Theology of Missions (original) (raw)
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A THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGIN OF AND NEED FOR COMMUNITY
Humanity is created in the image of God-this fact carries numerous implications for the identity of man, the nature of his interpersonal relationships, the lens through which he views existence, and the foundation and mission of the church. Where a theologically accurate anthropology contributes to a healthy view of identity and community, a theologically inaccurate or culturally diluted anthropology contributes to both a poor sense of individual spirituality and an ineffectual church. Individuals today define themselves by what they do and not who they are, by virtue of their associations rather than by virtue of their origins. Tracing the anthropology of man shows his identity is rooted in being created in the image of God, and being created in the image of God includes being created to need and thrive in community. Examples from both the Old and New Testaments show what community is, how it should function, and why it is important. Pertinent will be a brief survey the history of the church, comparing the Sitz im Leben of the early church in Acts to the current state of the church, including any recent trends that exist in today's church.
I presented my research on Philippians in the Pauline Studies section of the ETS. The Pauline Studies section met Thursday, Nov. 15 from 1:00pm–4:10pm in the Tower Building (Mezzanine Level — Denver). My talk was from 1:00–1:40pm. Linda Belleville (Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) was the moderator. The presentations are as follows: 1:00 PM—1:40 PM Gregory E. Lamb (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) Living and Dying Well in Philippians: A Comparative Analysis of Ancient Sources 1:50 PM—2:30 PM John W. Taylor (Gateway Seminary) Portrait of the Invisible: The Gifts of the Spirit as Divine Self-Disclosure 2:40 PM—3:20 PM Johnathan F. Harris (Wheaton College) A Promising Future: The Eschatological Third View as a Way Forward in the Πίστις Χριστοῦ Debate 3:30 PM—4:10 PM Stanley E. Porter (McMaster Divinity College) Beware of Philippians 3:2: Reconsidering a Supposed Imperative
Review of "The Extent of the Atonement: A Historical and Critical Review"
Book Reviews 107
2018
Effective missionary work normally depends on a combination of three preconditions, equally indispensable: (1) a body of committed and adaptable personnel who are prepared to transmit to another cultural group the relevance of the Christian message; (2) an organization that is equipped to recruit, train, fund, send, and care for such a missionary force; and (3) sustained access to international unreached areas. Throughout its history, the missionary movement has been based on these three factors and the absence of one or more of them has resulted in less than optimum achievement and has sometimes led to failure. In 2014 the South American Division decided to actively engage in the worldwide mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church by sending twenty-five families to serve as frontline missionaries in different countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The purpose of this research was to propose a model that will enable the institutions of the church in South America to engage in cross-cultural missionary work in a growing and continuous way.
North West University - Department of Theology, 2019
After many years of experience of working in desperately poor communities in South Africa, Africa and South East Asia, the researcher has come to realise that in order to achieve sustainable social transformation, a holistic poverty alleviation approach is necessary. In evaluating the approach from a biblical perspective, he was struck by the realisation that a holistic approach is biblical. Several globally acknowledged missiologists refer to holistic poverty alleviation as Integral Mission, for example: (Buys, 2013a:67–96); Goheen (2011:25); Jansen (2017:21); Stott (2015:17-22); Wright (2010:274-278). The Cape Town Commitment II-B-3 states that “Integral Mission means discerning, proclaiming, and living out, the biblical truth that the Gospel is God’s good news, through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for individual persons, for society, and creation. All three are broken and suffering because of sin; all three are included in the redeeming love and mission of God; all three must be part of the comprehensive mission of God’s people” (The Lausanne Movement, 2010). And the Micah Declaration defines Integral Mission as “the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in Integral Mission, our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ” (Micah Network, 2001:1). This study endeavours to, summarise and evaluate several tried and tested social development principles of poverty alleviation in the light of biblical and current missiological principles. In order to identify key principles, a practical assessment of the African Honey Bee project in the uMfolozi area in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, will be undertaken and evaluated. The object is to develop a biblical framework that can be practically applied by practitioners for Integral Mission elsewhere.
THE THEORETICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTNERSHIP IN MISSIONS
This paper has discussed the theoretical characteristics of partnership in missions and first of all it provided a well-defined explanation on what does it mean by partnership in missions. It challenged the necessity to understand partnership in the missional context, and mission itself is of God (Missio Dei). This explains that partnership in missions is a relevant issue in many ministries and countries today. Moreover, unity in diversity is the strength of any partnership ministries. Partnership in missions is the biblical mandate ministries for Christian leaders around the world for the more immediate extension of the Kingdom. As a result, the researcher discussed the biblical model of partnership in missions such as: 1) Partnership as God’s Nature, 2) Jesus’ model of partnership, 3) Holy Spirit as senior partner for Christians, 4) Paul’s model of partnership, and 5) mission and Ecumenism. Thus, the Christians are to take partnership ministries seriously. Finally, Christian ministers must aware of the hindrances in partnership ministries. They are the critical factors that hamper partnership ministries. For the effectiveness of partnership in missions, it needs a healthy control with regard to especially the relationship between the supporter and the one who is being supported. Christian ministers must develop “Christlikeness – attitude.” Effective communication is a must – required in any ministries in order to build trust, confidence and avoid misunderstanding. The partnership ministries’ visions, agendas, policies and procedures must be clearly and adequately shared within the synergic ministries.