Reader S Guide To Transforming Mission

"David Bosch's Transforming Mission, now available in over a dozen languages, is widely recognized as an historic and magisterial contribution to the study of mission. Examining the entire sweep of Christian tradition, he shows how five paradigms have historically encapsulated the Christian understanding of mission and then outlines the characteristics of an emerging postmodern paradigm dialectically linking the transcendent and imminent dimensions of salvation. In this new anniversary edition, Darrel Guder and Martin Reppenhagen explore the impact of Bosch s work and the unfolding application of his seminal vision." --

David Bosch (1929-1992) was one of the foremost mission theologians of the twentieth century; a prolific scholar, committed church leader and active participant in the global conciliar and evangelical mission movements. His distinctive role in the South African church's struggle against apartheid is less well known, however. After reviewing Bosch's background and exploring key themes in his understanding of mission and evangelism, Livingston explores Bosch's legacy from the perspective of the missionary nature of the church. The church is God's kingdom community, acting as a witness to and instrument of the coming reign of God. The church is God's alternative community, simultaneously set apart from the world but also existing for the sake of the world, exemplifying the radical implications of Christ's new community. It is also God's reconciled and reconciling community, serving as a sign and embodiment of God's love in Christ. For those acquainted with Bosch only as the author of his magisterial Transforming Mission, A Missiology of the Road shows how Bosch integrated his theology and practice in a faithful, contextually relevant way within South Africa and the global church.

It has recently become acceptable, and even fashionable, to refer to one's church as "missional." But many churches misunderstand the concept, thinking of "going missional" as simply being a necessary add-on to church-as-usual. This domestication of what is actually a very bold paradigm shift makes missional nothing more than one more trick to see church growth. With a light hand and a pastoral spirit, Michael Frost points out how church practitioners are not quite there yet. He reestablishes the ground rules, redefines the terms accurately, and insists that the true prophetic essence of "being missional" comes through undiluted. This clear corrective will take ministry leaders from "not missional yet" to well on their way.

As an ancient Christian community, the Mar Thoma Church with its vibrant life of mission and sacraments, has a pride of place in the Christendom. The evangelization process and constant migration made this church a global Church, which has encountered multi-cultural and multi-ethnic atmosphere and assimilated various cultural practices and faced faith confrontation in its own geographical regions. This confrontation has caused a renewed view of nature, identity and mission of the Church in a positive manner. Mission is, in fact, the lifeblood of the Church. Through its mission-work and revised liturgy, the Mar Thoma Church took a pioneer role in the formation and nurturing of new Christian communities in India and different parts of the world. Hence, this book reflects on the role of liturgy and its influence on the missionary undertakings of the MTC. It elucidates how the revised liturgy functions as a basis for mission and recounts how liturgy and mission are connected. Further, the diverse mission centres of the Church and its cultural specialties, an integration of liturgy and evangelism, importance of liturgicalorientation and training, are also dealt with in detail. Added to this, the various challenges of the Church in its mission fields and diaspora regions are studied in the framework of the liturgy. The scope of liturgical renewal is looked into where the liturgical adaptation and possibilities of contextual liturgies in the Church are studied. This study concludes with some of the pertinent liturgical proposals for the furtherance to sustain the life and mission of the Church. With a living experience and profound theological understanding, this ancient but reformed Church has something unique to offer to the whole Christendom.

The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church exists as a hybrid church by blending the Eastern liturgical elements of the Oriental Orthodox Church and the evangelical ideas of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. This Church is a bridging church, connecting Protestantism and Oriental Orthodoxy. The reformation in the Malankara Church (1836) instigated a new impetus for this church in constructing an ecclesial identity and pattern of mission. A major missiological imperative employed by CMS missionaries in India was solely centered on the scripture. Against this popular understanding, the Mar Thoma Church, through its reformation process showed that liturgy can also be an imperative for mission. The translation and revision of the Eucharistic liturgy is the basic visible expression of reformation in the Malankara Church. Hence, this book explicitly places how the Eucharistic liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church is observed as the foundation for mission in its course of growth. In order to accomplish this objective, the writer has examined the historical evolution and the developmental process of the Eucharistic liturgy of the church, which is a revised version of the liturgy of St. James. In a nutshell, this study is an appraisal of various missiological themes reflected in the Eucharistic liturgy of the church. This study throws ample light on how the Mar Thoma Church integrated liturgy and evangelism in its course of development. The writer systematically illustrates how the church made a serious effort to bring missional themes employed in the liturgy into the practical realm by its ancillary organizations, convention gatherings, and sociocharitable works. This volume asserts that an emphasis on Eucharist-centred ecclesiology guides and motivates the church to enliven a mission-oriented life, which is crucial for accomplishing a relevant mission.

Dr Fohle Lygunda li-M provides a thorough analysis of missiological teaching in theological institutions in Africa, with special reference to ten Christian universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His detailed examination of current teaching of mission theory and practice builds a solid foundation for the articulation of a new paradigm of missiological education. In this book, Dr Lygunda presents the case for a transformed approach to raising up seminarians who are equipped to lead indigenous missional churches that will fulfil the Great Commission in their own communities and beyond their national borders.