Worshiping, Witnessing, and Wondering: Christian Wisdom for Participation in the Mission of God

It can be debated whether a Lutheran identity is still relevant in the midst of ecumenical development in (South) Africa, with special reference to theological education and Christian education. The Lutheran Church is a unique body within the ecumenical family as it contributes to work on the mission of God. Theological education and Christian education are educational centres which aim to promote social justice towards community development. These two educational centres are branches of the Lutheran Church. Taking into account the fact that theological education and Christian education were introduced by European and American missionaries with various church traditions in (South) Africa as part of community development, the purpose of this article is to discuss the impact of Lutheran theological education and Christian education, to demonstrate their contribution in the church, and call for their decolonisation and contextualisation.

Mission evangelization is at the heart of the Church, since ‘the pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature’ (AG 2; LG 1). It logically means that mission cannot be treated as a function among other tasks God has entrusted to his people, the Church. This article tries to present a general analysis on the concept of mission evangelization based on the biblical grand narrative and doctrine of the Church since Vatican II. Mission of the Church, which characterises the Church as missional community, originates from God’s mission (missio Dei) – mission of the Most Holy Trinity: God the Father sent the Son, and God the Father and the Son sent the Spirit. It would describe that mission essentially has a Trinitarian foundation as well as a Christological, Soteriological, and Pneumatological foundation. Since the Church is the seed, sign and instrument of God’s kingdom, surely mission also has an ecclesiological foundation. From the biblical grand narrative, mission derives four theological themes: creation, fall, redemption, and eschatological restoration. From these four plot movements, focusing on God’s mission, the Church is called and sent to participate actively. Mission of the Church, therefore, is basically a ‘participation in and representation of’ the mission of God.

Personal reflection It was a great privilege as vice-moderator of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (WCC-CWME) from 2007--2013 to be asked to chair the drafting group for the planned new policy statement on mission and evangelism, and I hope I may be allowed a few moments to reminisce about that experience. During the previous CWME, preparing the statement and getting it through the relevant processes became our main work. The first stage was to determine our priorities for the document. Since we could not cover all the many facets of mission, we had to select what we could agree were the priorities for mission in today's landscape. Looking back at the only previous statement from 1982, "Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation," it was clear that the global landscape had altered significantly. (2) The year 1982 came before the end of the Cold War and the onset of globalization, before 9/11 and the so-called "clash of civilisations," (3) and in many other respects it seemed a long time ago. In the light of this, our mission priorities needed rethinking. Once we had decided these at the commission meeting in Bangalore in 2008--marginalization, evangelism, ecclesiology, and mission spirituality--we divided into groups to work on them. Each group held consultations to inform its writing. I was privileged to contribute to a meeting in Manila in July 2011 to discuss mission and pneumatology, another on church and mission in Geneva in May 2011, and a third on mission spirituality in Jamaica that same month. Our joint conference with the Faith and Order Commission in Hungary in 2009 supported the work on ecclesiology, the Edinburgh 2010 project and conference helped to frame our ideas ecumenically, and several other WCC initiatives also fed into our work. It was daunting to receive the first reports from the groups and to try and work out how to put them together as a coherent whole. What is more, each part needed to be approved by the rest of the 25-member commission and the discussions threw up fascinating theological and missiological issues at every turn. Finally, one weekend in Geneva in 2011, the moderator Bishop George Varghese mor Coorilos, secretary Revd Dr Jooseop Keum, and I finalized the introduction and conclusion--initially drafted by Dr Keum--and then the complete draft document could be circulated for the commission's approval. The pre-assembly conference on mission and evangelism in Manila in March 2012 was the most exciting part of the process for me. The draft document was examined and tested by 250 mission practitioners and scholars over five days. In the wonderful atmosphere created by the Philippine Council of Churches, the new statement met with general affirmation and the scrutiny bore fruit in many constructive suggestions that were implemented by a further revision group led by Revd Dr Kenneth Ross. Then at the end of August that year it was my privilege to present the document to the WCC central committee meeting in Crete, and it was to my great relief that I heard it was accepted as official WCC policy. Finally, at the WCC general assembly in Busan in South Korea in 2013, I moderated the plenary on mission--the first for 21 years--at which the message of Together towards Life was introduced to the churches. I believe the success of this document owes a great deal to the forethought of Revd Jacques Matthey, the former commission secretary, to the careful steering and energetic leadership of Dr Jooseop Keum, and to the moderation of Bishop Mor Coorilos. It has been a great honour to contribute. Significance of Together towards Life for missiological education What is the significance of Together towards Life for missiological education? I believe we should see its significance in three main ways: in its novel pneumatological approach, in the ecumenical consensus it represents, and in its use of the world Christianity paradigm. …

Christians are known for their caring activities towards the world, except that it is the mutual care between believers that witnesses the restoration found in Jesus Christ to the world (Jn 13:35). The article claims that mutual care between believers may bring restoration and healing to church congregations when based on the paradigm of the family of God. The biblical family metaphors of the adoption in Christ, the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ are discussed to understand the functioning of mutual care through the interaction of koinōnia and diakonia within church congregations. The purpose of mutual care within filial relationships is to restore one another and acquire knowledge about their new identity (‘being-function’) and to develop their new identity in Christ by preparing one another to participate together in the mission of God (‘doing-function’) as they continually increase in maturity (‘becoming-function’). The C.A.R.E. model, as a practical and applicable tool, employs the biblical concepts of koinōnia and diakonia that are already functioning within congregations. Enhancing these biblical concepts increases mutual care and leads to a healthier church where members live according to who they are in Christ and extend this blessing of care to others around them.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article offers a unique interdisciplinary exploration, bridging pastoral care, practical theology and systematic theology. It delves into the paradigm of the family of God as a fresh approach to fostering mutual care within church congregations through koinōnia and diakonia.

This article argues the concept of abduction can strengthen the links between qualitative research and theological inquiry in a theo-social methodology that seeks an understanding of God’s presence, character, and activity through empirically grounded inquiries of social life. It examines how different qualitative research methods can be utilized to study religious formation through a newly proposed framework that addresses dynamics of religiosity and religious identity. This framework relies on principles of abductive analysis, constant comparative method, and constructivist grounded theory, illustrated with a case study from the author’s research in contemporary China. Key elements of this framework are bridged with theological inquiry through principles of theological ethnography grounded in Christian conceptions of the incarnation, revelation, and the image and mission of God. In conclusion, important correlations between qualitative method, theology, and religious formation are highlighted with a challenge to expand theo-social study of lived theologies in World Christianity.

The New Prophetic Churches is a religion in the mix, demonstrated by their points of contact with classical Pentecostalism, the prosperity gospel, African independent churches, and African traditional religion. New Prophetic Churches have points of contact with classical Pentecostalism with reference to the doctrine of baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. They are also influenced by the African traditional religions with reference to their connection with the spirit world. In addition, they have points of contact with the African independent churches concerning the use of healing and deliverance products. Furthermore, they have points of contact with the prosperity gospel in teaching the message of material blessing. The original form of these influences is presented in this article as opium religion, whereas the corrupted form of these influences is presented as opioid forms of religion. The latter refers to a somewhat dangerous mix of religious teachings, advocated by self-appointed spiritual leaders within the New Prophetic Churches. These spiritual leaders have concocted this mixture contrary to the original purpose of such teachings with the intention to satisfy their commercial desires to the detriment of the spiritual wellbeing of their followers and the sa-credness of religious teachings, particularly Christian teachings. Relying on a literary analysis, this article challenges the religious teachings of opioid religions that undermine the original good intentions with which these teachings are mixed. It suggests that any religious teaching in the Christian tradition should be consistent with the eternal purpose of God's mission, identity in Christ, and the fundamental tenets of the Christian tradition. There are neo-Pentecostal churches that are consistent with the mission of God, bringing solutions to various challenges in Africa. However, the focus here is on the New Prophetic Churches that have transited from the opium of religion to religion as opioids.

Building on his previous research in colonial Mexico, Daniel Reff offers us a lively comparative volume that suggests helpful parallels between the early years of Christianity in that region and the rise of Christianity more than a millennium earlier in the late Roman Empire. Though the focus is on the evangelical encounter and lived human experience, he also pays some attention to sacred narratives and missionary writing. In particular, Reff is able to complement his recent commentary on the classic account of the seventeenth-century Jesuit André Pérez de Ribas.From the beginning, Reff places his perspective within the arc of a pendulum that is familiar to mission scholars: “[W]hat were previously seen as ‘great men’ on a mission of God and progress . . . now are understood as sexually repressive agents of colonialism” (p. 11). In league with other historians of the “new mission history” (see, e.g., the collection of this name edited by Robert Jackson and Erick Langer), missionaries are neither vilified nor romanticized. Instead, the emphasis is on human agency, as “pagans” in imperial Rome and “Indians” in New Spain appropriated Christianity, often on their own terms. Among the interesting parallels is each group’s attraction to the pantheon of Christian saints — not surprising, given the pantheistic belief systems that predated Christianity in both places. This is one of many examples of the Christian “reflexivity to local conditions” (p. 34) that Reff suggests is behind successful evangelization in both places.The book itself is neatly divided into three chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion. Following 35 thoughtful pages of introductory historiography, the author first narrates the complex process of the rise of Christianity in Europe (150 – 800 C.E.), following with a chapter of the Jesuit missions of New Spain (sixteenth through eighteenth centuries). These two chapters are meant to focus on the role of disease, the subject of Reff’s groundbreaking demographic research, though many more cultural, political, and environmental issues are brought to bear. On the downside, this diversity of subject matter at times causes the chapters to appear a bit haphazard in their organization, as the author synthesizes such an impressive bibliography of varied works on both regions. For the Roman case, Reff understandably depends on secondary sources, yet in the Jesuit chapter there is an overdependence on Pérez de Ribas, despite the availability of numerous other Jesuit writings. All the same, the details and footnotes in these chapters are invaluable.The fourth chapter weighs the importance of early Christian literature for Jesuits in New Spain. Thus, after using the previous two chapters to make comparisons, the author turns to the possibility of connections through written narratives. In this chapter he delves into the politics and practicality of Jesuit reading. While this is not the strongest section, Reff does offer some tenuous interpretations of the role of these narratives in the colonial moment. In truth, the subject could warrant an entire book by a literary critic with the skills of Rolena Adorno. Such a treatment should involve analysis of the temporalidades, lists of written and other artifacts found in the Jesuit missions after their expulsion. These and related primary documents are missing here. In exchange, we are treated to some interesting parallels about the belief systems of each group of religious that explain their part in the conversion encounter. Echoing Sabine MacCormack, Reff discovers that Jesuit missionaries and early European religious held powerful conceptions of the devil. The Jesuits were “as convinced as [their founder] Loyola and early Christian authors that Satan as well as God were actively involved in human affairs” (p. 229). Just how these conceptions might have been changing over time, a subject of interest in MacCormack’s work on Peru, is not as fully developed. To his credit, however, the author does attempt to imagine native interpretations of religious discourse as related to them by the Jesuits, despite the lack of native voice in the historical record.Reff concludes that disease and its interpretation influenced the evangelization process, yet the worldviews of the particular missionaries, as seen in their consumption of religious narratives, played an important role as well. The resulting “hybridity” or “heterogenous mixing of traditions” (p. 244) that Reff suggests is not a new conception for religious historians; in fact, this dynamic process of religious (mis)readings and convers(at)ions is the subject of many mission histories in the past decade. The book is nonetheless highly recommended as a readable and well-researched comparative history of these complicated historical processes in two radically different settings. In the end, therefore, the book is a fine addition not only to ethnohistory but also to world history, as that corner of our discipline takes a much-needed cultural turn. Three cheers for comparative history!

Traditionally Youth Ministry is seen as an appendix to Christian Education. Many still do not even consider it to be an academic discipline within it's own right. Nel's conviction is that ministering to youth is the broader field and should be researched, studied and taught as such. The new well established paradigm of what Practical Theology is opens up new possibilities to explore and make a case for Youth Ministry as a sub-discipline within Practical Theology. Of such a sub-discipline Christian Education is a vital part. Youth Ministry however is more than Christian Education. It includes research of the present governing theories as well as the praxis. Only a Practical Theological approach to this field and ministry will bring about scientifically sound new theories arid a new praxis whereby and where in parents, churches and other agencies will be empowered to minister to the millions of children and young people around the world

This article attempts to frame the theology and teaching of Ann Loades within the categories of practical theology and Christian education. After outlining the author’s academic relationship with Loades, the author analyses the meaning of the phrase ‘practical theology’ and some aspects of the debate surrounding the term. He contends that Loades’s wide-ranging reflections on the practices of Christian prayer and spirituality, worship and liturgy, and ethics and belonging may be regarded as examples of such a practical theology. The author’s concept of ‘ordinary theology’ is then employed as a bridge into an exploration of Christian learning and teaching, which draws parallels between both Loades’s interpretation of a ‘learning Christ’ and her perspectival account of spiritual vision, and the views of other Christian educationalists and theologians. Although Ann Loades did not inhabit the rather specialised worlds of practical theologians or Christian educationalists, her work has much to contribute to both.

In 1950 practical theology, as an academic discipline encompassing the disciplines of pastoral care, Christian education, homiletics, liturgics, and congregational studies, began to be retrieved from its 19th century roots with Schleiermacher and others. “Professors [Ross] Snyder and [Seward] Hiltner organized the Association of Professors in the Practical Fields in 1950. Snyder was elected the first President, and the Association had a very productive life for more than 20 years. The [U.S.] Association of Practical Theology and the International Academy of Practical Theology have now succeeded it” (Moore, 2012). I attended my first meeting with this group in Denver in 1980 and my first international meeting in The Netherlands in 1982. A significant omission in this volume is that I did not find the names of Ross Snyder and Allen Moore, my mentor in practical theology. As pioneers in practical theology, they deserve our gratitude.

No AccessPraktische Theologie und ÄsthetikDietrich StollbergDietrich StollbergSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:May 2014https://doi.org/10.13109/path.2014.103.6.241SectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail About Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byLuthers Erben und das Unbehagen vor der spielerischen Dissonanz der Freiheit des Jazz29 December 2018 Download book coverVolume 103Issue 6June 2014 ISSN: 0720-6259eISSN: 2197-0831HistoryPublished online:May 2014 PDF download

"As an integrant part of practical theology, missiology has an advantage of not being confined within the boundaries of social science methods. Although, as an academic discipline missiological research makes use of some social science methods, its interdisciplinary nature and theological perspective should allow for innovative methodologies that not only contribute to academic research but also fulfills the mission of God even while doing research. The pilot proposal introduced in this article presented a suggestion for an innovative methodology in missiological research. The proposed method combined methodologies from two main fields, ethnography and action research, combining their elements in a method that seeks to copy some of what Jesus did in his ministry. Missiology should also contribute to the fulfillment of the mission of God in our world; consequently, the proposed ethnographic action research method has the potential to directly benefit the church’s participation in God’s mission, all this while doing research in a more innovative, outreach oriented and missional way. Finally, the practical results of the proposed method are still to be verified in missiological research. However, if all the elements mentioned above are combined in a genuine outreach methodology (as an ethnography action research plan) not only will valuable data and knowledge be gathered about a people, but also the practical claims of missiology may find a way to be fulfilled for the sake of ministry and salvation."

This book describes the link between biblical theology and mission. The contributors' description of biblical theology is the basis for carrying out their mission, where the mission will not be completed if it has not been translated through the implications of practical theology in a contemporary context. Contributors combine descriptions of biblical theology with contemporary contextualization. The mission of God's people is more than just biblical theology. Wright provides the reader with a complete Bible with a complete theology for a complete missionary task related to the creation, redemption, and the new creation.

In this research, the 2013 mission affirmation of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC), Together towards life – Mission and evangelism in changing landscapes (TTL), is evaluated through a rather unique hermeneutical lens by interpreting and assessing the ecumenical discourse in the light of the book by Kester Brewin, Mutiny, Why we love pirates and how they can save us (2012), and by integrating these insights. The research acknowledges the emphasis on life-affirming mission in TTL, and the approach that a theological bridge is established between the Christian faith, secular worldviews, indigenous religions, and wisdom traditions, because the gospel is good news for all of creation. The following questions are investigated in the light of this: How can the idea of life be reconciled with the mission of God? What is the content and scope of “life” and what is “life” all about? The focus is on the economic political-social consequences of adapting “life” as a theological point of departure. The research integrates a re-evaluation of piracy, as unpacked by Brewin, with the missional endeavour of discernment and the discovery of what “fullness of life” can mean in our day and times. It discusses piracy and mission as: resistance against the idolatry in the free-market economy; the restoration of the commons and koinonia in places where relationships flourish; living in the margins; and economic and ecological liberation in the Kingdom as a place of freedom.

While Together towards Life (TTL) offers a fresh and compelling statement of the meaning of mission and evangelism, it is delivered a dense and highly compressed text. The author of this article argues that order for TTL's rich propositional statements to be received and enacted by churches and agents of mission, they must be expressed familiar firms such as priers and songs, Bible studies and stories, pictures, and action points--Through the creation of toolkits that would offer a range of materials to be deployed as required. TTL's particular call for spiritual engagement accords with the changing landscapes of world Christianity, where new movements, especially the global South, have critiqued the cerebral and institutional forms that Christian faith has taken the West. The article concludes that the affirmation invites us to be in the to become part of the movement of the Spirit of God the life of the world, inspired by the passion that arises through the mission of God. the kingdom of God does not consist talk but power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 A pregnant moment The adoption, by the Central Committee of the WCC, of the new affirmation on mission and evangelism, Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism Changing Landscapes (TTL), September 2012 marks a wonderful moment the story of the worldwide church. (1) From across a very wide spectrum of world Christianity we have discovered that there is so much that we can say together about mission and evangelism. The importance of this achievement is highlighted if we consider what might have happened. The collusion of Christian mission with Western colonialism could have led to mission being completely discredited. The perception that mission involves an aggressive and oppositional stance, threatening peace and causing conflict, could have led to the quiet side-lining of mission and evangelism, with the WCC statement of 1982 gradually receding into distant memory. Instead we have a fresh and compelling statement that places mission and evangelism at the heart of the church's self-understanding. It frankly acknowledges the human error that has caused mission to be misunderstood or misused on occasion the past. It finds new direction and energy for mission by tracing it back to its origins the triune life of God and, particular, to the engagement of the Spirit of God with the life of the world. Rather than mission being about the aggrandizement of any community or interest group, its true nature is understood terms of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which brings the transforming love of God into the life of the world. Our calling is to discern where and how the Holy Spirit is working--and to join in. The evident reality that this Spirit-centred understanding of mission has struck a chord across such a wide spectrum of a still highly fragmented world church brings us truly to a moment of grace. Formed as we are by different histories, different theologies, and different spiritualities, we have found a point of convergence the Spirit-oriented vision of mission, which is set out TTL. For those who have mission and evangelism at heart it is a moment pregnant with possibility. This is cause for much thankfulness, but it is also a distinctly challenging situation--Will we take the opportunity it presents and make the most of it? Or will we fail to realize its rich possibilities? Specifically, will it remain the preserve of specialist scholars, professional mission functionaries, and ecumenical activists, or will it become a motivating power for the other 2,354,523,000 people who make up the world church? (2) It is safe to say that the great majority of the worldwide membership of the church have not heard of TTL. Nor are they likely to if it remains a text exclusively aimed at the specialist. Grassroots reception of the new affirmation In my own context I am responsible for a small network of churches on the west coast of Scotland. …