Evangelical Christians in many countries shy away from politics. And yet, especially with the rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, the interest and involvement in political activity is becoming a daily reality in evangelical circles. At the same time, evangelical politicians are not exempt from scandals of corruption and complaints of ineffectiveness. Are Christians unable to do better politics than others? Are they less prepared? Is even the whole political involvement of Christians under question? In this book, Dr Johannes Reimer explores the answers to these questions by articulating a theology of the church’s political mission. The church is not a political party, but as God’s ecclesia, it has a prophetic voice and is called out of the world to take responsibility for the world.
Drawing on the author’s years spent working in and around Westminster, this essay collection provides a personal perspective on the themes of faith, politics, and belonging. To understand identity and place we need faith. Faith should lead to engagement in the wider world, and engagement in the wider world should deepen our faith and sense of purpose. In three sections, each drawing on his experience, Ian Geary reflects on the cognate themes of faith, politics, and belonging. Each section concludes with some questions for discussion and some suggestions for further reading. Written from personal experience via immersion in British political life and informed by his understanding of theology, the author seeks to animate a generous debate about the key themes, not to secure readers’ attachment to a cause or political ideology. These essays are written in the hope that Christians engaged in politics will find them helpful and that they will also reach a wider audience to show how viewing politics through the lens of faith might yield a fresh perspective. Ian Geary would venture to suggest that politics—despite its critics—is a necessary and good thing.
Missiology permeated with theological reflection. This volume is the culmination of Van Engen’s teachings, but takes us to an even deeper level. Since mission is first and foremost God’s mission, theological reflection must be permeated by missiological understanding and our missiology must be permeated with theological reflection. Mission theology is an activity of the Church of Jesus Christ seeking to understand more deeply why, how, when, where, and wherefore the followers of Jesus may participate in God’s mission, in God’s world.
Science as an instrument to justify religious missions in secular society The relationship between religion and science is complex and continues to be a topical issue. However, it is seldom zoomed in on from both Protestant andCatholic perspectives. By doing so the contributing authors in this collection gain new insights into the origin and development of missiology. Missiology is described in this book as a “project of modernity,” a contemporary form of apologetics. “Scientific apologetics” was the way to justify missions in a society that was rapidly becoming secularized. Mission & Sciencedeals with the interaction between new scientific disciplines (historiography, geography, ethnology, anthropology, linguistics) and new scientific insights (Darwin’s evolutionary theory, heliocentrism), as well as the role of the papacy and what inspired missionary practice (first in China and the Far East and later in Africa). The renewed missiology has in turn influenced the missionary practice of the twentieth century, guided by apostolic policy. Some “missionary scholars” have even had a significant influence on the scientific discourse of their time.
Innumerable books have been written about successful outreach and evangelism, yet almost none address the centrality of the family as God’s intended vehicle for experiencing life, community, and growth. In this timely and powerful book, Johannes Reimer urges us to rediscover the family as a primary agent for mission in the world. Offering both a theological and practical foundation for understanding the role and significance of families in the vocation of the church, this book also provides creative ideas for implementing a family-centered praxis that offers preparation and support to families living out their calling to make Christ known. To ignore the family, Reimer warns, is to ignore the church’s greatest resource for transmitting truth, communicating love, and embodying the gospel. If we are to be effective in making disciples of all nations, we must start in our own homes.
Durante los pasados cincuenta años, el énfasis sobre la práctica y estrategia de la obra misionera ha menoscabado el valor de la importancia de la teología de la misión. Sin embargo, en las últimas décadas teólogos y misiólogos de todas las tradiciones cristianas han comenzado a reexaminar y repensar las suposiciones teológicas que fundamentan la obra misionera. En Misión en el Camino Charles Van Engen articula con claridad muchos de los conceptos fundamentales de la teología de la misión. Charles Van Engen, en este volumen, aborda numerosos temas misiológicos centrales. Examina la cuestión de construir teologías en contextos específicos, tales como en la ciudad. También nos muestra tanto los beneficios como las preocupaciones que experimentamos cuando alentamos a los creyentes a teologizar dentro de su propio entorno, cuando tomamos con seriedad el sacerdocio de todos los creyentes. Hace un delineamiento de los debates actuales sobre asuntos levantados por el pluralismo religioso, y batalla con la manera en que podemos proclamar el carácter único de Cristo, sin ser arrogantes y triunfalistas. Echa una mirada al impacto que la modernidad y la posmodernidad están teniendo sobre el movimiento misionero en Occidente, y hace un llamado a la renovación de nuestro compromiso como seguidores de Jesucristo en los duros ambientes culturales de nuestros días. Explora los roles cambiantes de misioneros y ministros en iglesias jóvenes, y levanta preguntas difíciles relacionadas con la unidad de la iglesia en medio de su proliferación, diversidad y fragmentación de carácter global. Son de excepcional valor, la manera en que Van Engen traza la historia de la discusión reciente sobre cada uno de estos asuntos y la riqueza de fuentes bibliográficas que nos presenta para más estudio. Igualmente, importantes son las repuestas que él ofrece a estas cuestiones, respuestas que nos ayudan a movernos más allá de los caminos sin salida que tanto caracterizan nuestro pensamiento actual. (Tomado del Prólogo escrito por Pablo Hiebert.)
Crisis is an invitation to both prophetic evaluation and new imagination. In this volume, Canadian missiologists and practitioners consider the past and how the past might enable the church to move forward in Christian mission--in the academy, agency, assembly, and the agora. How can the Canadian church welcome different voices from the periphery? What must be done to empower the next generation? How can we respond in light of the injustices done to our Indigenous brothers and sisters? Where does reconciliation fit into the picture? How might we navigate between secularization and fundamentalisms? How ought we move together in mission and in unity across denominational difference? How can we equip laypeople to live their callings faithfully in the agora? How can work in the marketplace be ministry? And lastly, how is the Spirit at work in our contexts in this day and age? These questions (among others) onboard us into the ongoing conversation about the state of evangelical mission in Canada, and each of these essays adeptly lead us into the beginnings of answers to these questions. These essays address how the past informs our future, and how we might answer the prophetic call with both hope and renewed vigor to participate in the mission of God.
This study is the first comprehensive history of the impact of the modern missionary movement on the understanding of and work toward Christian unity. It tells stories from all branches of the church: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant in its many types (conciliar, evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent). Part 1, "Historical," highlights the contribution of modern missions to Christian unity, from William Carey and his antecedents and peers to present-day missions. Part 2, "Ten Models of Unity," takes an inductive approach to history, asking not "how should Christians cooperate?" but "how has the missionary movement helped Christians to work together at the local, national, regional, and global level?" Part 3, "Wider Ecumenism," broadens the evidence to include how the missions movement has helped not only institutional churches but also broader society to have concern for the unity of the entire human family. Included here is the story of how the Protestant missionary movement influenced the forming of the United Nations as well as the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The study also covers the movement's impact on Christian attitudes toward, and relations with, persons of other faiths. Mission and Unity is the standard reference work in the field for persons studying modern history, modern church history, missions, and ecumenics.
Solidly theological, amply historical, thoroughly ecumenical, and remarkably current, Orlando Costas' 'Christ Outside the Gate' is the most succinct, yet comprehensive analysis of the missiological issues facing the church and the churches that has appeared in many years."" --Alan Neely, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest Learning and passion come together in Christ Outside the Gate to make it an outstanding contribution to missiology."" --Gabriel Fackre, Abbot Professor of Christian Theology, Andover Newton Theological School You have in your hands a new way of seeing missions--North America as a receiving country, the marginalized as the subject as well as object of missions, world evangelization with one foot in Melbourne and one foot in Pattaya. Few authors blend together so effectively so many worlds--evangelism and scholarship, northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere, sociology, and theology."" --Harvie M. Conn, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia Costas may well be or is on his way to becoming the ablest missiologist alive."" --Jorge Lara-Braud, Director, Council on Theology and Culture, Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Costas writes from the background of an Hispanic Evangelical, but goes far beyond the normal concerns of that tradition. In a series of far-ranging essays, he deals with virtually every aspect of the contemporary missiological debate in a manner that is usually balanced and always provocative. While some readers will violently question his views at certain points, all will be stimulated and challenged to think more deeply and participate more effectively in the total world mission to which God has called His Church."" --Paul E. Pierson, Fuller Theological Seminary 'Christ Outside the Gate' offers us a perspective of missions that focuses on the transition from paternalism to the contextualization of the Gospel."" --Oscar I. Romo, Director, Language Missions Division, Southern Baptist Convention Costas writes from the viewpoint of those who live on the periphery of society. He challenges Christians of all denominations to a renewed understanding of the Christ who 'suffered outside the gates.'"" --John T. Boberg, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago Orlando E. Costas is also the author of 'Liberating News', 'The Integrity of Mission', and 'The Church and Its Mission'.
