MI 700 History of Christian Mission

REQUIRED TEXTS Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. Rev. ed. New York: Penguin, 1986. Bevans, Stephen B. and Roger P. Schroeder. Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004. Seamands, John T. Pioneers of the Younger Churches. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001. Tucker, Ruth A. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004. Pachuau, Lalsangkima, ed. Ecumenical Missiology: Contemporary Trends, Issues and Themes. Bangalore: UTC, 2002. (Photocopy of relevant chapter to be made available).https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/2723/thumbnail.jp

MI 770 Christian Mission and Global Culture

TEXTBOOKS Barnett, Mike & Michael Pocock, eds. The Centrality of Christ in Contemporary Missions. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2005. Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2005, 2006. Rifkin, Jeremy. The Age of Access: The New Culture of Hypercapitalism Where All of Life is a Paid-For Experience. Tarcher/Putnam, 2000. Schreiter, Robert J, C.PP.S. The New Catholicity: Theology between the Global and the Local. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997. Snyder, Howard A. EarthCurrents: The Struggle for the World’s Soul. Abingdon, 1995.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/2770/thumbnail.jp

MI 730 Biblical Theology of Mission

Bible: NRSV or NIV Bosch, David. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll (NY): Orbis Books, 1991. Newbigin, Leslie. The Open Secret: Sketches of a Missionary Theology. Revised. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995. Wright, Christopher. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/3549/thumbnail.jp

MI 630 730 Biblical Theology of Mission

A study of principal texts in the Old and New Testaments dealing with mission, evangelism, discipling, and renewal, with attention to relevant scholarly debate regarding their significance. (catalog) The study of principal texts is done both thematically and textually. Major biblicaltheological themes of missiological importance are dealt with using scholarly approaches for their meaning and significance in the understanding and practice of Christian mission.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/1298/thumbnail.jp

IS 501 Christian Formation: Kingdom, Church and World

Course Rationale: It is altogether reasonable to ask why a particular course is required. There is a sense in which this entire syllabus is intended to answer that question, but this course has at least two over-arching intentions. First, an essential skill for all engaged in Christian ministry is the ability to “think theologically.” To think theologically is not merely to be able to appropriate certain proof texts in order to give “biblical” answers to given questions. Rather, it involves the ability to begin to “get our arms around” the biblical message as a canonical whole, to be able to inquire of the biblical narratives in an integrative way, and to be able to develop our answers in a more holistic fashion. Already, we have referenced our ability to properly appropriate the biblical texts, and this brings us to the second over-arching intention: to begin to see the scriptures as organized around certain integrative motifs such as “kingdom.” In this regard, this course integrates theological reflection and biblically informed practice and demonstrates its significance for God’s people.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/1279/thumbnail.jp

MI 630 Biblical Theology of Mission

Bible: NRSV or NIV Bosch, David. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll (NY): Orbis Books, 1991. Newbigin, Leslie. The Open Secret: Sketches of a Missionary Theology. Revised. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995. Wright, Christopher. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/3548/thumbnail.jp

Vulnerability and Empowerment in Crossing Frontiers: A Christian Theology of Mission

This paper was presented in Asbury Theological Seminary, on May 9, 2013, at Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau’s installation in the J.W. Beeson Chair of Christian Mission. In this essay, he explores the frontier crossing aspects of mission theology in the light of a Trinitarian view of the missio Dei. In particular, he examines the account of Peter and Cornelius crossing the Jewish- Gentile frontier in the book of Acts

Identity Formation for Conciliatory Existence: How We Perceive the Other

In this article we interface mission, theology and psychology in an exploration of what hinders and what enables conciliatory existence. Whereas common approaches to reconciliation focus on redressing past wrongs, we propose identity formation that would prevent such wrongs. We consider how people integrate elements of their social context into a social identity that influences how they perceive the other. Understanding this to be divine action that transforms psychological processes, we draw from all three disciplines to understand the dynamics of how we come to see the other. Biblical theology provides penetrating narratives into the nature of fallen humanity and its proclivity toward self-aggrandizement and strife. Psychosocial analysis recognizes that the processes of socialization so necessary to promote belonging and identity formation, are also quite capable of turning others into objects of scorn and hatred. Yet, both theology and psychology, posit that despite however distorted human nature may be, it has the potential of being re-created. We locate the work of reconciliation as beginning with the being and action of God on behalf of humanity and demonstrated powerfully in the transformation of the apostles in the book of Acts

Witnessing to Christ in a Pluralistic World Christian Mission among Other Faiths

The relationship of Christian faith and mission to other living faiths is a core issue in contemporary mission. In a world where plurality of faiths is increasingly becoming a norm of life, insights on the theology of religious plurality are needed to strengthen our understanding of our own faith and the faith of others ... As part of the study process, position papers and case studies were invited from a wide range of contributors representing various theological positions, confessional traditions and denominational bodies. The position papers are reflections on the theme by scholars belonging to Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant-Conciliar, Protestant-Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Seventh-Day Adventist Churches. Among the case studies are articles on Christian mission among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, new religious movements and folk or primal religions.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1024/thumbnail.jp