The church as the community of the redeemed in Christ is called out of the world not to serve and maintain itself, but to come back and serve society and God’s mission in the world. The church outside of MENA, that has been used to occupying the position of majority in society, is going through a major crisis as it increasingly morphs into a minority community. The church globally needs to learn carefully what it means to live in a post-Christian world. Seminaries will need to play a major role in graduating students with this new sense of purpose, if the church is to continue as God’s transforming agent in a world often without purpose.
The reverberations of the murder of George Floyd are felt in many cities across the world. Yet, the patterns of response in the church seem to be no different from the patterns outside of it. Nor is racism a western phenomenon. Tribalism in African churches equates to racism in Western churches. The reason some Christians have problems with fellow human beings is because they do not accept and value them as bearers of the image of God. Jesus and the Kingdom of God must be our model. Individually and collectively. Within the church and outside of it in wider society.
Bridget Hathaway and Flavian Kishekwa have worked together for many years in the field of disability in the community and over time have seen a positive change of attitude towards people with disabilities, with a greater awareness of their ability rather than focusing on the prefix of dis.
However, if a COVID-19 outbreak occurs and the question arises “Who shall I treat with our precious resources?” the answer may not be favourable for those with disability.
Bible translation has always been at the cutting edge of mission.
Its pivotal and central role in Christian outreach is undeniable. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine missionary encounter with non-Christian cultures or subcultures without reference to the Bible in the languages or dialects of the receptor, the target cultures or audiences.
It is estimated that there are about ten million members of the African Independent (or Instituted) Churches in South Africa. Anyone, therefore, wanting to engage in Christian ministry among the African peoples of southern Africa must have some knowledge and understanding of these churches in order to engage in effective and fruitful ministry.
What is the relationship between faith and public life? Specifically, how does religion impact how we live as Christians in religiously and culturally diverse societies? These questions are as prescient as ever with the outbreak of COVID-19, and the answers are ever so slightly different depending on the context being addressed. It is important for these questions to be addressed in every context and the contexts across Africa are no different.
It's easy to get obsessed with either the physical world or the spiritual realm we read about in the Bible. Daniel Darko helps evaluate the bias in your own worldview and explains the background behind early Christian, western and many Majority World attitudes to supernatural realities interacting with our lives.
Claire Moore and Isobel Stevenson, two of Langham Publishing's editors, travelled to Yaoudé, Cameroon to facilitate a workshop for editors and writers in Francophone Africa. Excellent biblical resources are scarce in Francophone Africa and supporting Christian publishers, editors and writers is an important role Langham Literature plays in fostering contextually relevant, evangelical books for the Majority World church.
Wayne Johnston, Langham Literature Distribution Assistant, gives us an encouraging insight into his work providing customer service to people across the Majority World, and a wonderful reminder that we all have our own part to play in bringing God's Kingdom to Earth.
Perry Shaw, author of Transforming Theological Education: A Practica Handbook for Integrative Learning explains the story of how one of Langham Publishing's top selling titles came to be a book – a book that answered his own vocational crisis and that has had a growing impact in theological colleges around the globe.
