Missional Insights: Exploring the Foundations of Mission in the Southeastern European Context

Our participation in God’s mission to the world is a mandate for all followers of Jesus Christ - however, our understanding of thewhat, why, and how of God’s mission is often viewed through the lens of immediate historical precedent and personal experience. As mission is intrinsically related to how we understand God, who we are as God’s people, and how we think about God’s purposes in our particular contexts, it is therefore important to reflect upon its Biblical, theological, and historical foundations. In light of this, the article will explore the qualitative nature of God’s mission and suggest some ways in which to think about our participation in God’s mission in a Southeastern European context

Mission and the Reformation: Lessons from the Reformers and the Anabaptists

Scholarly interaction has ranged from arguing that the Reformers were indifferent toward mission to asserting that both Luther and Calvin had theologies of mission embedded in their understanding of the gospels and emphasis on preaching the word of God. On the other hand, during the same time period, the Anabaptists emerged as a movement with a radical and deliberate mission praxis. How can strains of a new and emerging Protestantism, in similar socio-political contexts, develop such different mission praxis? This paper explores this discrepancy between these two movements and then offers implications and questions for the 21st century church-in-mission

Missional Insights: Exploring the Foundations of Mission in the Southeastern European Context

Our participation in God’s mission to the world is a mandate for all followers of Jesus Christ - however, our understanding of thewhat, why, and how of God’s mission is often viewed through the lens of immediate historical precedent and personal experience. As mission is intrinsically related to how we understand God, who we are as God’s people, and how we think about God’s purposes in our particular contexts, it is therefore important to reflect upon its Biblical, theological, and historical foundations. In light of this, the article will explore the qualitative nature of God’s mission and suggest some ways in which to think about our participation in God’s mission in a Southeastern European context

“Discerning the Body” in Cross-Cultural Relationships: A Critical Analysis of Missional Partnership in Southeastern Europe

21st century mission, now recognized as being from “everywhere to anywhere,” has increasingly focused on the concepts of mission partnerships and interdependence. However, all too often, mission partnerships in Southeastern Europe seem entrenched in narratives of dysfunctional relationships. Is the power and impact of the global Church as it participates in God’s mission directly related to how we function together across the boundaries of ethnicity, tradition, and socio-economic status? If so, how can both national Christians and foreign missionaries step out of repeating negative relational patterns? In order to explore some of the foundational issues rooted in this question, this paper will first discuss a missiological reading of 1 Corinthians 11:17- 34. Secondly, this paper will critically analyze a Croatian case study, which highlights a past successful partnership between nationals and Western missionaries, focusing on three pertinent concepts that emerge: organic teams, economic paradigms, and the foundation for true power in mission. Finally, in light of both Paul’s directives and the issues raised in the case study, the paper will offer missiological implications for future cross-cultural relationships in Southeastern Europe

Misija i reformacija: Lekcije iz iskustva reformatora i anabaptista

Znanstvena interakcija kretala se od rasprave da su reformatori bili indiferentni prema misiji do tvrdnje da su Luther i Calvin imali misijsku teologiju ugrađenu u njihovo razumijevanje Evanđelja i davanje naglaska na propovijedanje Božje riječi. S druge strane, tijekom istoga vremenskog razdoblja anabaptisti su se pojavili kao pokret s radikalnom i promišljenom misijskom praksom. Kako strujanja novonastaloga protestantizma u sličnim socio-političkim kontekstima mogu razviti toliko različitu misijsku praksu? Ovaj članak istražuje taj raskorak između dva pokreta, a zatim nudi implikacije i pitanja relevantna za misijsku Crkvu 21. stoljeća

Misijski uvidi: istraživanje misijskih temelja u kontekstu Jugoistočne Europe

Sudjelovanje u Božjoj misiji u svijetu nalog je svim sljedbenicima Isusa Krista – međutim, razumijevanje onoga što podrazumijeva što, zašto i kako u Božjoj misiji, često biva promatrano kroz objektiv neposrednih povijesnih primjera i osobnog iskustva. Budući da je misija bitno povezana s načinom našeg razumijevanja Boga, našim postojanjem kao Božjim narodom i načinom na koji promišljamo Božje svrhe u našim specifičnim kontekstima, vrlo je važno, dakle, razmotriti biblijske, teološke i povijesne temelje misije. U svjetlu toga, ovaj će članak istražiti kvalitativnu narav Božje misije i predložiti promišljanje sudjelovanja u Božjoj misiji u kontekstu Jugoistočne Europe

“Poznavanje Tijela” u transkulturalnim odnosima: Kritička analiza misionarskog partnerstva u Jugoistočnoj Europi

Misionarski rad u 21. stoljeću prepoznat je kao rad “od svuda prema bilo kuda” i sve je više usmjeren na koncepte misionarskih partnerstava i međuovisnosti. Međutim, isuviše često misionarska partnerstva u Jugoistočnoj Europi ostaju ukopana u pričama o disfunkcionalnim odnosima. Jesu li snaga i utjecaj globalne Crkve koja sudjeluje u izvršenju Božjeg nauma u neposrednoj vezi sa našom sposobnošću da funkcioniramo zajedno preko granica naše etničke pripadnosti, tradicije i društveno-ekonomskog statusa? Ako je tome tako, kako onda domaći i strani kršćani mogu nadići ponavljajuće negativne obrasce svojih odnosa? Kako bi istražio neke od temeljnih pretpostavki koje proizlaze iz prethodnog pitanja, ovaj članak će prvo razmotriti misiološko štivo Prve poslanice Korinćanima 11,17-34. Drugo, ovaj članak će ponuditi kritičku analizu odabranog hrvatskog slučaja koji svjedoči o primjeru jednog uspješnog prošlog partnerstva između domaćih i zapadnih misionara, usmjeravajući se na tri relevantna koncepta koji iz njega proizlaze: organski timovi, ekonomske paradigme, te temelji istinske snage misionarstva. Na poslijetku, uzimajući u obzir Pavlove upute i ključna pitanja koja proizlaze iz odabrane studije slučaja, članak će predložiti misiološke implikacije za buduće trans-kulturalne odnose u Jugoistočnoj Europi

“Discerning the Body” in Cross-Cultural Relationships: A Critical Analysis of Missional Partnership in Southeastern Europe

21st century mission, now recognized as being from “everywhere to anywhere,” has increasingly focused on the concepts of mission partnerships and interdependence. However, all too often, mission partnerships in Southeastern Europe seem entrenched in narratives of dysfunctional relationships. Is the power and impact of the global Church as it participates in God’s mission directly related to how we function together across the boundaries of ethnicity, tradition, and socio-economic status? If so, how can both national Christians and foreign missionaries step out of repeating negative relational patterns? In order to explore some of the foundational issues rooted in this question, this paper will first discuss a missiological reading of 1 Corinthians 11:17- 34. Secondly, this paper will critically analyze a Croatian case study, which highlights a past successful partnership between nationals and Western missionaries, focusing on three pertinent concepts that emerge: organic teams, economic paradigms, and the foundation for true power in mission. Finally, in light of both Paul’s directives and the issues raised in the case study, the paper will offer missiological implications for future cross-cultural relationships in Southeastern Europe