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Youth Participation In Urban Mission And Ministry, Michelet William

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The God of Scripture consistently called faithful youngsters to participate in his redemptive mission on earth. The mission of God is not only carried out by young men and women but also intentionally aims at reaching out to them. Drawing on biblical examples, this article advocates a youth-focused approach to urban ministry whereby young people are both actors and recipients of all activities. Youth participation is beneficial for society because their alienation is a cause of social and political disruption, of gang formation and criminal behavior in many contexts. Youth participation is beneficial for the church because, as reported in …

Urban Church Planting: Three Functional Shifts From The New Testament, Anthony Wagenersmith

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Indeed, the very pulse of Adventist ministry beats strongest through apostolic mission. A basic consideration of the practical and exegetical link between the second advent of Christ and the apostolic witness for Christ must generate significant shifts in thinking and practice. Describing these as functional shifts rather than paradigm shifts—to emphasize the connection between theology and practice—what better framework to reflect upon urban church planting than that of the New Testament Church. Looking through a disciple-making and church planting lens, one can be challenged by three functional shifts for urban mission today: from places to people, from performers to equippers, …

A Theological Framework For Adventist Urban Ministry, Kelvin Okey Onongha

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Early Adventism typically advocated the need to flee the cities for simple rural living because cities were regarded as Babylon (Jer 50:1-3; Rev 18:2-3). Consequently, in those regions of the world where the church’s presence has the longest history with sometimes larger congregations, many church properties are located in the countryside or rural areas. A major reason why the Adventist Church is only so lately coming to terms with the exigency of urban ministries is the deficiency of a theological framework for engagement in missions to the cities. Stone (2015) agrees that the failure to develop a theology for the …

Country Versus City Tension: Historical And Socio-Religious Context Of The Development Of Adventist Understanding Of Urban Mission, Allan Novaes, Wendel Lima

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The Adventist engagement in the evangelization of cities has been timid and, for many decades, even discouraged by an anti-urban attitude. This mentality of criticism and resistance to the cities was largely sustained through an incomplete and/or misreading of Ellen White’s writings (Jones 2013:716). This article seeks to describe Adventist rural/urban tension, the historical and social context of its origin, and how it has been softened by a contrasting broader view of Adventist urban mission."

Discipleship In Urban Contexts, Boubakar Sanou

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"With the current state of discipleship, congregations can no longer afford to rely on their church-centered programs as their main means of growing disciples. Programs do not disciple people; people disciple people. Becoming authentic communities who create intentional spaces where believers of all ages and stages in their faith journey can effectively and meaningfully connect with one another and with God, grow spiritually, and reach out to the world around them is of vital importance in urban discipleship. With the imperative to share the gospel in the cities, urban congregations need to objectively do their own discipleship reality assessment in …

Papers Of George Allen Turner Arc1987-011 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Epistemological Foundation For Contemporary Theology Of Mission: Trajectories From A Conversation Between J. Andrew Kirk And John Hick, Sochanngam Shirik

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Oral Roberts Studies?, Wonsuk Ma

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Wonsuk Ma, Dean of the College of Theology and Ministry at Oral Roberts University, provides an extended editorial essay for this special issue of Spiritus to mark the Centennial of the birth of Oral Roberts.

Spiritus 3.2 Full Issue, Holy Spirit Research Center

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Spiritus 3.2 (Fall 2018) is a special issue dedicated to Oral Roberts studies. For this issue, Wonsuk Ma, now Dean of the College of Theology and Ministry at Oral Roberts University, has collected a dozen studies covering several areas of Roberts’ life, thought, ministry, and legacy. All of the contributors have a connection to Oral Roberts University, whether as students, faculty, and/or administrators. So it is, in effect, an in-house offering to the university community and the Spirit-empowered community at large, a remembrance of a figure who, now gone, may get overlooked in today’s fast-paced world of Christian theology and …

A Comparative Analysis Of Pauline Missiology, Assemblies Of God Missiology, And Conclusions For Today, Colbry H. Martin

Selected Honors Theses

The following work researches the Missiology of the Apostle Paul, displayed in his mission’s practices in the book of Acts. This work also researches the mission practices of the Assemblies of God in order to discover their unique missiology. The key principles from these two parties are then compared in order to discover the similarities and differences. Since the argument is made that the recordings in the book of Acts of the working of the Apostle Paul are inspired by the Holy Spirit, the similarities between Paul’s practices and Assemblies of God practices are seen as strengths which need to …

Jewelry In Hinduism: A Mission Challenge, J. L. Samir

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The issue of adornment and jewelry is a point of contention between Western and Eastern Christians. When Hindus accept Jesus Christ, they are expected to dispose of all adornment and jewelry before becoming members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. To Hindus, this is one of the confirmations that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an agent of Western culture trying to replace their Eastern values and way of life. The Adventist position on adornment and jewelry is a challenge to many Hindus because of the different cultural ideals and meanings behind adornment within the South Asian context."

Critical Contextualization: A Case Study Of Lobi Funeral Rites In Burkina Faso, Boubakar Sanou

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"It is very difficult to be relevant in our Christian witness if we do not know and address the issues with which the people we are trying to reach are wrestling. For the gospel to meaningfully engage recipients with the purpose of transforming their worldviews, Christian witnesses must always encode the biblical message in such a way that its content remains faithful to biblical principles but also makes sense to its receptors in terms of its relevance. Such new experiences often challenge them in their social location. The rationale for this is that because the gospel is always received from …

Can I Get An “Amen”? Affirming The Contemporary Ghanaian Usage Of Amen, Agana-Nsiire Agana

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Altogether then, the claim that amen as used in the instances we have discussed is inappropriate is found to lack firm biblical or etymological foundation. Neither does the suggestion that if it is a vestige of African worship culture then that provides a reasonable ground for thus condemning it. While it is recognized that amen is often babbled from mental laxity, it is suggested that the problem lies not in amen, as a word, but in the person, as a worshipper. Amen is a rich word, capable of communicating a spectrum of positive human intellectual and emotional responses to worship; …

African Christian Leadership: Realities, Opportunities, And Impact, David K. Penno

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"African Christian Leadership is a well-organized, well-written report on some very significant research about leaders and the practice of leadership in the African church. The methodology allowed the researcher to hear from a broad spectrum of African Christians. One criticism of the study could be that a sample of church leaders and members in majority Muslim countries of North Africa were not included in the study, but this might be understandable due to the already vast scope of the project. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in leadership in the Christian context, and especially as practiced …

Case Study: How The Apostle John Contextualized, Jon Paulien

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Three aspects of the Prologue and its background in the Gospel of John make it clear that in the Bible God meets people where they are. He inspires ordinary human beings to write in the language, culture, and concepts that would be familiar to their original readers. First, John made use, for example, of an early Christian hymn to express his exalted insights into the nature and character of Jesus Christ. Second, he also structured the Prologue in ways that would make logical sense to a Jewish reader. Third, he gave Jesus a title (the Word) that was far better …

Sinolization Of Christianity: Increasing Gospel Relevance Or Distorting The Gospel Message?, L. Asher

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"This study aims to address the concept of the Sinolization of Christianity in light of cultural studies, biblical principles, and the Great Controversy perspective. It will then set forth some ideas on how it could affect the communication of the gospel in the Chinese context. It will attempt to see if Sinolization makes the gospel more relevant or further distorts the Christian message through the lens of the Chinese culture. The answers to these questions should help Chinese Christians, and especially Adventists, better understand their mission in China."

Contextualization Of An Indian Christian Marriage: A Case Study, Chanchal Gayen

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"In this case study the Pheras ceremony was reinterpreted, but many of the cultural elements were retained. Biblical meanings were substituted for the cultural meanings that went against the teachings of Scripture. When doing this type of contextualization it is important to constantly pour Christian meanings into the cultural practice. Good biblical teaching is the antidote to syncretism, a danger that is always present while doing contextualization. The local people appreciated the fact that the wedding ceremony incorporated local cultural elements that were important to them. This approach also communicated the idea that Christianity is not a Western religion, but …

Christian Versus Heathen Ways Of Praying: A Look From The Age Of Postmodernity, Yuri N. Drumi

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"In many respects, postmodernity resembles paganism, but certainly it does not totally overlap with it. People around us are searching, but they do not search for answers and explanations as much as they are searching for people who are living answers. If prayer is a metanarrative, then my life must be a metanarrative too. In this context, I find helpful the analogy drawn by Crossan between Paul’s metaphor of spiritual maturation and that of an individual Christian growing in prayer. Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as …

Sexuality, Gender, And Marriage: Pentecostal Theology Of Sexuality And Empowering The Girl-Child In India, Brainerd Prince, Atula Walling

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Th e focus of the article arises from a case study of an Indian woman and her adopted child, Sunita and Komal. Th ere are three key issues that can be abstracted from the story of Sunita and Komal. Th e abandoned “girl-child” Komal raises the question of sex—what am I? What does it mean to be biologically female? What consequences are there for being born female? Sunita’s and Komal’s rejection from their families has led them to ask the question about their gender—who am I? What does it mean to be a girl or woman in a predominantly Hindu …

Asian Journal Of Pentecostal Studies 21.1 (February 2018), Faculty Of Asia Pacific Theological Seminary

Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies

EDITORIAL Dave Johnson

Biblical Reflections on Shame and Honor in Asia

ARTICLES

• Amanda Shao-Tan, "Spirituality for the Shamed Tsinoys with Disabilities: The Shamed Jesus in the Book of Hebrews"

• Marlene Yap, "The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ: From Extreme Shame to Victorious Honor:

• Im Seok (David) Kang, "Meaning of Remembrance of Me in 1 Corinthians 11:23-27 in Light of Bakgolnanmang: A Korean Concept of Honor"

• Im Seok (David) Kang, "True Friendship: Job 6:14-30"

• Balu Savarikannu, "Expressions of Honor and Shame in Lamentations 1"

BOOK REVIEWS

• Joel Tejedo Ivan Satyavrata, Pentecostals and the Poor: Reflections from the Indian Context
• Monte Lee Rice …

Biblical Perspectives On The Role Of Immigrants In God’S Mission, Charles Van Engen

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"I believe that when we begin to fully understand the Bible’s missiological and instrumental perspectives with regard to the migrant and stranger, we may possibly gain a better grasp of, and live more fully in, the missionary vision expressed in 1 Peter 2. If the church of Jesus Christ truly saw itself as a pilgrim community whose land and nation are not of this earth, then the Christian church would begin to understand that it is itself a community of migrants—ambassadors, yes (2 Cor 5)—but even so, migrants. This perspective is not a purely managerial or activist viewpoint. Rather this …

God’S Call To Embrace The Stranger, Samia Sanchez

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The refugee crisis is being used by God in his provision to bring millions of refugees into our communities, giving God’s people an opportunity to introduce them to the loving, caring God of the Bible. God wants to reach them as he wants to give them new hope and a new life, for now and eternity. In this God invites us to be his hand, his feet, and reflect his loving heart as we interact with these new arrivals in our cities and towns. Furthermore, in reaching out to them it just might be another way God seeks to save …

The Impact Of Trauma: How Do We Present Jesus To Those So Fractured?, Ingrid Slikkers, Orelia Daye

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Jesus uses sensory metaphors when he asks that Christians be a light to the world and not hidden, much like a flame. Trauma expert Bruce Perry states, “Fire can warm or consume, water can quench or drown, wind can caress or cut, and so it is with human relationships: we can both create and destroy, nurture and terrorize, traumatize and heal each other” (Szalavitz and Perry, 2007:16). He further supports the role of human connections by stating, “Surprisingly, it is often when wandering through the emotional carnage left by the worst of humankind that we find the best of humanity …

A Biblical Approach For An Inner Healing Discipleship Cycle For Migrants And Refugees, Diói Cruz

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Within the Adventist Church many immigrants struggle silently with the consequences of emotional pain, fear, failure, anxiety, stress, inadequate parenting, rejection, and abusive relationships. Many try to cope with the ongoing results of involvement in the occult or other false religions, and the effects of physical illness, accidents, and trauma continue to impact their lives. It is God’s desire that we prosper and be in good health (3 John 2) because he created us in his image. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Therefore, if we are to reflect his image we must …

Who Gave You Authority To Baptize?, Milton Adams

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"This paper will explore the age-old, yet still relevant question, “And who gave you authority to baptize?”(Mark 11:27-33; John 1:25). First, biblical authority will be examined regarding who is allowed to baptize. Second, the writings of Ellen G. White, as they relate to biblical authority for baptizing, will be considered. Third, a counter-argument will be discussed. And finally, two baptismal tracks within the current conventional Adventist church system will be compared. This paper will conclude with a missional way forward that is faithful to Scripture, sustainable, scalable, and missionally effective in light of current cultural trends."

The Children Of The East, Richard M. Davidson

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The tradition is widespread in the Arab world which associates Ishmael and his descendants with Arabs in general and Muslim Arabs in particular. The esteemed Arab genealogist Ibn al-Kalbi (A.D. 737-818?) made popular the supposed genealogical link between Muhammad and Ishmael, largely through oral tradition. Whether this link is valid or not, clear and even older written records link the ancient nomadic tribes of northern Arabia with Ishmael, as we have noted above (Diorodus of Sicily, the book of Jubilees, Josephus, et al.). Arab genealogists generally trace the Arabians to two main ethnic stocks, the original Arabian Arabs from south …

Book Reviews, Michael Whitcomb-Tavey, Russell J. Frazier, Scott R. Smith, Zachariah S. Motts, Bud Simon, Scott Donahue-Martens, Brian W. Shelton, David Nonnenmacher Jr., Stanley Cung

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

The Concept Of Social Justice In The Social Sciences, In The Bible, And In Adventism, Michelet William

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Social justice is included in the mission of God to redeem and restore humanity. While in the early years evangelicals viewed social justice with suspicion, considering it subordinate to evangelism, since the second half of the 20th century, social justice has gained momentum among evangelical Christians who have become favorable to a more holistic approach to mission. William Carey had already set the tone in the 19th century as his work in India included missiological responses to social justice concerns. Other more recent and similarly mission-focused social advocacy work followed, such as the Temperance Movement in early Adventism, the ongoing …

Window Shopping And Turf Control, W. Milton Adams

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"In the past there has been much appropriate emphasis on the laity’s posture of respect toward church leadership. But what matters now is an equal and proactive posture of respect toward the laity. As new methods and new plans spring forth from the laity, cooperation and mutual respect must also spring forth. The result will look and function like a peer relationship. In today’s developing culture, the onus will lie on church leadership to rid themselves pf any turf control and instead develop skills of cheering, funding, and quickly embracing God-honoring lay ministries. So, a call to smooth the way, …

“You Will Be Like God Knowing Good And Evil”: Discernment Of Truth And Lies, Jiří Moskala

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.