Great Commission Research Journal Volume 8 Issue 1 Article 15 7-1-2016 Complete Issue Alan McMahan Biola University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalarchives.apu.edu/gcrj Recommended Citation McMahan, A. (2016). Complete Issue. Great Commission Research Journal, 8(1). Retrieved from https://digitalarchives.apu.edu/gcrj/vol8/iss1/15 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by APU Digital Archives. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Commission Research Journal by an authorized editor of APU Digital Archives. For more information, please contact [email protected]. McMahan: Complete Issue CONTENTS 3 Introduction Alan McMahan ARTICLES 6 The aseC for Prioritism: Part 2 Christopher R Little 21 How Donald McGavran Has Impacted One Urban Church Plant and Indirectly Influenced Thousands of Other Churches: An Analysis of the Journey Church of the City Nelson Searcy and Matthew C Easter 32 Donald McGavran: An Evangelistic Missionary �������������������������������������������������������������������������������Gary L McIntosh 56 Understanding Diversification in the Church Growth Movement Christopher DiVietro 82 Technology-Based Oral Ministry Strategies: The Bridge Between Western Literate and Majority World Oral Contexts ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Christina Toy 104 The Practical Effects of Clerical Clothing on Evangelism: A Quantitative Study ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Eugene A Curry 115 My Pilgrimage in Church Growth ��������������������������������������������������������������Bill Easum BOOK REVIEWS 121 Leading Church Multiplication: Locally, Regionally, Nationally by Tom Nebel and Steve Pike Reviewed by: David Yetter PublishedGREAT by COMMISSIONAPU Digital RESEARCH Archives, JOURNAL 2016 1 1 Great Commission Research Journal, Vol. 8, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 15 125 The Lego Principle: The Power of Connecting to God and One Another by Joey Bonifacio ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������Reviewed by: Jamie Booth 128 Growing God’s Church: How People Are Actually Coming to Faith Today by Gary L. McIntosh Reviewed by: William J Ingram 131 The Prodigal Church: A Gentile Manifesto against the Status Quo by Jared C. Wilson Reviewed by: Joey Chen 134 Sunday School that Really Works: A Strategy for Connecting Congregations and Communities by Steve R. Parr ���������������������������������������������������������������������� Reviewed by: David Russell Bryan https://digitalarchives.apu.edu/gcrj/vol8/iss1/152 C ONTENTS 2 McMahan: Complete Issue VOL. 8 • NO. 1 • SUMMER 2016 • 3–5 INTRODUCTION Alan McMahan, General Editor Some jockey for power in the political arena; others seek to change the world by accumulating wealth. Still others believe in the ability of intellec- tual persuasion to improve the human condition. While some good can be propagated through each of these means, history has shown that Christians have had the most influence when they have relied primarily on the power of the gospel to change lives and transform society. That does not mean, of course, that faith should be considered relevant only to the matters of the heart, but ultimately the power to establish a more just society will require that we become new creations through the power of Christ. This message remains the primary mandate of the Great Commission and the motivating urgency of this Journal. With that in mind, the opening article in this issue represents Part 2 of Chris Little’s “Case for Prioritism,” which continues from Part 1 published in the Winter 2016 issue. In this issue, evangelical holism is compared and contrasted with prioritism, and a case is made for why prioritism is more in line with biblical missiology. Whether you agree or disagree, this article will provoke you to think deeply about this debate, with the goal to help you take an informed position on this important subject. The next two articles reflect on the impact Donald McGavran (a pri- oritist) had upon the trajectory of evangelical church planting, church growth, and missions. Nelson Searcy and Matthew Easter write about the ways McGavran’s teaching and writing affected the growth of three Journey PublishedGREAT by COMMISSIONAPU Digital RESEARCH Archives, JOURNAL 2016 3 3 Great Commission Research Journal, Vol. 8, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 15 churches in New York, San Francisco, and South Florida, as well as many others throughout the country. Identifying key concepts from McGavran’s thinking, the authors show his impact through real-world examples. An expert on the life and work of Donald McGavran, Gary McIntosh, in an excerpt from his biography, explores the roots of McGavran’s early inter- est in the growth of churches in India and his encounter with J. Wascom Pickett’s seminal research on people movements, in which whole communi- ties were reported in coming to Christ. Gary’s work shows how these early explorations shaped McGavran’s thinking, and he summarizes McGavran’s quest to discover reproducible principles to help churches around the world grow. Looking at McGavran’s legacy from a different perspective, Christo- pher DiVietro proposes in his article that some assumptions in McGavran’s worldview led some of his epistemological descendants focused on North American church growth to veer away from the original focus of McGavran’s teaching. Replicating methods and applying abstract principles that were divorced from a consideration of context resulted in strands of the move- ment that practiced a kind of syncretistic pragmatism. His reflections on McGavran’s legacy invite thoughtful response. Moving our discussion from a philosophical and historical focus, Chris- tina Toy explores the important new opportunities that are emerging through the use of technology-based oral ministry strategies. These strate- gies recognize that primarily oral cultures find it difficult to follow linear, propositionally presented truth typical of literate societies and prefer the media of stories from which they derive meaning. This reality is not unlike the post-literate, or secondary literacy, of populations among Western young people who increasingly prefer interaction through the media of story and technology-enabled social media. Evangelists, church planters, and mis- sionaries are well advised to consider the implications of such shifts in com- munication as they seek effective engagement with their target audiences. Looking at evangelism methods from another interesting perspective is the article offered by Eugene Curry on how wearing clerical clothing affects the rate at which certain people approach the evangelist to discuss religion. If this quantitative study shows how the personal apparel of the evangelist can open or close doors for conversations of faith, what other external fac- tors might be in play that affect the perception of the Good News we are trying to share? Concluding the section of articles, Bill Easum recounts his pilgrimage in church growth over the years, depicting how in the mid-1980s, he found a like-minded passion in the leaders of the movement, such as Carl George, Gary McIntosh, Elmer Towns, and others. These leaders refined his think- ing and motivated him further in his own calling of coaching pastors of more than 700 churches and publishing extensively on the topic. Perhaps https://digitalarchives.apu.edu/gcrj/vol8/iss1/154 I NTRODUCTION 4 McMahan: Complete Issue the description of Bill’s journey will mobilize even more to pick up the chal- lenge to see churches grow. In each issue of the Great Commission Research Journal, it is also our custom to feature reviews of books that are making a significant contribu- tion to our understanding of how churches grow and how people are com- ing to Christ. Our reviewers in this issue take on a number of such books that are worth your consideration. Many thanks go to David Yetter, Jamie Booth, William Ingram, Joey Chan, and David Russell Bryan who have pro- vided helpful insights and a critical evaluation of these works. Appreciation is also deserved by our editorial team: Parnell Lovelace, our North American Editor; Len Bartlotti, our International Editor; Mike Mor- ris, our Book Review Editor; Gary McIntosh, our Dissertation Editor; as well as Joy Bergk, our Publication Manager (who has helped publish now fifteen issues of this Journal!); Laura McIntosh, our Technical Editor (who has also been with us for fifteen issues); and Rachel Donawerth, our Admin- istrative Assistant. It is our hope that this issue of the Journal will prompt more thought- ful action to broadcast the gospel as Good News, resulting in new waves of disciples for the kingdom. We welcome new contributions or responses to those included here that align with these goals. PublishedGREAT by COMMISSIONAPU Digital RESEARCH Archives, JOURNAL 2016 5 5 Great Commission Research Journal, Vol. 8, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 15 VOL. 8 • NO. 1 • SUMMER 2016 • 6–20 THE CASE FOR PRIORITISM: PART II Christopher R. Little Editor’s Note: The following article is being published in two parts due to its length. This arti- cle represents the second part; the first part appeared in the Winter 2016 issue of the journal.