Missiology

The intention of this paper is to interpret the ontological conditions of youth identity crisis missionally. This is first done by conceptualising identity crisis as a psychological phenomenon using frameworks of authenticity and attachment to explain the impact of early attachment abuse, abandonment depression, insecure attachment anxiety with God, and self-regulation on the identity formation of the youth. Secondly, the paper introduces a missional hermeneutic that provides an interpretative framework for coping with the crises of identity amongst young people. A missional hermeneutic of care for coping with the crisis of identity formation, therefore, elaborates on the missional basis of biblical interpretation as a powerful framework within which to interpret a skewed, conflicted identity. The author herewith proposes a missional opportunity that can activate the missional consciousness of young people in their time of crisis and identity formation. Furthermore, the author insists that this missional methodology can be a very useful strategy for producing therapeutic change in young people and can help youth ministry workers and pastoral caregivers to reframe the crisis of youth identity from the perspective of 'missio Dei'.

“In the year 1901 the latter rain began to fall in different parts of the
world,” trumpeted the Missionary Manual of the Assemblies of God
published three decades later. More importantly, the evangelistic zeal of
“waiting, hungry-hearted people,” who had been baptized in the Holy
Spirit, signaled the resumption of “the Lord’s Pentecostal missionary
movement.” It had been halted at the end of the first century when the
Holy Spirit was “largely rejected and His position as leader usurped by
men.” Consequently, Spirit-led missions ceased and the Dark Ages
commenced.2 Now, in the remaining days before the imminent return of
Christ, Pentecostals would jubilantly carry the apostolic banner down the
parade route of modern mission.

No translation is a perfect replication. A translation may by judged on its uses of the gaps opened up between the original text and the new version. When Christian missionaries encountered the Panare people and discovered that they had no understanding of guilt, “something had to be concocted” so that the Panare might convert to Christianity. This paper explores the implications of translating the message of the death of Jesus Christ as: “The Panare killed Jesus Christ,” and then uses the insights of postcolonial theologians to point towards alternative possibilities for translating without imposing guilt and fear.

A obra foi lida em todos os seus capítulos (344p.), sendo que aspectos mais relevantes considerados pelo leitor foram observados de forma mais detida e reflexiva. Aspectos secundários foram lidos de maneira dinâmica; da mesma forma que os documentos encontrados no apêndice.

God's Missional Nature The important term Missio Dei (Mission of God) needs a biblical foundation. The sending of God by God is a foundational motive in the New Testament. Even at the very beginning of salvation history, shortly after creation, God became the first missionary. In Jesus, God is the missionary par excellence, and in the Holy Spirit, God is the most successful missionary. Mission is part of the nature of God, and therefore mission can only be described holistically and in a manner that transforms human mission into the image of God's mission.

Conscience is God-given and functions as an internal witness which ratifies the biblical message that we are sinners in need of salvation. Conscience contributes to repentance and faith, and plays a pivotal role in the sanctification of the believer. But conscience is also culturally variable. As a result cross-cultural missionaries seldom understand native conscience and frequently work at cross-purposes to it. This article suggests principles for the missionary who wishes to understand native conscience and contends that missionaries who follow these principles will find conscience to be a God-given ally in the tasks of evangelism and discipleship.

This study for the sake of space will limit its scope to the book of Acts. We will look at Paul’s missionary theology and practice as seen through Luke’s writing in Acts. Thus this paper will be a sort of biographical sketch of Paul’s development of a biblical theology of mission. There are two questions I aim to answer in this paper. First, what impact do we see that Paul’s Jewish background had on his missiology? Second, and related to the first question, we will look at what Paul’s mission and method to find out what they were. Through an overview of Luke’s account of Paul and his mission, we will see that Paul was sovereignly prepared and chosen to be a witness to the nations by preaching Jesus as the Christ and planting churches that would carry on the mission in their local context.

The Orthodox Church celebrated in Crete (2016) the  "Holy and Great Council" in which a renewed and holistic approach on mission and evangelism was confirmed, in accordance to the challenges of the modern pluralistic and globalized societies. The Council declared solemnly that the mission is in the first place the proclamation in history of the eschaton, which in its turn is a visible sign of and a participation in the Kingdom of God. Mission reflects God’s hypostasis – the way in He exists as a perfect unity and communion of Persons. Along with this theological truth, the Church embraces the sacrificial and diaconal ethos of Christ who reconciled in Himself the whole human gender, which implies that the »others« and »those outside« are partners, and not simply objects, of the evangelism. Such universal breath of the missio Dei means that the gifts that He offered to humanity (peace, justice, righteousness) need the human synergy and the collaboration between the Orthodox and the faithful of different church traditions and religions, and even with all "people of good will".

The Bible was almost entirely composed by Jewish writers. An examination of its Jewish or Hebraic roots provides considerable fresh insight into the Christian faith and worldview—particularly in respect of covenant, community and creation.

Covenant forms the dominant paradigm governing the biblical worldview. The new covenant inaugurated by the Messiah likewise forms the dominant paradigm governing the New Testament. Each biblical covenant is associated with a community. A “covenant community” who receive a vocation commensurate with the relationship into which they have been brought.

The biblical view of creation ultimately anticipates its global renewal, whereupon heaven is united in harmony with earth, God dwelling amidst his people. En-route to this finality, the biblical worldview incorporates the bondage of creation to the effects of sin and its partners: death, disease and decay. Amidst this corrupted creation, the vocation of the covenant community is to be an incarnate Messenger of Hope. Both recipient and giver of New Life; a sign, symbol and harbinger of creation‟s ultimate, glorious liberation from bondage.

The thesis seeks to express the message of Scripture according to Scripture’s own priorities. It uses biblical rather than philosophical terminology, presenting the Bibles message within the framework of a primarily Hebraic worldview. To aid recognition of vital theological threads woven throughout the biblical narratives, the thesis develops a graphical “panorama” of the biblical narrative.

Significance and Value of Findings

Traditional, post-Enlightenment theologies—i.e. reformed, dogmatic, systematic, critical, non-contextual etc.—having undergirded Western Christendom during the past two centuries, are presently creaking under the strain of post-modern, post-colonial critiques and worldviews. In order for Christian faith and community to flourish within this hostile cultural climate, the challenge of missiological renewal and reformation needs to be embraced, so that Christian theology, missional praxis and culture to flourish in new ways.

Insight into the Jewish roots of Scripture and, in particular, the biblical covenants and the vocational communities of both Israel and the Church, proffers a significant contribution towards such a renewal, potentially rendering a widely appealing paradigm: centering upon God‟s commitment to creation, in partnership with his covenant community; incorporating the combating of evil through pursuit of this-worldly peace, justice and dignity for human beings; lived out amidst the biblical backdrop of an ultimate Judgement and Regeneration.

Within an increasingly agnostic West, a covenant, creation and community centred worldview offers fresh insight and a significant contrast to the individualistic drift of modern, protestant-evangelical culture and praxis, with its dualistic perspective of earth and heaven and concomitant focus upon personal salvation and eternal heavenly “escape‟ from earth‟s “mortal coil.‟

Within the increasingly Christian South—where community-centred readings of Scripture are normative and worldviews are more free of anti-biblical, secular, atheistic and materialistic philosophical presuppositions—burgeoning, missional Christian communities can relate readily to a biblical theology of covenant, creation and community as a vital, educational, theological introduction to the Bible.
Finally, the recognition and incorporation of the Jewish roots of the Christian faith builds a small, but potentially significant, cultural bridge with the Jewish people.

Conclusion

By aiming at a biblical theology based upon an Hebraic worldview centred upon creation, covenant and community, this Thesis seeks to provide an educational resource inviting people to enter into and comprehend the worldview, culture and theology of the Bible, rather than the worldview, culture and theology of the West.

The church of Jesus Christ is a multidimensional mystery. It is a mystery first of all because it participates in the mystery of the Trinity, the mysteries of salvation and of Jesus' incarnation and redemptive work, and the mystery of God's sovereign reign.

On 10 February 1706 a young theologian named Povel Resen set out on a journey
to report on the political and religious state of affairs in the High North. Resen was particularly instructed by king Frederick IV to inform himself about the conditi-
ons among the indigenous Sami populations. After a journey that lasted fourteen months, Resen submitted six reports to the king in Copenhagen. In these he lamented the religious state of the Samis. According to Resen «old idolatry» and «superstitious remains» were still to be found among the natives. Their Christianity was «so poor that it easily can be said to be heathen». Resen found the church to be much better organised on the Swedish side of the vague geopolitical frontier, and the Christiani- sation of the Samis accordingly more advanced. Resen also made several suggesti- ons on how the future missionary activity among the Samis could be organised. Many of these suggestions would be implemented after the mission among the Samis was formally launched in 1716. As one of the first systematic attempts to report on ecclesiastical matters in the High North, and one of the seminal sources
for the subsequent mission, Resen’s reports constitute valuable sources for the missionary history of the Samis.

In breve dalle terre di missione Viaggi & Pensieri Un profeta per il nostro tempo Notizie e testimonianze Per riflettere... Libertà religiosa, via per la pace Volto missionario della Comunità Parola e carità per generare alla fede Chiesa e attualità Vita e attività del Centro Progetti 3 Marzo2011 Disagi e speranze A N on sono mai stato missionario a tempo pieno, ma posso affermare che la missione è sempre stata nel mio cuore. Il servizio che si svolge al C.A.M. di Prato, specialmente in favore delle missioni in Tanzania e in Nigeria, dove sono presenti i cappuccini toscani, ci rende prossimi all'Africa, soprattutto quando abbiamo l' opportunità di fare esperienze di condivisione, a tempo determinato, con i nostri confratelli missionari e con le popolazioni locali. Tutto questo ha fatto crescere in me, e in coloro che condividono queste esperienze di comunione, un grande amore per questa terra e per la sua gente. Ecco perché provo un profondo senso di disagio quando avverto che ancora in diversi ambiti, anche ecclesiali, e in persone credenti, permane una mentalità razzista, atteggiamenti sprezzanti e rapporti con gli africani immigrati che richiamano la triste epoca del colonialismo. Sentire negli autobus, nei pubblici locali, e perfino all'interno dei gruppi e associazioni che si dicono cattoliche, affermazioni di intolleranza, di insofferenza per la presenza di "negri" nella nostra società… oppure ascoltare certe trasmissioni televisive in cui si accredita l'idea che essere nati in Africa è una sfortuna, mi crea grande irritazione. E mi ferisce quando, con linguaggio tragico, si fa riferimento all'Africa come luogo di accattonaggio e di persone disimpegnate, oppure come terra dell'eterne carestie, per superare le quali niente viene fatto oppure, ancora, come la terra delle sanguinose guerre civili e fratricide. Sono giudizi ipocriti e approssimativi, dettati da ignoranza crassa circa i veri problemi dell'Africa, di chi non tiene conto che questo continente immenso è costituito da 59 nazioni e da una miriade di etnie e tribù diverse, con realtà e situazioni variegate e diversissime fra loro. È profondamente ingiusto, quindi, generalizzare fino ad attribuire a tutto il continente, fenomeni negativi che sono presenti solo in alcune regioni. Inoltre ci si ostina a ignorare che la causa di certe povertà risiede nelle condizioni atmosferiche avverse e nella mancanza di acqua. Si afferma che l'Africa deve salvarsi da sola, però il mondo occidentale continua a sfruttarla, e non fa nulla per mettere quelle popolazioni in grado di compiere un cammino più autonomo. Non voglio ora ripetere ai tanti amici, giudici severi, ciò che più volte abbiamo fatto presente in questa rivista, a cominciare dai valori che abbiamo perduto e che abbiamo riscoperto in Africa. Voglio invece ricordare che ogni cultura, e quindi anche la nostra, deve rigenerarsi nel mutare delle situazioni, pur nella salvaguardia dei principi che sostengono la propria identità di fondo, e deve farlo nel rispetto dei diritti e della dignità di ogni persona, a qualunque razza o nazione appartenga. Credo che la nostra civiltà debba misurarsi di più sull' attenzione ai suoi membri più indifesi, per cui dobbiamo dire con forza: un cambio di linguaggio, e dunque di mentalità, nei confronti degli immigrati, che sono i più indifesi, è urgente! Ciascuno di noi deve imparare ad accogliere e a rispettare chi viene a vivere tra noi nella sua unicità, apprezzato nella sua diversità, riconosciuto per la comune umanità ereditata dall'unico Padre, il Signore Nostro Dio. E soprattutto dobbiamo cercare di sostenere questi nostri fratelli nell' affrontare le inevitabili difficoltà di trovarsi in un paese sconosciuto, dove molti sono stati costretti ad approdare, non certo per libera scelta. ■ Siena: Liceo scientifico Galilei classe II a B 1994

In  this  short  paper  I  start  with  a  brief  discussion  about  what  BT  training is. Then I  share that the vision beyond 2025 is to develop self-sustainable  BT/SU  task  force  in  every  languages  group  and  the  end goals  is  to  equip  them  with    the  abilities  in  the  domains  of  Bible translation, biblical living style, self-sustainability(Training, Managing & Developing resources) and, Vision Casting. At the end I also suggest
some ideas about the strategy, for examples.  result oriented approach, collaboration with others and serving all in an open source community, rediscover  SIL  history  and  BT  philosophy,  reengineering  the  BT process,  be  good  stewards  of  advanced  technology  and  extend  &  strengthen  our  consultant  developing  system  through  a    mentoring
approach.

Although some research studies have been conducted on Thai leadership styles, a survey of the literature on the subject reveals that these studies have not been applied to the Christian churches in Thailand. This short review of the literature shows that the preferred leadership style of Thai people is changing from the traditional authoritarian leadership style to a consultative leadership style. However, American and other international church denominations in Thailand continue to favor their own non-Thai governance systems over the more natural Thai church governance structures. I contend that this is detrimental to church growth and, based on the literature, I make several suggestions for mission agencies striving to indigenize Thai church leadership structures.

How might Christians from one honor-shame culture effectively serve as missionaries in another honor-shame culture? By answering this question, churches and mission organizations can better train cross-cultural workers whose cultural backgrounds offer advantages not enjoyed by many Western missionaries. Due to the sheer scope of the topic, his essay sketches only a preliminary proposal.

Farah, Warrick. 2018. "How Muslims Shape and Use Islam: Towards a Missiological Understanding." In Margins of Islam: Ministry in Diverse Muslim Contexts, edited by Gene Daniels and Warrick Farah, 13-21. Littleton, CO: William Carey Publishing.

This article deals with the missional self-understanding of the so-called Danish folk church (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark). It argues that especially two important factors have hindered such a self-understanding: first, the church adherer to the Lutheran tradition, which for centuries had a weak emphasis on mission; and second, that the Danish folk church in centuries was a state church, which encompassed all citizens of the nation, and mission was therefore not a pressing issue for the church. Then, the article argues by referring to several theological statements and initiatives in the church that a new missional self-understanding seems to evolve these years. The article argues that the church seems to be adjusting to a new pluralistic societal situation, and the new missional self-understanding can be understood in light of this.

Karl Gützlaff bekam seine erste Ausbildung als Missionar an der Missionsschule von Johannes Jänicke an der Berliner Bethlehemskirche. Die Kirche wurde für böhmische Glaubensflüchtlinge gebaut. Neben seinem pastoralen Dienst gründete Johannes Jänicke unter dem Einfluss der Erweckungsbewegung und inspiriert durch Freiherrn von Schirnding eine Bibel- und Traktatgesellschaft und eine Missionsschule. Die Ausbildungsprinzipien der Missionsschule lagen gemäß ihres Ortes in einer Migrantengemeinde in dem Erlernen von Sprachen, Übersetzen und im biblischen Unterricht. Die Adressaten der Schule waren Handwerker. Gützlaff trat 1820 als Stipendiat des Königs in die um 1800 gegründete Missionsschule ein. Es sind vor allem vier Aspekte des Missionskonzeptes Karl Gützlaffs, die sich auf die Missionsschule Jaenickes zurückführen lassen: die Bemühungen um die Sprache, die Verbreitung von Bibeln und Traktaten, die Bekehrung des Einzelnen und der Unterhalt einer Missionsschule für untere Bildungsschichten. Alle Aspekte entwickelte Gützlaff zu einem besonderen Typ der Akkomodationsmission weiter.


Karl Guetzlaff got his first training as a missionary at the Mission school of Johannes Jaenicke at the Berlin Bethlehem Church. The church was built for Bohemian religious refugees. In addition to his pastoral service Johannes Jaenicke founded under the influence of revivalism and inspired by Baron Schirnidng Bible, Tract Society and Mission school. The focuss of training in mission school was according to their place in a migrant congregation in the learning of languages, translation and in biblical teaching. The addressees of the school were craftsmen. Gützlaff entered 1820 with a scholarship of the king the Mission school, which was founded in 1800. There are four main aspects of the mission concept of Karl Guetzlaffs that can be trace back to the Mission School Jaenicke: the efforts to the language, the distribution of Bibles and tracts, the conversion of individuals and the establishment of a mission school for lower levels of education. All aspects developed Guetzlaff to the particular type of accomodative mission.

After the First World War, France moved toward a clear secular education system in Senegal, with emphasis on French literacy and Republican values. Local response to the new regulations, both by missionary educators and indigenous Senegalese, revealed the competing spheres of colonial education. Protestant missionaries, in particular, asserted their own definition of the purpose of both education and empire.

Thomas M. Kelly is an associate professor of theology at Creighton University. His previous corpus of work includes numerous articles relating to issues of lay ministry, sacramentality, and marriage, and a book regarding the theology of the human person as viewed through the attributes of experience, language, and inquiry. His latest publication is a fascinating look at the life and sacrifice made by Jesuit

"The purpose of this analysis is to provide an overview of the North Korean situation in order to design effective mission strategies among the North Korean people.  This analysis will provide a summary overview of the current North Korean culture, current missionary work, and possible strategies for the future.  Due to the intense suspicion of foreigners and extreme resistance to religious activity, missionaries will have to rely heavily on political, social, and humanitarian methods in order to evangelize the North Korean people" (taken from the introduction).

Hunger and malnutrition are relevant in the context of Christian religion and missions, as they create a framework for finding solutions in the area of food security and availability in development regions in Honduras. Food availability represents one of the most important pillars of food security regardless of region. This study analyses the current situation in the area of food security in the development regions of Sangrelaya and Cocalito in Honduras and its impact on the diet and nutrition of local inhabitants, with special emphasis placed on biblical and mission aspects of the analysed issue. Furthermore, the study examines the relation between food availability and Catholic mission activities with regard to the food security of inhabitants of selected development regions. Based on our research of the food situation and an analysis of the diet, the study explains the functioning of the local food system. It also identifies the steps necessary for the elimination of food scarcity due to its limited availability and the impact of specific Catholic mission activities on improving food security in these development regions.

Abstrakt:  Hlad a podvýživa majú svoj kontext v kresťanskom náboženstve a misií, ktoré spoločne vytvárajú rámec v prístupe riešenia potravinovej bezpečnosti a dostupnosti potravín v rozvojových regiónoch v Hondurase. Dostupnosť potravín predstavuje jeden z najdôležitejších pilierov potravinovej bezpečnosti v akomkoľvek regióne. Predkladaná štúdia analyzuje aktuálnu situáciu potravinovej bezpečnosti v rozvojovom regióne Sangrelaya a Cocalito v Hondurase a jej vplyv na stravovanie a výživu obyvateľov, pričom kladie dôraz na biblický a z neho vyplývajúci misijný aspekt pre analyzovanú problematiku. Skúma vzťah dostup-nosti potravín a aktivít katolíckej misie vzhľadom na potravinovú bezpečnosť obyvateľov vybraného rozvojového regiónu. Na základe skúmania potravinovej situácie a analýzy stravovania objasňuje fungovanie lokálneho potravinového systému. Súčasne identifi kuje postupy potrebné na elimináciu nedostatku potravín z dôvodu ich obmedzenej dostupnosti a vplyv konkrétnych aktivít katolíckej misijnej činnosti na zlepšenie potravinovej bezpečnosti v tomto rozvojovom regióne. Kľúčové slová: Hlad. Podvýživa. Dostupnosť potravín. Rozvojové regióny. Misijná činnosť.

The seminary was established in 1964 by the Division of Foreign Missions of the (US) Assemblies of God under the name of Far East Advanced School of Theology (FEAST). The founding president was Harold Kohl. In 1989 the name was changed to Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) to better demonstrate the nature of the institution. This school has had a clear regional intent as its mission: “The goal of APTS is to provide advanced leadership training and equip Pentecostal and Charismatic ministers for the Asia Pacific region. APTS offers academically sound educational programs that are sensitive to the cultural issues and needs of the Asia Pacific region while providing opportunities for students to learn through hands-on ministry experiences.”1 Specifically, the school provides training and learning opportunities to produce missionaries, theologians, educators and pastoral leaders. The students come from a variety of Asian countries and beyond. Often the student body is represented by North America (often missionaries working in Asia), European countries and also African nations.

The influx of Chinese in East Africa presents churches with an opportunity to engage in cross-cultural evangelism right in their own neighborhoods. East African churches are well equipped to engage in evangelism and discipleship, yet Chinese immigrants in these urban areas are largely overlooked. This qualitative study seeks to understand the barriers and cultural bridges that East African church leaders identify regarding outreach to their Chinese neighbors. While language and cultural distance cause barriers, church leaders say they can bridge the distance with some extra cultural knowledge and the help of mediators. We conclude that church leaders' understanding of reaching Chinese people is a good start-though incomplete-and can be informed with more exposure to cross-cultural strategies and issues related to contextualizing Christianity within Chinese culture.

For today’s Namibia the dealing with its own past is still relevant, as well as for other former colonies. In this context, the experiences of the colonial era still play an important role, which is closely related to the struggle for independence and questions of nation building. As in many former colonies there was a lack of inner connections and overarching national and cultural identities, so it was necessary to seek for commonalities or, if required, to construct them. Thereby, however, it turned out that these were often of colonial origin. In particular, the former colonial language and the Christian religion were central components of these Commonalities. But here the question arises as to what extent these elements are in fact due to the colonial era. So the changes and developments in terms of language and religion are not due solely to the colonial era, but also to the work of Christian missionaries, which reached the country decades before the colonialists and shaped the country far beyond the colonial period. In addition to these aspects of language and religion the missionaries also performed a enormous influence on the knowledge within the colonies and about them. Especially the school system and the associated access to this knowledge thus represents another essential aspect of sustainable influence of German Missionaries in Southwest Africa, which affected the further development of the country during the colonial period and beyond. The aim of this work is to show that it was the missionary work and thus the political and social influence of missionaries, which fundamentally changed the country and influenced its post-colonial history and development. The focus should thereby be primarily set on the work of the missionaries in precolonial South West Africa, because here the first touch of the Indigenous and European cultures took place, which laid the foundation for further developments in the fields of language, religion and education policy.

Montreal-based indie-rock band “Arcade Fire” have been lauded as the most important band of the last decade. In terms of their cultural and potentially theological significance it has been argued that Arcade Fire is to Gen Y what U2 is to Gen X. This chapter explores the music and content of their latest album Reflektor, released in October 2013. The main influences in this album are Haitian “rara” music, the 1959 film Black Orpheus, and an essay by Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard entitled ”The Present Age,” in which he contrasts the “passionate age” with the “reflective age.” These influences and the resultant themes are explored, with a final reflection framed by the Apostle Paul’s interaction with his contemporary culture, and using the work of Charles Taylor, to discover ways in which this important voice from the margins might speak to and help the contemporary church as it engages in mission in the postmodern world.

The Lutheran World Federation released Understanding the Gift
of Communion in 2014 to allow churches who hold differing views
on homosexuality to remain in fellowship with one another. This paper explores how the churches in the Global South who do not accept homosexuality are considered "colonialistic" related to socio-ethical concerns.

Published in the Journal of Lutheran Mission

Collver, Albert B. “Colonialism in the Global South: The Imperialism of Western Sexual Ethics.” Journal of Lutheran Mission 3, no. 1 (April 2016): 34–39.

http://blogs.lcms.org/2016/journal-of-lutheran-mission-april-2016

Discipleship is fundamental to developing Christian leaders. A discussion on Christian leadership requires we consider the importance of the church and personal character. Some people might not realize that these two topics correspond with prominent themes in honor-shame cultures; namely, collective identity and a practical approach to ethics. Many Asian religions and philosophies tend to emphasize the importance of community yet veer away from abstract doctrines that do not affect one's daily life. Therefore, this paper considers how honor and shame can and should influence our approach to discipleship and thus Christian leadership in general.