Lecturer: Rev Dr Barnabas Boon
Venue: On Campus
Time: Friday, 9.00 am – 12.00 pm
3 units
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the theology of mission from a biblical perspective. After establishing the biblical foundation for mission, several themes which are of importance in today’s multicultural and multireligious world will be studied including contextualization, pluralism, a missional church, holistic mission, and the practical aspects of mission.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, students will understand God’s mission as described in scripture and will be able to evaluate various theologies of mission. They will understand the missionary nature of the church. They will understand the different ways of approaching mission in context and will be able to describe how Christ’s uniqueness relates to the secular and religious milieus they will encounter. They will understand the holistic nature of mission. Some practical details on how churches process missionary candidature, mission support of missionary in the field and mobilization of churches for mission will also be dealt with.
COURSE OUTLINE
The course will deal with the theology of missions by highlighting the following concepts:
- Mission in the Old and New Testament
- Universality and particularity in mission
- Mission and the church
- Contextual mission
- Mission, evangelism, and dialogue in encounter with culture
- Mission in practice
COURSE CONTENT DETAILS
| Week | Topic | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction • Old Testament basis for missions. • Missional hermeneutics • Israel’s missionary call | Hunsberger, Proposal for a missional hermeneutic: Mapping a conversation. Kaiser, Israel’s missionary call. Kaiser, The great commission in the OT. |
| 2 | Mission in the Old Testament: Plans and Purposes of God • The Abrahamic covenant • Israel’s response • The purpose of God from the beginning • Evangelisation of the whole world | Ellisen, What is God trying to do?. Martens, Impulses to global mission in Isaiah. Stott, The living God is a missionary God. Bosch, Witness to the world. McQuilkin, Lost. Wright, Old Testament basis. |
| 3 | Missions in the New Testament I • Jesus the Messiah • His message and missions • The Great Commission | Goerner, All nations to the Gentiles. Richardson, Eternity in their hearts. Verkuyl, The Great Commission of Matthew. |
| 4 | God’s purpose and plan in the New Testament II • Missions in the gospels • Missions in Acts • Paul’s missions | Hertig, The Great Commission revisited. Merkle, Why the Great Commission must be translated “Go”? Crossman, The reluctant messengers. Glasser, The apostle Paul and the missionary task. |
| 5 | Particularity and universality in mission | McQuilkin, Lost. Sochanngam, A critical review of Karl Rahner and Pinnock. |
| 6 | Mid-Course Test | |
| 7 | Mission and the church: Historical perspective. • Early church missions • Missions to the West • Missions to the East • Eras of modern missions | Winter, The Kingdom strikes back: Ten epochs of redemptive history. Beaver, The history of Mission strategy. Sunquist, Asian Christianity: Facing the rising sun |
| 8 | Mission and the church – Mission to the East and Islam | Trimingham, Christianity among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times. Whitehouse and Williamson, Sassanian maritime trade. “Iran. Touraj, The Persian Gulf in late antiquity. England, The hidden history of Christianity. |
| 9 | Contextualization in missions: A biblical and theological appraisal • The term ‘contextualization’ • Biblical perspective • Stages of contextualization | Coleman and Verster, Contextualisation of the Gospel among Muslims. Engels, Contextualization in mission. Fleming, Contextualisation in the New Testament. |
| 10 | Mission, evangelism and dialogue in encounter with culture: Mission and Culture: Theology (1) | Gnanakan, Bible and salvation in Asia. Thompson, Christian theology in Asia, Introduction: Mapping Asian Christianity in the context of world. Christianity, p.1-21 |
| 11 | Mission, evangelism and dialogue in encounter with culture: Mission and Culture: Theology (2) • Critical review of various Asian theologies • Cultural anthropology to modern missions • The missionary as a cultural pilgrim | Yung, Mangoes or bananas. |
| 12 | Practical mission: Sending and serving | Taylor, Too valuable to lose. |
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS
Required Reading
| All Students | • Andrew J. Kirk. What is mission? Theological explorations • Christopher Wright. The mission of God’s people or, • 200 pages of your own choice of Christopher Wright, The mission of God. Unlocking the Bible’s grand narrative. • Jenkins, P. H. The new faces of Christianity. Believing the Bible in the global south. |
| Graduates only | • Bosch, D. J. Transforming mission. Paradigm shifts in theology of mission. Chapter 12 |
Book Review (20%)
In 1200 to 1500 words critically review one of the following books:
- Chester, Tim. Total church: A radical reshaping around gospel and community.
- Keller, Tim. Centre church: Doing balanced and gospel centered ministry in the city.
Examination (30%)
- A sitting examination on required books and contents of lectures. The examination will be held on the 6th Lecture in the second semester of 2025 at 0900 am.
For those who are online students, the exam paper will be sent to you by Whatsapp or email. The test paper (PDF file) will be opened through a subsequent password that will be provided to you through Whatsapp or email. The total time taken will be three (3) hours. Time to pass up will be 1300 (1:00 pm). You will not consult one another during the examination period.
- Test questions will consist of objective and subjective questions.
Objective questions section: There will be thirty (30) multiple choice questions. Time allotted for this section will be 35 minutes. On-line students will send their answer scripts within 2 minutes after the end of this section test.
Subjective question section: You will answer four (4) questions out of the ten questions offered in this section. You will send your completed examination paper to the Registrar. Please ensure that you have your name written in your answer scripts.
Research Paper (50%)
- Undergraduates: 2500 words.
- Graduates: 3000 words.
Choose one of the following themes:
- Evaluate the Theology of Mission of one of the following authors, basing your paper on one of their books:
- John Hick
- Hwa Yung
- Leslie Newbigin
- Vinoth Ramachandra
- Donald A. McGavran
- Timothy Keller (not if you have chosen his book to review)
- Do a a critique of the Insider movement. For a positive assessment of the movement see the following articles in:
- Craft, C. H., Appropriate Christianity.
- John Travis and Anna Travis, Appropriate approaches in Muslim context (pages 397 to 414).
- Paul DeNeui, A typology of approaches to Thai Buddhists. (Pages 415 to 436).
- Are you an exclusivist, an inclusivist or a pluralist? Give reasons and explain how this affects your view on mission in Malaysia (or another country of your choice).
- Develop a mission policy for your local church on a thorough biblical and theological foundation.
- Attempt a worldview analysis of a non-Christian belief system or an Asian cultural practice.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, S. Jane. “History, archaeology and the question of foreign control in early historic-period Peninsular Malaysia.” International Journal of Historic Archaeology 2, no. 4 (1998): 261-289.
Bevan, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Constants in context: A theology of mission for today. N.Y.: Maryknoll, 2004.
—. Models of contextual theology. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1992.
Bosch, David J. Tranforming mission: Paradigm shifts in Theology of missions. New York, NY: Orbis Books, 2002.
Braginsky, Vladimir I. “Two eastern Christian sources on Medieval Nusantara.” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 154, no. 3 (1998): 367-396.
Chadwick, Henry. The Penguin History of the Church: The early Church. Revised Edition. 2nd. Edited by Owen Chadwick. Vol. I. VII vols. London: Penguin Books, 1993.
Chapman, R., Cognitive categories and our mission approach, Journal of Applied Missiology, 66(2):1-4.
Chester, Tim, and Steve Timmis. Everyday Church: Gospel communities on mission. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.
Chester, Tim. Good news to the poor: Sharing the gospel through social involvement. Nottingham, England: Intervarsity Press, 2004.
—. Total Church: A radical reshaping around Gospel and community. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.
Daryee, Touraj. “The Persian Gulf in Late Antiquity.” Journal of World History (University of Hawaii Press) 14, no. 1 (March 2003): 1-16.
Drewes, G. “New light on the coming of Islam to Indonesia.” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, land-en Volkenkunde 124, no. 4 (1968): 433-459.
England, John C. The Hidden History of Christianity: The Church of the East before the year 1500. 1st. Delhi: ISPCK (Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)., 2002.
Flemming, Dean. Contextualization in the New Testament: Patterns for theology and mission. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2005.
Hedlund, Roger E. God and the nations: A biblical theology of mission in the Asian context. Delhi: Indian Society for promoting Christian knowledge (ISPCK), 1997.
Hesselgrave, David J., and Edward Rommen. Contextualzation: Meanings, methods and models. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989.
Hick, John. A Christian theology of religions: The rainbow of faiths. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.
Huc, M. L’Abbe. Christianity in China, Tartary and Thibet. 1st. Vol. 1. 2 vols. London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Roberts, 1857.
Hunt, Robert, Kam Hing Lee, and John Roxborough. Christianity In Malaysia. A Denominational History. 1st. Petaling Jaya, Selangor: Pelanduk Publications, 1992.
Hwa, Yung. Mangoes or bananas: The quest for an authentic Asian Christian theology. Oxford: Regnum, 1997.
Jenkins, Philip. The new faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. An introduction to the theology of religions. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003.
Keller, Tim. Center Church: Doing balanced and Gospel centred ministry in the city. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
Kirk, Andrew J. What is mission? Theological explorations. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2000.
Kraft, Charles H. Appropriate Christianity. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2005.
Mayerson, Philip. “The port of Clysma (Suez) in transition from Roman rule to Arab rule.” Journal of Near Eastern studies 55, no. 2 (1996): 119-126.
McGavran, D. A.. Understanding Church growth. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.
Moffett, Samuel Hugh. The History of Christianity in Asia. Vol I. beginnings to 1500. 2nd. Vol. I. New York: Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 2001.
Mozaffari-Falarti, Maziar. “Kedah’s Islamic conversion stories or gateways to its pre-Islamic past.” Second Singapore Graduate Forum on Southeast Asia Studies, 2007: 1-50.
Netland, H. Dissonant voices: Religious pluralism and the question of truth. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1999.
Netland, H., and McDermott. A Trinitarian theology of religions: An evangelical proposal. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel in a pluralist society. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989.
—. The open secret: An introduction to the theology of mission, Revised Edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Peskett, Howard, and Vinoth Ramachandra. The message of mission. The glory of Christ in all time and space. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2003.
Ramachandra, Vinoth. Faiths in conflict: Christian integrity in a multi-cultural world. Downers Grove: IVP, 1999.
Schoff, Wilfred H. “First century intercourse between India and Rome. Edmunds vs. Garbe.” The Monist (Hegeler Institute) 22, no. 1 (January 1912): 138-149.
Shirik, S. Axioms of Universality and Particularity: A Critical Assessment of Karl Rahner and Clark Pinnock with Applications to Contemporary Mission
Smith, Monica L. “Indianization from the Indian point of view: Trade and cultural contacts with Southeast Asia in the early millennium C.E.” Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient 42, no. 1 (1999): 1-26.
Stetzer, E, and D Putman. Breaking the missional code. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006.
Taylor, William. Global missiology for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000.
—. Too Valuable to Lose. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library,1997.
Trimingham, John Spencer. Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times: Arab Background Series. 1st. Edited by N. A. Ziadeh. London: Longman Group Limited, 1979.
Van Engen, Charles. Mission on the way: Issues in mission theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996.
Vinoth, Ramachandran. The recovery of mission: Beyond the pluralist paradigm. Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.
Wales, H. G. Quaritch. The Malay Peninsula in Indian Times. 1st. London: Bernard Quaritch, LTD., 1976.
Wendrich, W. Z., R. S. Tomber, S. E. Sidebotham, J. A. Harrell, R. T. J. Cappers, and R. S. Bagnall. “Berenike crossroads: The integration of information. Excavating the Relations between Archaeology and History in the study of Pre-Modern Asia (Part 2).” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (Brill) 46, no. 1 (2003): 46-87.
Wheatley, Paul. The Golden Khersonese:Studies in the historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500. 1st. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press, 1966.
Whitehouse, David, and Andrew Williamson. “Sassanian maritime trade.” Iran, British Institute of Persian Studies, 11 (1973): 29-49.
Winter, R.D. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009.
Wright, Christopher. The mission of God. Unlocking the Bible’s grand narrative. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006.
—. The mission of God’s people. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010