Lausanne Global Analysis 2, 5 (November 2013)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is now available online.

In the issue overview, editor David Taylor says:

‘In this issue we address several topical themes. We analyse what has come out of the groundbreaking Asian Christian Leaders’ Forum held in Seoul in June, and we address Business as Mission (BAM), one of the key themes of the Global Leadership Forum held in Bangalore the week before. We also explore a topic related to BAM – that of Stewardship and Justice in the way we behave as consumers. We follow up our article in our March issue on the various ideological trends in China and Christian responses to them by anaylsing the results of a recent conference on the subject. Last, but by no means least, we examine the outlook – and many opportunities – for Christians in the Middle East amid the current turmoil and persecution.

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

Credo Magazine 3, 4 (November 2013)

The current issue of Credo is out, this one devoted to ‘Biblical Theology’.

According to the editorial blurb:

‘When the sixteenth-century Reformation erupted, one of the alarming dangers that became blatantly obvious to reformers like Martin Luther was the pervasiveness of biblical illiteracy among the laity. It may be tempting to think that this problem has been solved almost five hundred years later. However, in our own day biblical illiteracy in the pew continues to present a challenge. Many Christians in our post-Christian context simply are not acquainted with the storyline of the Bible and God’s actions in redemptive history from Adam to the second Adam.

‘With this concern in mind, the current issue of Credo Magazine strives to take a step forward, in the right direction, by emphasizing the importance of “biblical theology.” Therefore, we have brought together some of the best and brightest minds to explain what biblical theology is, why it is so important, and how each and every Christian can become a biblical theologian.

‘Our hope in doing so is that every Christian will return to the text of Scripture with an unquenchable appetite to not only read the Bible, but comprehend God’s unfolding plan of salvation.’

The magazine is available to read here, from where also a 79.7 MB pdf of the whole issue can be downloaded.

Steve Turner on Pop Culture from a Christian Perspective

I was asked to write six brief book notes for the November 2013 edition of EG, published by LICC. I’ve been posting them individually here at various points over the last few weeks.

Steve Turner, Popcultured: Thinking Christianly about Style, Media and Entertainment (Nottingham: IVP, 2013).

A great reminder that the pervasiveness of pop culture provides a common language to connect with others. Broad in his coverage, Turner looks at cinema, journalism, celebrities, fashion, thrill-seeking, comedy, photography, advertising, technology, and photography, each chapter ending with questions for refection, recommendations for reading and suggestions for action. And all with the encouragement to consume discerningly, critique faithfully, and create wisely.

Christian History Magazine on Charles Darwin

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to ‘Debating Darwin’.

According to its blurb...

‘In the 19th century, Christians responded to the challenges of Darwinian evolution in many and diverse ways – from hostility to reconciliation. Read about the reactions of theologians, scientists, pastors, authors, bishops, and politicians – and learn how Darwinism eventually became a symbol of warfare between science and Christianity in this issue of Christian History magazine.’

The whole magazine is available as a 4.3 MB pdf here.

Tim Keller on Church

I was asked to write six brief book notes for the November 2013 edition of EG, published by LICC. I’ve been posting them individually here over the last week or so. 

Timothy J. Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2012).

Tim Keller’s theological vision of a ‘center church’, articulated around three core commitments: gospel (proclaiming the gospel and its implications for the whole of life); city (exercising wisdom in how we contextualise the message, neither overadapting nor underadapting to culture); movement (the church engaging in mission as both institution and organism, rooted in tradition and reaching out through its members). The largest of Keller’s books published over the last few years, this one helpfully provides a comprehensive but eminently readable presentation of his insights.

Ethics in Brief Volume 19, Nos. 1 & 2 (2013)

Two issues from Volume 19 of Ethics in Brief, published by The Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, are now available online:

Claire Hordern, ‘Defining Death: New Pathways to Consider’, Ethics in Brief 19, 1 (2013).

By drawing on recent neurological research this article challenges some prevailing medical assumptions about the definition of death and explores some of the philosophical contours of the brain death debate.

Benjamin S. Wall, ‘Disability in the Christian Tradition: A Reader: Theological Contributions to Disability Discourse’, Ethics in Brief 19, 2 (2013).

Disability in the Christian Tradition: A Reader, edited by Brian Brock and John Swinton, is an indispensable contribution not only to the field of disability studies but also to any contemporary attempt at engaging in serious anthropological, theological, and ethical discourse. This article provides a summary sketch of the book tracing some of the issues it addresses.

Dean Flemming on Recovering the Full Mission of God

Dean Flemming, Recovering the Full Mission of God: A Biblical Perspective on Being, Doing and Telling (Downers Grove: IVP, 2013), 288pp., ISBN 9780830840267.

Having read several bits of his earlier work (on contextualisation, missional hermeneutics, and Philippians), I’ve had this book on my wish list since I first saw its advance notice.

It’s due out soon, but IVP have made available an excerpt here.

As the subtitle says, Flemming is here exploring the relationship between being, doing and telling in Christian mission (mostly in the New Testament, but with some scene-setting chapters on the Old Testament too).

Rather than making a contrast between word and deed – which is how this discussion is often framed – Flemming is careful to talk about the connection between telling and living the good news. ‘Living’ the gospel, he notes in the Introduction to the book, ‘is a shorthand way of talking about the nonverbal aspects of our mission’, which ‘can refer to both who we are as God’s missional people and the specific practices that flow out of that identity’ (14).

He presents the heart of his thesis this way:

‘To lay my cards on the table at the start, the New Testament reveals a seamless integration of speaking, practicing and embodying the good news. If you join me on this journey, we will discover in Scripture a magnificent marriage between telling and living the gospel, one that still challenges us to get caught up in the full mission of God.

‘At the same time, we should not expect that the various biblical writers show identical perspectives on these issues. As we reflect on the different materials in Scripture, we need to ask how each of them treats the connection between being, doing and saying. Do they stress one dimension more than the others? And if so, why? We will see that not all of the New Testament writers address the issue in the same way. Different circumstances demand different approaches for the church in mission’ (15).