Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission


Book Description

This volume looks at mission formation for all Christians and missionary formation for mission workers, agencies and churches in a changing situation of mission. The focus is on educating the whole people of God. Here is the reason for the title of this volume: Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission. Theological education in the broad sense participates in the task of equipping people for God's mission in today's world. At the same time we affirm that all theological education is contextual and that no particular context should exercise dominant influence.




Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission


Book Description

This volume looks at mission formation for all Christians and missionary formation for mission workers, agencies and churches in a changing situation of mission. The focus is on educating the whole people of God. Here is the reason for the title of this volume: Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission. Theological education in the broad sense participates in the task of equipping people for God's mission in today's world. At the same time we affirm that all theological education is contextual and that no particular context should exercise dominant influence. ""Doing theological education contextually is not necessarily educating and equipping for mission. All theological education is contextual but in this book theological educators focus on missionary formation, missional leadership and theology of mission. A remarkable achievement, in which models from different global regions and churches, past and present, mutually enrich each other."" Kirsteen Kim, Professor at Leeds Trinity University, United Kingdom ""Co-participating in God's mission requires preparation, both intellectually and spiritually, which is enabled by the churches' faith in the triune God and further nurtured through multicultural, multidisciplinary and interconfessional exchanges. This volume is highly recommended since it brings interesting experiences and helpful insights for mutual equipment of the churches in order to share more effectively the good news of the gospel in today's world."" Carlos E. Ham, Pastor of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba and President-elect of the Matanzas Theological Seminary ""Education in the 21st century has become market-driven with competitiveness, profitability and survival as significant factors that determine institutional policy and pedagogy. This new volume on theological education and Christian mission takes seriously the integral development of the human person in education seen from the optic of different contexts. Mission is a question of being which is unfolded and realized in education."" Andrew G. Recepcion, President of the International Association of Catholic Missiologists (IACM), Philippines Stephen Bevans is Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD Professor of Mission and Culture (Emeritus) at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. Teresa Chai is a faculty member at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary filling the John Bueno Chair of Intercultural Studies and Global Mission Center Director. J. Nelson Jennings has been Associate/Executive Director of Overseas Ministries Study Center, New Haven 2011-2015. Knud Jorgensen is adjunct Professor at the MF Norwegian School of Theology and one of the editors of the Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series. Dietrich Werner is Senior Theological Advisor to Bread for the World/Church development services in Berlin, Germany.




Equipping for Global Mission


Book Description

From Cognitive Teaching to Connected Learning Given the landscape of global Christianity and the variety of approaches to theological and missiological training today, how do we equip the global church for the mission of God? Should mission organizations or sending churches conduct their own in-house training? What is the role of Bible colleges and seminaries in equipping for mission today? What about informal approaches to theological and ministry training? Equipping for Global Mission offers insights from seasoned scholars and practitioners. Beginning with theological convictions and practical reflections, our authors make a case for what equipping for mission could look like in the present global church. Case studies from India, China, North America, and Britain further challenge the reader to reflect on this critical issue. The full scope of educating for mission is far too broad of a task for any single organization. This is why the contributors serve the church so well—by enlarging a much-needed conversation. This book is a clarion call to all who care about missions and the global church. Join world leaders in reshaping missions education today by using the practical and strategic wisdom in these pages.




Christian Mission, Contextual Theology, Prophetic Dialogue


Book Description

"While the intent of the editors is to honor Steve Bevans, SVD, a towering figure in the field of missiology and a longtime author of Orbis books on missiology, this book will be designed less as a festschrift than as a textbook for classroom use. Designed around the three main foci of Bevans' theology (mission, contextual theologies, and dialogical theory), it will appeal to teachers of courses in Christian mission, theological method, contextual theologies, and contemporary Third World theologies. The contributors are a who's who of contemporary mission studies in a global context, including representatives from various Christian traditions and from throughout the global church"--




Prophetic Dialogue


Book Description

A collection of essays that demonstrates that to be effective in the twenty-first century, mission must be prophetic as it encounters other cultures and religious traditions. "When we speak as mission as dialogue, then, we are about as far away from imagining mission as 'conquering the world for Christ' and missionaries as 'marines of the Catholic Church' as we probably can get. There has indeed been a radical shift, both in the world in which the church does mission and within the church's own consciousness of the goodness and even holiness of that world." These words from one of the essays in this superb collection clearly demonstrate the changing of mission today. In this volume, Fathers Bevans and Schroeder address a primary challenge faced by Christians missioners today: How can they bring the Christian tradition to interact respectfully and effectively with members of other cultures and traditions from around the globe and still be prophetic?




TEE for the 21st Century


Book Description

Theological education is at a global crossroads. Although many traditional programmes struggle to maintain student enrolment, today’s environment gives exciting opportunities to serve the global church in ways that are multi-level, accessible, and educationally effective. TEE for the 21st Century utilizes missiological, educational, and sociological perspectives to explore theological education by extension (TEE) as a powerful contemporary tool for equipping the global church for its global mission. Multi-authored by a global team of discipline experts, brought together by the Increase Association, this book speaks to the real-life training needs of today’s church. Addressed to leaders, teachers, and practitioners, it offers a robust framework for critically evaluating the impact of TEE on the formation of whole-life disciples in a wide variety of contexts and locations. With a proven track record across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, TEE has a role to play in the future of the church, empowering every member to fulfil their God-given calling to ministry and mission.




Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission)


Book Description

This addition to an acclaimed series brings cutting-edge research to bear on a topic of perennial interest: making disciples. The book looks at disciple-making from multiple cultures to help readers discover contextual approaches that are culturally relevant and biblically faithful. It emphasizes methods that are especially effective with contemporary converts and includes practical examples from around the world. Each chapter includes sidebars, discussion questions, an activity for discipling, and a case study. An appendix contains further suggestions and exercises for instructors.




The State of Missiology Today


Book Description

The 2015 Missiology Lectures at Fuller Theological Seminary marked the fiftieth anniversary of the School of Intercultural Studies. The papers from that conference explore the developments and transformations in the study and practice of mission, as contributors chart the current shape of mission studies and its prospects in the twenty-first century.




Mission in Motion


Book Description

Never before has the phenomenon of mission mobilization been so broadly researched. In a vein similar to Too Valuable To Lose and Worth Keeping, the World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission commissioned a research team to investigate what motivates people into mission service from around the globe. Mobilization practitioners recorded, translated and transcribed hundreds of hours of interview dialogue that explored reasons for mission involvement from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North and South America, Oceania, East Asia, South Asia and East Africa. The data was subsequently analyzed to draw out common themes, and Mission In Motion presents the results of this research. This book is the first definitive exploration of the recent history, ministries and methods of mission mobilization. The evangelical missions community is expending much energy and resource trying to raise up workers for the Lord’s harvest, but is it helping? Are the means, models, methods, and mechanisms being applied to this end effective? What does influence people to greater involvement in mission—whatever they understand mission to be? Furthermore, what hinders it? In addressing these questions, Mission In Motion allows the interviewed respondents to speak for themselves, in an open and frank manner. Some results confirm common beliefs, but others may surprise you.




Missional Leadership


Book Description

The purpose and aim of this book is to develop an appropriate leadership model for missional churches. This implies a positioning of this book within the broader theology of mission and a consensus on the theology of the Missio Dei, originating at the 1952 conference of the International Missionary Council in Willingen, Germany. In this approach to the theology of mission, mission is understood as the work of the Trinitarian God, and the church is privileged to participate in God’s mission. It is against this background that the growing consensus on missional ecclesiology challenges leadership models developed for a different time and a different kind of church (with less or no emphasis on the missional character of the church). The aim is to reflect theologically on the role of leadership in the missional church. What kind of ideas about power, authority and leadership are appropriate for a missional church? New missional challenges demand new ideas about missional leadership. Church organisation and leadership reflects a theological position – there is a strong relation between ecclesiology and church organisation. The nature of the church provides the framework to understand the character of the church. What the church is determines what the church does. The church organises what it does and agrees on rules that regulate ministries and organisation. Issues such as the way the church organises and governs what it does, and thus church leadership, need to be answered against this background and understanding. Church polity and organisation, as well as leadership, must reflect the identity, calling, life and order of the church. This book, therefore, addresses life in the Trinity, participation in the Missio Dei and contours of the missional church as the point of entry to develop leadership insights. It contributes towards the development of an appropriate model of leadership for missional churches, because although recent developments in the theology of mission comprehensively addressed the area of missional ecclesiology, there is a gap in the development of a leadership model based on the concept of authority in the missional church.