave, to cite one example, joins other early pioneers among missiologists in treating such a field in both book and journals as he has probed into psychocultural facets that involve personnel with mental problems. This paper is an effort to diagnose mental illness in a major culture area that is dominated by Islam in values and worldview. The intent is to apply an “emic” (Pike) approach to psychocultural pathologies in order to assist Christians as they employ psychological theory and practice cross-culturally.
Basic Christian Communities: Their Social Role and Missiological Promise
Authors: Cadorette Curt
Published: March 2013

This article discusses the social dynamics of basic Christian communities using insights derived from the social sciences. Drawing from critical social theory, the author first analyzes the ideological forces at play among marginalized people. He then discusses how these oppressive forces can be and are overcome by the community of committed Christians. Underlying the discussion is the assumption that contemporary social analysis has much to offer our understanding of ecclesial communities and that the lived faith of poor Christians provides a dynamic model of resistance to oppression which must likewise be taken into account by committed social theorists.
Missions and Renewal in Latin-American Catholicism
Authors: Escobar Samuel
Published: March 2013

Not enough attention has been paid to the impact of Catholic North American and European missionary work on the contemporary state of Christianity in Latin America. Another important aspect of recent missionary history is the effect of the Protestant missionary presence in Latin America on the Catholic Church there. This article makes an initial exploration into these processes, examining especially how Latin-American Catholicism is experiencing a change in three areas: a self-critical redefinition of the meaning of being a Christian, a fresh understanding of the Christian message in which the Bible plays a vital role, and a change of pastoral methodologies more relevant to the situation of the continent.
Exclusivism, Tolerance, and Truth
Authors: Netland Harold
Published: March 2013

Christian exclusivism has increasingly come under sharp attack for supposedly being indefensible in our religiously pluralistic world. In this essay several influential arguments against exclusivism—arguments which claim that exclusivism must be rejected since it is inherently intolerant or that it is based upon faulty notions of religious truth—are critically examined and shown to be deficient. The author concludes that if we are to have a view of the relation among religions which is epistemologically sound and accurately portrays the values and beliefs of the respective religions, something like traditional Christian exclusivism is unavoidable.
Evangelization and Mission: A Roman Catholic Experience
Authors: Cunningham Sister Agnes
Published: March 2013

Evangelization in non-Christian lands has been an important aspect of Roman Catholic mission endeavor over the centuries, but it was during the nineteenth century when some of the most far-reaching missionary work was undertaken. The missionaries of this era were dedicated and self-sacrificing, responding to Christ's mandate, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” One outstanding mission leader was Francis Libermann, who had a vision for reaching Africans with the goal of quickly establishing a native church. Among those who were deeply influenced by his teachings were Father Francis Delaplace and Marie Moison, who founded the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary in 1860, since expanded into many regions with a congregation of more than eight hundred.
Esther across Cultures: Indigenous Leadership Roles for Women
Authors: Adeney Miriam
Published: March 2013

Women have unique qualities that allow them to work effectively in Christian ministry among their own people and cross-culturally. Catherine Booth and Mary Slessor are historical models. Today women throughout the world continue to model resourceful ministry roles. Evelyn Quema, an evangelist and church planter in the Philippines, is an example, as are So Yan Pui who, before her recent death, was involved in writing and parachurch work in Hong Kong, and Ayako Miura, a Japanese novelist. For these women, who are often better educated than their peers, opportunities for ministry are plentiful, but there are also outreach opportunities for oppressed women, and they too are serving as models in ministry.
My Journey in Mission: A Korean-Japanese Woman Pastor's Story
Authors: Kim Young Sawa
Published: March 2013

The story of Young Sawa Kim is one of a courageous pastor who has overcome strong sex and cultural barriers to engage in the ministry to which God has called her. She grew up in Korea in a very anti-Japanese environment, but her family had strong Christian roots. Her great-grandmother was an early leader of the Korean church, and her grandmother was a Bible woman. It was through her mother's influence that she was immersed in the Christian faith, and after a life-changing experience at the age of 14, she decided to become a pastor. After studying at Yonsei University and marrying a fellow student, she moved with him to his homeland of Japan. They have since served for a time in Korea, taken graduate studies in the United States, and settled in Japan, where Sawa and her husband serve in separate pastoral ministries.
Crisis, Poverty, and Survival in the Philippines: One Woman Finds Hope
Authors: Lopez-Gonzaga Violeta
Published: March 2013

Filipino women have traditionally enjoyed greater equality than women in other Southeast Asian countries, and women have played an important role in keeping families together despite impoverished conditions. One such woman is Rufina, who grew up amid poverty, and began working at the age of 14 to help support her family. More recently, due to military conflict in the countryside, she was forced to flee with her six children to the city of Bacolod, where she lived in an abandoned storage building with five other refugee families. Amid the crisis her two youngest children died, but through the seemingly hopeless circumstances, Rufina found hope through the ministry of a Christian evangelist, who was able to offer her medical aid and food supplies through a local congregation of believers.
Women and Evangelism in the Chinese Church
Authors: Peifen Jiang
Published: March 2013

In the new China, Christian women have filled many important roles. Women evangelists have gained a new respect and many women have been ordained as pastors in newly opened churches. Others serve faithfully as elders or deacons in local congregations, and many more act as faithful lay Christian workers in a variety of roles. In addition to having ministries on the local church level, women with unusual gifts of administration have assumed important national leadership roles in Christian, social, and political organizations. Christian women have also been quick to accept many local community responsibilities in hospitals, schools, service organizations, and factories. In all of these positions they are able to bear witness for Christ.
Mission in Transition: 1972–1987
Authors: Shenk Wilbert R.
Published: March 2013

How has the past—especially the recent past—set the stage for the next steps in mission? Wilbert Shenk examines how geopolitical and socioeconomic features have shaped the Christian mission, and explores how the most recent period has placed mission in a state of flux and transition.
Theological Reflections on the Future of Mission a Mission Executive's Perspective
Authors: Stowe David M.
Published: March 2013

Although theology has no concrete predictions to make about the future, it should provide necessary perspective. Two requirements are amplitude and critical edge. Such amplitude is visible in the convergences in conciliar, Roman Catholic, and evangelical theologies of mission, centering on the kingdom of God. Missionary relations with other faiths should be comprehensive and dialogical, with continuing emphasis on the importance of viable indigenous churches for all peoples.
The 21st Century: Challenge to Mission
Authors: Richardson Janet
Published: March 2013

In this wide-ranging and global view of the challenges to mission lying before us, Sister Janet Richardson sets out features of the new planetary civilization, the challenges to mission they raise, and the resources upon which we can draw to meet them.
Recruitment of Students; for Mission
Authors: Escobar Samuel
Published: March 2013

Students have always been deeply involved in world mission. This came to a focus particularly in the history of the Student Volunteer Movement and in the current work of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Three other international student movements are examined to assess their contribution to this worldwide task. Finally, an effort is made to evaluate how the vision of these several movements is related to the task of recruiting students for world missions.
Interpretation of Demonic Powers in Southern African Independent Churches
Authors: Oosthuizen George C.
Published: March 2013

African Independent Churches (AIC) have grown especially in South Africa at a tremendous pace—from thirty-two denominations in 1913 and hardly one percent of the African population to over three thousand denominations in 1980 and nearly 30 percent of the African population. Various reasons account for this tremendous growth such as several major emphases: Africanization of the church, socioeconomic deprivation, the adaptation process from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic world, and a holistic approach to healing which takes note of the indigenous cosmology. The latter aspect is a central issue. There are two types of diseases—natural, behind which are no malicious external forces, and those which are understood only within the context of African cosmology such as witchcraft, sorcery, ancestor wrath, spirit-possession. The missionaries ignored these forces and the problems Africans encountered with them. To these malicious forces the AIC give attention and their handling of them makes a decisive impact. This is the main theme of the article.
The Gospel and Culture in Nineteenth-Century Mozambique
Authors: Van Butselaar G. Jan
Published: March 2013

In this article the interaction between gospel and African culture, as reported in the writings of Swiss missionaries at work in nineteenth-century Mozambique, is studied. A small booklet written by the famous missionary and anthropologist H. A. Junod, Causeries sur l'Afrique serves as a guide. Several conclusions are reached:

1. The unity and equality of humankind were fully recognized. 2. Proclaiming the Gospel in a culture that is not familiar to the preacher carries the dangers of paternalism, superiority, and even hidden racism. 3. These missionaries did not consider European culture to be Christian. 4. African culture had a strong impact on the foreign missionaries. 5. Foreign missionaries were completely dependent on their African colleagues to gain a true understanding of African culture and of the interaction between gospel and culture.
An African Ecclesiology in Process: Six Stages of Dynamic Growth
Authors: Hill Bradley N.
Published: March 2013

The synthesis of six sets of religio-cultural tensions by the CEUM during its fifty years of existence has resulted in this Zairian Communauté's unique ecclesiastical self-perception. In many ways the church has become its own major theological theme in an attempt to make its presence and message contextual. From its beginning as a small “gathered colony,” its growth and development are traced with “Church Growth Eyes” through the stages of revival, independence, institutionalization, clericalization, and development. Each era has been characterized by particular tensions, the processing of which has left indelible imprints on the resulting ecclesiology.
The Church in Dialogue: From Self-Delusion to Vulnerability
Authors: Bosch David J.
Published: March 2013

A survey of Christian attitudes to other religions since the 1893 Chicago World's Parliament of Religions is followed by a discussion of factors that have forced (Western) Christians to reevaluate their traditional stance in this regard. Different approaches (such as those of Farquhar, Rahner, and, more recently, Knitter) are briefly surveyed. The author suggests that most “solutions” to this problem may be too neat and opts for the “paradox of asserting both ultimate commitment to one's own religion and total openness to another's religion.” We cannot limit God to our understanding and experience of God. With this partial understanding and experience, we enter into dialogue with others, “but we do so with conviction and commitment.”
Liberation for Life: A Hindu Liberation Philosophy
Authors: Thomas Norman E.
Published: March 2013

Hinduism has its own liberation theology (or philosophy). It has its roots in understandings of liberation ( moksha) and release ( mukti) in classic Hinduism. This article is a survey of the ideal of liberation in life ( jivanmukti) as found in the thought of the Vedanta philosopher Shankara, in the Shaiva Siddhanta beliefs and devotional practices of South India, and in the social ethic of Swami Vivekananda and Mohandas Gandhi. Evaluations by contemporary Indian theologians suggest points of encounter between Hindus and Christians holding liberation theologies.
Christian-Muslim Dialogue
Authors: Malek George N.
Published: March 2013

This article reviews the postwar development of the Western concept of Islam in light of the present conflicts between the Middle East and the West, and analyzes Christian mission through an historical, psychological examination of the motive of postwar Christian mission to the Middle East. It then presents the problem of Christian/Muslim relations in light of the fundamental issue facing the two sides, that is, religious misunderstanding, not political or economic interaction. The article then raises questions on the method and motive of postwar Christian mission to the Middle East, suggesting an alternative method for future mission.

The paper takes the position that dialogue is the most productive form of contact between Christianity and Islam. It attempts to indicate, by critical examination, the potential points of tension, error, and reconciliation in the theological thinking of both. A major contribution of the paper is its affirmation and definition of a dialogue, its method and motive. Finally, the paper charts some solutions, theologically, psychologically, and cross-religiously.
Recovering the Word of God Today with and among the Poor
Authors: Lott Anastasia
Published: March 2013

The author explores the tension between popular biblical reflection in small, informal groups and professional exegetical interpretation as a challenge to openness and collaboration. Some ideological and methodological errors may occur in popular interpretation and also many wonderful experiences as the community responds to authentic biblical challenges to Christian action. Literature on the Exodus, creation, prophetic themes, wisdom, early Christian community, and Jesus of the poor have been especially fruitfully pursued by these communities. The exegete is challenged to put professional expertise at the service of these groups to help support, integrate, and authenticate the interpretive reflection process.
The Holy Spirit and Christian Expansion in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Dayton Donald W.
Published: March 2013

Pentecostalism must not be viewed as a sect, a subgrouping under Protestantism or even as a branch of “evangelicalism.” The Pentecostal tradition is a “third force” and needs to be seen as a corrective to the classical traditions of the Christian faith. Viewed from this standpoint, it has unique ecumenical, historiographical, and missiological implications.
Implicit Values in Pentecostal Missions
Authors: Spittler Russell P.
Published: March 2013

The coming third millennium of the church is likely to find the majority of its adherents living in the two-thirds world in the Southern Hemisphere and practicing a Pentecostal spirituality. Pentecostal missionizing efforts reflect a spirituality that is characterized by (1) a high value placed on religious experience; (2) a preference for oral communication; (3) spontaneity in personal conduct as well as in corporate worship; (4) otherworldliness as the root of cultural pessimisim, ecclesiastical separateness, belief in spirits and demons, and the eschatological urgency of the return of Christ; and (5) biiblical authority, often expressed in a hermeneutic of biblical precedent. In the final analysis, Pentecostal spirituality is a lifestyle no longer limited to the Pentecostal churches.
Assemblies of God Overseas Missions: Foundations for Recent Growth
Authors: McGee Gary B.
Published: March 2013

Since the founding of the Assemblies of God in 1914, world evangelization has been basic to its self-understanding and mission to the world. As its missions enterprise developed in the succeeding years, important foundations were laid which contributed to its remarkable growth after 1960. These include: (1) the ardent Pentecostal belief that the apostolic signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit will follow the proclamation of the gospel, (2) the application of indigenous church principles will result in the planting of New Testament churches, (3) the training of national leaders must receive high priority, and (4) the popular support of the home churches must be nurtured and efficiently channeled.
Toward a Biblical Understanding of Polygamy
Authors: Mann Pamela S.
Published: March 2013

The policy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon concerning polygamy is one of tolerance for polygynous husbands and their plural wives who live in areas untouched by the gospel. To those who live where the gospel has been preached, polygamy is a roadblock to baptism or, for those already baptized, to holy communion. The enforcement of this policy has created painful stress in Cameroonian Christian homes, including the Dowayo community, where the author has lived.

As polygamy is a respected form of marriage in the African tradition, the question must be asked: Is monogamy the only marriage model Scripture allows, or is it the only one the missionaries' culture permits? With a concern for both biblical faithfulness and cultural appropriateness, the author searches the Old and New Testaments anew to understand the biblical directives for Christ-centered marriage in the African context.
Five Principles of Indigenous Church Organization: Lessons from a Brazilian Pentecostal Church
Authors: Nelson Reed E.
Published: March 2013

Brazil's second largest Protestant body, the Congregação Cristã no Brasil, is one of the fastest-growing religious organizations in that country. It is also Brazil's most stable and harmonious church. Yet the Congregação Cristã no Brasil has only a bare minimum of formal organizational structure, no official mechanisms for proselytizing, and almost no written rules or policies. This paper is an effort to understand the apparent anomaly of an organization displaying parallel rapid growth and stability without explicit mechanisms to spur growth and to assure stability. Five principles of indigenous organization are proposed which appear to substitute for the formal mechanisms used in churches of United States or European origin. In conclusion, tentative implications of these principles for missiology are outlined.
Finding Favor: A Missionary Orientation
Authors: Hiebert Frances F.
Published: March 2013

Recent attention to narrative form and interest in the function of story as theology call for new appreciation for the book of Esther. Biblical narrative shows that it is in the specificity of human existence that people choose to encounter or ignore God. But in retelling the story, meanings that have much wider application may be communicated. The Esther story shows that post-exilic Jews were faced with new questions about God's purpose for them in relation to other nations. Implications for contemporary mission may be distilled from these glimmers of new understandings of the scope of God's activity in the world.
Mission Primary Schools and Conversion: Help or Hindrance to Church Growth?
Authors: Carmody Brendan P.
Published: March 2013

This article demonstrates how the primary school served mission outreach in colonial Zambia. Many people became Christians through the school. As the state assumed large-scale control over the schools, especially after 1964, the primary school lost much of its evangelistic role. The author suggests that the process may, ironically, have forced the church to become more self-determining.
Developments in Coptic Orthodox Missiology
Authors: Markos Antonius
Published: March 2013

“The Church of Alexandria,” the Coptic Church of Egypt, is the ancient African church established in apostolic times around A.D. 42 by Saint Mark, the Gospel writer. In the ensuing two thousand years Coptic Christians practiced their faith fervently. The Coptic Church, a missionary church since its earliest times, was known to be the first carrier of Christian faith to Ireland, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Nubia, and North Africa.

Since geographically and ethnically the Egyptians belong to Africa, the Coptic Church found fellowship with Christian movements in Africa. Two historical meetings of leaders of such churches led to the formation of the Organization of African Independent Churches.
Symbols of Salvation: A Local Mayan Protestant Theology
Authors: Scotchmer David
Published: March 2013

The descriptive tools of symbolic or interpretive anthropology provide an understanding of what may be called a local Mayan Protestant theology. Three key sacred symbols, Tyol Dios/God's Word, Kajaw Crist/Lord Christ, and hermano (a)/brother (sister), express the social and theological content of salvation within the worldview (beliefs) and ethos (behavior) of Mayan Protestants. This interpretation attempts to (1) increase the use of cultural and social analysis for understanding the meaning of a local theology, (2) enhance a knowledge of how the gospel remains universal while becoming contextual, and (3) enrich the process of theologizing locally, globally, and cross-culturally.
Becoming Bi-Musical: The Importance and Possibility of Missionary Involvement in Music
Authors: Schrag Brian E.
Published: March 2013

Missionaries working in cultures around the world daily encounter music systems which to them are incomprehensible. Responses to such music have often been destructive. This article suggests that all missionaries have both the capacity and the responsibility to become bi-musical to some degree. After defining bi-musicality, and presenting musicological and biblical justifications for the importance of music in missions, Schrag lays the basic conceptual groundwork for a cognitive model of becoming bi-musical. The model is based on Serafine's (1983) descriptions of cognitive processes underlying the production of music, which are here applied cross-culturally. These principles may be further used to develop practical tools for field missionaries.
Modernity: Scaffolding or Stumbling Block for a Chinese Gospel
Authors: Ahern Dennis M.
Published: March 2013

Modernity adds complexity to one's Chinese urban Asian diet. Mission thinking has not made the transition from rural rice fields to metropolitan McDonald's. Missionaries who fail to analyze modernity's impact ignore the central cultural dynamic affecting ministry.

Three Chinese urban Asian settings provide illustrative material to answer four modernity-generated questions:

How has traditional missionary training failed to prepare cross-cultural workers for Chinese urban Asia?

How have missionaries viewed modernity and why?

How has modernity affected gospel receptivity?

How can missionaries prepare for life in the urban jungle?

An ambiguity-free job description is an Icarus not even the Chinese can dream.
Liberation Theology and the Poor: A Second Look
Authors: Neely Alan
Published: March 2013

This sympathetic critique of Liberation Theology that includes a generic definition and a summary of its beginnings was given as the presidential address for the annual meeting of the American Society of Missiology in June 1989. The author discusses where he thinks Liberation Theology is correct and where it may need further development or revision.
Ecclesiogenesis: Birth of the Church, or Birth of Utopia?
Authors: Blowers Laverne
Published: March 2013

This study of Brazilian ecclesiology focuses on the basic ecclesial communities (CEBs) of Leonardo and Clodovis Boff. The historical context for the CEBs is explored and the theological content is reviewed. A central question is raised: are the CEBs a spiritual movement renewing the Brazilian Catholic Church, or are they a political movement revolutionizing Brazilian society?
Roberto de Nobili, Adaptation and the Reasonable Interpretation of Religion
Authors: Clooney Francis X.
Published: March 2013

The study of mission history introduces us to men and women whose views of Christianity and culture only partially coincide with our own, and we learn much from the differences as well as the similarities. Roberto de Nobili, SJ, a missionary in South India in the first half of the seventeenth century, is a good example: his immersion in Indian culture and his views on the necessary adaptation of the Christian message in new environments anticipated by centuries the methods and arguments of modern inculturation theory. Yet, as will be shown, his belief in the universality of reason is premodern, and is the feature of his thought that most clearly divides him from most modern missionaries and modern scholars of religion.
Toward Understanding Gift-Giving in Relationships
Authors: Mann David P.
Published: March 2013

As the subject of stewardship is taught in a church where Western missionaries work in close collaboration with African church leaders, intercultural friction is inevitable. One culture stresses interconnectedness and sharing; the other emphasizes independence and self-sufficiency. But both see wealth as a primary means of expressing those values. This article reviews aspects of economic anthropology which relate to gift-giving, analyzes parts of the Dowayo culture, and draws missiological conclusions. Understanding the economic assumptions of a culture can inform biblical teaching on Christian stewardship and aid its integration into the life of the church.
Color and Conversion: The White Missionary Factor in the Christianization of Igboland, 1857–1967
Authors: Kalu Ogbu U.
Published: March 2013

Patterns of conversion to Christianity in Nigeria indicate that paganism collapsed more rapidly among the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria than among the Yorubas of the southwest. Early missionary accounts, dubbed as “missionary historiography,” have explained this phenomenon by the presence and labors of white missionaries. This is the white factor in the missionary enterprise. “Nationalist historiography,” however, has challenged “missionary historiography” by focusing on the role of black “native agents” in evangelization. Black replaces white color. This paper analyzes six cogent reasons why the presence of white missionaries elicited a favorable response to Christianity among the Igbo.
Christian Communication and Religious Pluralism: Capitalizing on Differences
Authors: Hesselgrave David J.
Published: March 2013

Rather than looking for similarities between Christianity and other religions as stepping-stones, bridges, or points of contact for communicating the gospel to non-Christians, the author suggests that several risks are involved in this endeavor, including the possibility of emasculating propositional truth while coronating personal experience. He then argues that it is the very differences, not the similarities, between Christianity and other religions that hold potential for effective communication of the gospel. The article concludes with three reasons why cross-cultural witnesses need training and understanding in the living religions of the world.
Ecumenical Directions in Mission: Melbourne to San Antonio
Authors: Thomas Norman E.
Published: March 2013

Two world conferences on mission and evangelism (Melbourne 1980s and San Antonio 1989) set the ecumenical agenda for mission in the 1980s and 1990s. In this article the author compares themes and key words from each conference (kingdom, mission, evangelism, unity, and community), and analyzes the shift from study conference to a popular assembly of the people of God.
A Model for Understanding Cross-Cultural Morality
Authors: Fortosis Steve
Published: March 2013

Based upon the excellent foundational research of Mayers (1974), Dye (1976), and Whiteman (1984), the author constructs a model in an attempt to help us understand cross-cultural moral issues. A unique feature of the model is the integration of Lawrence Kohlberg's philosophy of moral reasoning into the paradigm. The model is then illustrated and applied to several case studies. The author concludes by arguing that while moral standards of the Word of God are absolute in every culture, they must be interpreted and applied uniquely to fit the ethical contours of each society.
Bhai-Tika and “Tij Braka”: A Case Study in the Contextualization of Two Nepali Festivals
Authors: Perry Cindy
Published: March 2013

Contextualization is a vital issue to the young church in Nepal. Rejection of all cultural forms associated with Hinduism may undercut positive values actually compatible with a Christian worldview, whereas uncritical acceptance may lead to syncretism. An examination of two Hindu festivals, and how some Nepali Christians are beginning to rethink their participation in the celebrations, reveals two forms of contextualization. During Tij Braka, a festival for women, alternate participation in a parallel event has emerged, utilizing compatible forms and giving corrective Bible teaching. At Bhai-Tika, a time of sister-brother worship, the example of one young man demonstrates contextualized participation in the actual event.
The Edinburgh Connection: Between the Serampore Mission and Western Missiology
Authors: Smith A. Christopher
Published: March 2013

Voilà! A pre-Victorian publication which evaluated voluntary-society mission-structures and so anticipated many insights that mission statesmen would develop during the nineteenth century. The “declaration of intent” produced by Baptist leaders from Serampore and Edinburgh in the mid-1820s challenged the Baptist Missionary Society to overhaul its promotion and supervision of missions overseas. Unfortunately, this constructive appeal was never granted a considered public response by metropolitan leaders, and it slipped out of mission minds within a decade or so. Its rediscovery sheds light on the identity of the post-Ward “Serampore Fraternity” and their prophetic missiological legacy.
Culture and Evangelism: A Model for Missiological Strategy
Authors: Shaw R. Daniel
Published: March 2013

This article applies the three-cultures model to the evangelistic distance model developed by McGavran and expanded by Wagner and Winter. Using cultural difference as the criterion for evangelistic distance, a cross-cultural strategy is developed. This strategy places the responsibility for effective evangelism on those who are culturally most similar to the recipients. This leads to the conclusion that cross-cultural missionaries should focus on enabling and equipping local people. So equipped, cultural insiders can then communicate more effectively the gospel message in ways that will match receptor needs.
Dynamic Equivalent Conversion for Tentative Muslim Believers
Authors: Teeter David
Published: March 2013

Conversion to Christianity for a Muslim in the Middle East usually means expulsion from family and community. As an alternative, a “Muslim followers of Jesus” model is being tested in the Bethlehem area. In this model, being “born of the Spirit” is seen as a process, rather than as a crisis event. Some of the Muslims in this process are best described as “tentative believers,” rather than as converts. This process is discussed as a “dynamic equivalent” to conversion.
Marriage and Morality among the Adioukrou
Authors: Hill Harriet
Published: March 2013

Marriage and traditional morals have changed drastically for the Adioukrou of Ivory Coast in the past forty years. Many Adioukrou are concerned by the breakdown in family structure. While it is typical that rapid culture change threatens the stability of societies, one must ask why biblical teaching on marriage and morality has not filled the void in this group that has identified itself as Christian over the past seventy years. This paper is a diachronic study which traces significant factors that have led to the current state of affairs. The final section recommends a plan of action. It is hoped that this case study will address the concerns that many other cultures are facing.
The Symbolic Significance of the Missionary
Authors: Lee Peter K. H.
Published: March 2013

In crossing a cultural boundary a missionary comes from one background with a network of symbolism to another place with a different system of symbols. That can be either a confusing mishmash, or it can be a creative activity bringing new meanings. If the missionary learns a new language, that is an act which has symbolic significance. When the missionary communicates according to the demand of the gospel, a new vision of things is opened up. The new vision gathers up the loose threads of world events from the perspective of the ultimate. The true missionary, indeed, has an ultimate commitment, while he or she works through the symbolic matrices of cross-cultural interactions.
Why Mission Theology Cannot Do without Eschatological Urgency: The Significance of the End
Authors: Scherer James A.
Published: March 2013

Eschatology, though playing a major role in past missionary motivation, in recent times has been neglected as a subject for mission theology. The sudden demise of Marxism as a global ideology, along with the repudiation of belief in the ultimate triumph of Communism, raises crucial questions for Christians about their own sense of the meaning of history. Has history ended for Christians, or do they still hold to the belief that completion of the mission of God is the deepest purpose in human history and that Christ will return to consummate God's kingdom? The article raises a variety of theological and practical issues against the background of the recent CWME San Antonio Conference and the LCWE Lausanne II in Manila Congress.
The Triune God: The Source and Model of Christian Unity and Mission
Authors: Braaten Carl E.
Published: March 2013

The thesis is that the current renewal of trinitarian theology is a crucial resource for stimulating the quest for Christian unity and the mission of the church. The roots of the new trinitarianism lie in the thought of Karl Barth, a Protestant, and Karl Rahner, a Roman Catholic. This approach stands in diametrical opposition to the pluralistic theology of religions advocated by some Protestant and Catholic theologians. Sometimes called a “Copernican revolution,” the pluralistic model cuts the nerve of the church's mission by relativizing the uniqueness of Christ and the gospel.
What Mission Is: Our Understanding of Mission as a Factor for Unity or Division
Authors: Than U Kyaw
Published: March 2013

Drawing on insights from Buddhism and personal experience in Japanese-occupied Burma during World War II, the author brings an understanding of mission to the work of the third person of the Trinity. Faithfulness in mission implies recognition of being enlisted in God's design for the redemption of the world. Christ's ministry on earth was characterized from start to finish by the in-filling of the Holy Spirit. For the church, the eschatological community, mission is the most urgent activity, as history is drawing to a close with the imminent return of Christ. There is also urgent need for the church to express its missionary obedience in unity and not in confusing and scandalous division in the midst of a world, which, though unbelieving, is desperately seeking the way out of its predicament.
Walking Together: Reflections on Lay Leadership Formation in Ghana
Authors: Rakoczy Susan
Published: March 2013

Based on the author's experiences in mission in Ghana from 1982 to 1988, this article describes three dimensions of leadership formation with lay leaders in the Catholic charismatic renewal in Ghana: kenosis, partnership and collaboration, and empowerment for mission. These are linked with Lonergan's analysis of conversion and also provide elements for a spirituality of mission.
The Triangle Relation: Hong Kong, China, and the Vatican
Authors: Leung Beatrice
Published: March 2013

The Catholic Church of Hong Kong with its geopolitical proximity has become the gateway or bridge for the contact between Chinese Catholics and the universal church. Due to the transfer of the territory's sovereignty to China in 1997 and the June 1989 massacre in Beijing, Hong Kong Catholics have been going out of their traditional way by involving themselves more intensively in politics. This political behavior has an important bearing on the Sino-Vatican reconciliation which is beginning to take shape after a long, difficult period of pursuit. This article aims at discussing the dual role of the Hong Kong Catholic Church in the triangle relations of China, Hong Kong, and the Vatican.
Anthropology and Faith: Challenges to Missiology
Authors: Schreiter Robert J.
Published: March 2013

The use of cultural anthropology in missiology has expanded considerably in the past quarter century. The author looks here at what the nature of that relation has been, suggesting three phases in the development of that relationship. He goes on to look at two theological problems—cultural relativism and cultural universals—and how anthropology might help theology and missiology with them. He closes with four suggestions about how the two disciplines might work more closely together.1
The Invention of the “Primitive” and Stereotypes in Mission
Authors: Tiénou Tite
Published: March 2013

Anthropology has long been recognized as a useful discipline for mission studies. But what ideas does anthropological theory generate? What effects do these ideas have on mission? This article examines the concept of “primitive” and “primitiveness,” important in past anthropological theories. It shows that, though it is now discarded by anthropologists, the idea of “primitiveness” continues to exert much influence today. Since the “primitive” was an erroneous construct, its influence can only be detrimental to the cause of mission. Consequently, after pointing to specific examples, the article recommends that we avoid developing strategies based on stereotypes.
Evangelical Theology in Latin America: The Development of a Missiological Christology
Authors: Escobar Samuel
Published: March 2013

There has been a significant change in the way Latin American Christians perceive the person of Jesus Christ. The classic images of the Jesus child and the suffering Christ of the passion scenes, ably described and analyzed by John A. Mackay, have been substituted for an image of Jesus that does more justice to the New Testament material. The particular contribution of evangelical theology to this change has been in recent years the search for a new model for mission patterned after the model of Jesus in the Gospels, and a christological paradigm for social ethics in a time of change. This theological exploration has kept close to the concerns and convictions of the growing evangelical communities that have continued to grow in Latin America.
Urbana ′90—A Student Missionary Convention and Missiological Event
Authors: Escobar Samuel , Fisher Mary , Wilson J. Christy
Published: March 2013

The following article is a report and reflection on the large missionary convention sponsored by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and attended by thousands of university students in December, 1991. Samuel Escobar evaluates Urbana ′90 from a Third World and missiological perspective. Mary Fisher follows with a report on the planning and objectives showing that this celebrated convention steered a new course by consciously trying to reflect all of the values of the kingdom, including both a passion for evangelism and a concern for social justice. J. Christy Wilson concludes with reflections and comparisons between this event and the first conference which he directed in 1946.
A Great New Fact of Our Day: America as Mission Field
Authors: Van Gelder Craig
Published: March 2013

This article identifies the shifts which have taken place within America both in the broader culture and in the churches working in that context. The thesis is that the modern project developed through decades of Enlightenment-based culture has become uncentered in the midst of the emergence of a postmodern culture. Moreover, the churched culture which accompanied the development of this modern project has collapsed, forcing the church to reposition itself within a new landscape. The result of these shifts is that America must now be seen as a mission field.
Gospel for American Culture: Variations on a Theme by Newbigin
Authors: West Charles C.
Published: March 2013

The author argues that Lesslie Newbigin's missiological diagnosis of secular pluralistic Western culture applies to the United States with three important variations. First, the United States is not a traditional ethnos but a society formed by a covenant. Its survival depends upon maintaining and continually reforming the conditions of that covenant so as to include all of the people who live in the country. Second, the pluralistic ethos of American society raises the question of unity with special urgency because that unity cannot be assumed, hence the importance of ecumenical witness. Third, in American society power plays a central role in validating the truth, not only of science and technology but also of values and social structures. This article probes these three areas of covenant, ethos and power in American society and offers some missiological suggestions for mission to our culture.
Christ All in All: The Recovery of the Gospel for North American Evangelism
Authors: Watson David Lowes
Published: March 2013

The ministry of evangelism in North America is at a point of unacceptable enculturation, both in congregational practice and in theological reflection and education. A radical course correction is required so that the gospel can be reclaimed with a Christocentric emphasis rather than one that is anthropocentric and ecclesiocentric. A hermeneutical method for such an approach is suggested in the form of four questions: (1.) What is the gospel? (2.) What is our context? (3.) What makes the gospel good news in this context? (4.) How does contextual response to the gospel further illumine its good news?
Cultural Barriers to the Understanding of the Church and Its Public Role
Authors: Bellah Robert N.
Published: March 2013

The Lockean myth upon which American social life is based presents a fundamental challenge to the churches. The freedom of the solitary individual and the establishment of government by social contract have repercussions for political, economic, and religious life. Christian leadership is faced with the difficulty of communicating the deep social realism of biblical religion to an individualistic culture. This individualistic heritage, so susceptible to defining the human as relentless market maximizer, has reduced the notion of common good to that of the sum of individual goods. “Consumer Christians” may see the church as simply existing to “meet their needs,” but having no claim to their commitment and loyalty. The church's calling is to demonstrate how different its understanding of human existence is from that of the surrounding culture.1
Missionaries Facing Conflict and Violence: Problems and Prospects
Authors: Lederach John Paul
Published: March 2013

Through narrative of personal experiences, the author explores the challenges of missionaries facing situations of violence and conflict, depicted as the paradox of “being faithful and being human.” A theology of reconciliation based on the perspectives of pastors and lay leaders working in war-torn Nicaragua suggests that the body of Christ is called to move toward and to reconcile the hostility and brokenness, a calling filled with sacrifice. The article concludes with the suggestion that the central issue is not the individual response of what to do when threat comes, but rather the community and missiological choice to place ourselves, and through us the church, in a proactive stance in favor of reconciliation, thereby carrying us toward situations of conflict and violence.
Mission in Situations of Conflict and Violence in the United States of America
Authors: Phelps Jamie T.
Published: March 2013

After defining conflict and violence, the author reviews the historic origins of the systemic racial, ethnic, and class violence which characterizes the patterns of relationships within many social and ecclesial institutions of the United States. This article suggests that the transformation of such socially sinful patterns must become a goal of the evangelizing and justice mission of the church within the United States.
Historical Perspectives on Pentecostal Missionaries in Situations of Conflict and Violence
Authors: Mcgee Gary B.
Published: March 2013

Early Pentecostal missions in this century resonated with the belief that the signs and wonders of the apostolic age had been restored for the evangelization of the world before the imminent return of Christ. By mid-century, permanent overseas ministries were beginning to flourish. To maintain freedom for ministry, Pentecostal missionaries have usually avoided taking sides on political, social, and economic issues. Even though preaching the gospel has sometimes jeopardized their safety, identification with Western powers frequently accounts for the turbulence they have experienced. Following an apolitical course has generally paid dividends, but in some circumstances only at the risk of creating a fundamental contradiction to the gospel itself.
Violence and God: A Bible Study
Authors: Bergant Dianne
Published: March 2013

All too often missionaries find themselves in situations of conflict and violence occasioned by multi-faceted social and political realities. While Scripture's teaching on peace may be helpful in some situations, the biblical portrait of a God who is an instigator of war raises serious questions. The present Bible study examines this characterization of God as found in Psalm 24 and offers insights into ways that it might challenge contemporary believers.