Disabling Mission Enabling Witness

In recent decades churches have accommodated people with disabilities in various ways. Through access ramps and elevators and sign language, disabled persons are invited in to worship. But are they actually enfolded into the church's mission? Have the able-bodied come to recognize and appreciate the potential contributions of people with disabilities in the ministry and witness of the church? Benjamin Conner wants to stimulate a new conversation between disability studies and Christian theology and missiology. How can we shape a new vision of the entire body of Christ sharing in the witness of the church? How would it look if we "disabled" Christian theology, discipleship, and theological education? Conner argues that it would in fact enable congregational witness. He has seen it happen and he shows us how. Imagine a church that fully incorporates persons with disabilities into its mission and witness. In this vision, people with disabilities contribute to the church’s pluriform witness, and the congregation embodies a robust hermeneutic of the gospel. Picture the entire body of Christ functioning beyond distinctions of dis/ability, promoting mutual flourishing and growing into fullness. Here is an enlargement of the church’s witness as a sign, agent, and foretaste of the kingdom of God. Here is a fresh and inspiring look at the mission of the church when it enfolds people with disabilities as full members. Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.

Building on the work and legacy of Darrell L. Guder, Converting Witness: The Future of Christian Mission in the New Millennium, explores key questions and new possibilities in missiology in light of the world Christian context. The conversation around missional theology and the missional church has examined the gap between theology and mission with the intent of fostering renewal within North American Christianity. But this can only fully occur in relation to the reality of world Christianities and the framing significance of global cultural diversity. Many of the classic categories and methods—such as church planting, catholicity, and even the term “world Christianity” itself—are in need of fresh examination and thoughtful analysis. The contributors to this volume address a range of important missiological topics, including globalization, interfaith dialogue, integral mission, intercultural hermeneutics, and church practices.

Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition (http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/) and in print by Wipf and Stock. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. General Editor: D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Managing Editor: Brian Tabb, Bethlehem College and Seminary Consulting Editor: Michael J. Ovey, Oak Hill Theological College Administrator: Andrew David Naselli, Bethlehem College and Seminary Book Review Editors: Jerry Hwang, Singapore Bible College; Alan Thompson, Sydney Missionary & Bible College; Nathan A. Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Hans Madueme, Covenant College; Dane Ortlund, Crossway; Jason Sexton, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary Editorial Board: Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul Paul House, Beeson Divinity School Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James Robson, Wycliffe Hall Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary

Racism. Immigration. Gun violence. Sexuality. Health care. The number of ethical issues that demand a response from Christians today is almost dizzying. How can Christians navigate such matters? What are faithful responses to these questions? Edited by two theologians with pastoral experience, this volume invites engagement with these issues and more by drawing on real-life experiences and offering a range of responses to some of the most challenging moral questions confronting the church today. With an unflinching yet irenic approach, this resource can help Christians as they seek to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

This book is an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between prophecy and politics in South African Pentecostalism. The role and the power of prophecy in enhancing the presence of politicians in the church square are unpacked through historical examples, as well as case studies of contemporary prophets. Solomon Kgatle argues that the influence of prophecy in politics has the potential to weaken the prophetic voice of the church in general and the Pentecostal movement in particular. He proposes a Pentecostal political theology of prophecy. This theology is developed by taking into cognizance the theoretical and theological frameworks of prophetic imagination and pneumatological imagination. In addition, this theology seeks a balance between prophecy and power and prophecy and sovereignty.

What is Christian Doctrine? This Companion guides students and scholars through the key issues in the contemporary practice of Christian theology. Including twenty-one essays, specially commissioned from an international team of leading theologians, the volume outlines the central features of Christian doctrinal claims and examines leading methods and theological movements. The first part of the book explores the ten most important topics in Christian doctrine, offering a nuanced historical analysis, as well as charting pathways for further development. In the second part, essays address the most significant movements that are reshaping approaches to multiple topics across disciplinary, as well as denominational and ecclesiastical, borders. Incorporating cutting-edge biblical and historical scholarship in theological argument, this Companion serves as an accessible and engaging introduction to the main themes of Christian doctrine. It will also guide theologians through a growing literature that is increasingly diverse and pluriform.

Over the past decade, a significant body of work on the topic of deaf identities has emerged. In this volume, Leigh and O'Brien bring together scholars from a wide range of disciplines -- anthropology, counseling, education, literary criticism, practical religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and deaf studies -- to examine deaf identity paradigms. In this book, contributing authors describe their perspectives on what deaf identities represent, how these identities develop, and the ways in which societal influences shape these identities. Intersectionality, examination of medical, educational, and family systems, linguistic deprivation, the role of oppressive influences, the deaf body, and positive deaf identity development, are among the topics examined in the quest to better understand deaf identities. In reflection, contributors have intertwined both scholarly and personal perspectives to animate these academic debates. The result is a book that reinforces the multiple ways in which deaf identities manifest, empowering those whose identity formation is influenced by being deaf or hard of hearing.