Edinburgh Centenary Series

The Centenary of the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh in 1910, is a suggestive moment for many people seeking direction for Christian mission in the twenty-first century. Since 2005 an international group has worked collaboratively to develop an intercontinental and multidenominational project, now known as Edinburgh 2010, and based at New College, University of Edinburgh. Essential to the work of the Edinburgh 1910 Conference, and of abiding value, were the findings of the eight think-tanks or ‘commissions’. These inspired the idea of a new round of collaborative reflection on Christian mission – but now focused on nine themes identified as being key to mission in the twenty-first century. The study process is intended to contribute, from a research perspective, to the aim of Edinburgh 2010 - witnessing together to Christ in the twenty-first century - and to the development of a new vision in terms of God’s purposes for creation in Christ and a renewed spirituality and mission ethos in the life of churches worldwide. Witnessing to Christ Today contains a summary of what has been achieved through the study process up to the end of 2009 and forms the preparatory volume for the centenary conference to be held in Edinburgh on 2-6 June 2010. There the material will be subjected to rigorous critique from various transversal perspectives and engaged with by church and mission delegates from around the world.

The World Missionary Conference, held at Edinburgh in 1910, ranks among the most influential and widely remembered events in Christian history. Though the outcomes of the Conference have differed in many ways from the expectations of its participants, after a century its momentous significance is clearer than ever. While the missionary movement went into decline, from its work emerged a world church, with deep roots and vigorous expression on every continent. As the centenary of the Conference approaches, the time is ripe to examine its meaning in light of the past century and the questions facing Christian witness today. This book is the first to systematically examine the eight Commissions which reported to Edinburgh 1910 and gave the conference much of its substance and enduring value. It will deepen and extend the reflection being stimulated by the upcoming centenary and will kindle the missionary imagination for 2010 and beyond.

Holistic mission, or integral mission, implies God is concerned with the whole person, the whole community: body, mind and spirit. Many Christians concentrate only on one aspect. This book reaffirms that to be true to the Bible, to follow the example of Jesus, the church must address the whole person in all their needs. It considers the meaning of the holistic gospel, how it has developed, and implications for the individual Christian, for the local church, for denominations and church groups, for missionary societies, for Christian NGOs, and for theological training institutions. It takes a global, eclectic approach, with 19 writers, church leaders, academics and practitioners, all of whom have much experience in, and commitment to, holistic mission. It addresses critically and honestly one of the most exciting, challenging, and important issues facing the church today. To be part of God’s plan for God’s people, the church must take holistic mission to the world.

In May 2009, 35 theologians from Asia, Africa and Europe met in Wuppertal, Germany, for a consultation on mission theology organized by the United Evangelical Mission: Communion of 35 Churches in Three Continents. The aim was to participate in the 100th anniversary of the Edinburgh conference through a study process and reflect on the challenges for mission in the 21st century. We decided not to invite renowned experts, but to have an open invitation through a call for papers, so that practicing mission experts not yet well-known would have an opportunity to share their expertise. We decided not to predetermine a theme or motto for the consultation but to allow various themes on mission to emerge from the papers themselves and thus to allow wide-ranging discussions. Indeed the papers were varied; each drew strong reactions, lively and even controversial debates. We were able to discover common concerns transcending very different contexts. The collection of papers in this book has been taken from the papers delivered at the Wuppertal consultation. In some cases, short responses by one or two of the consultation participants were added to highlight the discussions that followed. The very varied voices collected in this anthology nevertheless have much in common: Even where they are most theoretical it is obvious that all contributors come from missionary practice and bring in their contextual experiences.

A Century of Catholic Mission surveys the complex and rich history and theology of Roman Catholic Mission in the one hundred years since the 1910 Edinburgh World Mission Conference. Essays written by an international team of Catholic mission scholars focus on Catholic Mission in every region of the world, summarize church teaching on mission before and after the watershed event of the Second Vatican Council, and reflect on a wide variety of theological issues.

Cross-cultural mission has always been a primary learning experience for the church. It pulls us out of a mono-cultural understanding and helps us discover a legitimate theological pluralism which opens up for new perspectives in the Gospel. Translating the Gospel into new languages and cultures is a human and divine means of making us learn new ‘incarnations’ of the Good News. This book is compiled by contributions from young missiologists from different parts of the world. It is written from the perspective of youth to be a fresh breath of air into more traditional mission thinking and mission paradigms. The flavour of this fresh breath of air, coming from the younger generation, is “learning from others and from one another”: How may traditional sending churches and organizations see themselves as receivers? How may we bring experiences from outside into our own context? What may we learn across geographical borders – North learning from South, South learning from North, South learning from South? What can we learn from one another in a process of reciprocity? ‘Mission as learning”‘is not just a welcome addendum to mission, but a necessity if we want God’s Spirit to reveal to us some new dimensions of Jesus as he comes to be known and loved in “every nation, tribe, people and language.” A church that aims at being A Learning Missional Church sorely needs Reflections from Young Missiologists, as this book is entitled. The reflections are valuable because of the content and substance, because they deal with relevant issues; they are valuable because they depict the church as a ‘learning organisation’ cross-culturally; and they are valuable because they raise signs of youthful willingness to challenge and change. In this way these reflections may show the way towards Edinburgh 2110.

Each of the young Anglicans who write on the Five Marks of Mission were at the Edinburgh 2010 conference in June of that year. The articles were then reworked in Toronto a year later, so what you read here is the fruit of much labour, writing, and rewriting. These articles are also open and honest reflections from a range of young Anglicans in a variety of contexts. Here we see a glimpse of the strengths and struggles of the Anglican Communion. There is no space for complacency. The title of the book created much discussion. I still remember the excitement we all felt when our first contributor, from Hong Kong, explained to us the meaning of the Chinese character for ‘life-widening.’ We all thought that this captured the essence of how we long for mission not only to be but also to be experienced; as life–widening. Our God is a God of love, life and spaciousness so we long for the missio Dei to be practised and received as life-widening. We hope that this book may disturb, challenge, comfort and enrich your life. We think it will disturb and challenge as you read of the hardship and injustices experienced in many parts of God’s world and creation today. We think it will comfort and enrich as you read stories of change and renewal, and as you meet the writers through their writings.

The relationship of Christian faith and mission to other living faiths is a core issue in contemporary mission. In a world where plurality of faiths is increasingly becoming a norm of life, insights on the theology of religious plurality are needed to strengthen our understanding of our own faith and the faith of others. Even though religious diversity is not new, we are seeing an upsurge in interest on the theologies of religions among all Christian confessional traditions. One reason is the ‘discovery’ in the West of other religions living in its own midst and neighbourhood. One may justifiably claim that no other issue in Christian mission is more important and more difficult than the theologies of religions. This will remain a major challenge for mission in a new century. ‘Christian Mission among Other Faiths’ was one of the Edinburgh 2010 themes. As part of the study process, position papers and case studies were invited from a wide range of contributors representing various theological positions, confessional traditions and denominational bodies. The quality of the studies and the variety they represent convinced us to publish in this form. The position papers are reflections on the theme by scholars belonging to Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant-Conciliar, Protestant-Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Seventh-Day Adventist Churches. Among the case studies are articles on Christian mission among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, new religious movements and folk or primal religions.

It is here, under these trees on my desert island that this volume takes on meaning because its authors honestly struggle with and debate how we should relate to postmodernities. Should our response be accommodation, relativising or counter-culture? How do we strike a balance between listening and understanding, and at the same time exploring how postmodernities influence the interpretation and application of the Bible as the normative story of God’s mission in the world? Some may consider ‘postmodernities’ a Western dilemma. The contributions from some writers in the Global South (China, India and Korea) unfold a larger canvas and explore the implications for Christian mission. This focus on ‘mission’ is central: this is not just a book about the many facets and trends of postmodernities. It is a book about the implications for mission, for what it means to live as Christians and as churches in a terra incognita, in a world where we have not been before. We know how postmodernities influence the understanding of the gospel, and how it/they may make Christianity merely one local story among many. We have seen how ‘truth’ has become a plural word and how we are left with ‘personal preferences’. But we are not losing hope. Here is a volume to be studied under the trees, on how to understand, how to wrestle with and how to confront these challenges in a constructive way, on various levels and in various parts of the world. Let me therefore congratulate editors and conveners of study theme three for bringing together such a wide spectrum of contributors and laying the stones for a useful and stimulating discussion of what it implies to witness to Christ in a postmodern world.

"If we believe the church to be a sign and symbol of the reign of God in the world, then we are called to witness to Christ today by sharing in God’s mission of love through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit." This volume is the official record of the Edinburgh centenary conference of 2010 which included this call to mission.

The New Testament church is universal and local at the same time. The universal, one and holy apostolic church appears in local manifestations. Missiologically speaking the church can take courage as she faces the increasing impact of globalisation on local communities today. Being universal and concrete, the church is geared for the simultaneous challenges of the glocal and local.

The centennial celebrations of the Edinburgh 1910 conference offered Christians of all stripes multiple opportunities to reflect on the past century of mission. Over the course of the twentieth century one of the stories of the church that has moved towards center stage is the growth of evangelicalism around the world. While certainly until the late 1980s this went largely unnoticed among the academic elite of the world, even so by then the vast majority of the missionaries serving to and from every corner of the globe were be framed in some way by this evangelical surge. As we reflect on the past century, then, the stories of the evangelical world church deserve to be heard.

Edinburgh 2010 has a special relevance for Christians in India particularly when we consider the contributions Indian Christians continue to make both academically as well as in their day-to-day lives to living out and promoting interfaith relations and interfaith dialogue. For the typical Indian Christian, living with a neighbour of another faith is a daily reality and this pluralism has also influenced Christians in India to view ecumenism in a realistic and appreciative manner. The essays in this book reflect not only this acceptance and celebration of pluralism within India but also by extension an acceptance as well as a need for unity among Indian Christians of different denominations. The essays were presented and studied at a preparatory consultation on Study Theme II: Christian Mission Among Other Faiths under the theme “Interfaith Relations Among Other Faiths” at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India from 17th – 19th July 2009. Interfaith Relations After One Hundred Years: Christian Mission Among Other Faiths contains material which it is hoped will contribute to the aims of the overall Edinburgh 2010 publications, to be studied and reflected on both in the Church and for academic purposes.

This book argues for the primacy of spirituality in the practice of mission. Since God is the primary agent of mission and God works through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is through openness to the Spirit that mission finds its true character and has its authentic impact. This is demonstrated today particularly by movements of Christian faith in the global south which carry the good news to the heart of communities in every part of the world. Originating in the Edinburgh 2010 mission study project, the essays assembled in this volume show that today there is a renewal of the missionary impetus of the churches which is marked by its spiritual character. Here fresh motivation for mission is being found, moving people of faith to share the good news of Jesus Christ both within their own communities and by crossing frontiers to take the message to new contexts.

Although Pentecostalism worldwide represent the most rapidly growing missionary movement in Christian history, only recently scholars from within and outside the movement have begun academic reflection on the mission. This volume represents the coming of age of emerging scholarship of various aspects of the Pentecostal mission, including theological, historical, strategic, and practical aspects. The more than 20 authors from all five continents, men and women, academicians, mission leaders, and practitioners, offer exciting perspectives on Pentecostal movements' contributions to the search of Christian unity in various global contexts.

This volume provides an important resource for those wishing to gain an overview of significant issues in contemporary missiology whilst understanding how they are applied in particular contexts. Contributors from across the globe and from different Christian traditions explore foundations for mission. The chapters examine in what ways experience, the Bible, and theology are foundational for mission and how they together inform the missional thought of different traditions. The book also raises questions about the continued use of foundations as a helpful metaphor mission reflection and impetus. Graduate students and scholars surveying the field will find this a useful and accessible way to understand changing trends within mission studies.

Orthodox Perspectives on Mission is both a humble tribute to some great Orthodox theologians, who in the past have provided substantial contribution to contemporary missiological and ecumenical discussions, and an Orthodox input to the upcoming 2013 Busan WCC General Assembly. There is a long history of similar contributions by the Orthodox before all the major ecumenical events. The collected volume is divided into two parts: Part I under the subtitle The Orthodox Heritage consists of a limited number of representative Orthodox missiological contributions of the past, whereas Part II includes all the papers presented in the Plenary of the recent Edinburgh 2010 conference, as well as the short studies and contributions prepared during the Edinburgh 2010 ongoing study process.

The purpose of this volume on mission and unity is to bring to public attention a broad overview on the history, development and perspectives on the role of mission in the pursuit of unity and the central biblical focus on unity as a prerequisite for an authentic witness in mission. The volume raises concrete questions: If the churches can agree on unity for mission, then does this visible unity go any further than the 'mutuality, partnership, collaboration and networking' of the Edinburgh 2010 Common Call? Does the call to unity or communion imply common touch stones, structures or ministries to serve the communion of churches in mission? Might the Holy Spirit be prompting a fresh mission to the churches to promote unity?

Mission At and From the Margins: Patterns, Protagonists and Perspective revisits the ‘hi-stories’ of Mission from the ‘bottom up’ paying critical attention to people, perspectives and patterns that have often been elided in the construction of mission history. Focusing on the mission story of Christian churches in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where Christianity is predominantly Dalit in its composition, this collection of essays, ushers its readers to re-shape their understanding of the landscape of mission history by drawing their attention to the silences and absences within pre-dominant historical accounts. Contributors drawn from various Christian denominations explore not only the complex, contested and complicated interplay between caste, colonialism and Christianity in Andhra Pradesh but also the contemporary challenges for Christian mission at a wider level. Not confining itself to the past history of Christian mission, the book engages critical issues as it analyses the missiological challenges of the present and offers theological imagination for the future of mission, which, while embracing the voices and visions of the margins, resists any and all forms of marginalization.

There is hope – even if it is “Hope in a Fragile World”, as the concluding chapter of Mission as Ministry of Reconciliation puts it. At the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope and reconciliation. Nothing could be more relevant and more necessary in a broken world than this Christian message of hope and reconciliation. ... I would like to congratulate the editors of Mission as Ministry of Reconciliation, for they listened carefully and planned with farsightedness. … This rich book offers a valuable elucidation of the importance and the understanding of mission as ministry of reconciliation. It expounds its practical implications in a variety of settings. It unites perspectives from different church traditions, including the Lausanne Movement and the Catholic Church. It takes the interfaith aspect into account and also speaks about the socio-ethical implications of mission.

“The Bible is alive – it has hands and grabs hold of me, it has feet and runs after me”. Thus spoke Martin Luther, as cited by Knud Jørgensen in a quotation that summarizes the deeper meaning of this book. To the authors of Bible in Mission, the Bible is the book of life, and mission is life in the Word. This core reality cuts across the diversity of contexts and hermeneutical strategies represented in these essays. The authors are committed to the boundary-crossings that characterize contemporary mission – and each sees the Bible as foundational to the missio Dei, to God’s work in the world.

This volume deals with the lived experiences and expressions of Christians in diverse communities across the globe. Christian communities do not live in a vacuum but in complex, diverse social-cultural contexts; within wider communities of different faith and social realities. Power, identity and community are key issues in considering Christian communities in contemporary contexts. Also important is the nature and texture of mission; while a reflection on ‘context’ is a priority in working to improve peoples and communities. The interrelated themes: poverty, suffering and marginalized communities; globalization and the reproduction of hierarchies; Christianity and socio-political action; identity, gender and power; the interface of migration, diaspora and ethnicity; and HIV/AIDS, church and mission, were explored by academics, researchers, church leaders, religious non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations, as well as policy makers. Such a multidimensional perspective was necessary for critical thinking about how missions is articulated and practiced in contemporary contexts and also towards charting new directions for engagement in Christian Mission in the 21st century.

This ground-breaking volume of 16 contributors from leading child theologians, mission theologians and practitioners examines the constructive interaction of Theology, Mission and Child in fresh and intriguing ways. It is moving, profound, and practical, proposing not just ways theology can better inform mission praxis, particularly with children, but also ways 'child' can inform our understanding of God, God's mission and ours.

The movement of people from their homelands is increasing exponentially. Such waves of both immigration and migration triggered by various factors have created new opportunities for the church and its mission. This volume explores such global diasporas from both ecclesiological and missiological perspectives. Its various case studies invite reconsideration of the missionary and evangelistic task of the church in response to contemporary global dynamics. The image of the dandelion on the front cover symbolizes diverse people groups dispersed around the globe, even as the Christian imagination views such dispersal as being carried by the winds of the Holy Spirit.

The Lausanne Movement has since 1974 functioned as a platform and forum for Evangelical leaders from various geographical and confessional strands. This year it will celebrate its 40th anniversary. This volume brings together voices about both The Lausanne Movement and on the Cape Town Congress in 2010. It gives a broad perspective on the development of and reflection on mission and evangelism among Evangelicals, with a particular focus on the Lausanne movement. It contains chapters about the historical, theological and missiological background and discusses key issues and concepts of Lausanne as they have emerged over the years since 1974. It offers links to and reflections on Cape Town and on Lausanne. Critical views of Cape Town and Lausanne are also included, aiming at opening up a dialogue with other views on evangelism and mission.

Christian mission takes place in a world with increasing interreligious tensions, including violence and persecution. Politics, economics, religion, ethnicity and other factors play a role in these tensions. Christians too are involved in such conflicts, sometimes as those who are persecuted and sometimes as those participating in violence. ‘Freedom of religion and belief’ is a core value in the UN Human Rights Declaration. At the same time it is a core biblical value. Obstacles to and attacks on freedom of belief are therefore a central concern for witnessing to Christ. The purpose of this volume on Freedom of Belief and Christian Mission is to bring to public attention a broad overview on the history, development and perspectives on the role of mission and freedom of belief and to reflect on these issues within a context of authentic witness in mission.

As the world comes to terms with the human-caused destruction of God’s sacred creation, whether Global Christianity will celebrate a bi-centennial Edinburgh 2110 becomes a real question. Yet, as Creation Care in Christian Mission shows, the mounting and life-threatening ecological crisis is at the heart of the mission of God. The volume’s contributing authors represent a wide range of Christian traditions and geographical regions on which they draw to initiate dialogue on creation care within the wider global Christian community. They explore hard questions relative to climate change, population growth, pollution, poverty, sustainability, economic justice, deforestation, gender, and land issues. Written with academics, missionary and development agencies, and ordinary Christians in mind, this work presents a global unified spiritual and ethical voice on Creation care. The diversity of contributors from established scholars and religious leaders makes this work a unique and critical resource for understanding human responsibility toward God’s creation. The book offers hope to all Christians, for Christian mission can positively aid ecological responsibilities and actions.

This work describes the re-shaping of mission in Latin America in recent years. It covers a broad spectrum of Christian movements that coexist in the area. The book includes themes related to theology of mission, ecclesiology, history, social action and leadership. It is designed to serve as a guide to understand different Christian trends in contemporary Latin America. Most contributors belong to the young generation of Christian leaders emerging in different locations of the region - from the Central America, the Caribbean, and South and North America. They are sensitive to the differences that are part of denominational identity. This work is unique and calls for a meaningful and mature dialogue among Christians in the continent.

The Church in India has a far closer connection to Edinburgh 1910, as F.S. Downs points out, that one of the Indian delegates was Rev. Thankan Sangma, a Garo. This little known fact is illustrative of how, on one hand, the Church in North East India is ignorant of this legacy and continues to view ecumenism poorly and suspiciously, while on the other hand the challenges faced by the Church in the region and the social, economic and political milieu it is placed in, have been largely ignored, neglected or worse still, identified with what is generally portrayed as what the Church in India is. A Post-Edinburgh 2010 consultation was organized at the Aizawl Theological College in Aizawl, Mizoram, from 28-30 September 2011 to examine how the Church in the region would respond to the Edinburgh 2010 celebrations from its own perspective. This volume is a direct outcome of that consultation and while mainly comprising papers presented at the consultation, papers from scholars from the region who did not participate, as well as those from outside well acquainted with the region are included. The book’s contents deal with the nine study themes of Edinburgh 2010, spanning the ethnic, tribal and denominational diversity of the region. It is hoped that the volume will bring to the wider world the faith journeys, growth prospects and challenges of the churches in North East India as well as serve as a resource material for Northeast Indian Christians themselves to help gain a better understanding of their contexts in which their churches are placed.

This volume looks at mission formation for all Christians and missionary formation for mission workers, agencies and churches in a changing situation of mission. The focus is on educating the whole people of God. Here is the reason for the title of this volume: Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission. Theological education in the broad sense participates in the task of equipping people for God’s mission in today’s world. At the same time we affirm that all theological education is contextual and that no particular context should exercise dominant influence.