News of the extended network of faculty, alumni, students, visiting researchers, and mission partners is regularly updated, and some of the big ideas or major events in Global Christianity are covered in the CGCM News.
Alumni Report: Santiago-Vendrell to deliver Herencia Lecture at PTS
On October 9th, Angel Santiago-Vendrell ('08) will deliver the 8th Herencia Lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary. His research into the missiology of M. Richard Shaull highlights the Protestant and Princeton Theological Seminary connections to Liberation Theology.
Now available: the Fall 2015 edition of the CGCM News
The Fall 2015 edition of our newsletter, CGCM News is now available in print and digital forms. You can pick one up at various location in the BU School of Theology, and it is available for download and viewing here.
Peace Mapping Programme, the Contributions of Interreligious Dialogue
The Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) and the Pardee School invites all to an event Religions, Peace and Conflict: The Contributions of Interreligious Dialogue. The speakers are Patrice Brodeur, Director of Research at the KAICII Dialogue Center, and Karsten Lehmann, Head of Social Science and Statistics at KAICIID. It takes place on September 22, 5:00, 121 Bay State Rd. Dean’s Conference Room (1st Floor).
Symposium on Edinburgh 2010
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), in collaboration with several of its global partners, on 4th September 2015, hosted the symposium of the Edinburgh 2010 centenary conference and brought the Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series of 36 books to completion. 80 mission thinkers joined the series editors – Dr Wonsuk Ma of OCMS, Dr Knud Jorgensen of the MF Norwegian School of Theology, Prof. Kirsteen Kim of Leeds Trinity University and Tony Gray of Words by Design – to mark the close of a series that is remarkable for its global scope. The event, which was addressed by Professor Dana Robert of Boston University, also celebrated the enormous diversity of the churches, mission agencies and academic institutions involved in the project. Dr Robert surveyed the relationship between mission and Christian unity from the Edinburgh 1910 conference to the present, identifying several key themes in contemporary missiological reflection: global networking as an expression of common witness, the power of testimony in building unity, the centrality of the Holy Spirit in church growth and the ecumenism of blood experienced in the crisis situation of Christians around the world, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Prof. Petros Vassiliadis of the University of Thessaloniki, Revd Dr John Kafwanka of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Hwa Yung of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and Revd Dr Hielke Wolters, representing the World Council of Churches, all offered insightful responses to this challenging keynote address.
The Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series grew out of the Edinburgh 2010 project. Five years on, the series has become the most comprehensive and accessible study of contemporary Christianity. It aims not only to be a scholarly resource but also to build mutual understanding among the churches. The 600 contributors are from all continents – with a special focus on Asia, Africa and Oceania – and all strands of Christianity – Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal. Other invitees reviewed the series to date: Dr Rose Dowsett of the World Evangelical Alliance, Revd Jacques Matthey, formerly programme at the World Council of Churches, Revd Dr Kenneth Ross of the Church of Scotland and Prof. Steve Bevans SVD of the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. Rev. Andrew Anderson, Chair of the Edinburgh 2010 General Council and now Chaplain at OCMS led the worship. Bishop Graham Kings, Mission Theologian in the Anglican Communion, gave the closing address in which he quoted the Archbishop of Canterbury on new forms of mission for the digital age, and Revd. Canon John O’Toole, representing the Roman Catholic Church, closed the event with prayer.
The Series is published by Regnum Books International in the UK and Wipf and Stock in the USA. Dr. Wonsuk Ma, Executive Director of OCMS and one of the series editors stated, “we believe mission should not be expensive” therefore, “the series is made available through a world library programme and through electronic download to encourage further study and collaboration in mission”. Topics include Freedom of Belief; Global Diasporas; Mission at and from the Margins; Christian Communities in Global Societies; Ministry of Reconciliation; Authentic Discipleship; Christian Mission among Other Faiths; and Creation Care. For further information visit www.ocms.ac.uk/regnum/edinburgh.
School of Theology and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry Collaborate to Launch Digital Archive of motive Magazine
“The magazine, motive, challenged me beyond natural ability.”
Jeanne Audrey Powers
On September 16, Boston University School of Theology and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry will celebrate the launch of a website that digitizes motive magazine and makes it accessible to a new generation of scholars and leaders. motive magazine shaped a generation of young, passionate activists and leaders. The event will feature an art display beginning at 4:30 pm and a celebratory event at 5:00 pm, with a Readers' Theater, presentation of the new website, and panelists.
motive was the official magazine for the Methodist Student Movement from its founding in 1941 and, for a few years at the end of its life, for the entire University Christian Movement (UCM). Much celebrated even at the time for its avant-garde editorial and artistic vision, in 1966 Time magazine said it stood out among church publications “like a miniskirt at a church social.” It was the single runner-up to Life as Magazine of the Year in 1965. Its strong stance on civil rights, Vietnam, and emerging gender issues were provocative at the time and the magazine ceased publication in 1972.
The Center for Global Christianity and Mission in collaboration with the School of Theology Library has made all of the issues available online and searchable. This event will mark the launch of the new resource on the Church, the student movement, and critical issues from the middle of the 20th century.
Panelists include:
B.J. Stiles, former editor of motive magazine;
Frank Lloyd Dent, author of the dissertation motive magazine: Advocating the Arts and Empowering the Imagination in the Life of the Church; and
Tom Driver, contributor to motive magazine and retired professor at Union Theological Seminary.
by Betty Elrod
- See more at: http://www.gbhem.org/article/boston-university-school-theology-and-general-board-higher-education-and-ministry-celebrate#sthash.1aMfSgM0.dpuf
Alumni Report: Grace May to William Carey International University
Grace May, who graduated from the Boston University School of Theology in 2000, has been appointed as the Assistant Professor Biblical Studies at William Carey International University (WCIU) in Pasadena, CA. As of the 2015-2016 academic year, she will be teaching and mentoring doctoral students from around the world, primarily from the Global South. In keeping with the vision of the WCIU founder Ralph D. Winter, who initiated Theological Education by Extension, she will be teaching largely via internet, thus, allowing students to pursue their studies without disrupting their ongoing work for the Kingdom.
Religious Freedom and Rising Intolerance in Pakistan
Attacks on Christians and other minorities has been on the rise in Pakistan. The country has also seen an increase in persecution and discrimination based on blasphemy laws. Why is religious intolerance on the rise, and what does this mean for religious freedom in one of the world's most populous nations?
School of Theology alumnus Titus Presler was invited by The Daily Beast, the popular online news site, to write about threats to religious freedom in Pakistan in relation to the church-state struggle over Edwardes College and the attack he experienced last year in Peshawar. The article is "Why has Pakistan become so intolerant?" which you can read in full here.
Translating Christianity
The 54th Summer Conference of the Ecclesiastical History Society was held at the University of York in England from July 28-30, 2015. Exploring the theme of “Translating Christianity,” the conference focused on cultural, linguistic, and ritual translation of the Christian faith into different global contexts over the past two millennia. To illustrate the conference theme, a virtual exhibition was put together in collaboration with the Minster Library and the Institute for Public Understanding of the Past, University of York.
In order to make sense of how Christianity has become a world faith as it has crossing geographic, cultural, and social boundaries, many of the papers built on the translatability principle of the Christian message proposed 
by Lamin Sanneh and Andrew Walls. The creative and complex interplay between the universal Christian message and particular local settings was carefully examined through various case studies in Greek, Latin, Asian, American, and African contexts. CGCM student Daewon Moon presented his paper, “The East African Revival: Transplantation or Indigenization of European Christianity?”
Conference: Bartolomé de Las Casas: History, Philosophy, & Theology in the Age of European Expansion
As part of the 800th anniversary of the Order of Preachers as well as the 100th anniversary of Providence College (Providence, Rhode Island), the College invites interested scholars to the international conference, “Bartolomé de Las Casas, O.P. History, Philosophy, and Theology in the Age of European Expansion” (October 7-9, 2016). The conference solicits presentations or panels about the age of European expansion into the Atlantic World—Europe, Africa and America—as well as Asia. The event takes the opportunity to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first conversion of Bartolomé de las Casas (2014) and hopes to elicit scholarly reflection on the themes of contact, conquest, colonization, and conversion. Scholarly panels as well as special plenary sessions by leading scholars are planned. Papers in Spanish, Portuguese, and English are welcomed. Paper proposals of 250 words in Microsoft Word format should be sent to both Professor David Orique, O.P. and Professor Rady Roldán-Figueroa at Lascasasconference2016@gmail.com. Please submit proposals by October 15, 2015. More information and details will follow.
Sincerely,
David T. Orique, O.P., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History
Director of the Latin American Studies Program
Providence College
Rady Roldán-Figueroa, Th.D.
Associate Professor of the History of Christianity
Boston University
Visiting Researcher Writes about H. F. Reynolds and the Foundation of the Church of the Nazarene
For three years, Mary Lou Shea was a Visiting Researcher at the Center for Global Christianity & Mission. During that time, she devoted herself to uncovering the story of Hiram F. Reynolds, one of the first two General Superintendents in the Church of the Nazarene, and the architect of Nazarene missions around the world. The result of her work has recently been published as In Need of Your Prayers and Patience: The Life and Ministry of Hiram F. Reynolds and the Founding of the Church of the Nazarene.
Recently, Daryl Ireland asked Dr. Shea about the project. This is how she responded:
I did not choose Reynolds; he chose me, with the help of denominational archivist, Dr. Stan Ingersol, who approached me at a conference to ask if I would undertake the monumental task of reading the Reynolds archive and to consider writing his story. Since I knew nothing about Reynolds, and my colleagues (all ordained elders in the Church of the Nazarene) knew shockingly little about him, I said, "Sure." This is not unusual for me. In the first grade, each student had to choose a bird to report upon to the class. Did I choose the robin? The blue jay? The goldfinch or oriole? No, I picked the phoebe bird. In the fifth grade, we each had to write a report on a hero of the Revolutionary War, so I picked Molly Pitcher. Who wouldn't? When Reynolds presented himself, I was compelled to take on the challenge. Why write about someone we already know when there is something new to be learned?!
I worked with lots of primary materials. Reynolds was kind enough to save what must have been every piece of correspondence he ever received! (Well, maybe not every one, since the archival material grew exponentially once the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene was created.) He also kept carbon copies of most of his outgoing correspondence. So, I had an abundance of letters, cables and wires, sermon outlines, schedules, to-do lists, receipts, article manuscripts and photographs to fill in the details. I also had access to personal letters to and from his wife and children. He also left an unpublished memoir written when he was 75 and reflecting, from his perspective, on the life he had led. This was especially crucial in filling in the details of his youth and his years as a Methodist Episcopal minister in Vermont. Together, I was given an unusually well-rounded portrait, written in his own hand. In addition, I had access to holiness newspapers and, from their first issues, of denominational newspapers that followed his travels, printed his columns and editorials, and reported on his work as a General Superintendent and missionary leader. Then there were the minutes of meetings, some handwritten, from a variety of sources including Annual Conferences, General Assemblies, meetings of the Women's Missionary Society, gatherings of denominational mission leadership (like the General Board of Foreign Missions) and other such groups. For me, the difficulty was not in gathering enough material to piece together a biography. It was sifting through mountains of material, knowing that every choice I made to include one thing meant choosing to exclude others. I tried very conscientiously to chose representative materials that could offer glimpses into much larger volumes of related materials across the breadth of his responsibilities. The incidents, people, concerns, policies and practices that receive the most attention are the ones that Reynolds, himself, spent the most ink and time trying to resolve, create, or manage. Since they dominated weeks, months, or years of his documented time and effort, they became important aspects of this book.
Some folks have gently wondered if I have soft-soaped his story because, when I talk about him, he sounds too good to be true. That always makes me sad. Reynolds was human and he was bold in revealing his own faults and sinfulness to any who would listen to his testimony of God's grace and the joys of living a holy (sanctified) life. Still, during a tumultuous life filled with adventure, illness, and disaster, he strove, day in and day out, to live up to his calling as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So far as I could ascertain, once he set off to follow Jesus he never committed adultery, lined his own pockets with church money, cheated anyone he met, or indulged in drinking alcohol, smoking, or gambling. Unhappily, with our societal taste for scandal, we find it hard to believe that an honest biography could present a man of integrity. What a shame that scandals have become so associated with Christianity that a biography is suspect if there are no lurid skeletons being dragged out of the closet. Perhaps this book can offer an alternative to the standard hypocrisy narrative, for I believe it accurately captures a person who embraced the joys of holiness, setting an example we might all do well to follow.