Strategic partnerships are on the rise around the world as denominations, organizations, local churches and individuals seek ways to work together to accomplish the Great Commission. In this book Dr Kenneth Shreve presents research from a creative access region, identifying five theological issues that impact partnership in Christian missions as well as exploring how partners interact with those theological issues. Partnerships in mission are grounded in relationships, relationships that flow from the Trinity and are manifested in the purpose of God, the body of Christ, the gifts of the Spirit, and the church. Through this book the body of Christ will be encouraged to strengthen cooperation and collaboration in the accomplishment of the Great Commission, and achieve far more in partnership than could be done in isolation.
Cross-cultural partnerships in today’s global environment are both challenging and necessary. Misunderstanding and miscommunication often lead to conflict between culturally diverse groups. Christians must understand and evaluate their own culture, the culture of others, and the text of Scripture itself, while remaining faithful to Scripture and relevant to culture. Unmediated tensions combined with relational isolation lead to a myriad of problems. This study proposes cross-cultural missional partnership as a relationship that mediates these tensions, thereby encouraging mutual, faithful engagement in the mission of God. Cross-cultural tensions may never disappear, but within a healthy partnership, partners can assist one another in understanding and responding faithfully to Scripture. Partners help one another more faithfully interpret and apply Scripture, leading to obedience to God’s will and engagement in God’s mission within unique and diverse contexts.
Christians of the future global church will face challenges. We live in a time of unprecedented suffering of Christians. In the gospel-restricted world, more Christians have been persecuted in the past few years than at any other time while in the free world, Christians increasingly face the temptation of corruption, immorality, and family breakdowns. Lee shares his research and suggestions gleaned from his thirty years of ministry both in free and persecuted worlds. In the face of growing Christian suffering worldwide, this book provides hope and encouragement with stories from difficult mission contexts like a pandemic, social unrest, and other hostile environments to Christians. This is a must-read for anyone trying to live a godly life in Jesus Christ.
The Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity is the first attempt to map and analyze developments in theological education on a global scale. This volume, with contributions from 98 leaders in theological education from around the world, provides a comprehensive introduction to the major themes and contexts in the international discourse on theological education, surveys of the issues and challenges faced in different regions, and introductory essays on the developments in the major denominational families in World Christianity. The editors are Dietrich Werner, World Council of Churches, Geneva; David Esterline, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago; Namsoon Kang, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth; and Joshva Raja, Queen's Foundation, Birmingham.
This textbook offers a fresh approach to modern theology by approaching the field thematically, covering classic topics in Christian theology over the last two hundred years. The editors, leading authorities on the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theology, have assembled a respected team of international scholars to offer substantive treatment of important doctrines and key debates in modern theology. Contributors include Kevin Vanhoozer, John Webster, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, and Michael Horton. The volume enables readers to trace how key doctrinal questions were discussed, where the main debates lie, and how ideas developed. Topics covered include the Trinity, divine attributes, creation, the atonement, ethics, practical theology, and ecclesiology.
What is the glue of society? Which forms of sociability help to overcome social needs and poverty? The role of religion and religious institutions are often expected to be relevant to questions like these. But until today, these issues were seldom raised from a theological perspective. This volume opens the discourses on social cohesion, social capital formation, and social development for the theological debate, presenting theoretical reflections and empirical research by scholars from different religion-related disciplines. (Series: Studies on Religion and Culture / Studien zu Religion und Kultur - Vol. 4)
As a 'divine conspiracy' for Missio Dei, the global phenomenon of people on the move has shown itself to be invaluable. In 2004 two significant documents concerning Diaspora were introduced, one by the Filipino International Network and the other by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. These have created awareness of the importance of people on the move for Christian mission. Since then, Korean Diaspora has conducted similar research among Korean missions, resulting in this book. It is unique as the first volume researching Korean missions in Diasporic contexts, appraising and evaluating these missions with practical illustrations, and drawing on a wide diversity of researchers.
This volume is an exploration of the varied and sometimes unrecognized ways in which music—especially in ritual contexts—can serve as both a spiritual conduit as well as a theological source. With topics ranging from a Congolese choir in Ireland to the Orthodox chant in Georgia, from postmodern reflections on new Passion compositions to reflections on the sacramentality of Black gospel music, this volume offers a rich plumbing of very diverse yet well researched musical traditions—case studies from around the globe—for their spiritual and theological contributions.
The leading papers from the leading authorities in library serials Over the past few years electronic journals have flourished to become an integral part of a modern library system. The challenges of licensing, financing, developing, managing, and delivering seamless and integrated access are topics of crucial importance. Growth, Creativity, and Collaboration: Great Visions on a Great Lake tackles these issues through this compilation of thought-provoking papers on the future of serial publications from the 2004 North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG)’s nineteenth annual conference, which took place on the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Growth, Creativity, and Collaboration presents visionary experts who analyze the past, present, and promising future of library serials. The wide variety of stimulating topics include various aspects of electronic resources, financial issues facing the publication of serials, collaboration with vendors to assist in the development of new products and services, and the challenges and successes of librarians dealing with serial collection development and management. Tables and figures enhance the clarity of ideas, and the chapters are impeccably referenced. Growth, Creativity, and Collaboration: Great Visions on a Great Lake discusses: the role of libraries in the world the Big Deal the evolution of alternative publishing the economics of scholarly publishing the specifics of making journals print versus electronic publishing economics strategies to support Tier 3 publishers systems and standards in electronic resource management licensing issues for electronic products pricing models the hidden costs of e-journals the Hofstra University serial review process changes and access problems with e-journals vendor collaboration to create the products you want faculty collaboration in serials collections development and management understanding and implementing context-sensitive linking services understanding and using your usage statistics creative strategies to cope with your subscription agent’s bankruptcy resolution of license breaches Growth, Creativity, and Collaboration: Great Visions on a Great Lake creatively addresses the many issues involving any library’s handling of electronic resources. This eye-opening resource is perfect for librarians, publishers, and commercials vendors interested in the future of serial publication.
The church/missions community must move beyond superficial fellowship and simple networking to true partnerships, cooperative ventures, and the sharing of resources. This will result in synergy - a phenomenon where the output is greater than the sum of its parts. Twenty-two missions leaders from around the world speak candidly to these issues and call us to reflection, relationship and engagement without which the nations of this world will not be discipled for Christ.
