Warrick Farah - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Warrick Farah

International Journal of Frontier Missiology, 2023

At a fundamental level, the discipline of frontier missiology is based on crossing difference:” d... more At a fundamental level, the discipline of frontier missiology is based on crossing difference:” dissimilarities between peoples are significant enough to require an intentional apostolic effort to engage such peoples. By contrast, much of contemporary missiology is based on “uniting difference:” distinctions between peoples are harmful to the unity of Church and a pastoral response requires the ministry of reconciliation. In this regard, Donald McGavran’s infamous Homogeneous Unit Principle (HUP) serves as an inflection point between frontier missiology and contemporary missiology. The apparent contradiction lies between an apostolic function and a pastoral function, both of which are needed, but at different times and in different ways. Phenomenologically, church planting movements (CPMs) highlight this tension. In this lecture, after presenting three short case studies introducing CPM’s intersection with the HUP, I’ll share what I’ve discovered specifically as it relates to the nature of church multiplication within networked oikos churches. Along the way, I’ll make two proposals: 1) that “homophilous” is a more appropriate term than “homogeneous,” and 2) the HUP is better understood as a “paradox” and not a “principle.”

Global Missiology, 2022

As a global discussion and a significantly large phenomenon in the world today, church planting m... more As a global discussion and a significantly large phenomenon in the world today, church planting movements (CPM) or disciple making movements (DMM) have attracted much attention and enthusiasm in the missions community. They are widely accepted, and many different agencies have adopted movemental approaches to ministry in the past two decades. However, there is also a minority view of detractors who disagree with the voluminous case studies and published literature on movements. This article responds to some of those critics-represented here by the recently published No Shortcut to Success-by engaging that book's important critiques but also what this article's authors believe to be misinformation and ambiguous logic inherent in the book's arguments. The authors hope that this approach will foster a helpful, constructive, and ongoing dialogue on movements missiology for the missions community.

Missiology: An International Review, 2022

While the dramatic growth of church-planting movements (CPMs) in non-Christian contexts around th... more While the dramatic growth of church-planting movements (CPMs) in non-Christian contexts around the world provides ample opportunity to explain their emergence and significance, a missiology of these movements is struggling to keep pace. This article argues that CPM is a unique feature in the field of mission studies that emerged in the later 20th century. Although it shares some of the same characteristics as the early Church Growth Movement discourse, CPMs today are a specific type of movement occurring mostly in least-reached Muslim and Hindu contexts. CPM missiology contains a number of features and unknowns which demonstrate that the discourse is both evolving and invaluable for how the global church understands mission. Keywords: church-planting movements, disciple-making movements, people movements, church growth movement, contemporary history of missions

Great Commission Research Journal, 2021

The proliferation of church planting movements in least-reached peoples today provides an opportu... more The proliferation of church planting movements in least-reached peoples today provides an opportunity ripe for missiological research. Using the online application form for the Movements Research Symposium 2020 of the Motus Dei Network, this article identifies six gaps of understanding in the missiological discourse on movements: 1) Deepening Theological-Missiological Descriptions of Movements, 2) Identifying Best Practices and Effective Movement Strategies, 3) Clarifying Issues of Ecclesiology-Practical, Theological, and Spiritual, 4) Training Movement Catalysts and Practitioners, 5) Highlighting Contextual, Sociological, and Holistic Features of Movements, and 6) Documenting Movements with Respect to Verification, Metrics, and Administration. However, issues of positionality make investigating these gaps difficult, especially considering the problematic insider/outsider dichotomy in research. Opportunities for integration of perspectives are suggested in a way that values a multiperspectival framework while prioritizing and empowering local research initiatives.

IMES, 2021

Farah, Warrick, and Alan Hirsch. 2021. “Movemental Ecclesiology: Recalibrating Church for the Nex... more Farah, Warrick, and Alan Hirsch. 2021. “Movemental Ecclesiology: Recalibrating Church for the Next Frontier.” IMES (blog). 2021. https://abtslebanon.org/2021/04/15/movemental-ecclesiology-recalibrating-church-for-the-next-frontier

This post contrasts a "typical ecclesiology" with a "movemental ecclesiology" in order to propose a way of imagining Church as a living, distributed, incarnational, network — the very essence and mark of all world-changing, transformative movements.

Mission Frontiers, 2021

This article discusses the strategic nature of church planting movements research and communal be... more This article discusses the strategic nature of church planting movements research and communal benefits for the Church on mission. A theological concept called "motus Dei" is briefly introduced. This forms the basis for the Motus Dei Network focusing on the missiological study of global movements to Christ and is a collaboration between mission agencies, movement practitioners, and academic research centers.

Farah, Warrick. 2021. “The Motus Dei Network: Fostering Communal Intelligence on Movements.” Mission Frontiers 43 (2): 39–41.

The Religious Other: A Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur'an and Muhammad, 2020

“Islam is not a religious system. It is an actual spiritual being that holds people in bondage. P... more “Islam is not a religious system. It is an actual spiritual being that holds people in bondage. Pray with me to break the Spirit of Islam!” exclaimed the conference speaker to begin a time of corporate prayer. The clear implication of his statement was that Muslims everywhere are imprisoned by the same malevolent force and all suffer the identical demonic oppression. And yet, are there other ways to think of the spiritual conflict in ministry to Muslims? Merely asking such a mitigating question often leads to accusations of “minimizing truth” and failing to engage the “dark side of Islam.” So, how do we discern the spiritual realities in Islamic contexts?

Since 9/11, Islam has frequently been denounced by evangelicals as demonic and inherently violent. Within the evangelical community the opening quotation is neither an isolated incident nor even a particular rarity. Especially in the American context, demonization of Islam spans three centuries and finds deep roots in American history. This kind of spiritualizing of a religion’s adherents is often absent when considering Buddhists, Hindus or Mormons. There are historical and political reasons that explain these tendencies, but my purpose here is not to explore these.

Evangelicals who serve within a Muslim context frequently report confrontations with the occult and demonic oppression. Subsequently, there are many extraordinary stories of healing and miraculous divine intervention. Theological hermeneutics and denominational traditions play a large role in shaping practical responses to spiritual conflict, but again, a discussion of these issues goes beyond the scope of this chapter. It is all too easy to get caught in the philosophical/theological crossfire: colleagues of mine who minister in the “signs and wonders” camp claim I am not charismatic enough, while coworkers on the other side of the spectrum accuse me of being too supernaturally oriented. In finding my own place in these issues, I classify my personal theological stance on spiritual gifts and supernatural conflict in mission as that of a “boring charismatic.” I do believe in all the supernatural gifts (although I’m still waiting for mine!), but I’m adverse to the sensationalism that often follows contemporary charismatic movements.

So rather than discuss the practical implications of supernatural ministry among Muslims, my emphasis in this chapter is more fundamental and pertains to our biblical theology of Islam. I will focus on the nature of the spiritual conflict in Islamic contexts. Does the spiritual conflict stem from Islam itself – as an evil spiritual covenant or as an actual demonic entity masquerading as a religion? In what ways are the evil, supernatural powers in Islamic contexts essentially different when compared with other religious traditions? Are military metaphors appropriate for conceptualizing our ministry to Muslims? What exactly are the spiritual realities we face in the Christian-Muslim encounter?

In this chapter, I hope to demonstrate how a biblically-grounded approach to spiritual conflict (and to the “religious other”) can make us more discerning and, in turn, fruitful in our missiological encounter with Muslims.

I continue this with the following sections:

Spiritual Profiling?
Ordinary Muslim Piety
Sources of Spiritual Conflict in Islamic Contexts
Idolatrous Loyalty and Spiritual Oppression
Beyond Military Metaphors for Mission

This is one of the most challenging pieces I have written on ministry to Muslims, but I believe it is one of the most important and unique contributions I have made. There is a lot in here I wish I would have known 20 years ago.

Full chapter available here: https://amzn.to/3puNTvv

The Religious Other: A Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad, 2020

As Martin Accad has proposed, “Your view of Islam will affect your attitude to Muslims. Your atti... more As Martin Accad has proposed, “Your view of Islam will affect your attitude to Muslims. Your attitude will, in turn, influence your approach to Christian-Muslim interaction, and that approach will affect the ultimate outcome of your presence as a witness among Muslims.” I would like to add a more foundational layer to this proposal, namely, that your understanding of religion and culture will affect your view of Islam. In other words, your view of Islam inevitably hinges upon your approach to religion and culture, and specifically, the relationship between the two.

In this article, I would like to show how these ideas play out in the missiological discourse of ministry to Muslims. In the interest of space, I will not focus on a theology of religion (although the discerning reader will see hints of it throughout). Instead, I will focus on the more basic concepts of religion and culture. As we will see, the contemporary debate concerning approaches of ministry to Muslims is complex, and different presuppositions about culture and religion can lead to drastically different understandings of Islam.

The chapter continues with the following sections:

Culture: Secular, Evil or Theological?
Religion: Western Invention, Belief System, or Subset of Culture?
Epistemological Perspective: Top-Down or Bottom-Up?
Form and Meaning: Equated, Separate, or Corresponding?
Islam: Cultureligion or Religiolatry?

My approach in this essay offers examples from missiology where different answers to the above questions will take you in diverse directions as you interpret “Islam.”

Full article available here: https://amzn.to/3puNTvv

Global Missiology, 2020

God's mission is diverse, and so are the ways missiologists discuss it. This article outlines a c... more God's mission is diverse, and so are the ways missiologists discuss it. This article outlines a constructive missiology of the current "disciple-making movement" phenomenon in a way that makes creative connections between different conversations in the field of mission studies. In so doing, a new concept called motus Dei (Latin for movement of God) is situated into our understanding of the missio Dei.

Farah, Warrick. 2020. “Motus Dei: Disciple-Making Movements and the Mission of God.” Global Missiology 2 (17): 1–10.

http://ojs.globalmissiology.org/index.php/english/article/view/2309

Evangelical Missions Quarterly, 2019

Taking into consideration the ambiguous nature of religion, a reconsideration of the historicity ... more Taking into consideration the ambiguous nature of religion, a reconsideration of the historicity of Islamic origins, and the diversity of Muslim contexts, this article discusses the important topics to consider when constructing a biblical theology of Islam. In the light of authoritative biblical revelation, this approach also illuminates the connections between theology-in-context and the practice of disciple making.

Farah, Warrick. 2019. "Outlining a Biblical Theology of Islam: Practical Implications for Disciple Makers and Church Planting." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 55(1):13-16.

Farah, Warrick. 2018. "How Muslims Shape and Use Islam: Towards a Missiological Understanding." I... more 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.

Farah, Warrick. 2018. "Adaptive Missiological Engagement with Islamic Contexts." International Jo... more Farah, Warrick. 2018. "Adaptive Missiological Engagement with Islamic Contexts." International Journal of Frontier Missiology 35(4):171-178.

Farah, Warrick, and Kyle Meeker. 2015. "The ‘W’ Spectrum: ‘Worker’ Paradigms in Muslim Contexts."... more Farah, Warrick, and Kyle Meeker. 2015. "The ‘W’ Spectrum: ‘Worker’ Paradigms in Muslim Contexts." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 51(4).

Farah, Warrick. 2013. "Emerging Missiological Themes in MBB Conversion Factors." International Jo... more Farah, Warrick. 2013. "Emerging Missiological Themes in MBB Conversion Factors." International Journal of Frontier Missiology 30(1):13-20.

Discusses factors influencing Muslims to embrace biblical faith.

Farah, Warrick. 2015. "The Complexity of Insiderness." International Journal of Frontier Missiolo... more Farah, Warrick. 2015. "The Complexity of Insiderness." International Journal of Frontier Missiology 32(2):85-91.

Proposes a model for understanding the varieties of Muslim Background Believers and how they relate to their contexts while avoiding the unhelpful insider/outsider binary and elastic ambiguity of the concept of religion. Concludes that the so called "insider movement" and "insider proponent" are ill-defined terms.

Book Reviews by Warrick Farah

Books by Warrick Farah

Motus Dei, 2021

https://amzn.to/3xs9ZHE An incredible breakthrough in missions history is taking place as discip... more https://amzn.to/3xs9ZHE

An incredible breakthrough in missions history is taking place as disciples of Jesus make more disciples of Jesus around the globe, particularly among the least-reached. But what exactly are these church planting or disciple making movements? Where are they occurring and what are their unifying features? How are they manifesting in diverse populations? And can you or your organization be instrumental in catalyzing more movements? Motus Dei, Latin for "movement of God," seeks to answer these questions and more. Warrick Farah has expertly synthesized an extensive conversation between mission practitioners, scholars, and seasoned movement leaders from around the world. The resulting in-depth analysis of movements provides a multi-disciplinary academic investigation of an emerging "movements missiology," highlighting the importance of theology, social sciences, ethnology and anthropology, communications theory, leadership theory, and statistical analysis. Motus Dei locates the current Church Planting Movement (CPM) phenomenon within modern history, while tracing its roots back to the first century, and articulates a missiological description of the dynamics of Disciple Making Movements (DMMs) in Asia, Africa, and diaspora contexts in the Global North. Offering over thirty first-hand accounts of indigenous churches planting churches among the nations, Motus Dei provides a seedbed for growing movements in diverse contexts. There are lessons to be learned here by anyone seeking to participate in the movement of God.

Farah, Warrick, ed. 2021. Motus Dei: The Movement of God to Disciple the Nations. Littleton, CO: William Carey.

Farah, Warrick. 2015. Factors Influencing Arab Muslims to Embrace Biblical Faith That Inform Adap... more Farah, Warrick. 2015. Factors Influencing Arab Muslims to Embrace Biblical Faith That Inform Adaptive Evangelism in Islamic Contexts, Doctor of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA.

According to Richard Peace, “How we conceive of conversion determines how we do evangelism” (1999, 286-9). Through inductive coding and qualitative content analysis, this research investigates the common themes found in the faith journeys of twenty-four Muslim background believers (MBBs) in “Islamland” and compares it with the experience of twenty-six other Arab MBBs to provide a comprehensive description of the specific factors that influence Arab Muslims to embrace biblical faith. These factors are examined and analyzed through sustained critical reflection on missiological views concerning conversion from Islamic backgrounds and additional relevant issues in evangelical missiology. Based on a robust understanding of Arab MBB conversions, a proposal for “Adaptive Evangelism Discovery” is envisioned whereby cross-cultural workers learn together in missiological reflection. The anticipated outcome of this reflection is for individual workers to integrate the Arab MBB conversion journeys with their personal experiences of evangelism and philosophies of ministry in order to stimulate “adaptive” witness among Muslims in our day.