Mission the “labour room” of theology

Mission the “labour room” of theology
Author: Johannes Knoetze
Publisher: Digital on Demand
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2022-11-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1868045269

Johannes Knoetze, Associate Professor in Practical Theology and Missional Studies at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Pretoria, served as the editor of this extremely important and relevant publication Mission the “labour room” of theology. The book comprises of 21 chapters by various esteemed scholars in Missiology or Missional Studies. The contributors engage critically with mission history and mission understandings from different contexts in Southern Africa. The book is divided in three sections. The first gives a historical, denominational, and current overview of mission in Africa. A second section focuses on current theological understandings of the origin of mission, the changing contexts of mission as well as importance of mission studies in the theological curriculum in Africa, especially in the 21st century Africa. A third section looks at the “how” of mission, different modes or figure of mission under the title: “Mission as... or mission in the context of...” It is an attractive publication with a wealth of information and a wide collection of reflections on the transmittance and reception of faith in (Southern) African contexts. The chapters are written in a clear, concise and understandable style. This book will appeal to a wide audience, ranging from undergraduate students, ministers, mission practitioners, lecturers teaching practical theology/missiology/missional studies and scholars engaging in academic research.

Experiencing God in Everything and Nothingness

Experiencing God in Everything and Nothingness
Author: Annette Potgieter
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2024-05-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 166676437X

COVID-19 has impacted the way we see the world and the way we view spirituality; in times of crisis, people turn or return to religion or spirituality. Most of the South African population identifies as Christian. This brings to the fore what is meant by “spirituality” in a country crippled by the remains of apartheid structure, rampant corruption, poverty, and various systemic problems. Overall, there is a lack of scholarship investigating “spirituality” and “spirituality studies” from the global South. This book aims to bridge the gap. New avenues are investigated of thinking about God in difficult circumstances, as ideologies of hope and prosperity are reshaped. This book links text and context, spirituality and material culture, self and society, the analogue and the digital, contemplation and action, saying and unsaying; in short, the question of experiencing God in both everything and nothingness comes under the scope of this book.

Christ at the Checkpoint

Christ at the Checkpoint
Author: April Alexander
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1610972309

What does the evangelical church in Palestine think about the land, the end times, the Holocaust, peace in the Middle East, loving enemies, Christian Zionism, the State of Israel, and the possibilities of a Palestinian state? For the first time ever, Palestinian evangelicals along with evangelicals from the United States and Europe have converged to explore these and other crucial topics. Although Jews, Muslims, and Christians from a variety of traditions have participated in discussions and work regarding Israel and Palestine, this book presents theological, biblical, and political perspectives and arguments from Palestinian evangelicals who are praying, hoping, and working for a just peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Social Justice in Twentieth-Century Europe

Social Justice in Twentieth-Century Europe
Author: Martin Conway
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2024-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1009370839

Social justice has returned to the heart of political debate in present-day Europe. But what does it mean in different national histories and political regimes, and how has this changed over time? This book provides the first historical account of the evolution of notions of social justice across Europe since the late nineteenth century. Written by an international team of leading historians, the book analyses the often-divergent ways in which political movements, state institutions, intellectual groups, and social organisations have understood and sought to achieve social justice. Conceived as an emphatically European analysis covering both the eastern and western halves of the continent, Social Justice in Twentieth-Century Europe demonstrates that no political movement ever held exclusive ownership of the meaning of social justice. Conversely, its definition has always been strongly contested, between those who would define it in terms of equality of conditions, or of opportunity; the security provided by state authority, or the freedom of personal initiative; the individual rights of a liberal order, or the social solidarities of class, nation, confession, or Volk.

Work and Our Labor in the Lord

Work and Our Labor in the Lord
Author: James M. Hamilton Jr.
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2017-01-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433549980

The Short Studies in Biblical Theology series is designed to help readers see the whole Bible as a unified story—culminating in Jesus. Insightful, accessible, and practical, these books are perfect for readers looking for bite-sized introductions to major subjects in biblical theology. The third volume in the series, Work and Our Labor in the Lord explores how work fits into the framework of the whole Bible—looking at the original creation purpose for work, how it was affected by the fall, and the hope for lasting good offered to all who toil and labor in the Lord today.

Missional Leadership

Missional Leadership
Author: Nelus Niemandt
Publisher: AOSIS
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2019-12-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1928523056

The purpose and aim of this book is to develop an appropriate leadership model for missional churches. This implies a positioning of this book within the broader theology of mission and a consensus on the theology of the Missio Dei, originating at the 1952 conference of the International Missionary Council in Willingen, Germany. In this approach to the theology of mission, mission is understood as the work of the Trinitarian God, and the church is privileged to participate in God’s mission. It is against this background that the growing consensus on missional ecclesiology challenges leadership models developed for a different time and a different kind of church (with less or no emphasis on the missional character of the church). The aim is to reflect theologically on the role of leadership in the missional church. What kind of ideas about power, authority and leadership are appropriate for a missional church? New missional challenges demand new ideas about missional leadership. Church organisation and leadership reflects a theological position – there is a strong relation between ecclesiology and church organisation. The nature of the church provides the framework to understand the character of the church. What the church is determines what the church does. The church organises what it does and agrees on rules that regulate ministries and organisation. Issues such as the way the church organises and governs what it does, and thus church leadership, need to be answered against this background and understanding. Church polity and organisation, as well as leadership, must reflect the identity, calling, life and order of the church. This book, therefore, addresses life in the Trinity, participation in the Missio Dei and contours of the missional church as the point of entry to develop leadership insights. It contributes towards the development of an appropriate model of leadership for missional churches, because although recent developments in the theology of mission comprehensively addressed the area of missional ecclesiology, there is a gap in the development of a leadership model based on the concept of authority in the missional church.

Let the Nations be Glad

Let the Nations be Glad
Author: John Piper
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1789740606

'Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate.' John Piper's contemporary classic draws on key biblical texts to demonstrate that worship is the ultimate goal of the church and that proper worship fuels missionary outreach. Piper offers a biblical defence of God's supremacy in all things, providing a sound theological foundation for missions. He examines whether Jesus is the only way to salvation and issues a passionate plea for God-centredness in the missionary enterprise, seeking to define the scope of the task and the means for reaching 'all nations'. Let the Nations Be Glad! is a trusted resource for missionaries, pastors, church leaders, youth workers, seminary students, and all who want to connect their labours to God's global purposes. This third edition has been revised and expanded throughout and includes new material on the 'prosperity gospel'.