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Missiological Engagements
The State of Missiology Today: Global Innovations in Christian Witness
Mission is constantly innovating. As contexts change, so too does the work of the church. Today, in the face of a rapidly changing world and a growing global church, the task of mission must continue to innovate in unexpected ways. The State of Missiology Today explores the developments and transformations in the study and practice of mission. Looking both backwards―especially over the first half-century of Fuller Theological Seminary's School of Intercultural Studies―and forwards, the contributors to this volume chart the current shape of mission studies and its prospects in the twenty-first century. This Missiological Engagements volume features contributions by Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.
- GenresChristianity
307 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2016
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26 people want to read
About the author
Charles E. Van Engen
26 books5 followersChuck Van Engen is the Arthur F. Glasser Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology of Mission and Senior Professor of Biblical Theology of Mission and has taught in the School of Intercultural Studies since 1988. Before coming to Fuller he was a missionary in Mexico, working primarily in theological education. Van Engen also taught missiology at Western Theological Seminary in Michigan and served as president of the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America from 1998 to 1999. He is the founding president and CEO of Latin American Christian Ministries, Inc.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 18, 2022
Present-day missiology calls for innovations that are informed by the past and both include and also emphasize the contributions of the Global Church outside of the West. The authors of this book come from diverse backgrounds and places and offer insights about innovation for the future that considers the past as well as the present reality of Christianity today.
The chapter authored by J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu was especially significant to me. It offered insight to the influence of Pentecostalism on the continent of Africa and its potential for reaching the world. Asamoah-Gyadu explains how the impact of AICs that have changed the face of Christianity. He attributes much of this to the power of Pentecostal prayer. Asamoah-Gyadu (2016, 258) writes: “Pentecostalism understands fundamentally that prayer has the power of transformation and change. Prayer can overcome resistance to the message of the gospel, the work of evil powers and situations of misfortune. When prayer is delivered in tongues, it is considered even more effective because, being the tongue of angels, it ‘confuses’ the devil.”
The final chapter summarizes much of what this book reflects upon. In this chapter, Scott Sunquist presents a historian’s predictions of eight future trends in mission. These insights are particularly helpful to missions service today. Some trends, such as technology, migration, and mission from the South and East, are not surprising. However, Sunquist offers significant insight related to the importance of Scripture experience both orally and in community for the future. Similarly, Sunquist argues that due to the current trend of hostility toward missions and missionaries in places of the world with the least access to the Gospel, the future looks different for the Western Missionary. Sunquist explains:
"There is a place for the Western missionary. But now it is much more in the role of team player and specialized servant. Western missionaries will no longer have the protection of their governments or empires, or even financial support. Places where Western missionaries travel now will be difficult places with less security and comfort than in the past. Few are the places in the world where governments support, protect or even tolerate missionaries. Specifically, one missiological area that needs to be explored in such a violent and hostile world where there is so little trust in the Western missionary is that of “preemptive peacemaking.”
Going “Back to the Future” like Mary McFly has its challenges. This is because the past often represents failures as well as victories. The authors of this book rely far too much on the victories and often neglect to represent the failures of the past. Some of the book ideas paint with a broad brush and overlook the practical implications of how these ideas play out in the real world. Still there remains much to be gained in going “Back to the Future,” there is potential for course correction and new innovations from the things that we learn together.
The chapter authored by J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu was especially significant to me. It offered insight to the influence of Pentecostalism on the continent of Africa and its potential for reaching the world. Asamoah-Gyadu explains how the impact of AICs that have changed the face of Christianity. He attributes much of this to the power of Pentecostal prayer. Asamoah-Gyadu (2016, 258) writes: “Pentecostalism understands fundamentally that prayer has the power of transformation and change. Prayer can overcome resistance to the message of the gospel, the work of evil powers and situations of misfortune. When prayer is delivered in tongues, it is considered even more effective because, being the tongue of angels, it ‘confuses’ the devil.”
The final chapter summarizes much of what this book reflects upon. In this chapter, Scott Sunquist presents a historian’s predictions of eight future trends in mission. These insights are particularly helpful to missions service today. Some trends, such as technology, migration, and mission from the South and East, are not surprising. However, Sunquist offers significant insight related to the importance of Scripture experience both orally and in community for the future. Similarly, Sunquist argues that due to the current trend of hostility toward missions and missionaries in places of the world with the least access to the Gospel, the future looks different for the Western Missionary. Sunquist explains:
"There is a place for the Western missionary. But now it is much more in the role of team player and specialized servant. Western missionaries will no longer have the protection of their governments or empires, or even financial support. Places where Western missionaries travel now will be difficult places with less security and comfort than in the past. Few are the places in the world where governments support, protect or even tolerate missionaries. Specifically, one missiological area that needs to be explored in such a violent and hostile world where there is so little trust in the Western missionary is that of “preemptive peacemaking.”
Going “Back to the Future” like Mary McFly has its challenges. This is because the past often represents failures as well as victories. The authors of this book rely far too much on the victories and often neglect to represent the failures of the past. Some of the book ideas paint with a broad brush and overlook the practical implications of how these ideas play out in the real world. Still there remains much to be gained in going “Back to the Future,” there is potential for course correction and new innovations from the things that we learn together.
June 1, 2019
A collection of essays on current missiological strategies. Not really anything eye-opening or convincing. The collection is put together by Fuller seminary, and it still seems like they’re firm believers in the church-growth model, which is fine. Anything to push missions forward is worth-while, but it’s not getting me excited.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews