Centre for Public Christianity (September and October 2021)

In September, the Centre for Public Christianity posted a ‘Life and Faith’ podcast (here) with CPX’s own Justine Toh talking about her new book on achievement addiction – ‘what it’s like for all of us to live in a world that’s obsessed with success’ – and another one (here) with journalist Greg Sheridan, discussing his new book, Christians: The Urgent Case for Jesus in our World.

This month sees an interview (here) with Jenny Brown on ‘the spectrum of mental health, maturity, and how we change in the context of the “family systems” we’re part of’.

Jim Memory on Europe in 2021

The Lausanne Movement has just posted a piece by Jim Memory on ‘The Extraordinary Re-Evangelization of Europe’.

It’s an excerpt from a recent report he has written, which Chris Wright has called ‘essential reading for all those who, in any part of the world, are concerned about mission in, from, and to the continent of Europe’.

The report, which is well worth checking out and reading, is available via Vista, with more information available here.

‘The report identifies the crucial issues and trends which are shaping the context for Christian mission in Europe today. It provides an analysis of the key political, economic, social, environmental, and technological trends; of the most important spiritual challenges; and of the shifts in mission thinking that are impacting the practice of Christian mission today. And in every case, it considers how the Covid-19 has impacted these trends.

‘The report concludes with an exploration of the implications that each of these trends has for those of us who are involved in Christian mission in Europe today.’

The Report is available to download here, and an accompanying Discussion Guide can be downloaded here.

The Kirby Laing Centre on Søren Kierkegaard and Spirituality

The inaugural volume of Nuances from the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology has just been made available, this one devoted to ‘Søren Kierkegaard and Spirituality: A Dialogue with C. Stephen Evans’.

It began as an event organised by the Centre, and all four presentations are available to watch from here, from where also a print copy of the journal can be ordered. Alternatively, a downloadable pdf of the collection of essays is available here.

Amy Donovan on Creation Care

The latest Cambridge Paper from the Jubilee Centre is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here), this one by Amy Donovan:

Amy Donovan, ‘Reducing disaster risk: Creation care and neighbour love’, Cambridge Papers 30, 3 (September 2021).

Here is the summary:

‘This paper uses current research in disaster studies to argue that for Christians, caring for the environment – whether in seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prevent pollution or preserve biodiversity – is a form of neighbour love. Environmental disasters are widely accepted in the scientific community as being the result not so much of natural processes as of human ills – the populations that suffer most in disasters tend to be the poorest people in the poorest parts of the world. Furthermore, environmental degradation and climate change are enhancing the intensity and impacts of disasters – particularly on livelihoods and access to water – and the suffering that results from this disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginal groups in society. Christians have a responsibility to help in practical ways to reduce suffering in the world, because the God of grace who saved us cares for this world.’

Paul Windsor on Calvin Klein

There’s a helpful post here from Paul Windsor, clocking the ‘remarkable ability’ of the Calvin Klein machine ‘to capture the spirit of the age and to express it in a single word’ – most recently, ‘defy’.

He sees these as contemporary equivalents to the ‘altar with an inscription’ (Acts 17:23) and ‘some of your own poets’ (Acts 17:28) in Athens, noting that the apostle Paul ‘was flexible enough to commence his preaching from “texts” in his culture — and then he was creative enough to move from there to Jesus’.

Lausanne Global Analysis 10, 5 (September 2021)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdfs of individual articles as below.

Peter Brierley

Christianity in the UK

Aaron Lewin

Reaching Israelis in Berlin

Phil Butler

Growing Churches in Hostile Contexts

Mary Ho

When Leaders Drink Tea Together

Mission Frontiers 43, 5 (September-October 2021)

The September-October 2021 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles exploring the question: ‘Is the World Still a Waffle?’

Here is the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘The world is a very different place than it was nearly 50 years ago when the people group paradigm was birthed. Should the missions community still view the world as a waffle? Is traditional ethnolinguistic people group thinking still relevant? This issue will address how the waffle barriers are changing. Global trends are creating new social dynamics and changing both the barriers and boundaries by which groups are defined. New hybrid, trans-national and dynamic groupings must be considered for evangelistic purposes, Disciple Making and Church Planting Movements. Most of the material in this issue is important in shaping our thinking.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.