Missiology

Taber, Charles R.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400401pmid: N/A

In this presidential address given at the 1986 ASM annual meeting, the author seeks in a preliminary way to develop a more responsible view of church growth from a biblical perspective. Contending that some current understandings of church growth are probably illegitimate from a biblical standpoint. Taber examines the scriptural evidence in three areas: God's desire that all be saved, what the New Testament anticipates in terms of concrete results, and various metaphors for growth employed in the Bible. Six hypotheses illustrate the main conclusion: that numerical increase of believers is not the primary understanding of growth in the New Testament.

Glasser, Arthur F.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400402pmid: N/A

Conceding that the “church growth” concept and methodology have come under fire, the author shares an insider's reflections on how the movement has fared since Donald McGavran originated it three decades ago. The history of the movement and the relation between the Institute for Church Growth and the School of World Missions at Fuller Theological Seminary are traced. Dialogue and controversy with the WCC in the sixties, and growing influence within the Lausanne movement in the seventies, are sketched. The impact and consequences of church growth for world missions and for church life in the USA are noted. Finally, in a series of “random thoughts,” Glasser appraises both the strengths and weaknesses of the church growth concept, affirms that it is being corrected and enlarged, and claims for it an enduring place in the church's evolving missionary strategy of the eighties.

Casey, John J.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400403pmid: N/A

Concentrating on the “lived experience” of Maryknoll missioners, the author points to distinct changes in the perception of how mission is done. From 1911 until shortly after World War II, evangelization of non-Christians and developing an indigenous Catholic church were the traditional priorities. Mission was seen as a priestly function, and carried out from the top down, under the international oversight of the Propaganda Fide. Changes precipitating a dramatically new orientation, especially after the sixties, were: redeployment of missioners from China and Japan, the crucial experience of Latin America, mission decrees of Vatican II, and the new prominence given to local theology and ministry at the grass-roots. Today's missioners, Casey believes, are being profoundly transformed by the cultural, religious, and political contexts in which they work.

Bonk, Jon

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400404pmid: N/A

In this article Bonk demonstrates that the very affluence which has been a part and parcel of Western missionary endeavor for 200 years has been by no means an unmixed blessing. The primary benefits associated with affluence have always had to do with the survival of the missionary and the longevity of the missionary's service. The less beneficial side effects of affluence which must be weighed against its benefits include considerations relating to the sociology and psychology of disparity. Human experience shows that economic disparity and its accompanying social distance breed envy and suspicion. People tend to establish friendships with their “own kind” economically and socially. Accordingly, included in the cost of affluence are factors affecting the credibility of the missionary and the comprehensibility of the missionary's message. It is important for both theological and practical reasons to get back to the incarnation as a model for missionary strategy.

Costas, Orlando E.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400405pmid: N/A

This article explores the missiological significance of the ordained ministry. It argues that ministry is a gift of the Spirit to the church in mission. Using the case of the Antiochene church and its missiological implications as a point of reference, it underscores the pneumatic-vocational nature of ministry and the concomitant requirement of a ministerial formation informed by the historical priorities of God's mission. Costas proposes three priorities for the agenda of the ordained ministry in the last quarter of the twentieth century: (1) to help the church address the challenge of those who have yet to hear the gospel and consider it an option for their lives, (2) to enable the church to respond to the cry of “the sinned-against,” and (3) to challenge the church to become an efficacious instrument and sign of human solidarity and Christian unity.

Edwards, William H.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400406pmid: N/A

In this article the author, whose experience in cross-cultural communication as a missionary was used by a group of Australian Aboriginal people among whom he had worked to interpret their demand for title to their traditional land, outlines aspects of the traditional life of the Pitjantjatjara people and their conception of their relation to the land. Edwards traces the history of the dispossession of the land following European settlement, and the history of negotiations which led to the recognition of their title to the land under South Australian legislation. He comments on the role of the churches in these events and reflects on a Christian approach to indigenous land rights, noting that churches in other lands, in their mission work, are also involved with indigenous peoples in struggles to achieve just recognition to title for their land.

Salamone, Frank A.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400407pmid: N/A

The Dominican Sisters have been in Nigeria for over 30 years. While there, they have performed a wide variety of tasks: nursing, midwifery, catechetical instruction, and some jobs not found in any dictionary of professions. Their main job, however, has been to serve as models of modern women. The author asserts that they have been performing post-Vatican II work from pre-Vatican II days. Reasons for this fact are examined, and differences between male and female mission orientations are examined. Salamone's paper is the result of field work and oral histories taken from returned missionaries in Great Bend, Kansas, in July 1985.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400408pmid: N/A

Phillips, James M.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400410pmid: N/A

Sanchez, Daniel R.

doi: 10.1177/009182968601400409pmid: N/A