First the Kingdom of God: Global Voices on Global Missions Daniel K. Darko and Beth Snodderly, Editors William Carey International University Press 1539 E. Howard Street, Pasadena, California 91104 E-mail: [email protected] www.wciuPress.org Daniel Darko and Beth Snodderly, editors First the Kingdom of God: Global Voices on Global Missions CoPyright © 2013 by Darko and Snodderly Except as provided by the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written Permission of the publisher. All rights reserved ISBN: 9780865850774 Library of Congress Control Number: 2013952358 Unless otherwise noted, ScriPture verses are from the New International Version Contributors Corneliu Constantineanu Institutul Teologic Penticostal, Bucureşti-Romani, Rector/President Barry H. Corey Biola University, President Daniel K. Darko Gordon College, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies Ruth Padilla DeBorst Latin American Theological Fellowship, President Scott Hafemann University of St. Andrews, Reader in New Testament Peter Kuzmič Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Distinguished Professor of World Missions and European Studies; Evangelical Theological Seminary (Osijek, Croatia), Founder and President Gregory M. Mundis Assemblies of God World Missions, Executive Director Bruce J. Nicholls Asia Theological Association, Senior Advisor C. René Padilla Micah Network, President Emeritus Ronald J. Sider Palmer Theological Seminary, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry & Public Policy Beth Snodderly William Carey International University, President Timothy C. Tennent Asbury Theological Seminary, President and Professor of World Christianity iii Miroslav Volf Yale Divinity School, Professor of Theology and Founding Director of Yale Center for Faith & Culture ChristoPher J.H. Wright Langham Partnership International, International Director Hwa Yung Malaysian Methodist, Bishop iv Contents Introduction - 1 Seeking the Kingdom of God in a Changing Landscape Daniel K. Darko The Kingdom of God and the Spread (and Distortion) of the Gospel The Church and the Kingdom of God: A Theological Reflection - 9 Peter Kuzmič The Gospel in Historic and Cultural Transmission - 41 Timothy C. Tennent Connectedness and Mutual Submission under God’s Rule Honor Everyone!” Christian Faith and the Culture of Universal Respect - 65 Miroslav Volf Paul’s Legacy of Cooperation for Twenty-First Century Missiology and Missions Practice - 87 Daniel K. Darko “Unlikely” Contributions Toward a Global Social Ethic: Can Anything Good Come from There? – 105 Ruth Padilla DeBorst John Sung Revisited - 113 Hwa Yung Hermeneutics: Christian-Muslim Perspectives - 125 Bruce J. Nicholls Christendom, Christianity and Islam—Does EuroPe Need to Hear the GosPel?: A Brief Reflection from a Pentecostal Perspective - 147 Gregory M. Mundis v The Integration of All of Life under Christ’s Reign Faith and Life: A Pauline Perspective on the Integration of Faith and Everyday Life - 167 Corneliu Constantineanu Pentecostalism and the Collegiate Institution: A History and Analysis of This Strained Alliance - 193 Barry H. Corey Contextual Scripture Engagement and Transcultural Mission - 215 C. René Padilla The Kingdom of God in Conflict with the Kingdoms of the World Divine Judgment and the ComPletion of the Missionary Task: Paul’s Motivation for Ministry in 1–2 Thessalonians—A Response to Thor Strandenæs - 225 Scott Hafemann “The Obedience of Faith among the Nations”: Old Testament Ethics in Covenantal and Missional PersPective - 235 Christopher J.H. Wright Evangelicals and Structural Injustice: Why Don’t They Understand It and What Can Be Done? - 257 Ronald J. Sider Conclusion: “He Will Reign Forever and Ever” – 265 Beth Snodderly Index - 273 vi Acknowledgments The breadth of scholarshiP and depth of content of this book are due in part to the initial work of Corneliu Constantineanu, Marcel Marceralu, Krešimir Šimić, and Miroslav Volf who edited a larger (894 pages) multi-lingua festschrift for Peter Kuzmič. To a selection from this earlier work we have added three chapters, including one by Peter Kuzmič on his life theme, “seek first the Kingdom of God.” We are grateful also to the contributors for making the time to share their invaluable insights and exPerience with our readers. Beth Snodderly (one of the editors) showed real enthusiasm and went beyond the usual task of an editor to devote more time to copyediting. Beth’s experience and passion for global Christianity contributed significantly to the quality of this project. The William Carey International University Press (WCIU Press) has been gracious in working with us to make the dream for this publication a reality. Heather Holt of WCIU Press was particularly helPful in this regard. To Jessica Rhodes, we say thank you for comPiling the bibliograPhy during a busy examination week for you at Gordon College, MA. There are many others that deserve a word of gratitude but the brevity of sPace would not Permit us to name them all. Peter Kuzmič is both a contributing author and the one we wish to honor with this book. We are all blessed to know him and aPPreciate his contribution to global Christianity. We hope that this volume featuring his former students, protégés, and colleagues becomes a useful tool in the hands of scholars, students, and Christians interested in trends in global Christianity. Thus it is to Peter Kuzmič that we dedicate this work. Thank you, Peter, for your work in advancing the Kingdom of God. DANIEL DARKO vii Introduction: Seeking the Kingdom of God in a Changing Landscape Daniel K. Darko World Christianity in our century engenders exciting yet challenging prospects in non-Western countries where there is neither “seParation of church and state” nor a concept of “Christianity as a movement for the marginalized.” In a recent visit to Africa, I attended an event honoring a pioneer in one Pentecostal movement in which two members of Parliament from oPPosing Parties and a cabinet minister shared their faith unreservedly as Pentecostal Christians. The country’s President and a high percentage of parliamentarians profess to be Christians. Beyond Politics, the financial and industrial sectors also comprise a large Proportion of “movers and shakers” who are Christians, and positively engage with their Islamic and African Traditional counterParts in the Public arena. It soon became apparent that the cordiality between Christians, Muslims an African Traditionalists differ significantly from what one may find in some Christian settings in the United States. Some of these African leaders shared stories about how they as Christians shared rooms with Muslim friends at the University and currently work side by side with Muslims and animists. This is not only an African Phenomena but it is also a growing trend in Asian and South American countries. Global Christianity and globalization Present us with an opportunity to seize in the quest to evince the faithful Presence of the Kingdom of God in our broken world. World conflict is unfortunately tied to world religions as much as poverty and a wide array of social challenges are present in the majority world. One examPle is the ethno-religio conflict in former Yugoslavia during the 1990s. Serbians and Croats assumed a “national Christian identity” both during and in the aftermath of the war. God was supposedly with both sides even as grenades were being shelled and inconceivable forms of abuse were visited on teenage girls. The Orthodox Serbs believed God was on their side while the Catholic Croats felt emPowered by God to gain victory over their enemies. Christians versus Christians! Ironically, it would take Christian leaders who espoused a vision of Missio Dei that transcends denominational boundaries, ethnic divide, and social status to mobilize “Kingdom” missionaries in a decisive effort to bring hope, reconciliation, and to garner socio-Political forces 1 First the Kingdom of God: Global Voices on Global Missions for transformation. I encountered Professor Peter Kuzmič in Croatia in the mid- 1990s doing just that. At the nearest available time, Peter gave a few of us one unforgettable tour of Vukovar (an entire city reduced to rubbles), and a couple of mass gravesites in the area. The last visit on the trip was to a Catholic monastery where he lamented evil for what it is and shared about the dedication of Catholic monks resident in the monastery during the siege and invasion of Vukovar. Peter was the President of the Evangelical Churches in Croatia as well as the Evangelical Theological Seminary yet he sPoke about the Priests as fellow ministers and sharers in Kingdom service. He later seized the opportunity to challenge us to reflect on the embodiment of the Kingdom of God and our part in Missio Dei; our role in fostering reconciliation, healing, and training for Christian leaders to serve the post-war former Yugoslavia. The war had split Yugoslavia into the smaller countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. A new sense of identity and nationalism filled the air, yet a gaze beyond the surface would underline hopelessness and bitterness as fairly accurate descriPtors of the plight of most people. As a ProPhet of peace, a champion of social justice, and pastor of all People, Peter Kuzmič articulated the vision and exemPlified the praxis of the Kingdom of God as transcending denominational, ethnic, and national interests. We may recall Jesus announcing the scope of his mission to include proclamation of the good news to the Poor, recovery of sight to the blind, release to the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18; cf. Isa. 61:1-2). This book is a collection of essays from experts who share this vision of the Kingdom, who have worked with Peter Kuzmič in related tasks and who write as a tribute to a colleague dedicated to world missions. Using the legacy of Peter Kuzmič as a starting point, contributors elevate the discussion on how we may be responsible “Kingdom” servants in the changing context of modern Christianity.