International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol 37, No. 2
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Vol. 37, No. 2 April 2013 The IBMR in Retrospect and Prospect as an Editor Retires he roots of the International Bulletin of Missionary TResearch stretch back to 1928, when Charles H. Fah On Page at the Missionary Research Library (MRL) in New York City launched the Bulletin from the Missionary Research Library. Though 67 The Last Great Frontier: Currents in Resurgence, Convergence, and Divergence of Religion financial crises in the early 1930s necessitated its suspension, Lamin Sanneh the Bulletin was resuscitated by R. Pierce Beaver in March 1950, 73 Christian Mission in Eastern Europe two years after his appointment as director of the library. Valentin Kozhuharov By 1960 the journal—now titled the Occasional Bulletin from 78 Bishop K. H. Ting, 1915–2012 the Missionary Research Library—had a paid circulation of approxi- 79 Emerging Adults and the Future of Missions mately 800. Frank Wilson Price succeeded Beaver in 1956, and in Rick Richardson 1961 was in turn suc- 86 Ecclesial Identities of Socioreligious “Insiders”: ceeded by Herbert C. A Case Study of Fellowships among Hindu Jackson. By 1966 and Sikh Communities support for the MRL Darren Duerksen had dried up, and 90 The Recent Growth of Pentecostalism in Belgium circulation of the Colin Godwin Occasional Bulletin 94 Evangelization and the Tenor of Vatican II: had dwindled to A Review Essay under 300. Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder In 1973 Beaver 96 Missions from Korea 2013: Microtrends and Finance came out of retire- Steve Sang-Cheol Moon ment to become 98 My Pilgrimage in Mission director of the David A. Shank Overseas Minis- 105 The Legacy of Mabel Shaw tries Study Center Rebecca C. Hughes (OMSC) in Ventnor, 109 “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: New Jersey. He was Recommendations for Conduct”: Thinking Back succeeded by his and Looking Ahead enterprising young Indunil J. Kodithuwakku K. associate, Gerald H. 110 Noteworthy Anderson, on July 1, Editors (top) Beaver, Anderson, 114 Writing the History of Indian Christianity: A Review Essay 1976. With his usual Bonk, and Jennings prescience, Ander- Chandra Mallampalli son had proposed 116 Book Reviews that OMSC assume responsibility for the Occasional Bulletin. His 117 Fifteen Outstanding Books of 2012 for Mission offer was accepted, and the journal—then renamed Occasional Studies Bulletin of Missionary Research—has been at OMSC ever since. 126 Dissertation Notices Continued next page 128 Book Notes “Heritage with a Future,” announced the inaugural edito- continues to be the “go to” publication for scholars and prac- rial. The lead article was a succinct but masterful overview of titioners whose academic interests and professional vocations the journal’s history by Pierce Beaver, “The Missionary Research intersect with Christian mission and world Christianity, and Library and the Occasional Bulletin” (vol. 1, no. 1 [January 1977]: whose natural instinct is to search online. 2–4).1 Given Anderson’s skillful editorship and international It has been an extraordinary privilege to work with Robert T. network, the journal thrived as never before, becoming genuinely Coote and Dwight P. Baker as associate editors. Most of the credit international. Subscriptions climbed to a peak of 8,691 in April for the journal’s solid reputation must surely be attributed to 1987. Who could have dared to hope that despite its exceedingly them. Both men were an editor’s dream, as a good many con- modest beginnings the Occasional Bulletin would become the tributors during my watch will attest! As I depart, it is with great premier journal in its field? The first issue contained 32 pages and satisfaction and no little confidence that I turn over the reins to featured book reviews, book notes, and dissertation notices—still Dr. J. Nelson Jennings. Jennings, who will become the executive staples in every issue.2 To reflect the journal’s wider scope and director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center on July 1, brings growing stature, it became, from January 1981, the International to the task experience as a missionary and theological educator, Bulletin of Missionary Research. a superb academic background, and several years as editor of When I became editor in July 2000, the volume of good mate- Missiology: An International Review. rial crossing my desk far exceeded the journal’s self-imposed I would be remiss if I failed to express my appreciation to 48-page delimitation. Accordingly, an additional 8 pages were the scores of scholars all over the world who have expressed added, beginning in October 2004. The October 2008 issue confidence in the IBMR by contributing articles that present the expanded to 64 pages, with subsequent issues running either results of rigorous research, by reviewing books, and by serving 56 or 64 pages. Although circulation figures were still strong, as peer-reviewers for articles submitted. Acknowledgment is the handwriting was on the wall for print journals such as the also due to our contributing editors, usually in the wings, but IBMR, and subscriber numbers slowly but inexorably dwindled. rallied every year to help the editors select fifteen outstanding At the end of that decade, the editors made a momentous books for mission studies. As I retire to Winnipeg, Canada, in decision. The idea that the IBMR was a print journal available online July, I will join their ranks as a senior contributing editor. to subscribers was turned on its head. As of January 2010, the Long may the IBMR thrive! IBMR became a freely accessible online journal with a print option. —Jonathan J. Bonk While print journal subscribers would continue to pay an annual Notes fee, anyone online could access current and back issues of both 1. See www.internationalbulletin.org/system/files/1977-01-002- the IBMR and the Occasional Bulletin, as far back as March 1950. beaver.pdf. The strong growth of the IBMR’s subscriber base since 2. See Robert T. Coote’s survey of IBMR history in “Finger on the Pulse: this change has affirmed this editorial decision. The journal Fifty Years of Missionary Research,” IBMR 24, no. 3 (July 2000): 98–105, now counts more than 13,500 subscribers in 170 countries. It www.internationalbulletin.org/system/files/2000-03-098-coote.pdf. Editor Jonathan J. Bonk INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH Senior Associate Editor Established 1950 by R. Pierce Beaver as Occasional Bulletin from the Missionary Research Library. Named Occasional Bulletin Dwight P. Baker of Missionary Research in 1977. Renamed International Bulletin of Missionary Research in 1981. Published quarterly in January, April, July, and October by the Overseas Ministries Study Center, 490 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511 Associate Editor (203) 624-6672 • Fax (203) 865-2857 • [email protected] • www.internationalbulletin.org J. Nelson Jennings Contributing Editors Assistant Editors Catalino G. Arévalo, S.J. Darrell L. Guder Anne-Marie Kool Brian Stanley Craig A. Noll Daniel H. Bays Philip Jenkins Steve Sang-Cheol Moon Tite Tiénou Rona Johnston Gordon Stephen B. Bevans, S.V.D. Daniel Jeyaraj Mary Motte, F.M.M. Ruth A. Tucker William R. Burrows Jan A. B. Jongeneel C. René Padilla Desmond Tutu Managing Editor Angelyn Dries, O.S.F. Sebastian Karotemprel, S.D.B. Dana L. Robert Andrew F. Walls Daniel J. Nicholas Samuel Escobar Kirsteen Kim Lamin Sanneh Anastasios Yannoulatos Senior Contributing Editors John F. Gorski, M.M. Graham Kings Wilbert R. Shenk Gerald H. Anderson Books for review and correspondence regarding editorial matters should be addressed to the editors. Manuscripts Robert T. Coote unaccompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope (or international postal coupons) will not be returned. Opinions expressed in the IBMR are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Overseas Ministries Study Center. Circulation The articles in this journal are abstracted and indexed in Bibliografia Missionaria, Book Review Index, Christian Becka Sisti Periodical Index, Guide to People in Periodical Literature, Guide to Social Science and Religion in Periodical Literature, [email protected] IBR (International Bibliography of Book Reviews), IBZ (International Bibliography of Periodical Literature), Missionalia, (203) 285-1559 Religious and Theological Abstracts, and Religion Index One: Periodicals. ONLINE E-JOURNAL: The IBMR is available in e-journal and print editions. To subscribe—at no charge—to the full Advertising text IBMR e-journal (PDF and HTML), go to www.internationalbulletin.org/register. Index, abstracts, and full text of this Charles A. Roth, Jr. journal are also available on databases provided by ATLAS, EBSCO, H. W. Wilson Company, The Gale Group, and University Spire Advertising Microfilms. Back issues may be purchased or read online. Consult InfoTrac database at academic and public libraries. 21 Yorkshire Lane PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS: Subscribe, renew, or change an address at www.internationalbulletin.org or write Pownal, Maine 04069-6448 INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH, P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834-3000. Address correspondence Telephone: (516) 729-3509 concerning print subscriptions and missing issues to: Circulation Coordinator, [email protected]. Single copy price: $8. [email protected] Subscription rate worldwide: one year (4 issues) $32. Foreign subscribers must pay with U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank, Copyright © 2013 OMSC Visa, MasterCard, or International Money Order. Airmail delivery $16 per year extra. All rights reserved POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH, P.O. Box 3000, Denville, New Jersey 07834-3000. Periodicals postage paid at New Haven, CT. (ISSN 0272-6122) 66 International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 37, No. 2 The Last Great Frontier: Currents in Resurgence, Convergence, and Divergence of Religion Lamin Sanneh n the minds of many, the events of 9/11 are associated Huntington’s argument has been an unexpected boon for Iwith the unwelcome return of religion on the assump- political science, and in an earlier book, The Third Wave,4 he tion that modern society has outgrown the religious habit, and explores with growing confidence the subject of religion in what remains of religion can be reduced to polite weekend international affairs.