Missions and World Christianity Commons^™

"Returning To My Father" : A Decolonial Reading Of Lk 15:11-32 Towards A Reconstruction Of African Theological Anthropology For Authentic Sacramental Ethics Via Indigenous Divinity Graduate Schools., Besem Etchi

Graduate Student Research Symposium

This paper makes three hermeneutical contributions: (1) By uncovering the Indigenous Norse zero-point subtext structuring today's Catholic liturgy, the paper constructs ancestral primacy as the delinking methodology for indigeniztion; (2) By emphasizing ritual as transformative technology for identity and relationship, in its wielding of neurolinguistic programming, the paper establishes indigenous epistemology as the proper spatial locus for any symbolic exchange that emerges authentic sacramental ethics; (3) By discussing the possibilities that creating indigenous Divinity graduate schools in African countries offers, a path of realizing sociopolitical stability and harmony in African states as a communal body is systematized.

With the ritual …

The Church’S Call To Minister To Refugees: A Case Study On Liberian Refugees In Minnesota, Rufus Kudee

Master of Theology Theses

The paper is divided into seven chapters. Chapter one explores a brief historical background of the Liberian Refugee Crisis. Chapter two discusses ministering to the refugees: a Biblical foundation. Chapter three quickly reviews different ways of ministering to Liberian refugee families. Chapter four identifies challenges that refugees face. Chapter five explores the potential blessings that refugees bring. Chapter six highlights the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among refugees. Finally, chapter seven addresses the conclusion.

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 …

Agang's "No More Cheeks To Turn?" (Book Review), David H. Michaels

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Ntlha's "Out Of The Shadows Of African Traditional Religion: Christ’S Deliverance Of A Sangoma" (Book Review), Gary R. Peterson

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Mbewe's "Pastoral Preaching: Building A People For God" (Book Review), Gary R. Peterson

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Church And State In Rwanda: Catholic Missiology And The 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi, Marcus Timothy Haworth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, over one million Tutsis were killed by the government of Rwanda and Hutu extremists. In this study, I address two questions: (1) did the Church, as an institution, offer a convincing counter-narrative to the dominant ideology of racialized ethnic identities of twentieth century European colonialism in the present-day nation-state of Rwanda? If it did not, why not? And, (2) what role, if any, did the Church, as an institution, play, in promoting a “social imagination” that valued religious identity, or truths, over the dominant European colonial ideology, and later the nationalistic narrative of …

Luther's Understanding Of Grace And Its Implications For Administration Of The Lord's Supper In The Lutheran Church Of Christ In Nigeria (Lccn), Yelerubi Birgamus

Master of Theology Theses

This thesis will describe Luther’s understanding of grace and its centrality for the Lutheran understanding of the Lord’s Supper. The thesis will also describe and analyze theological and pastoral problems of withholding the sacraments to non-communicant members by the LCCN, which claims to follow after Luther’s teaching. This thesis is not anti-church discipline, but rather, will argue for a better form of church discipline than withholding the Lord’s Supper from the excluded members of the church. The thesis will also provide some suggestions for a better form of church discipline than withholding communion from excluded members of the church. This …

Editor's Introduction, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

An overview of African Catholicism. Part Two: Retrospect and Prospect, third issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism. A summary of the work of Bradford Hinze, Mary Gloria Njoku, Matthias Scharer, Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu, and Bernhard Udelhoven. Among the topics considered: African ecclesiology, African wellness and quality of life in Africa, interreligious dialogue in Africa, African Biblical scholarship, witchcraft and the Catholic Church.

A Study Of The Pokot Cultural Worldview: Missiological Implications For Seventh-Day Adventist Witness Among The Pastoral Nomads Of Kenya, Haron Nyamweya Matwetwe

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Seventh-day Adventist witness among the nomadic peoples of the East Africa region is faced with a number of challenges. Although the Church enjoys relative success in reaching most communities, its growth and development appears restricted to locations occupied by the settled communities. Unfamiliarity with nomads’ cultural structures and values is a partial explanation for why missionaries have failed to effectively connect with the nomads thereby hampering the establishment of a more vibrant mission work in pastoral nomadic regions. This qualitative research sought to describe the Pokot cultural worldview as a step toward understanding their socio-cultural context and identify barriers to …

Christians’ Cut: Popular Religion And The Global Health Campaign For Medical Male Circumcision In Swaziland, Casey Golomski, Sonene Nyawo

Anthropology

Swaziland faces one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world and is a site for the current global health campaign in sub-Saharan Africa to medically circumcise the majority of the male population. Given that Swaziland is also majority Christian, how does the most popular religion influence acceptance, rejection or understandings of medical male circumcision? This article considers interpretive differences by Christians across the Kingdom’s three ecumenical organisations, showing how a diverse group people singly glossed as ‘Christian’ in most public health acceptability studies critically rejected the procedure in unity, but not uniformly. Participants saw medical male circumcision’s promotion and …

World Churches Vertical File, Mcgarvey Ice

Center for Restoration Studies Vertical Files Finding Aids

This set of files is especially useful to scholars of the history missions, particularly among Churches of Christ in the twentieth century. Students and researchers interested in applied missiology among Restorationist traditions, Stone-Campbell movements, and Churches of Christ will also find them helpful. For assistance with specific files or items, contact Mac Ice - [email protected], or 325.674.2144.

Wearing Memories: Clothing And The Global Lives Of Mourning In Swaziland, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

This article situates a cultural phenomenon of women’s memory work through clothing in Swaziland. It explores clothing as both action and object of everyday, personalized practice that constitutes psychosocial well-being and material proximities between the living and the dead, namely, in how clothing of the deceased is privately possessed and ritually manipulated by the bereaved. While human and spiritual self-other relations are produced through clothing and its material efficacy, current global ideologies of immaterial mortuary ritual associated with Pentecostalism have emerged as contraries to this local, intersubjective grief work. This article describes how such contrarian ideologies paper over existing global …

An Analysis And Response To The Fear Of Evil Spiritual Forces Among Kamba Christians In The Light Of Biblical And Ellen G. White Teachings, Joseph Mutune Ndisya

Dissertations

This research aimed to discover whether there are any reasons from the Scriptures and writings of Ellen G. White regarding fear of evil spiritual forces. Thus research aims to understand the historical, cultural and religious reasons Kamba Christians frequently live in fear and dual allegiance. Biblical solutions will be suggested to permanently eliminate that fear. Fear is often so great that born-again Christians carry protective devices and practices which they believe will ward off the invading evil spiritual forces.

The Old Testament writings were examined to see how God wanted His people to relate to any evil power. The Old …

Generational Inversions: 'Working' For Social Reproduction Amid Hiv In Swaziland, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

How do people envision social reproduction when regular modes of generational succession and continuity are disrupted in the context of HIV/AIDS? How and where can scholars identify local ideas for restoring intergenerational practices of obligation and dependency that produce mutuality rather than conflict across age groups? Expanding from studies of HIV/AIDS and religion in Africa, this article pushes for an analytic engagement with ritual as a space and mode of action to both situate local concerns about and practices for restoring dynamics of social reproduction. It describes how the enduring HIV/AIDS epidemic in Swaziland contoured age patterns of mortality where …

Towards A Missiological Model For Worldview Transformation Among Adherents To African Traditional Religion In Yorubaland, Kelvin Okey Onongha

Dissertations

Seventh-day Adventist missions in the western region of Nigeria are a century old, yet reversion to pre-Christian practices such as divination and sorcery are reported, especially during periods of personal crises. This study sought to understand the influence of the traditional worldview on the practices of divination and sorcery and to develop a model that would move the Yoruba Adventists from dependence on these practices to a biblically shaped faith and praxis. A grounded theory approach was adopted for conducting this qualitative research. Data were collected from two focus group discussions and from face-to-face interviews with five pastors, five diviners, …

Key Strategies In Effective Pastoral Leadership In The Africa Gospel Church, Kenya: Biblical Foundations For Leadership And Healthy Church Growth, Philip Ngasura

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this Thesis Project is to understand the strategies for effective pastoral leadership based on Biblical foundations necessary for leadership and healthy church growth in the Africa Gospel Church-Kenya. Research will be conducted through questionnaires and surveys of 15-20 Christian Leaders analyzing and evaluating the status of urban churches, rural churches, mission fields, and institutions of the Africa Gospel Church-Kenya. The main objective is to provide key principles for effective pastoral leadership and healthy church growth in terms of spiritual life, leadership, staff development, services, finances, and ministry potentials. Lastly, this project will suggest and outline strategic approaches …

Papers Of Tillman Houser Arc2000- 014 Finding Aid, Tillman Houser

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

H. M. Chauke Research Of African Hlengwe People, Happyson William Matsilele Chauke, Tillerman Houser

ATS Digital Resources

This is a collection of historical and cultural research works about the vaHlengwe people of Zimbabwe, created by Happyson Chauke before his untimely death by a hit and run driver in 2009. It was compiled by his friend Tillman Houser, who spent 35 years as a missionary to Zimbabwe under the Free Methodist Church. The bulk of the collection is comprised of the book entitled: "The miracle of Lundi Mission: lest we forget."

Photograph Of Bible School Children, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph has caption written on the back in black pen: "Bible School Children, Church of Christ, Ala Omah W/S; Etche County Council, Ahoadah [illegible]; 8/12/66." and has a purple stamp presumably from the company who produced the print. There are multiple rows of children sitting and standing in front of a building. Several children are holding books. Date of creation is estimated.

Photograph Of Nigerian Christian Bible Correspondence School, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph has following caption written on back in black pen: "NCBCS with chart". The Nigerian Christian Bible Correspondence School chart is being held up by a man. A young boy is also in the photograph on the far right. Date of creation is estimated.

Photograph Of Rees Odeil Bryant Teaching At The Bible Training College, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph of Rees Odeil Bryant teaching at the Bible Training College in Nigeria. He is wearing a white shirt and a bowtie. The back of the photograph has the following caption written in black pen: "35. Rees Bryant teaching at the ON BTC."

Photograph Of Rees Odeil Bryant And Bible Training College Students, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph has following caption written in verso: "Rees Bryant and ON BTC students working in a field." The field is presumably near the Bible Training College in Nigeria. The date of creation is estimated.

Photograph Of Nancy Petty, Henry Farrar, And Iris Hayes, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph of (from left to right) Nancy Petty, Henry Farrar, and Iris Hayes presumably in Nigeria, possibly working through the African Christian Hospitals Foundation. The date of creation is estimated.

Photograph Of Rees Odeil Bryant And Graduate Of Bible Training College, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Back of photograph has caption written in blue pen: "Rees Bryant with a 3rd year student on the day of his graduation from the BTC [Bible Training College]." The graduate is on the left of the photograph and Rees Bryant is on the right of the photograph. Both men are in profile facing each other. Date of creation is estimated.

Photograph Of Rees Odeil Bryant Preaching, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph of Rees Odeil Bryant preaching in Nigeria. Bryant is standing behind a wooden podium with a Bible open and is wearing a white shirt and a bowtie. The date of creation is estimated.

Photograph Of The Bryant Family, Unknown

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Photograph of Patti Mattox Bryant and Rees Odeil Bryant with their children. The children are, from left to right, William, Rebecca, Sara Jo, and David. The photograph appears to have been taken in Nigeria and the date of creation is estimated.

Letter From Patti Mattox Bryant To F. W. And Mildred Mattox, Patti Mattox Bryant

Rees Odeil and Patti Mattox Bryant Papers

Letter from Patti Mattox Bryant to her parents F. W. and Mildred Mattox dated 18 December 1960. Patti thanks her parents for the Christmas package they sent to the Bryant family in Nigeria.