Mission Rediscovered: Transforming Discipleship; A Commentary on the Arusha Call to Discipleship

This review locates Kenneth Ross’s book Mission Rediscovered in the context of the history of World Mission Conferences of the World Council of Churches’ Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, the latest of which took place in Arusha, Tanzania, in March 2018. The book is a commentary on “The Arusha Call to Discipleship,” a twelve-point call to mission that was approved unanimously by the conference participants. This is an ideal book to be discussed by local congregations who want to know the latest thinking about the mission of the church.

Transnational and Translational Aspects of Global Christian Congregational Musicking

What happens to a worship song as it crosses geographical, cultural, and theological borders? How does this reallocation modify the role a song performs—and is performed—in context? This essay examines how religious songs that flow along transnational networks are transformed in the process of localization. It focuses particularly on how translation, conceived of broadly to encompass verbal and non-verbal aspects, happens within these processes. I argue that, while lyric translation remains a core component of these phenomena, it is but one of the multiple processes of localization that occur when a song travels. Throughout such processes, theology is (re)interpreted and songs are performed differently even as local congregations perceive their engagement with these repertoires as a type of connection to broader worshiping networks. Towards this end, it follows “Mighty to Save”, an Australian worship song, on its transnational path to re-localization within the context of Brazilian gospel. Analyses of the lyrical and musical translations and transformations the song is subjected to can shed further light upon the complex dynamic of transnational flows of religious repertoires in today’s interconnected world.

Tinjauan Dampak Metode Penginjilan Evangelism Explosion Bagi Pertumbuhan Jemaat Lokal

The Great Commission of the Lord Jesus commanded every believer to go make all nations. This is an important mandate called an evangelistic mandate. But there is no denying that many of God's churches or believers are not serious about carrying out the mandate of evangelism which is God's desire to bring believers to Him. The author tries to contribute to the understanding of one of the methods in evangelism, evangelism explosion method as an evangelistic method is quite effective for the growth of the local church. In obtaining accurate and accountable data, the author uses descriptive writing methods of literature. The purpose of this writing is to convey how important evangelism is in the local congregation. Then through evangelism the evangelism explosion method became a very effective method of bringing people to accept Jesus as Lord, and the Savior personally. In addition, local congregations can play an active role in evangelism. The impact of the application of this method experienced the maximum growth of the congregation and evangelism into the lifestyle of believers.Keyword : Evangelism Explosion, Local Church AbstrakAmanat Agung Tuhan Yesus memerintahkan setiap orang percaya untuk pergi menjadikan semua bangsa. Ini merupakan mandat penting yang disebut mandat penginjilan. Namun tidak bisa dipungkiri, banyak gereja Tuhan atau orang percaya tidak serius dalam melaksanakan mandat penginjilan yang merupakan keinginan Tuhan untuk membawa orang percaya kepada-Nya. Penulis mencoba memberikan kontribusi pemahaman salah satu metode dalam penginjilan, yaitu metode evangelism explosion sebagai metode penginjilan cukup efektif bagi pertumbuhan gereja lokal. Di dalam mendapatkan data-data yang akurat dan dapat dipertanggungjawabkan, penulis menggunakan metode penulisan deskriptif literatur. Tujuan penulisan ini adalah menyampaikan betapa pentingnya sebuah penginjilan dalam jemaat lokal. Kemudian melalui metode penginjilan dengan evangelism explosion menjadi metode yang sangat efektif dalam membawa orang menerima Yesus sebagai Tuhan, dan Juruselamat secara pribadi. Selain itu jemaat lokal dapat berperan aktif dalam penginjilan. Dampak dari penerapan metode ini mengalami pertumbuhan jemaat yang maksimal dan penginjilan menjadi gaya hidup orang percaya.Kata Kunci : Evangelism Explosion, Gereja Lokal

Critical Entitlement Theory on post-missionary paternalism in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

The dynamic of power troubles are the doing and thinking and that knowledge is always contingent, standing above the abyss, as stated by Prof. J. Jansen in 2009. The issue of entitlement affected the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (COCZ) at the onset of the third millennium. Leadership vacuum at the departure of missionaries led individuals to assume identities and hierarchies believed to have been interwoven into the polity and governing ideology of the COCZ. This connoted towards power, privilege and position for someone to benefit on church investments. The article suggests use of the critical Entitlement Theory (CET) to assess how contemporary situations at mission stations affect local churches and communities. Black elites who took over have created tensions and contradictions in churches by hiring persons who do not question their actions and words and persons who do not have an appreciation of the production and implementation of the church’s governing laws. Critical Entitlement Theory assumes that ‘the privileged ownership and administration theses’ that date back to white privilege in the colonial church created this problem. This ethnographic study discloses how a new interdisciplinary thinking on equity and justice to local Christians can rise to own and manage mission stations in their local congregations.

Negotiating Norwegian Mission Education in Zululand and Natal during World War II

Missionaries from the Lutheran Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) came to South Africa from the 1840s. By 1940, more than 6000 pupils were attending NMS-owned schools in Zululand and Natal. World War II brought about different forms of negotiations between the missionaries and other actors. The War resulted in the missionaries losing contact with their central board in Norway and the provincial authorities of the Union were among those bodies who came to rescue them financially. Local congregations took over more of the mission responsibilities and the nature and forms of cooperation with other Lutheran missions changed. Added to these changes was the growing aspiration among Zulu pastors for more independence that also manifested itself in the management of schools. This paper presents an analysis of the ways in which the Norwegian missionaries negotiated their educational work in Zululand and Natal during the World War II period.

Home prayer, unattended funerals and social responsibility: Muslims in Italy and the coronavirus outbreak (March-May 2020)

Sadly, in 2020 Italy was one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus (by 26 February 2021 2020: 2,868,435 infected; 96,974 dead). All religious communities in Italy had to respond quickly and clearly to a common and invisible threat, while providing guidance and support to their local congregations and complying with government provisions in order to curb the spread of the virus. From 9 March to 2 May 2020, Italy’s approximately 2.9 million Muslims, like all other residents, had to abide by the country’s strict stay-at-home orders, refraining from going out except for emergencies and to buy food. In the present article, I will make use of selected texts published on the official websites of the Unione delle Comunità e Organizzazioni Islamiche in Italia (UCOII – Union of Islamic congregations and organizations in Italy – اتحاد الهيئات والجاليات الإسلامية في إيطاليا ) and of the As sociazione Islamica Italiana degli Imam e delle Guide Religiose (Italian Islamic Association of Imams and Religious Guides; الجمعية الإسلامية الإيطالية للأئمة والمرشدين ) to deter mine and discuss: 1) which practices of the Italian Islamic community were most affected by the epidemic, and 2) how Italian Muslims carried out various symbolic and social initiatives to demonstrate their active participation in the common fight against the spread of the virus.

A Place of Belonging: Including Individuals With Significant Disabilities in Faith Communities

Faith is central to the flourishing of so many children and adults with significant disabilities and their families. For congregations striving to be a place of inclusion and belonging for their entire community, the theological call to welcome people with disabilities can introduce a host of questions: What does it mean to be a community marked by belonging? What strategies and supports should we adopt to include people well? How can others assist us in this essential endeavor? This article presents a framework for reflecting on the practices and commitments of local congregations that contribute to belonging within a community of faith.

Dort, Doleantie and Church Order

This article attends to the relationship between minor and major assemblies as prescribed by the foundational principles of Reformed church polity proposed by Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel. It reviews the limited autonomy of local congregations and the authority of broader assemblies in the Church Order of Dordrecht (1618/19), the touchstone of Dutch Reformed church polity. It considers the challenge to historic Reformed church polity posed by the ecclesiology of the Doleantie, a secession from the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (NHK) in 1886 under the leadership of Abraham Kuyper. Finally, it evaluates a contemporary church order (of the United Reformed Churches in North America), that explicitly codifies Doleantie ecclesiology. The church order fails to embody the principles of Reformed church polity set forth by Plaatjies-Van Huffel. This article concludes that it cannot be considered a Reformed church order.

Kirkevergens lederrolle

A central and specific aspect of the Church of Norway is its legally grounded democratic structure of autonomous local congregations. This local congregational organization complements the traditional synodal and/or episcopal structures of other churches. The institution of the church warden, dating back to medieval times, has been transformed into a general managerial position on behalf of the joint parish councils in each municipality. The chapter traces the roots of this position and reviews two decades of research on church wardens’ conception of managerial leadership roles. This review show that church wardens have a clear managerial identity and balance differing demands on managerial work. They are also key agents in communicating and interacting with their local communities and municipal authorities, securing legitimacy and resources.