Evangelical Perspective Research Articles

Australian Evangelical Perspectives on Youth Ministry: Identity, Church, Culture, and Discipleship, edited by Ruth Lukabyo

Australian Evangelical Perspectives on Youth Ministry: Identity, Church, Culture, and Discipleship, edited by Ruth Lukabyo

Reading Scripture in Latin America: An Evangelical Perspective From the Grassroots

This essay illustrates the practices, methods, and commitments of New Testament interpreters in Latin America. The first section provides a theoretical framework and the second section provides an example of the kind of interpretation Latin American scholars practice, focused on the Gospel of John, specifically John 9. The main thesis of the essay is that New Testament interpreters in Latin America focus both on hearing God and practising the mission of God to all people. There are particular methods that best serve this interpretive purpose. Such methods focus on the text and on understanding history for the sake of engagement with the text. The role of the reader is not so much to define beforehand what a text says or to find passages that serve a particular purpose, but to engage with the many contexts that make a text what it is, with the aim to hear the God who is behind the text.

General studies, information and communication technology and contemporary mission in Africa

This study examines the relationship between general studies, information and communication technology (ICT), and contemporary evangelism in Nigeria. Information and communication technology (is defined as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to transmit, store, create, share or exchange information. These technological tools and resources include computers, the Internet (websites, blogs and emails), live broadcasting technologies (radio, television and webcasting), recorded broadcasting technologies (podcasting, audio and video players, and storage devices) and telephony (fixed or mobile, satellite, visio/video conferencing, etc.). Contemporary evangelism and mission in Africa is a radical approach embarked upon by agents of modern religious thoughts and practices to expand the horizons of the mission of religion to mankind in the present dispensation through general studies (GS) and ICT programmes. Through the medium of ICT, Christian evangelism has received a boost in television, radio broadcasts, computers, and the Internet across cities and nations. This work is an attempt to examine the methods adopted by early missionaries in evangelising Africa vis-à-vis the modern techniques of GS and ICT, the challenges of mission, the concept of ICT and its various forms such as phones, television, radio, computers, and the Internet, and their relevance to mission. This work therefore adopted historical, missiological, and phenomenological approaches in the analysis of data.Contribution: This work discovers that radical development in communication across the globe has influenced and affected Christian methods and practices of carrying out ‘the mission of religion’ and its evangelical perspective, among others.

Asian Christian Ethics: Evangelical Perspectives, edited by Aldrin M. Peñamora and Bernard K. Wong

Asian Christian Ethics: Evangelical Perspectives, edited by Aldrin M. Peñamora and Bernard K. Wong

그리스도 중심의 복음적 관점에서 본 이규현 목사의 설교 연구

코로나19 팬데믹은 세상의 부정적인 인식과 반기독교 문화의 확산 및 신뢰도의 추락을 가져온 결정적 사건이다. 물론 코로나19 사태에 대한 한국교회의 미숙한 대처 로 잃어버린 신뢰도의 회복을 위한 목회방식의 변화도 필요하다. 그러나 한국교회의 쇠퇴기를 극복하기 위한 근본적인 대처는 복음에 기초한 본질 회복에 있다. 교회의 양적 위기, 질적 위기, 방향성 상실은 모두 설교자의 사명과 성도의 성경적 세계관에 기초한 정체성에 연관되기 때문이다. 본 연구는 현대 한국교회의 쇠퇴기 극복을 위한 ‘그리스도 중심의 복음’이 전해지는 설교를 제안한다. ‘그리스도 중심의 복음’이 전해 지는 설교는 본문을 그리스도 중심으로 해석하여 복음에 근거한 삶을 촉구하는 적용 을 제시하는 설교이다. 모든 성경은 궁극적인 흐름이 그리스도로 향해 있다. 그리스도 는 본문의 하나님과 인간의 신학적 관계를 이어주는 적용을 위한 토대가 된다. 이는 모든 본문과 신학적 관계를 맺고 있는 복음과 연관된다. 복음은 그리스도인다운 삶을 유발하는 그리스도가 행하신 구원 사역에 기초한 기쁜 소식이다. 이를 위한 분석의 가치가 있어 선정한 한국교회의 설교자는 수영로교회의 담임인 이규현 목사이다. 그는 수영로교회 교구 목사로 섬기다가 호주로 건너가 시드니 새순 장로교회를 개척하고 19년간 담임 목회로 섬기고, 2011년에 수영로교회의 초대 담임 목사인 정필도 목사의 뒤를 이어 2대 담임 목사로 부임했다. 그는 성경의 권위에 대 한 확신과 말씀 자체의 능력을 신뢰하며 그리스도 중심의 복음이 메시지의 핵심이어 야 한다고 강조하는 설교자이다. 즉 그의 설교와 사역, 목회의 중심에는 복음 곧 그리 스도가 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 이규현 목사의 성경관과 설교관을 다루며 그의 설교 를 그리스도 중심의 복음적 관점에서 분석하여 그리스도 중심의 복음이 전해지는 설 교를 위한 핵심 요소를 제시한다.

Reformed Evangelical Affirmation to Natural Theology

Does Reformed theology necessarily imply vehement objections to natural theology? Do the Reformed Christians need to despise the natural theology at all? This article argues that "the book of nature" will establish the historical-theological foundation for appreciating the general revelation in the creation and affirming natural theology. In order to get the argument, it will summarize the historical overview of liber naturae in Christianity and the Reformed tradition. Subsequently, the Reformed Evangelical perspective is a tool of theological arguments in responding to the objections to natural theology. Following the Reformed theology and Evangelicalism, the book of nature should be read in the spectacles of the Holy Scripture. Natural theology is also affirmed as a preparatory step in the gospel proclamation.

Practical theology in Arab evangelical perspective: considering a particular practice of theological reflection

ABSTRACT In this article, I describe and analyse the nature of the practice of theological reflection (TR) from a small-scale qualitative case study among Arabic-speaking evangelical theology students from Muslim-majority, Arab socio-religious contexts studying at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. As a central meaning-making process for practical theology, practices of TR can offer a window into how cultural orientations and socio-religious values shape practical theology within particular contexts. To broaden our understanding, then, of how people in Majority world contexts construct practical theology requires giving attention to key emphases in particular, local expressions of tying theological thought to practice. Using reflexive thematic analysis on data from semi-structured interviews, I generated the notion of the practice of TR engendering ‘divinely ordered connectivity’. Three additional themes constituted this notion: (1) seeing and doing with God, (2) finding the unity of all things in God, and (3) building respectful community, which together lead to ‘regulating society’ towards a divinely authorised order. The particularities of this Arab evangelical practice of TR contribute to the limited scholarship on the nature of theological discourse among Arab evangelicals’, and to understanding how socio-religious and cultural orientations shape ideas about what practical theology is in the first place.

Youth ministry as a public practical theology: A South African evangelical perspective

Youth ministry as a sub-discipline of practical theology has traditionally always had an ecclesial focus. The focus was often based on the practices of proselytisation and discipleship, a sort of ‘reach and teach’ model whereby Christian believers would do the ‘reaching and teaching’ of the ‘lost’ youth. This is most true in an evangelical context and is further undergirded by a Western concept of personal salvation nearly devoid of any communal responsibilities and context. The traditional model, therefore, in evangelical churches was reaching the ‘lost’ with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the aim of personal salvation for the individual who would eventually become a member of the faith community through a discipleship programme. Thus, the beginning and end of the entire process were the focus on personal salvation devoid of any contextual consideration. Youth ministry as practical theology must move into the area of public theology to engage the practices inherited from the western model by engaging with the public (youths) as public theologians (those who influence the theologies of the youth), and the public faiths and spiritualities (the expression of the youth’s theologies) to be relevant to the majority and developing world.Contribution: In this study, the author suggests that this ‘reach and teach’ paradigm with an ecclesial focus in the context of the majority and developing world is no longer suitable to meet the needs of youth. In addition, the author recommends a more appropriate framework with youth ministry as public practical theology for consideration.

Key Data-Based Church Growth in Indonesia From Evangelical Perspective and Critical Review of Them

The datas which is contained in the books of church growth are mostly non-empirical research, on the other hand only raises subject of motivational, hope & promises and apologetic figures. Empirical research approach on the theme or theology of church growth produces data with factual figures. Bilangan Research Center (BRC) is an empirical research institute that provides relevant, valid and current reference data on Christian spirituality and church growth. Spirituality and church growth are discussed using a national-level empirical research database. This paper examines the BRC from an evangelical perspective and critiques its findings from an ecumenical perspective.

Key Data-Based Church Growth in Indonesia From Evangelical Perspective and Critical Review of Them

The datas which is contained in the books of church growth are mostly non-empirical research, on the other hand only raises subject of motivational, hope & promises and apologetic figures. Empirical research approach on the theme or theology of church growth produces data with factual figures. Bilangan Research Center (BRC) is an empirical research institute that provides relevant, valid and current reference data on Christian spirituality and church growth. Spirituality and church growth are discussed using a national-level empirical research database. This paper examines the BRC from an evangelical perspective and critiques its findings from an ecumenical perspective.

Why not join the Roman Catholic Church?

The title of this contribution is purposefully ambivalent. It can be read as a rhetorical question: when there are so many good reasons to join the church of Rome, why should Protestants refrain from taking this step? The most important historical reason for the Reformation was the state of the church: the authority of the office, and the episcopacy were spoiled by abuse of that power. The access to Christ and his grace were blocked. To what degree is this reproach still viable? In recent years, from a Reformed and evangelical perspective, there have been many changes in that Church that have caused a rapprochement, and that have prompted many Protestants to become Roman Catholic. However, the title can also be read differently: as an argumentation against joining the Roman Catholic Church. Accordingly, this chapter will elaborate upon both possibilities and offer a number of remarks on the choice itself.

Biblical Patriotism: An Evangelical Alternative to Nationalism

In the Deep South of the United States, there has been a strong respect placed on the value of God and country, and this was always seen as a virtue. However, over the past few years, a healthy view of patriotism has blurred with concepts of nationalism. In a deeply divided nation, how should the Christian church view patriotism? These are weighty questions that need to be answered from a biblically evangelical perspective. This book seeks to take a comprehensive look at the topic by examining how the Bible frames patriotic duty as a proper alternative to both nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Both are misguided as nationalism seeks to exalt one's country against others while cosmopolitanism seeks to ignore divinely-ordained boundaries. This book also investigates how American history has framed the popular discourse about patriotism, which has resulted in both American unity and division. Biblical concepts such as loyalty in friendships, family, and land will be considered as a way to make sense of the nature of healthy patriotism. Approaching the subject with the Apostle Paul in mind, who was himself a dual-citizen in his own day, this book then explores the concept of patriotism with a discussion of two contemporary moral issues: the role of the flag in the church and the prevalence of patriotic liturgy.

The Rights and Duties of Catholic Parish and Evangelical-Augsburg Parish: Ecumenical Perspective

The Parish is a basic administrative unit of the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland. The research aims to formulate – building on the analysis of the fundamental laws of the Churches in question – a common list of the rights and duties of the parish. One can even say that there is “one Christian parish” which can be seen from a catholic and evangelical perspective.

Spiritual Struggle and Spiritual Growth of Bereft College Students in a Christian Evangelical University

This article examines spiritual struggle in bereft Christian evangelical students and how struggle might potentiate spiritual growth. The death loss of a close person can result in shattered assumptions about the world that trigger spiritual questions and struggle and spiritual struggle can be a catalyst for growth. To our knowledge, spiritual growth has not been measured utilizing the actual voices of those struggling with the loss, nor has it been measured in Christian evangelical populations who may find it more threatening to yield to spiritual questioning. The Spirit-centered Change Model guides our conceptualization of spiritual growth from a Christian evangelical perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods design, bereft college students (n=161) at a Christian evangelical university answered questionnaires about religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, meaning in life, and open-ended questions about their spiritual growth and how students’ beliefs about God had changed after the loss. Compared to non-bereft peers, bereft students reported higher daily spiritual experiences, but bereft students who struggled spiritually reported less meaning and daily spiritual experiences than bereft students who did not struggle. Narrative responses indicated that spiritual struggle simultaneously tended to reflect more expansive beliefs around God and a deepened spirituality, according to the Spirit-centered Change Model. Results reflect a first empirical step toward measuring spiritual growth as epistemological change.

Spiritual Struggle and Spiritual Growth of Bereft College Students in a Christian Evangelical University

This article examines spiritual struggle in bereft Christian evangelical students and how struggle might potentiate spiritual growth. The death loss of a close person can result in shattered assumptions about the world that trigger spiritual questions and struggle (Chen, 1997; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2006; Pargament et al., 1998), and spiritual struggle can be a catalyst for growth (Lord & Gramling, 2014; Magyar-Russell et al., 2014; Pargament et al., 1998; Pargament et al., 2011). To our knowledge, spiritual growth has not been measured utilizing the actual voices of those struggling with the loss, nor has it been measured in Christian evangelical populations who may find it more threatening to yield to spiritual questioning. The Spirit-centered Change Model (Buker, 2015) guides our conceptualization of spiritual growth from a Christian evangelical perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods design, bereft college students (n=161) at a Christian evangelical university answered questionnaires about religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, meaning in life, and open-ended questions about their spiritual growth and how students’ beliefs about God had changed after the loss. Compared to non-bereft peers, bereft students reported higher daily spiritual experiences, but bereft students who struggled spiritually reported less meaning and daily spiritual experiences than bereft students who did not struggle. Narrative responses indicated that spiritual struggle simultaneously tended to reflect more expansive beliefs around God and a deepened spirituality, according to the Spirit-centered Change Model. Results reflect a first empirical step toward measuring spiritual growth as epistemological change.

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’: What do science and faith have to do with youth ministry?

Dating back to medieval times, and some would contend even ancient biblical times, scholars of the faith have made significant contributions to scientific discovery. Theology was considered foundational to the understanding of our natural world, and possibly the motivation for scientific enquiry. No tension existed between observation and study of the natural world and faith. In modern times the rift between science and faith, from a conservative evangelical perspective, has been ever-widening with both sides viewing the other with growing suspicion. This article reflected on the impact that this approach to science and faith has had on the faith formation of youth raised within evangelical faith communities. It investigated how conservative evangelical teachings concerning the creation story has hindered the faith formation of youth in this context. We connected this tension between science and faith as we considered connections to environmental justice as it related to youth in marginalised communities in South Africa. This article served as an introductory exploration of why we believe young people are not engaging with environmental issues.Contribution: As part of the special edition on youth, faith and climate change, this article reflects on the impact that the conflicted evangelical approaches to science and faith have on the faith formation of youth raised within evangelical faith communities. It investigates how fundamentalistic evangelical teachings concerning the creation story has hindered the faith formation of youth in this context. Within the context of environmental justice and inequality, this article highlights the need for church engagement on issues related to these conflicted approaches, its effect on how youth engage on issues affecting their environments, and youth ministry practice within evangelical churches.

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’: What do science and faith have to do with youth ministry?

Dating back to medieval times, and some would contend even ancient biblical times, scholars of the faith have made significant contributions to scientific discovery. Theology was considered foundational to the understanding of our natural world, and possibly the motivation for scientific enquiry. No tension existed between observation and study of the natural world and faith. In modern times the rift between science and faith, from a conservative evangelical perspective, has been ever-widening with both sides viewing the other with growing suspicion. This article reflected on the impact that this approach to science and faith has had on the faith formation of youth raised within evangelical faith communities. It investigated how conservative evangelical teachings concerning the creation story has hindered the faith formation of youth in this context. We connected this tension between science and faith as we considered connections to environmental justice as it related to youth in marginalised communities in South Africa. This article served as an introductory exploration of why we believe young people are not engaging with environmental issues. Contribution: As part of the special edition on youth, faith and climate change, this article reflects on the impact that the conflicted evangelical approaches to science and faith have on the faith formation of youth raised within evangelical faith communities. It investigates how fundamentalistic evangelical teachings concerning the creation story has hindered the faith formation of youth in this context. Within the context of environmental justice and inequality, this article highlights the need for church engagement on issues related to these conflicted approaches, its effect on how youth engage on issues affecting their environments, and youth ministry practice within evangelical churches.

Analisis Kritis terhadap Spirit Dekonstruksi dalam Kajian Hermeneutika Kristen Kontemporer

<p><em>This paper aims to analyze the impact of Derrida's theory of deconstruction in relation to the application of contemporary Christian hermeneutics as well as an attempt at hermeneutical repositioning. The methodological approach used in this paper is descriptive qualitative with instruments of literature study, comparison and textual analysis. Concretely, critical analysis is carried out in stages of deconstruction theory, various phenomena of contemporary Christian hermeneutics, then presents the idea of Christian hermeneutics as a comparative model and discourse criticism. Meanwhile, the body of the writing is divided into three parts according to the analysis pattern. First, it specifically examines Derrida's theory of deconstruction. Second, it is an analysis of several forms of hermeneutic phenomena and discourse of Christian theology which are currently developing. Third, reviewing the Christian hermeneutic discourse from the evangelical perspective in an effort to reposition, criticize, and test discourse on the contemporary worldview. Through this research, distortions were found in hermeneutic studies and contemporary Christian discourse with several forms of deconstruction approaches. The three explicit patterns used are the hermeneutic application of binary negation to conservative theological discourse, the explicit emphasis on the textual eisegesis model and the post-structuralism approach to interpretation..</em><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Key words: </strong>Dekonstruksi, hermeneutika, oposisi biner, semantic, interpretasi biblis</p>

An African Christian Theological Evaluation of God in Selected Major Religions

Worship is a reality in different religious contexts. It moves beyond the physical to the spiritual. Moreover, the scholars of religion have also tried to reconcile the one whom worship is directed to in various religions under the concept of “God” in religion. This paper followed harmonisations of the concept of God, which is termed to be the same for all religions by some and termed to different by others. So, it is necessary to use an evangelical Christian theological basis to evaluate the understanding of “God” in two major religions on the soil of Africa. This paper, therefore, introduces the topic, discusses the concept of God in African Traditional Religion, and explains the concept of God in Islam. Also, it critically and theologically evaluates the two worldviews through the lens of an African Christian theologian from an evangelical perspective. This study concludes that several characteristics such as love, Trinity and freewill concerning human beings differentiate God in Christianity from God in Islam and African Traditional Religion.

Book Review: Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives by Timoteo D. Gener and Stephen T. Pardue

Book Review: <i>Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives</i> by Timoteo D. Gener and Stephen T. Pardue