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.

ECO - Justice and an Emergent Missiological Aspect

In this paper the researcher discusses about the missiological discourse happening today, the researcher strongly believes that the, focus of eco -justice must be laid on the paradigm shift from the human to the earth. In this shift, the earth is the starting point and not the human. The human is only a part of the earth. Thus, the entire creation of God, the human and the nonhuman will become the subjects in the mission of God. The Oikos of life is dominated, exploited, manipulated and destroyed. People live together with all other living beings, and all the living beings are mutually interdependent. The eco -justice mission engagement of the Church is to raise up all living beings as a sovereign subject, interdependent to carry out politics of life promoting security, justice and peace. The mission movements of the Church need to work for profound renewal of the ecological stewardship and spirituality of integral life. Life-centered vision is a key component of mission.[1]Recapturing the life-centeredness in the variety of religious and cultural experiences is at the root of our understanding of God, people and the humankind as well as of our spirituality and just norms that promote eco -justice. Keywords: Church, Community, Integrity, Dignity, Justice, Responsibility, Eco -Justice, Mission, Globalization, Consumerism, Eco -Spirituality Etc.,

“Not All Roads Lead to God, but God Walks All Roads to Reach People.”

The doctrine of prevenient grace in the Wesleyan tradition has always played an important role in shaping the way we understand and participate in the mission of God (Missio Dei) and the role of the church in it. The doctrine of prevenient grace, in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition, continues to shape the understanding of holiness as God’s activity to restore broken relationships. Holiness, as it is often misunderstood, is not a physical separation between what we consider holy and unholy, churchy and worldly, pure and impure, but the redemption of broken relationships (God and humans, humans with each other, humans and creation and human with the self). The goal of this paper is to further explore the theological and missiological bases of the doctrine of prevenient grace, as understood by Wesley, and the practical implication that this doctrine has in shaping the way the church fulfills its missiological call in the world. This paper is divided into three main sections: the first part of the paper will focus on defining prevenient grace and its relationship to the mission of God (Missio Dei); the second part will explore the missiological and theological implications of the doctrine of prevenient grace, and the last part will illustrate practically the theological and missiological motivation of the work of the Church of the Nazarene with refugees in Zagreb, Croatia.

Missional Christian Communities in Conditions of Marginality: On Finding a ‘Missional Existence’ in the Post-Christian West

There is a particular vulnerability to mission in the secularized societies of Western Europe. Much of this has to do with a loss of confidence, which hinders participation in the mission of God. This article presents an analysis of this vulnerability that comes from a loss of heart, and it offers possible solutions for a bold minority mission as participation in the missio Dei. This includes the de-instrumentalization of mission and rooting it in a doxological approach. Furthermore, the biblical metaphors of exile and priesthood are explored to redefine what it means to do mission from a position of joyful weakness.

A Dimensão Eclesiológica do Batismo na Lumen Gentium

The present work aims to present the ecclesiological dimension of baptism in Lumen Gentium, in view of an ecclesiology of communion. God in his magnificence creates all things in view of the salvation of the cosmos. To make this, he relies on the contribution of human action. From human freedom God wants to save by making them the sign and sacrament of salvation for other humans. Hence, he has constituted a people to be the light and presence of God inside of humanity. This same people constituted, as God's property, had been prepared to receive Jesus Christ to fulfill salvation, generating from within themselves the new people of God who is the Church. Thus, baptism constitutes the human being as a new creature regenerated in Christ, forming the new people of God, making him a child of God and a member of the Church. As the mission of God continues in the Church and in every baptized person, all the people of God have the privilege of helping in salvation. In this way, every baptized person has his radical equality in virtue of the dignity of baptism, where all are missionary disciples. Thus, as a people of God, the laity is an ecclesial subject and a missionary disciple because he is a baptized, participant in the divinity of Jesus Christ and the director of the kingdom and salvation of God in the world.

So That They May Be Won Over Without a Word: Reading 1 Peter Through a Missional Lens

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDer erste Petrusbrief beinhaltet eine Reihe von Themen, welche die Fürsorge des Autors für die Gemeinde offenbaren. Der Brief ist bekannt für seine Anweisungen an Sklaven, Ehemänner und Ehefrauen sowie für seine Ansichten zu Leiden, sozialer Gerechtigkeit und Führung in der Gemeinde. Nichtsdestoweniger legt dieser Artikel nahe, dass das soziale Engagement des 1. Petrusbriefs sein missionales Denken nicht ausschließt. Der Artikel nimmt die Herausforderung seitens zeitgenössischer Theologen zur Frage an, wie die Theologie des 1. Petrusbriefs sein soziales Engagement zu erhellen vermag. Er bietet eine missionale Lesart des Briefes, die aufzeigt, inwieweit der Petrus die Leser einlädt, an der Mission Gottes teilzuhaben, und vor allem, wie die missionale Strategie im Brief funktioniert. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dabei den Haustafeln zuteil. Nach einer Analyse, welche Auswirkungen eine Nacherzählung der Mission Gottes in Christus für die Zuhörerschaft von Petrus hat, und einer Bewertung, welche Folgen ihre christliche Identität für ihre Teilhabe an dieser Mission hat, befasst sich der Artikel mit den Haustafeln. Dabei wägt er ab, inwieweit diese die Leser auffordern, die Welt, in der sie leben zu verändern. Der Artikel endet mit einigen Schlussfolgerungen für unsere Welt und Zeit.SUMMARYFirst Peter contains a number of themes that demonstrate the author’s burden for the Church. The letter is known for its instructions to slaves, husbands and wives, for its views on suffering, on social justice and on leadership in the Church. Yet this article suggests that the social engagement of 1 Peter also incorporates his missional thinking. The article takes up challenges from various contemporary scholars to analyse the question how the theology of 1 Peter informs this social engagement. It offers a missional reading of the letter which shows to what extent it invites the readers to participate in the mission of God and, more specifically, how Peter’s missional strategy works. Specific attention is paid to the household codes. After analysing the implications of re-telling the story of God’s mission in Christ for Peter’s audience, and evaluating the consequences of their Christian identity for participating in mission, the article tackles the household codes by assessing the extent to which they invite readers to change the world around them. At the end there are some conclusions for our time.RÉSUMÉLa première épître de Pierre contient divers thèmes qui témoignent de la préoccupation de son auteur pour l’Église. Cette lettre est connue pour ses instructions aux esclaves, aux maris et aux épouses, pour son approche de la souffrance, pour son enseignement sur la justice sociale et sur la direction d’Église. Le présent article vise à montrer qu’elle intègre à son traitement de questions sociales une pensée missionnelle. En s’appuyant sur divers travaux contemporains, Svetlana Khobnya cherche à déterminer comment la théologie énoncée dans la lettre influe sur le traitement des questions sociales. Elle propose ainsi une lecture de la lettre dans une perspective missionnelle montrant à quel point les lecteurs sont invités à prendre part à la mission de Dieu et, plus spécifiquement, comment fonctionne sa stratégie missionnelle. Elle prête une attention particulière au code domestique. Après une analyse des implications du récit de la mission de Dieu en Christ, que la lettre raconte à nouveau à ses lecteurs, et une présentation des conséquences de leur identité chrétienne pour leur participation à la mission, elle revisite le code domestique en considérant dans quelle mesure il invite les lecteurs à changer le monde dans lequel ils vivent. Elle conclut par des suggestions pour l’époque actuelle.