Worship And Mission For The Global Church

Worship and Mission for the Global Church offers theological reflection, case studies, practical tools, and audiovisual resources to help the global church appreciate and generate culturally appropriate arts in worship and witness. Drawing on the expertise and experience of over one hundred writers from twenty countries, the volume integrates insights from the fields of ethnomusicology, biblical research, worship studies, missiology, and the arts. This book is the first in a two-volume set on the principles and practices of ethnodoxology. The second volume, entitled Creating Local Arts Together, guides the practitioner through a detailed seven-step process of assisting a local community’s efforts at integrating its arts with the values and purposes of God’s kingdom.

The worldwide church is more interconnected than ever before, with missionaries going from everywhere to everywhere. Africans work with Australians in India. Koreans plant churches in London and Los Angeles. But globalization also creates challenges for crosscultural tension and misunderstandings, as different cultures have conflicting assumptions about leadership values and styles. Missiologist James E. Plueddemann presents a roadmap for crosscultural leadership development in the global church. With keen understanding of current research on cultural dynamics, he integrates theology with leadership theory to apply biblical insights to practical issues in world mission. Savvy discernment of diverse cultural underpinnings allows multicultural teams to work together with mutual respect for more effective ministry. The author shows how leaders can grow from an individualistic egocentric practice of leadership to a more global-centric approach. The future of the global church depends on effective multicultural leadership. God has called people from various contexts to minister and lead in every land for the sake of the gospel. Whether you are teaching English in China, directing information technology in Africa or pastoring a multiethnic church in North America, discover how you can better work and lead across cultures.

Power and Identity in the Global Church: Six Contemporary Cases applies contemporary sociological, theological, and New Testament insights to better understand how God’s people can, do, and should interact in the field, thereby laying the groundwork for better multicultural approaches to mission partnership. The authors—six evangelical anthropologists and theologians—also show that faithfulness in mission requires increased attention to local identities, cultural themes, and concerns, including the desire to grow spiritually through direct engagement with God’s word. In this context, failure to attend to power imbalances can stunt spiritual and leadership growth. Attending to those imbalances should make Christian churches more truly brothers and sisters in Christ, equal members of the one global body of which Christ alone is the head.

Worship gives us a glimpse of the majesty and grandeur of God. But that's not all. It also paints a picture of God's purposes for the world. He is in the process of gathering together a multitude of worshipers from every language and nation. Urbana worship director Sandra Van Opstal shows that worship both takes people where they want to go and challenges them to go where they need to go. Worship creates a space for us to encounter the mission of God. Having culturally diverse worship gives us a more holistic portrait of God's attributes and character. In missional worship, we proclaim and demonstrate that the kingdom of God is here, accomplishing reconciliation, justice and shalom. Such worship is good news for the world and offers God's transcendence and healing to all who yearn for his transformation. Worship can mobilize us for God's mission in the world. As we worship, we can invite the world around us to enter into the praise of the one true God.

Christianity Today Book Award of Merit Winner Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year The world has changed. A century ago, Christianity was still primarily centered in North America and Europe. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, Christianity had become a truly global faith, with Christians in Asia, Africa and Latin America outpacing those in the rest of the world. There are now more Christians in China than in all of Europe, more Pentecostals in Brazil than in the United States, and more Anglicans in Kenya than in Great Britain, Canada and the United States combined. Countries that were once destinations for western missionaries are now sending their own missionaries to North America. Given these changes, some think the day of the Western missionary is over. Some are wary that American mission efforts may perpetuate an imperialistic colonialism. Some say that global outreach is best left to indigenous leaders. Others simply feel that resources should be focused on the home front. Is there an ongoing role for the North American church in global mission? Missions specialist Paul Borthwick brings an urgent report on how the Western church can best continue in global mission. He provides a current analysis of the state of the world and how Majority World leaders perceive North American Christians' place. Borthwick offers concrete advice for how Western Christians can be involved without being paternalistic or creating dependency. Using their human and material resources with wise and strategic stewardship, North Americans can join forces with the Majority World in new, interdependent ways to answer God?s call to global involvement. In this critical age, the global body of Christ needs one another more than ever. Discover how the Western church can contribute to a new era of mission marked by mutuality, reciprocity and humility.

'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'.

The missional church conversation has focused almost exclusively on Western thought at the expense of hearing the voices of the global church. In this important book, Graham Hill explores the missional themes and ideas of 103 indigenous and majority world Christians. The future of the global church - including the churches of the West - exists in these global exchanges.

The twenty-first century is marked by a renewed emphasis on the missional responsibility of individual Christians and local churches. Churches on Mission: God's Grace Abounding to the Nations is an attempt to explore the relationship between the local church and its missionary responsibilities. Through history, theology, case studies, and actual ministry practices, each author in this collection presents an aspect of local church participation. The book aims to be informational and inspirational on many levels and invites readers from local churches to become active participants in the mission of God.