O "Permanecer no amor" (cf. Jo 15,9) para ser missão

O artigo se propõe apresentar a missão como fruto mais autêntico de uma espiritualidade cristã. Partindo da reflexão missiologia atual que apresenta o conceito de Missio Dei, no qual reconhece-se em Deus a fonte da missão e essa um atributo da divindade. Neste transbordamento divino sobre a criação e a humanidade, Jesus Cristo é o ápice da missão de Deus. E é a partir d'Ele que Igreja e cada fiel torna-se um colaborador da e na Missio Dei. Assim para o fiel em particular, é a partir do encontro com Jesus Cristo, que se decide como seu discípulo, busca-se configurar-se a Ele para que Ele mesmo continue a Sua missão. Percorrendo os documentos missionários do Magistério Pontifício recente e alguns documentos missionários da Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil, descobre-se a importância de ‘permanecer no amor’ de Deus, isto é, em comunhão e fidelidade a Ele para ser um missionário, seja doando a vida, rezando pelas missões ou contribuindo com elas.

Missio hominum guided by an understanding of Ubuntu for missio Dei: Nico Smith’s discovery

Missio hominum as a theological framework within the discipline of missiology in understanding missio Dei still lacks proper exploration. Few attempts have been made by theologians in the past but in different disciplines other than missiology. The exception is the previous studies by Nico Smith who investigated and conceptualised the subject at great length. This article builds on Smith’s perspectives on missio hominum with the aim of providing an in-depth understanding of the subject in an African context. This shall be achieved by juxtaposing missio hominum with an African concept of Ubuntu through a literary analysis. Ubuntu is imperative in understanding the significance of human beings within the Christian mission in fulfilling the purpose of missio Dei.Contribution: This article makes two important contributions in the field of missiology – first, by illustrating through missio hominum that human beings are God’s partners in accomplishing his mission on earth, and second, by illustrating through Ubuntu that human beings should partner with one another for the same purpose.

Missio Dei as the Main Project: Project Management Model for Mission of God

The emergence of the concept of Missio Dei (Mission of God) from the perspective of the International Missionary Council (IMC) arguably demonstrated that the role of the Triune God in his own mission was undeservedly marginalized for decades, if not centuries preceding 1952. Over the past decades there has been a sustained research activity conceptualizing Missio Dei, and at the same time renewing missiological interest in other Christian missions. However, to the author’s awareness, there has been very little or no effort to introduce or use known project models that can be utilized to show coherence or collaboration of missions towards the project of fulfilling the objective of Missio Dei. Through a desk-top literature review, this paper proposes the use of a project management model to properly conceptualize the location of Missio Dei as a main project that includes other network of missions as sub-projects within its framework. The Triune God is here identified as Project managers while human participants are seen as project stakeholders. Christian missions include Missio Christos, Missio Spiritus, Missio Hominum and Missio Ecclesiae as sub-projects. The proposed model will demonstrate the coordination and collaboration of missions in the broader context of Missio Dei and further assist with a proper understanding of roles that each mission is, or should play, in achieving the objective of Missio Dei. While efforts are being made here to propose a project management model for Missio Dei, further research is needed to determine whether this proposal will yield an in-depth understanding of Missio Dei as a missiological paradigm in conjunction with the role of other missions.

Missio hominum for social justice in South Africa: From missio Dei to missio hominum

Decades after the fall of apartheid, South Africa continues to face problems such as racism, heterosexism, sexism, ableism, xenophobia, and gender-based violence leading to feminicide, which undermines all efforts being made to achieve social justice. Every Christian mission begins or flows out from missio Dei and has a common endeavour to achieve its goal. This article examines missio hominum as the new fundamental paradigm from the perspective of Nico Smith. It believes that when Smith saw the need for missio hominum, social justice was thought of as a prerequisite for the accomplishment of missio Dei’s goal. It examines how he developed the missio hominum paradigm with the aim of advocating for social justice in South Africa. It perceives a potential and a fundamental element for social justice in this new paradigm. Significantly, missio hominum represents a fundamental theological paradigm by which human action is integrated or linked with divine action in order to achieve the goal of the missio Dei. It provides an overview of the literature relating to the featured works on Christian mission and social justice. To the best of the author’s knowledge, little or no work has been published on missio hominum as a missiological paradigm on the way to social justice.Contribution: Missio hominum from the perspective of Nico Smith is described here as a new fundamental missiological paradigm aimed at bringing social justice to South Africa. This paradigm integrates the active participation of all people in the broader discourse of the missio Dei and its fulfilment. Adoption of this paradigm will enrich the field of theology in general and missiology in particular as it expands human participation in missio Dei.

Peran Roh Kudus dalam Misi Allah

Abstrak Tulisan ini meneliti ajaran yang tersembunyi dalam narasi mengenairespon terhadap penglihatan Paulus dalam Kisah Rasul 16.Pendekatannya adalah interpretasi narasi. Sebagai hasilnya, Kisah Para Rasul 16mengajarkan pertama, kedaulatan Roh Kudus yang mendorongpemimpin-pemimpin yang dipilihnya melintasi batas-batas pandanganmereka dan kedua, mengenai peran-Nya mengajarkan agarkepemimpinan bersama perlu diterapkan di dalam prosesmelaksanakan Misi Allah. Abstract The studi analyses the unrecognized teaching of the narratives in the Book of Acts chapter 16 concerning the response to the vision of Paul. The method used is narrative interpretation. As the results, the Book of Acts 16 teaches about both the role of the Holy Spirit to bring the chosen leaders to cross their boundaries as well as to teach them to practice Shared-Leadership in Missio Dei process.

Speaking in signs: Communicating the gospel with deaf people in Zimbabwe

Churches in Zimbabwe have excluded deaf people, limiting their access, presence and participation in Missio Dei and Missio Ecclesiae. So far, there is minimal Zimbabwean theological scholarly attention to communicating the gospel with deaf people. Much of the available related literature focusses on education for deaf people. This article applies a critical disability theory, which is explanatory, practical, normative, and promotes equality and inclusion. In this contribution, communication of the gospel with deaf people is explored. Against the backdrop of marginalisation of deaf people and the inconsideration of the hearing Church, this study interrogated the gospel communication gap that needs to be bridged between deaf people and the hearing Church. The culture of deaf people and communication of the gospel in Zimbabwe were examined. Reflecting through a topic ‘Speaking in signs: Communicating the gospel with deaf people in Zimbabwe’, using a qualitative research methodology through interviews with 20 participants from different institutions for deaf people and Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, this research observed that very few denominations have reached out to deaf people with the gospel, whilst the majority have not. The study challenges traditionally exclusive Zimbabwean ecclesiology, missiology and communication of the gospel. It recommends inclusive and contextualised communication of the gospel through the incorporation of sign language and deaf culture towards effective evangelisation and discipleship of deaf people.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The trainers of deaf people, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and deaf people themselves provided an example of an interdisciplinary approach to communicating the gospel with deaf people in Zimbabwe where Ecclesiology, Communication and Disability Studies collaborate towards inclusive sharing of the gospel, and the realisation of Missio Dei and Missio Ecclesiae in Zimbabwe.