December 2007 By Marcell Steuernagel As John Piper says, mission exists because worship doesn’t.1 It is not difficult to understand the meaning behind this phrase: if proclamation of the gospel is necessary in a certain context, this means that it has not been heard in this context. If it has not been heard, no knowledge […]
December 2007 By Rose Dowsett Authentic worship must be preoccupied with God. John was raised in a humanist home. He did not even know the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. As a student, however, he met a radiant, young, Christian woman. He was deeply puzzled as to what was clearly the inspiration of her wonderfully […]
December 2007 By Alberto Fernando Roldán (Editor’s note: This article is also available in English. For the English version, click here.) Introducción Una de las primeras cosas que debiéramos tener en claro siempre que hablamos de evangelización es que ella representa mucho más que una mera técnica de transmisión de ciertas “leyes espirituales” o “cosas […]
December 2007 By Alberto Fernando Roldán (Editor’s note: This article is also available in Spanish. To read the Spanish edition, click here.) Biblical evangelization is doxological because it always tends to glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Introduction One of the first things we should keep clear when we speak of evangelization […]
December 2007 By Youssef Samir Through many epochs of the Christian era, vivid discussions about the relationship between worship and evangelism have been commonplace. Some people say the relationship is very weak. They argue that evangelism is an activity directed toward humans as they are invited to hear the message of the gospel, to react […]
By Knud Jørgensen Less than twenty percent of Europeans visit a place of worship weekly. How important is religion to people in Europe? In Muslim nations, about ninety percent declare that religion “plays a very important role” in their lives, while the United States figure in 2002 was about sixty percent. The average figure […]
By Knud Jørgensen The term missional Church is an expression of the fact that the Church is not primarily the institution with services, activities and a mission in the periphery. Therefore, the task is not to invent a number of mission programs aiming to attract new churchgoers. Instead, we are challenged to be people of […]
By Knud Jørgensen The features of the Constantinian Church are similar to a Lutheran conception of the Church as the place for preaching of the gospel and administering the sacraments. A missional Church is where the people of God—in following Christ—participate in God’s mission through being, word and deed in their daily lives. The symbols […]
By Knud Jørgensen Thus it is clear that Corpus Christianum—the idea of a unity made up of state, religion and culture as the canopy for the Church’s work—no longer functions. The West is witnessing the end of an era that lasted from the Constantinian state Church and Church tradition dating from the fourth century. This […]
By Knud Jørgensen Gospel Reductionism Darrell L. Guder wrote in 2000 about the conversion of the Church. This conversion is related to re-thinking theology, evangelization, worship, leadership and structures. Most importantly, it demands undertaking measures against the gospel reductionism within the Church. The early Church went from “movement” to becoming an “institution.” Constantine’s Church replaced […]
February 2008 By Knud Jørgensen Less than twenty percent of Europeans visit a place of worship weekly. How important is religion to people in Europe? In Muslim nations, about ninety percent declare that religion “plays a very important role” in their lives, while the United States figure in 2002 was about sixty percent. The […]
Īsā Imandars in Dhaka, Bangladesh Cultural and religious life in Bangladesh is deeply influenced by Islam, the faith of more than four-fifths of the population. In the Bengal region, Christianity was first introduced by Catholic missionaries in the seventeenth century and later by Baptist missionaries (including William Carey) in the nineteenth century. However, the number […]
February 2008 By David G. Wyman God surely has many more ways for us to extend his kingdom and establish his Church worldwide than we have even thought, much less developed and implemented. It all began with Moses. God spoke to the old man. He said it was time to die. The years of discipline […]
By Michael Cassidy Wherever the Church is, regardless of cultural context, it has the universal obligation to be true to Christ and his word. The Church of Jesus Christ is that body of people in any given socio-cultural context who have committed their lives to Christ and who worship and follow him in obedient […]
