Is a church just something we create to serve our purposes or to maintain old traditions? Or is it something more vital, more meaningful, and more powerful? In this introduction to the nature of the local church, historian and missionary Scott Sunquist brings us a portrait of the church in motion, clarifying the two primary purposes of the church: worship and witness.
New expressions of church, including so-called insider movements, are proliferating among non-Christian religious communities worldwide. Drawing on the growing social-scientific work on emergent theory, Darren Duerksen and William Dyrness explore how all Christian movements have been and are engaged in a "reverse hermeneutic," where the gospel is read and interpreted through existing cultural and religious norms.
Christianity is not only a global but also an intercultural phenomenon. In this third volume of his three-volume Intercultural Theology, Henning Wrogemann proposes that we need to go beyond currently trending theologies of mission to formulate both a theory of interreligious relations and a related but methodologically independent theology of interreligious relations.
Women have advanced God's mission throughout history, but often face particular obstacles in ministry. Mission researcher Mary Lederleitner interviewed respected women in mission leadership from across the globe to gather their insights, expertise, and best practices. These real-life stories will shed light on dynamics that inhibit women, giving both women and men resources for partnering together in effective ministry and mission.
Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that there is a missional basis for the Bible! Beginning with the Old Testament and its groundwork for understanding who God is, what he has called his people to be and do, and how the nations fit into God's mission, Wright gives us a new hermeneutical perspective on Scripture.
Missionary Paul Borthwick and pastor Dave Ripper show how transformation through our personal pain enables us to minister faithfully to a hurting world. They candidly share about their own struggles and how they have seen God's kingdom advance through hardship and suffering. We can become powerful witnesses to Christ as a result of our brokenness.
In this second volume of his three-volume Intercultural Theology, Henning Wrogemann turns to theologies of mission. Tracing developments across a range of Christian traditions, movements, themes, and regions of the globe, Wrogemann provides an overview of the theological underpinnings, rationalizations, and visions for mission and its practice.
Noted theologian Samuel Escobar offers a magisterial survey and study of Christology in Latin America. Presented for the first time in English, this rich resource starts with the first Spanish influence and moves through popular religiosity and liberationist themes in Catholic and Protestant thought of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, culminating in an important description of the work of the Latin American Theological Fraternity.
Internationally renowned artist Makoto Fujimura reflects on Shusaku Endo's novel Silence and grapples with the nature of art, pain and culture. Showing that light is yet present in darkness, he uncovers deep layers of meaning in Japanese history and finds connections to how faith is lived in contexts of trauma.
Asia is the birthplace of Christianity, yet the history of Asian Christianity has long been a difficult one. Scott W. Sunquist is a recognized expert on the history of the Christian faith in Asia, and these essays cover Asian Christianity in broad perspective, with topics such as the history of Christian mission and missionary practice in Asia, theological education, and global migration.