Oral Roberts University Digital Showcase Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series Holy Spirit Research Center 2014 Engaging the World: Christian Communities in Contemporary Global Societies Afe Adogame Janice McLean Anderson Jeremiah Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalshowcase.oru.edu/re2010series Part of the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Adogame, Afe, Janice McLean, and Anderson Jeremiah. 2014. "Engaging the World: Christian Communities in Contemporary Global Societies." . http://digitalshowcase.oru.edu/re2010series/7 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Holy Spirit Research Center at Digital Showcase. It has been accepted for inclusion in Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series by an authorized administrator of Digital Showcase. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REGNUM EDINBURGH CENTENARY SERIES Volume 21 Engaging the World REGNUM EDINBURGH CENTENARY SERIES The Centenary of the World Missionary Conference of 1910, held in Edinburgh, was a suggestive moment for many people seeking direction for Christian mission in the twenty-first century. Several different constituencies within world Christianity held significant events around 2010. From 2005, an international group worked collaboratively to develop an intercontinental and multi-denominational project, known as Edinburgh 2010, and based at New College, University of Edinburgh. This initiative brought together representatives of twenty different global Christian bodies, representing all major Christian denominations and confessions, and many different strands of mission and church life, to mark the Centenary. Essential to the work of the Edinburgh 1910 Conference, and of abiding value, were the findings of the eight think-tanks or ‘commissions’. These inspired the idea of a new round of collaborative reflection on Christian mission – but now focused on nine themes identified as being key to mission in the twenty-first century. The study process was polycentric, open-ended, and as inclusive as possible of the different genders, regions of the world, and theological and confessional perspectives in today’s church. It was overseen by the Study Process Monitoring Group: Miss Maria Aranzazu Aguado (Spain, The Vatican), Dr Daryl Balia (South Africa, Edinburgh 2010), Mrs Rosemary Dowsett (UK, World Evangelical Alliance), Dr Knud Jørgensen (Norway, Areopagos), Rev. John Kafwanka (Zambia, Anglican Communion), Rev. Dr Jooseop Keum (Korea, World Council of Churches), Dr Wonsuk Ma (Korea, Oxford Center for Mission Studies), Rev. Dr Kenneth R. Ross (UK, Church of Scotland), Dr Petros Vassiliadis (Greece, Aristotle University of Thessalonikki), and coordinated by Dr Kirsteen Kim (UK, Edinburgh 2010). These publications reflect the ethos of Edinburgh 2010 and will make a significant contribution to ongoing studies in mission. It should be clear that material published in this series will inevitably reflect a diverse range of views and positions. These will not necessarily represent those of the series’ editors or of the Edinburgh 2010 General Council, but in publishing them the leadership of Edinburgh 2010 hopes to encourage conversation between Christians and collaboration in mission. All the series’ volumes are commended for study and reflection in both church and academy. Series Editors Knud Jørgensen Areopagos, Norway, MF Norwegian School of Theology and the Lutheran School of Theology, Hong Kong. Former Chair of Edinburgh 2010 Study Process Monitoring Group Kirsteen Kim Leeds Trinity University and former Edinburgh 2010 Research Coordinator, UK Wonsuk Ma Oxford Center for Mission Studies, Oxford, UK Tony Gray Words by Design, Bicester, UK REGNUM EDINBURGH CENTENARY SERIES Volume 21 Engaging the World Christian Communities in Contemporary Global Societies Edited by Afe Adogame, Janice McLean and Anderson Jeremiah Copyright © Afe Adogame, Janice McLean and Anderson Jeremiah, 2014 First published 2014 by Regnum Books International Regnum is an imprint of the Oxford Center for Mission Studies St. Philip and St. James Church Woodstock Road Oxford OX2 6HR, UK www.ocms.ac.uk/regnum 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The rights of Afe Adogame, Janice McLean and Anderson Jeremiah to be identified as the Editors of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electric, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the UK such licences are issued by the Copyright Licencing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-908355-21-8 Typeset by Words by Design Cover image © Adetayo Awolaja Printed and bound in Great Britain for Regnum Books International by TJ International LTD, Padstow, Cornwall CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Introduction Afe Adogame, Janice A. McLean and Anderson H.M. Jeremiah 3 PART ONE: CHURCH AND SOCIETY Poverty Alleviation: Issues and Challenges to the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Elijah Obinna 15 An Ecclesiological Reflection in the Context of Powerlessness and Vulnerability Danilo-Azuela Borlado and Wan Chai 28 Pentecostal Social Engagement: Excerpts from Around the World Harold D. Hunter 37 PART TWO: CHRISTIANITY AND SOCIO-POLITICAL ACTION Religion and Reconciliation Processes in the African Diaspora Frieder Ludwig 57 Churches and Condoms: How Christian Faith-Based Organizations are Preventing HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries Matthew Clarke and Juliette Lumbers 69 PART THREE: CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE Who are Kakure Kirishitan? Issues of Communal Identity within Hidden Christians of Japan Kirk Sandvig 87 Fragments and the Whole: An Insight into the Deliberations of Missionary Organizations in South India and Their Impact Anderson H.M. Jeremiah 97 Tomorrow in Trauma: Children in a Bleeding World Daniel Ndukwe 111 vi Engaging the World PART FOUR: MISSION, MIGRATION, DIASPORA AND ETHNICITY Filipino Diaspora Kingdom Workers: A Case Study of Diaspora Missiology in Action Sadiri Joy Tira and Enoch Wan 125 The Transculturalization and the Transnationalization of the Government of 12: From Seoul to Bogota to Charlotte, North Carolina Philip Wingeier-Rayo 153 Learning from Missionaries: Lessons for Secular Development Practitioners Matthew Clarke and John Donnelly 169 PART FIVE: CONFERENCE REPORTS Urban Mission Development Project, UK: Report to E2010 Commission VII from UK Urban Mission July 2009 Erica Dunmow 187 East African Consultation Philomena Mwaura 211 List of Contributors 233 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Afe Adogame, Janice A. McLean and Anderson H. M. Jeremiah Commission VII ‘Christian Communities in Contemporary Contexts’ formed one of the nine study groups that were organized in the lead up to the Missions conference held in Edinburgh in June 2010. The Study Group originally comprised 15-20 core members drawn from all continents and diverse Christian traditions. The study group focused on the following themes and key questions: 1. Poverty, suffering and marginalized communities: How do adjectives of Christian community such as discipling, healing, witnessing and contextual become lived realities in today’s world? 2. Globalization and the reproduction of hierarchies: What is involved in being the church in the cities and mega-cities of today? 3. Christianity and socio political action: How can the local church be an agent of the kingdom of God and a source of healing and reconciliation? 4. Identity, gender and power: What is the true identity (the ‘core DNA’) of the church? How does it manifest itself in different denominations and cultures? 5. The interface of migration, diaspora and ethnicity: What are the tensions between homogenous and multi ethnic churches? How is church life in diaspora communities shaped? 6. HIV/AIDS, church and mission: Does Christian mission bear some responsibility for the spread of the virus? How can mission contribute to the struggle to stop the pandemic? What other forms of ill health call for particular attention from practitioners of Christian mission? In investigating the above-mentioned themes we sought to incorporate the perspectives of academics, researchers, church leaders, religious non- governmental organizations, faith-based organizations as well as policy makers. We were convinced that such a multidimensional perspective was necessary for critical thinking about how missions is articulated and practiced in contemporary contexts and also to seek new directions for engagement in Christian mission in the 21st century. We held two successful consultations in Edinburgh prior to the June 2010 international conference. First, a one-day workshop was held on December 5, 2008 with 20 participants drawn mainly from the leadership of churches of immigrant/diaspora communities in Scotland. Papers/discussions at this 4 Engaging the World seminar focused on ‘Challenges in Urban Mission’, ‘Understanding the Impact of Power Dynamics’ and ‘Gender and Youth’. The second, much larger consultation was a two-day conference held on June 12-13, 2009. The over 35 participants were drawn from Africa, North America, Asia, Europe and Australia. The conference had its focus on the themes of Church and Reconciliation; Gender and Identity; Church and Poverty; Media representation