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.
The Making of Korean Christianity
The award winning book, The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1879-1915 was recently reviewed in the Africanas Journal. The publication is doubly significant for the Center for Global Christianity & Mission, as the author of the book, Sung-Deuk Oak, graduated from the Boston University School of Theology in 2002. The review was written by Gun Cheol Kim, a current PhD candidate in Mission Studies at the School of Theology.
New Doctoral Dissertations in World Christianity and Mission
In April, two doctoral students in the School of Theology successfully defended dissertations in world Christianity and mission. Daryl Ireland wrote his dissertation on the preeminent twentieth century Asian revivalist John Sung, Christian Revitalization in China and Southeast Asia. And Travis Myers wrote his thesis on John Eliot, a pioneer missionary among the Native Americans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, "Get as Near to God as You Can”: The Congregationalist Piety and Cross-Cultural Ministry of John Eliot (1604-1690). A special congratulations to Dr. Daryl Ireland (left) and Dr. Travis Myers (right), for contributing to research in the field!
A look into the Life of Archbishop Oscar Romero
The Boston University community will hold reception in honor of Archbishop Romero's anticipated beatification on May 23, 2015. The reception will be held at School of Theology Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, May 11th, 5-630pm. with an exhibition on display May 1st-20th.
Alumnus Shawn Daggett Visits Massachusetts with Mission Students
(Above: Shawn Daggett and Students)
Dr. Shawn Daggett, professor of mission at Harding College, has been in Massachusetts on a mission trip with 26 students, looking at historical mission sites. Harding College has a robust missions program, with over 300 undergraduate minors.
Daggett earned his Bachelors and Masters at Harding before entering the Th.D. program at Boston University. His degree is in New Testament and Missions.
Shawn and his wife Donna worked as missionaries in Italy from 1986 to 1996, and he worked at a church in Natick, MA. Daggett hopes to equip students to work as missionaries in Europe and New England.
(Above: Donna and Shawn Daggett with Dana Robert)
Election Violence in Burundi
When the President of Burundi announced his decision to pursue a third term in office, protests erupted across the country. Opponents of the president point out that the move is unconstitutional. Police have responded to the demonstrations with tear gas and live ammunition shot into the air. Daewon Moon, a PhD student in Mission Studies at Boston University, has been temporarily relocated to Uganda.
Church Networks Respond to Earthquake in Nepal
Numerous churches have mobilized to respond to the devastation in Nepal. One, in the Boston area, is pastored by an alum of the Boston University School of Theology. In the Boston Globe, the Rev. Dan Pokharel has explained how the local Nepalese community is responding to the crisis.
Christianity and Innovation
The Historical Society received funding from the John Templeton Foundation to explore Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs. Research in various fields was conducted from 2011 to 2014, and the results were often counterintuitive. Counter to popular images of religion as a conservative force that regularly inhibits creativity, scholars described a more dynamic religious impulse. Dana Robert, Director of the Center for Global Christianity & Mission, participated in the project, arguing that Protestant missions were a major source of social innovation and democratic nationalism at the beginning of the twentieth-century. A preview of her research and that of others, may be found in: What Connection is There, if any, Between Christianity and Innovation?
Cross-Cultural Friendship and Global Christianity
CGCM Director Dana Robert recently delivered the Parchman Lectures at Baylor University, focusing on the importance of cross-cultural friendship to global Christianity and mission networks. Dr. Robert highlighted the affinity of the language friendship and the Christian gospel, and the centrality of personal relationships to the transmission of faith. You can read more about the lecture in The Baptist Standard.
Reflections on missions and Easter in India
In an audio recording produced by CGCM Research Associate Cathy Corman, Barry Alter, a missionary to India for many years, reflects on the implications of the Easter story for missions in India. You can read about Barry Alter's extraordinary life as a missionary in the multimedia project, In the Midst.
The Rev. Dr. Kenaleone Ketshabile
BU alum Dr. Kenaleone Ketshabile is the head of the Mission Desk of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He maintains partnerships with Methodist Churches around Africa and the world. Feel free to look over the newsletter below to learn more about the exciting work he and his colleagues are doing. 