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Linking . . . Blending . . . Intermixing with Divine Purpose People are on the move. As individuals and people groups are constantly migrating, the unreached have become part of our communities. This reality provides local Christ-followers with the challenge and opportunity of navigating both the global diaspora and mixed ethnicities. A Hybrid World is the product of a global consultation of church and mission leaders who discussed the implications of hybridity in the mission of God. The contributors draw from their collective experiences and perspectives, explore emerging concepts and initiatives, and ground them in authoritative Scripture for application to the challenges that hybridity presents to global missions. This book honestly wrestles with the challenges of ethnic hybridity and ultimately encourages the global church to celebrate the opportunities that our sovereign and loving God provides for the world’s scattered people to be gathered to himself.
The Hybrid Tsinoys is a study of hybridity and homogeneity as sociocultural constructs in the development of current ethnic identity/ies of Chinese Filipinos. This study employs a descriptive ethnographic research method to discover how they see or define themselves in terms of ethnicity (Chinese, Filipino, or both) and how their perspectives affect other aspects of their lives (language, marriage, and family). The research proposes that there are different kinds of Chinese Filipinos as evidenced in the six classifications in chapter 4. Further, most of them have constructed a hybrid culture exclusively and uniquely their own. On the one hand, they are still attached to their cultural roots; on the other hand, they cannot evade the fact that they are influenced by their host country and the present global and migratory age we live in. Second-, third-, and fourth-generation Chinese Filipinos demonstrate their hybridity in language and mindset. This dissertation also lays out some challenges in relation to doing mission among them.
A Hybrid World is the product of a global consultation of church and mission leaders who discussed the implications of hybridity in the mission of God. The contributors draw from their collective experiences and perspectives, explore emerging concepts and initiatives, and ground them in authoritative Scripture.
Peter reads the messages originally addressed by God to sojourners in the Old Testament as the same messages God had for the sojourning believers of Peter’s generation. No wonder Peter used these same exhortations to instruct first-century believers in the diaspora. For Peter, the Old Testament was their Scripture. For us today, the Old Testament and New Testament are our Scripture. God’s messages for the faithful sojourners in the Old Testament and New Testament are the same message he has for sojourners of all generations, including ours.
The Lord’s Prayer unites Christians throughout history, speaking across the divides of language, place, and tradition. The oldest prayer of the church, it continues to speak to the lived reality of believers around the world, while inviting the body of Christ into a deeper understanding of the nature of God, discipleship, and the calling to holistic mission. Ama Namin brings together the voices of Filipino evangelical scholars in a profound work of contextual and biblical theology. Each chapter explores a portion of the Lord’s Prayer against the backdrop of Scripture and the foreground of Philippine life and spirituality. Contributors examine the rich history of the Lord’s Prayer in the Philippines – a history dating back to the first printed translation in 1593 – as well as its implications for the Philippines’ future, providing the church a foundation for public engagement and social transformation. Ama Namin provides a valuable teaching resource for the Philippine church and for all those longing to deepen their understanding of prayer, the contextualization of Scripture, and the love of the heavenly Father.
This collection of essays draws together a diverse group of scholars and practitioners as they pay loving tribute to Dr. Tetsunao (Ted) Yamamori, one of the great leaders of global mission and mentor to a generation. From dean, professor, and author to CEO of Food for the Hungry and international director of the Lausanne Movement, Dr. Yamamori has contributed to world evangelization over a lifetime of faithful service. In this book, his students, friends, and colleagues explore the far-reaching impact of his engagement on questions relevant to a new generation of church mobilizers. Touching on topics of hospitality, diaspora, entrepreneurship, poverty, theological education, Bible translation, collaboration, leadership, student ministry, the digital age, and church growth, this collection honors one of the great leaders of integral mission while exploring how the church must continue to grapple with the changing landscape of a changing world. Far from a reflection on the past, this is a book that looks to the future, drawing on the life and ministry of Dr. Yamamori to cast a vision for how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of global mission in the twenty-first century.
Hope and Hospitality for Migrating People Never have so many people left their homes and migrated to other parts of the world as we’ve seen in recent years. This phenomenon creates as many opportunities as challenges. We are witnessing a massive increase in urbanization, pluralization, multiculturalism, and interfaith dialogue. What are the implications for the church as it tries to reach the nations? Tides of Opportunity brings together experts from diverse backgrounds to consider the practical significance of this mass migration. The reasons for these population movements are as varied as the people. Sadiri Joy Tira explores several causes, like military conflict, economic hardship, and natural disasters. The contributors not only explain such trends but suggest possible ways to engage with diaspora neighbors. Through case studies, this volume also examines lesser-known dynamics, such as sex trafficking and the movement of immigrants to rural areas. This book challenges us to find more creative and integrated mission strategies for effectively reaching out to the various “peoples on the move” with the gospel. How will you respond to the tides of opportunity?
The poignant narrative of Exodus, which involves leaving one’s homeland, traveling, settling, unsettling, wrestling with identity, seeking a home, and pursuing aspirations, resonates with the present circumstances of the Chinese diaspora. This commentary delves into the concept of exodus, tracing its roots from the biblical exodus to its modern manifestation in the Chinese diaspora – “the new exodus.” This approach forefronts the nuances of otherness, minority status, liminality, and hybridity in a dominant culture while simultaneously accentuating the transnational, global, and multifaceted roots of such an existence. This diasporic reading of Exodus seeks to facilitate transformati...
Given increasing global migration and the importance of positive cross-cultural relations across national borders, this book offers an interdisciplinary and intercultural exploration of identity formation. It uniquely draws from theology, psychology, and sociology--engaging narrative and identity theories, migration and identity studies, and the theologies of identity and migration--and builds on them in an unprecedented study of international migrants to construct an initial theology of Christian identity in migration. New sociological research describes the social construction of religious, ethnic, and national identities among non-North American evangelical graduates who entered the United States to pursue advanced academic studies from 1983 to 2013. It provides an intercultural account of Christian identity formation in the context of migration, transnationalism, and globalization. It ultimately argues that an integral component of Christian identity-making involves the concept of migration, of movement, toward a transformation.
Ecclesial Futures publishes original research and theological reflection on the development and transformation of local Christian communities and the systems that support them as they join in the mission of God in the world. We understand local Christian communities broadly to include traditional “parish” churches and independent local churches, religious communities and congregations, new church plants, so-called “fresh expressions” of church, “emergent” churches, and “new monastic” communities. We are an international and ecumenical journal with an interdisciplinary understanding of our approach to theological research and reflection; the core disciplines being theology, mi...