Becoming a Global Disciple

Here’s a new and helpful-looking resource from the Lausanne Movement – ‘Becoming a Global Disciple’.

From the blurb:

‘Global discipleship begins with God's heart for the nations and takes shape through the life of the local church.

‘This five-part video series is designed to help believers take small but meaningful steps into God's global mission. Through biblical teaching, global insight, and intentional spiritual practices, this resource invites followers of Jesus to catch God's heart for the nations, learn from the global church, grow in prayer and friendship, and live out God's mission where God has placed them.

‘Our series features insights from global leaders and practitioners who are deeply committed to fostering a wider understanding of Christian faith and mission.’

A trailer for the series can bring watched here, and the resources (videos, discussion guide, and devotional plans) can be accessed from here.

Lausanne on Polycentric Christianity

As part of Lausanne’s Theological Foundation Paper series, the latest Occasional Paper, ‘Polycentric Christianity: Theological Multiplicity and Unity’, authored by Tite Tiénou, explores ‘how the global body of Christ can navigate theological diversity while remaining anchored in the mission of God. Drawing from voices across traditions and regions, this paper invites us to consider how different theological expressions contribute to a richer, more faithful witness. How can we hold both multiplicity and unity in balance as we engage in global mission?’

Status of Global Christianity 2024

Every year the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary present an annual snapshot of global Christianity, a summary of which can be downloaded here.

The 2022 version of the fuller article can be accessed from here.

Lausanne Global Analysis 12, 1 (January 2023)

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

The summaries are taken from the Issue Overview by Loun Ling Lee.

Philip Lutterodt, Joabe G Cavalcanti, and Loun Ling Lee

Perspectives from Global South Christianity: China, Brazil, East Asia, and the Global Church

In the Global South, Christianity is ‘growing both qualitatively and quantitatively at a phenomenal pace in comparison to Global North Christianity’… In this age of world Christianity, these changes bring diversity as well as tensions within global missions. For Christian witness to be credible, there must be a stronger interconnectedness across regions, cultures, and generations through deeper engagement with and learning from each other. ‘This article examines some essential characteristics and practices of Christianity in Ghana, Brazil, and East Asia,’ and recommends a way forward into the future of missions, with the hope of initiating a meaningful dialogue between leaders of Global North and South.

C.J. Davison, Paul Lewis, and Dave Benson

Governments and the Great Commission: Should We Obey?

The global church has to manage not only tensions within due to differences in geography and culture, but also the tensions between the state – ‘the governing authority’ – and the church – ‘the authority of Christ.’ How should Christians respond when caught under circumstances of conflict?… CJ Davison, Paul Lewis, and Dave Benson propose a framework derived from Scripture, traditions, and contemporary experiences. It consists of four basic responses – to declare truth, to disobey, to desert, and to obey passively. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we decide on a course of action, bearing in mind that ‘our primary purpose is to shine like Christ’.

Simon Jooste

Apartheid of Church and State: Pilgrim Politics for Dual Citizens

From another part of the world, we learn lessons on the relationship between church and state where ‘the church has at times transformed or conformed to the policies of civil government.’ Simon Jooste reflects on this relationship from the context of post-apartheid South Africa, as well as the current growing political liberalism in South Africa…. [Jooste] challenges Christians to ‘re-evaluate the public role of the church.’ Affirming ‘Christ’s rule over all of life casts Christians as dual citizens: at once governed by the cruciform polity of Christ’s church while making common culture with unbelievers under the proportionate justice rule of civil government’. The calling of the church is to ‘safeguard the gospel and the church’s Great Commission, while freeing Christians to make a provisional difference in society as a realisation of the Great Commandment to love.’

Victor Lee

Engaging Younger Generations on Church Ministry: Disconnects and Approaches for Passing the Baton

A disconnect between the older and younger generations has led to problems in leadership transition in many churches. Victor Lee imputes this to ‘a lack of engagement with young people in church ministry’… [H]e writes, ‘There is an urgent need to evangelise and disciple young people as well as to involve younger generations in leadership conversations.’ Based on data from a global survey conducted by the Barna Group and World Vision, and his own observations in his local context, he analyses three disconnects between the generations due to differences in expectations, differences in value system, and differences in language. For a possible solution to each issue, he proposes an approach similar to overcoming intercultural differences. We also learn from a powerful model of a pastor who ‘has established a ministry that is known for its engagement with younger ministers.’

Global Transmission, Global Mission

Jason Mandryk and the team at Operation World have produced a short e-book which is being made available at no charge – Global Transmission, Global Mission: The Impact and Implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

According to the blurb, it seeks to offer ‘a sweeping overview of the implications of the coronavirus for the global Church, and specifically, its impact on global mission’.

Drawing from several global networks – International Prayer Connect, the Lausanne Movement, and the World Evangelical Alliance – the document reflects perspectives shared by many Christians ‘in every region of the world, getting input on how to pray for different nations afflicted by CoVid-19 as well as strategic considerations from a wide array of missiological contexts’.

The book can be download in several formats here.

In addition, check out the Operation World website dedicated to praying through the Covid-19 crisis, here.

Lausanne Global Analysis 9, 3 (May 2020)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdf downloads.

In the issue overview, editor Loun Ling Lee writes:

‘In this issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, we have authors from different parts of the global church addressing strategic issues relating to world mission. Melody J. Wachsmuth is a mission researcher living in Croatia. She is passionate to see Roma and non-Roma together engaging in healthy partnerships for mission, to ‘share our diverse gifts while manifesting the new humanity in Christ’...

‘In the same spirit of unity in the body of Christ, Dan Sered and Simon Stout, serving with Jews for Jesus, sharpen our awareness of the spiritual problem of antisemitism around the world...

‘The legacy of Lamin Sanneh, a distinguished historian, scholar of World Christianity, and advocate of interreligious dialogue, could not be more relevant in our complex world today. Wanjiru Gitau, senior research scholar at St. Thomas University, has highlighted his legacy, especially on the theme of translation of the message of Christ into the language and culture of the recipients...

‘In “The Uncertain Future of China’s Urban Churches’” Thomas Harvey’s analysis of the urban church and mission trends in modern China gives us a fresh insight into the thriving mission movement there despite the hostile environment.’

Lausanne Global Analysis 7, 5 (September 2018)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdf downloads.

In the issue overview, editor David Taylor writes:

‘In this issue we examine Venezuela’s descent from wealth to despair and how Christians can respond to the country’s populist disaster; we consider the ‘Walking with Jesus Movement’ that seeks to respond to the crisis in the Korean church resulting from the challenges of secularisation; we analyse the lessons we can learn from the ‘vanished church’ in North Africa including the need for unity in diversity; and we address the global phenomenon and how Christ is the answer.’

The GlobalChurch Project

With the strapline ‘Follow Jesus Locally and Globally’, the GlobalChurch Project seeks ‘to help local Christians and churches, learn from diverse, multiethnic, and global voices and trends, so that they experience renewed mission and revitalized churches’. It ‘invites often unheard voices from around the world to enter into a powerful global conversation about the shape of church and mission in the 21st century’.

The founding director is Graham Hill, Vice Principal of Morling Theological College (Sydney, Australia) and author of (among other books) the substantial volume, GlobalChurch: Reshaping Our Conversations, Renewing Our Mission, Revitalizing Our Churches (Downers Grove: IVP, 2016).

The website contains a number of resources, including video interviews, podcasts, and study guides. These are freely available, though with an opportunity to donate to the ongoing ministry.

Lausanne Global Analysis 4, 6 (November 2015)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, with three of the articles looking at the impact of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation held in Cape Town in 2010.

In the issue overview, editor David Taylor says:

‘In this issue we focus in three of our articles on the impact and legacy – five years on – of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation held in Cape Town in 2010. Our Executive Director/CEO Michael Oh and Director of Executive Projects Justin Schell analyse the fruit of the Congress, emphasising particularly taking a long view of the work of global mission; Michael’s predecessor Doug Birdsall, who organised Cape Town, offers his personal reflection on the conference’s legacies; and Rudolf Kabutz focuses on the impacts of it in Africa, as well as the key issues for Christians in Africa going forward.’

The executive summary is available here, and the full issue is available here.

Journal of Global Christianity

The Journal of Global Christianity, published twice a year by Training Leaders International, ‘seeks to promote international scholarship and discussion on topics related to global Christianity’, addressing ‘key issues related to the mission of the Church in hope of helping those who labor for the gospel wrestle with and apply the biblical teaching on various challenging mission topics’.

Two issues have been published so far (in five languages), containing a variety of essays along with several book reviews. The current issue is available here, from where individual essays or a pdf of the whole issue can be viewed or downloaded.

The Asbury Journal 70, 1 (2015)

The latest issue of The Asbury Journal contains several essays devoted to the theme of intercultural hermeneutics, arising out of an Advanced Research Interdisciplinary Colloquium held at the seminary last October.

Robert Danielson

From the Editor

Lalsangkima Pachuau

Intercultural Hermeneutics: A Word of Introduction

This paper introduces the theme of intercultural hermeneutics for the Advanced Research Programs interdisciplinary colloquium. By focusing on recent literature in the field of intercultural hermeneutics, this paper distinguishes this field of study from traditional cross-cultural communication and indicates its relevance to the current field of biblical studies and missiology. The importance of postcolonial studies to the field of intercultural hermeneutics is also addressed.

Craig S. Keener

Scripture and Context: An Evangelical Exploration

The first section of this paper addresses contextualization and scripture, suggesting the value of hearing texts from multiple cultural settings. The latter section offers two concrete examples where many majority world readings could help western readers to hear biblical texts more sympathetically and in ways closer to what the first audiences would have heard. In both sections, the two groups participating in the interdisciplinary colloquium – biblical studies and intercultural studies – are invited to learn from one another.

Jeremy Chew

I am Kneeling on the Outside, but I am Standing on the Inside: Another Look at the Story of Naaman through the Lenses of Kraft

The story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 has been a popular mining ground for theological positions and missiological perspectives. How one views Elisha’s response to Naaman in verse 19 is inevitably affected by one’s view regarding the appropriateness of how Naaman intends to resolve the conflict between his new relationship with Yahweh and his former pagan practices. Based on the movement of the story, and the use of comparison and contrast of characters, Elisha’s answer should be seen as a positive affirmation, rather than a negative or indifferent response. Using Kraft’s model for conversion helps us see the positive benefits for doing so. Combining biblical studies and intercultural research methods, we discover that Elisha’s answer to Naaman is the most propitious response to a new convert returning to his former pagan culture.

Moe Moe Nyunt

Hesychasm Encounters Lectio Divina: An Intercultural Analysis of Eastern and Western Christian Contemplative Practices

Two ancient Christian spiritual practices have emerged in their appropriate cultural contexts throughout the complex history of Christianity. Various cultural contexts in hesychasm and lectio divina enlighten us 1) to be balanced in religious culture and social culture between solitude and communal spiritual practices; 2) to notice the ways people achieve spiritual fulfillment in various cultures; 3) to propose a verbal practice in meditation to those who belong to oral culture and a silent and visual practice to those who belong to a more literate culture; or to practice both if the culture is mixed; and 4) to recognize the meaning of spirituality defined by people of Eastern and Western culture.

Adrian Reynolds

Intercultural Hermeneutics: A Step Towards Its Effective Practice as a Clash of Perspectives on John’s Revelation

This paper calls Christian biblical scholars to engage in rigorous intercultural hermeneutics for the edification of the worldwide Church by careful appropriation of adverse perspectives. It proposes a method whereby scholars implement their interpretive method of choice and then, within boundaries thus set, carefully read from the perspectives of other scholars toward the enrichment of their own work. By way of illustration, the paper offers an example of such an interpretive struggle by the author with postcolonial scholar Stephen Moore. Thus the author’s approach of choice (Inductive Biblical Study) both informs, and is informed by, a postcolonial view.

Hunn Choi

Multicultural Hermeneutics and Mission

In this article, presented at the 2014 Interdisciplinary Colloquium, held at Royal Auditorium on the Kentucky Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary, October 10, 2014, the author examines multicultural hermeneutics in relation to mission and presents multicultural hermeneutics as a dialogical, hospitable, border crossing, marginal, liminal, and missional reading of the Bible in solidarity with others. He uses the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan as an interesting example for multicultural hermeneutics.

Benjamin D. Espinoza

“Pia Desideria” Reimagined for Contemporary Theological Education

Phillip Spener’s pivotal work, Pia Desideria (1675), though written hundreds of years ago, still speaks to today’s Christian contexts, and creative engagement with the text can yield fruit when seeking to form sound ministry and educational practice. The purpose of this article is to creatively engage and re-imagine Pia Desideria in such a way that allows Spener’s six proposals for church reform to speak to theological educators today in Christian colleges and seminaries, specifically in the area of pedagogy.

J. Derrick Lemons

Communitas at the Tables: Jesus, the Marginalized, and the Modern Church

The field of the anthropology of religion would be incomplete without the theory of communitas, developed by Victor Turner (1920-1983). This paper outlines the liberating communitas experience of table fellowship utilized by Jesus to include sinners, outcasts, and the marginalized in the Kingdom of God. In particular, Jesus’ invitation of communitas at Jewish cultic meals is explained in order to recapture the original understanding of the Abrahamic covenant to be a blessing to the margins of society. The paper concludes by calling Christians to invite the marginalized to the gathered table at church and the dispersed table at home.

Features

From the Archives: Ernest F. Ward: The First Free Methodist Foreign Missionary

Book Reviews

Julia Cameron on John Stott and the Lausanne Movement

Apparently, today is the 40th anniversary of the opening meeting of the First International Congress in World Evangelization, when 2,300 evangelical leaders from 150 countries gathered with Billy Graham and John Stott in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Lausanne Movement has prepared (here) ‘a special collection of materials to provide a unique glimpse into its beginnings as well as highlights from the past 40 years’.

Included here are five essays from the Regnum Books volume: Margunn Serigstad Dahle, Lars Dahle, and Knud Jorgensen (eds.), The Lausanne Movement: A Range of Perspectives (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2014), among which is a piece by Julia Cameron on ‘John Stott and the Lausanne Movement: A Formative Influence’.

Matt Jenson on World Christianity

There’s a nice piece here by Matt Jenson very briefly highlighting some of the contributions (by, for example, Philip Jenkins and Mark Noll) to the discussion of World Christianity from a largely North American context.

‘We can – and do – take our experience for granted as “normal,” oblivious to the fact that American [and UK?] Christian experience is no more universal than, say, Indonesian Christian experience.’

The Bible in Mission

Pauline Hoggarth, Fergus Macdonald, Bill Mitchell and Knud Jørgensen (eds.), Bible in Mission, Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2013).

The team at Scripture Engagement make notice of the free availability of the above collection of essays as a pdf here. This is well worth checking out by all those interested in the nexus of relationships between Scripture, hermeneutics, mission, and the global church.

Like others in the ‘Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series’, the volume flowed out of the discussions at the Edinburgh 2010 conference. I bought it when it came out; it felt, at the time, like an expensive but important purchase. Hopefully the free availability of the book online will give it a much wider readership.

Here’s an outline of the contents:

Introduction

Editorial Introduction: The Bible in Mission

The Bible in Mission – and the Surprising Ways of God (Ole Christian Kvarme)

The Bible as Text for Mission (Tim Carriker)

Section 1: The Bible in Mission in the World and in the Church

The World

The Bible in Mission: The Modern/Postmodern Western Context (Richard Bauckham)

The Bible in Mission in the Islamic Context (Kenneth Thomas)

The Bible in Christian Mission among the Hindus (Lalsangkima Pachuau)

Children, Mission and the Bible: A Global Perspective (Wendy Strachan)

The Church

The Bible in Mission: Evangelical/Pentecostal View (Antonia Leonora van der Meer)

Bible Hermeneutics in Mission – A Western Protestant Perspective (Michael Kisskalt)

Orthodox Perspectives on Bible and Mission (Simon Crisp)

‘Ignorantia Scripturae ignorantia Christi est’ (Thomas P. Osborne)

Section 2: Case Studies

Africa

Baku Bible Translation and Oral Biblical Narrative Performance (Dan Fitzgerald)

The UBS HIV Good Samaritan Program (David Hammond and Immanuel Kofi Agamah)

The Bible and the Poor (Gerald West)

The Bible and Care of Creation (Allison Howell)

Asia–Pacific

‘Text of Life’ and ‘Text for Life’: The Bible as the Living and Life-Giving Word of God for the Dalits (Peniel J. Rufus Rajkumar)

Bible Missions in China (Pamela Wan-Yen Choo)

The Impact and Role of The Bible in Big Flowery Miao Community (Suee Yan Yu)

Bible Engagement among Australian Young People (Philip Hughes)

Latin America

The Bible and Children in Mission (Edseio Sanchez Cetina)

Bible Translation, the Quechua People and Protestant Church Growth in the Andes (Bill Mitchell)

The Bible in Mission: Women Facing the Word (Elsa Tamez)

West

Biblical Advocacy – Advocating the Bible in an Alien Culture (David Spriggs and Sue Coyne)

Scripture Engagement and Living Life as a Message (Steve Bird)

Reading the Bible with Today’s Jephthahs: Scripture and Mission at Tierra Nueva (Bob Ekblad)

Lessons Learned from the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey (Nancy Scammacca Lewis)

Glazed Eyes and Disbelief (Adrian Blenkinsop and Naomi Swindon)

Information Management and Delivery of the Bible (Paul Soukup)

Conclusion

The Bible as the Core of Mission: ‘...for the Bible tells me so’ (Knud Jørgensen)

Lausanne Global Analysis 3, 2 (March 2014)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is now available online, containing short essays on a variety of topics.

In the issue overview, editor David Taylor says:

‘In this issue we address the challenges facing the church in Sri Lanka and the lessons we can learn from it; ecomissiology and ecojustice as Christian responses to climate change, especially in Oceania; a strategic approach to placing cities at the heart of mission; the impact of the orality movement on global ministry and the benefits it can bring; and, in one of our shorter pieces, helping to process trauma and resolve conflict in the crisis in South Sudan.’

The executive summary is available here, and the full issue is available here.

Didache: Faithful Teaching 13:2 (January 2014)

The January 2014 edition of Didache: Faithful Teaching is serving as the volume for an upcoming (March 2014) Global Theology Conference for the Church of the Nazarene on the theme of ‘Critical Issues in Ecclesiology’.

Numerous papers (though, alas, not all) are available in different subject areas – Context, History, Bible, and Theology – and in several languages too.

Christianity in its Global Context

Researchers at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, have produced a report – Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020: Society, Religion, and Mission – on the changing demographics of Christianity and the activities of Christians over the past 40 years while looking forward to the next ten.

Here is the closing paragraph from the Executive Summary:

‘Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020: Society, Religion, and Mission illustrates that fundamental shifts in the demographics of global Christianity and religion are continuing into the twenty-first century. The percentage of Christians from the global South is still increasing, but the personal contact gap between Christians and non-Christians continues to be very wide. Christians are also struggling, along with the entire development community, to address critical social and economic issues. A central problem appears to be uneven resource distribution in a multitude of areas. Christian resources are poorly deployed and not reaching those who could benefit most from them, in terms of both mission and social action. Yet, Christian involvement in spiritual and social transformation has never been greater, and it remains to be seen how effective Christians in both the North and the South will be in carrying out global, integral mission.’

More information is available here, and the full report is available for download as 14.8 MB pdf here.

Encounters 44 (March 2013) on Reading the Bible in the Global Church

The latest issue of Encounters from Redcliffe College is now available, this one devoted to ‘Reading the Bible in the Global Church’.

This issue provides the text of the Annual Lecture in Bible and Mission, given at Redcliffe College by Eddie Arthur, Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators UK. The title is: ‘Reading the Bible with the Global Church: Opening Our Eyes to See How God Speaks Worldwide.’

This issue of Encounters also includes several responses to Eddie’s paper – from Malaysia, Uganda, the UK and the United States.

Individual articles are available from here, or the pdf of the full issue is available here.

Encounters 42 (October 2012) on Water

The latest issue of Encounters from Redcliffe College is now available, this one dealing with ‘Christian Perspectives on Water’.

According to the introductory blurb on the website:

‘This edition focuses on the topic of water and considers missional responses in different water-stressed parts of the world. The first three articles are taken from the JRI Environment Day conference held at Redcliffe earlier in the year, and provide snapshots of local situations in Africa, as well as evaluating global concerns, whilst also including a theological perspective on water and what it meant to Old Testament Hebrews. The other two articles consider wider environmental perspectives, leading us to ponder those age-old questions again; who is my neighbour, and how should our relationships, both local and global, be conducted?’

Individual articles are available from here, or the pdf of the full issue is available here.

The Global Study Bible

Forthcoming from Crossway, and so using the ESV, is the Global Study Bible, ‘a one-volume study resource for globally minded Christians everywhere... designed from beginning to end to be highly accessible and value priced for distribution on a global scale’.

From the advance blurb:

‘The Global Study Bible features a fresh design, with a wide range of new features. Each book begins with an introduction, followed by a unique, insightful description of the global message of the book. Likewise, a set of new articles by global Christian leaders apply the Bible to global issues, such as the role of government, the nature of the church, world religions, social ethics, and missions and evangelism.’

Sample pages are available here.

Access to an online version comes with a purchase of a print edition, and Crossway promises that when customers register online for their free access, they will ‘make a second copy available free to another global Christian, wherever the demand is greatest, anywhere in the world’.