Perfecting Unity
In his new book, Perfecting Unity, Glen Alton Messer II--the first faculty associate of the Center for Global Christianity & Mission--aids Christ's disciples in discernment in the midst of this present moment of time; in our world and context. The book is also written for those who wish to understand Christians and the things with which they wrestle as they do their best to live faithfully in the world. It is not a book that gives answers. Indeed, it is a book that challenges answers formulated previously by other faithful Christians in different moments and different contexts. It is not a repudiation of what came before; but a reminder that the practice of courage in people of faith necessitates the testing of previous worldviews and the formulation of new best attempts to incarnate the love of God in us and around us.
The book is being published one chapter at a time, with a new chapter appearing every Wednesday until October. The material is digitally accessible now, and later will be available for purchase through Amazon.
Call for Papers: Protest, Public Religion, & Social Change
Boston University Graduate Conference on Religious Studies 2016
Buddhist Monks, Christian Friars, and the Making of Buddhism
In her recent article, “Buddhist Monks and Christian Friars: Religious and Cultural Exchange in the Making of Buddhism,” Eva Pascal (PhD Candidate) demonstrated that the idea of Buddhism as a common religion across much of Asia, did not emerge in the 19th century as has been widely assumed. Instead, it was Spanish Franciscan Friars in the 16th century who, in their interactions with Buddhist monks in Thailand, China, and Japan recognized a common core. The Franciscans not only perceived a single founder behind the various names used for the Buddha in Asia, they also recognized the features of "religion." In other words, Franciscans concluded that Buddhist monks were not merely superstitious--the label associated with heathen ideas. Instead, they began to use the term "religion" for Buddhist beliefs and practices, because the Franciscans recognized monks as their counterparts. Buddhist monks lived in monastic communities, adhered to a life of voluntary poverty, took vows of chastity, preached obedience to commandments, and the like. The parallels led the Franciscan missionaries to introduce Buddhism to the West as a religion, a total system comparable to Christianity.
African Pentecostalism
Allan Anderson, one of the foremost scholars on Pentecostalism, delivered a lecture at the Boston University School of Theology on April 14th: "Pentecostalism and the African Spirit World: Continuity or Discontinuity?" In the lecture, Professor Anderson, explored the complex relationship between African Traditional Religions and Pentecostalism, highlighting how--often at the same time--Pentecostalism is both a rupture with the past and in continuity with it. The lecture drew not only students from Boston University, but also from the Pentecostal Leadership and Theological Institute of The Church of Pentecost, U.S.A. (pictured below).
BU memorial service and streaming for Father Machozi
Boston University will hold a memorial service for Father Vincent Machozi on Tuesday, April 26, at 2pm in Marsh Chapel. The service will be followed by a reception in the School of Theology Community Center at 3pm. The community invites all to attend this service for Father Machozi, a martyred graduate student of the School of Theology. The service and reception will include visitors and participants from the Congolese community, the Assumptionists, the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Everett, and the university community. Live streaming will be available at http://livestream.com/accounts/4958196 for people to join in from other locations.
Reassessing Chinese Christianity through John Sung
At the 75th annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, CGCM Associate Director, Daryl Ireland participated in a panel on "Chinese Christianity Revisited: The John Sung Papers and Chinese Evangelistic Materials." The panel was organized by the Council on East Asian Libraries, and highlighted Yale Divinity School's recent acquisition of the journals of John Sung, the preeminent Chinese evangelist of the 20th century. Three librarians spoke about what it means to have access to rare primary materials, particularly from a figure like John Sung. These are the necessary building blocks for scholars to piece together the dramatic story of Chinese Christianity over the last 100 years. Dr. Ireland was then featured as someone who has used the new materials, and he demonstrated how a close reading of one of Sung's revivals can go a long way in reconstructing the class composition of the people who eagerly gathered to hear Sung preach.
Missions and the Local Church
On April 2, Laura Chevalier, Doctoral Fellow at the CGCM, presented a paper at the Northeast meeting of the Evangelical Missiological Society (EMS) in Flushing, NY. In her paper entitled "Midwives and Mamas of the Local Church: Historical Case Studies of Women in Mission," Chevalier looked at the life writing of two twentieth century evangelical missionaries: Lillian Trasher and Dr. Helen Roseveare. She drew out five themes regarding the local church and mission in their writings and concluded by discussing what these women's lives and writings bring to bear on evangelical mission today. The conference brought together a broad spectrum of people in the evangelical community including mission scholars and practitioners, pastors, and many lay leaders from a wide variety of denominations. Concurrent paper sessions offered in both Chinese and Spanish during the afternoon session highlights the attention to diversity by conference organizers and the diverse backgrounds of participants.
Vincent Machozi Memorial Services
On April 26th, life and death of Father Vincent Machozi, A.A. was remembered during a memorial service to be held in the Boston University Marsh Chapel. The service began at 2:00 pm, and included various people from the communities Father Machozi overlapped with in Boston, such as the School of Theology, African Studies, the Assumptionists, Congolese immigrants, and the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
Recently, a service was held for him at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Everett, Massachusetts, and his funeral was held in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Exploring Sports and Spirituality in the Classroom
The city of Boston is a sports-loving city with thousands of people following sports religiously. But what is the connection between sports and spirituality? Some scholars are exploring that very question. Boston University School of Theology alum Mark Stamm teaches a course precisely on the connection between sports and spirituality in American culture. Dr. Stamm (STH, Th.D. '95) is a Professor of Christian Worship at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Nurtured in the loved Boston Red Sox baseball team in his time at BU, Dr. Stamm belongs to the Society for American Baseball Research. He explores how baseball and other sports impact on Christian faith, spirituality, and even liturgy. You can read more about his fascinating course in the article on Sports and Spirituality by Sam Hodges.
Mission and Friendship
On March 30th, Dana Robert delivered the annual Donald A. Yerxa Lecture in History at Eastern Nazarene College. She probed the role of "Cross-Cultural Christian Friendships in the Age of Nationalist Revolution, 1950s-1970s," asserting that these close connections were costly in the midst of shifting political arrangements, but that they were important reminders that Christianity was a multi-ethnic, global religion. Christian friendships that did not collapse under the extraordinary pressure and violence of nationalism underscored the reality of world Christianity.
The lecture also pointed to another type of enduring friendship. Dana Robert has been the reader for four dissertations written by Nazarene scholars. All four were able to attend the lecture and are pictured below.
