Communicating Christ Through Story and Song, the fifth volume in the Buddhist World series, presents models and case studies of communication of the Gospel through orality in Southeast Asia. With contributions from seasoned practitioners working in Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Philippines, this insightful book explores the Biblical foundations - and the cultural imperative - of employing oral tradition to effectively communicate in Buddhist contexts.
Is the Christian concept of grace anathema to the social structure of merit-making found in Buddhist karmic communities? Are all Buddhist forms of merit-making purely for religious purposes to assuage cosmic consequences or are there other reasons? Are there not Christian churches who operate under a legalistic view of God's divine wrath and are in essence living as karmic communities of the Christian type? The result of discussions about these and other questions is the volume you now hold in your hand. SEANET proudly presents what is number 14 in its series of missiological reference texts, Gift and Duty: Where Grace and Merit Meet. Each of the ten authors presented here represent a particular perspective, both Christian and Buddhist, that can inform the other. The goal of this volume is to lead to a deeper understanding of the significance of diverse religious and cultural perspectives.
The Cape Town Commitment, which arose from The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (Cape Town, 2010), stands in the historic line of The Lausanne Covenant (1974) and The Manila Manifesto (1989). It has been translated into twenty-five languages and has commanded wide acceptance around the world. The Commitment is set in two parts. Part 1 is a Confession of Faith, crafted in the language of covenantal love. Part 2 is a Call to Action. The local church, mission agencies, special-interest groups, and Christians in the professions are all urged to find their place in its outworking. This annotated bibliography of The Cape Town Commitment, arranged by topic, has been compiled by specialists in a range of fields. As such, it is the first bibliography of its kind. Arranged in sections for graduate-level teaching Equally useful for research students
Veteran missionary-scholar Roberta King draws on a lifetime of study and firsthand mission experience to show how witness through contextualized global arts can dynamically reveal Christ to all peoples. King offers the global church biblical foundations, historical pathways, theoretical frameworks, and effective practices for communicating Christ through the arts in diverse contexts. Supplemented with stories from the field, illustrations, and discussion questions, this textbook offers innovative and dynamic approaches essential for doing mission in transformative ways through the arts. It also features a full-color insert of artwork discussed in the book.
This collection of essays draws together a diverse group of scholars and practitioners as they pay loving tribute to Dr. Tetsunao (Ted) Yamamori, one of the great leaders of global mission and mentor to a generation. From dean, professor, and author to CEO of Food for the Hungry and international director of the Lausanne Movement, Dr. Yamamori has contributed to world evangelization over a lifetime of faithful service. In this book, his students, friends, and colleagues explore the far-reaching impact of his engagement on questions relevant to a new generation of church mobilizers. Touching on topics of hospitality, diaspora, entrepreneurship, poverty, theological education, Bible translation, collaboration, leadership, student ministry, the digital age, and church growth, this collection honors one of the great leaders of integral mission while exploring how the church must continue to grapple with the changing landscape of a changing world. Far from a reflection on the past, this is a book that looks to the future, drawing on the life and ministry of Dr. Yamamori to cast a vision for how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of global mission in the twenty-first century.
Christianity has long been associated with the West, often creating a disjunction affecting the understanding of the essence of the gospel. The Asianization of Christianity is a clarion call by Asian Christian leaders for the gospel to be indigenized by encouraging practitioners to seriously engage with both the Bible and the cultures of Asia. The book demonstrates that both the theology and the presentation of the gospel need to be framed according to the mindset of the respective Asian cultures so that the message of the Bible can be understood and accepted. Case studies on evangelism, church, and training models from several Asian nations are explored. Core issues such as culture, communication, and contextualization underpin the practical cases to give depth and clarity for the effective communication of the gospel.
Representing the fruit of a lifetime of reflection and practice, this comprehensive resource helps teachers understand the way people in different cultures learn so they can adapt their teaching for maximum effectiveness. Senior missiologist and educator Craig Ott draws on extensive research and cross-cultural experience from around the world. This book introduces students to current theories and best practices for teaching and learning across cultures. Case studies, illustrations, diagrams, and sidebars help the theories of the book come to life.
How do Christ followers celebrate unity in the midst of diversity? How do we become the people of God in more than name only? A unifying Christ-centeredness demands living out kingdom values and bearing witness to transformation in and through a multitude of cultural manifestations. We struggle to serve, worship, and witness in the midst of this age-old challenge. This collection of perspectives comes from settings where the good news of Jesus has not been the dominant historical norm. All contributors in this volume are practitioners. They have a deep appreciation for the cultural heritage and important moral values found in Buddhist contexts. We believe these chapters hold valuable lessons that speak to all of the family of faith. Here you will find a wide range of topics and approaches that address what it means to become the global body of believers. These can speak to you wherever you are called to participate with God’s work in the world. Christ followers are in the process of becoming what will one day culminate in a huge and startling celebration of people from all of God’s beloved creation. If you are interested in hearing from those discovering what that might look like outside traditional packaging, this book is for you.
The twenty-first century has opened with a rapidly changing map of Christianity. While its influence is waning in some of its traditional Western strongholds, it is growing at a phenomenal pace in the global South. And yet this story has largely eluded the corporate news brokers of the West. Layered as it is with countless personal and corporate stories of remarkable faith and witness, it nevertheless lies ghostlike behind the newsprint and webpages of our print media, outside the camera's vision on the network evening news. Miriam Adeney has lived, traveled and ministered widely. She has walked with Christians in and from the far reaches of the globe. As she pulls back the veil on real Christians--their faith, their hardships, their triumphs and, yes, their failures--an inspiring and challenging story of a kingdom that knows no borders takes shape. This is a book that coaxes us out of our comfortable lives. It beckons us to expand our vision and experience of the possibilities and promise of a faith that continues to shape lives, communities and nations.
Indigenous peoples of Brazil have come to faith in Christ in large numbers in recent decades. As Christianity takes root in each culture, it may incorporate expressive forms of music and art, which can range from those identical to earlier cultural forms to those which are fully imported. But what happens when musicians and artists of a local indigenous community fuse elements from a variety of genres and create their own music? Are they just imitations of external forms? Or are they authentic creations from elements that have now become their own sounds, too? Christian musicians among the Xerente (pronounced Sheh-´ren-teh) have created their own fusion genre(s) to express their faith, communicate the gospel, and edify their churches. Their music includes elements from their cultural tradition as well as from (secular) genres of the northeastern region of Brazil. Is it, then, authentically Xerente? As we discuss in this book, independent of tangible markers or its long history, the authenticity of an art form can be demonstrated through a number of connections with the community and signposted by its meaning and function among the people, as well as the competence and agency of the people in their artistic choices.
