By: Lynda Gittens on January 26, 2017
BEVIN – MODELS OF CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY People today are pressured by world events, life events, and spiritual relations. A preacher today must be aware of all these events previously mentioned. These events affect the preacher as whereas their congregants. To spark their interest in the sermon or biblical lesson, one must address them at their…
By: Jim Sabella on January 26, 2017
Summary: Context is everything! The importance of a contextual expression of God’s love, grace, activity, and power is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Without it, God would be the distant unknown, completely removed from our knowledge, understanding or experience. The fact that in the beginning God created and even dwelt among us compels us to…
By: Claire Appiah on January 26, 2017
Heidi Campbell and Stephen Garner – Networked Theology: Negotiating Faith In Digital Culture Introduction According to Heidi Campbell, a media studies scholar and Stephen Garner, a theologian, “A central goal of this book is to bring new media studies and theory into conversation with theology in a new way,” [1] utilizing the combined expertise…
By: Aaron Cole on January 26, 2017
Summary: The book: Networked Theology, Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture by Heidi A. Campbell and Stephen Garner is a fresh look at the ever changing intersection of faith and technology. This book is about cultural engagement of the church and religion through digital technology and media. As clergy views digital technological and media in a…
By: Mary Walker on January 26, 2017
“Christ our Lord came and took upon Himself our humanity. … He suffered hunger and thirst and hard toil and temptation.… He emptied Himself and became a servant. He showed the way to true leadership by coming to minister, not ministered unto…. He set the example and we are supposed to imitate Him.” Dorothy…
By: Jason Kennedy on January 26, 2017
In Stephen Garner and Heidi Campbell’s fascinating book, Network Theology: Negotiating Faith in a Digital Culture, the authors brilliantly discuss how Christians need to reflect on technological advances and consume these advances with a theological framework. In five concise and structured chapters, the authors aim to influence readers in the development of a theology of…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on January 25, 2017
When working with people from different ethnicities, cultures or eras, contextual theology is critical to consider so we can propel people towards a relationship with God versus pushing them away from Him. Transforming theology into contextual theology not only makes sense but gives freedom for individuals to represent the nature of God in a way…
By: Rose Anding on January 25, 2017
Introduction The book, Networked Theology: Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture, was written by Heidi A. Campbell and Stephen Garner. In their point of view, media studies and theology can offer insight to help Christians assess the impact of media on our lives and on our religious orientations. The Internet holds promise for the…
By: Katy Drage Lines on January 25, 2017
Contextual theology as a process is something I am quite familiar with (which you’ll know, if you’ve read my previous posts). Besides working in the context of northern Kenya and walking alongside church leaders to develop a contextual Turkana theology, both my undergrad and grad studies revolved around missiology—a blend of biblical studies and anthropology.…
By: Kevin Norwood on January 20, 2017
In their book Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History and Culture in Regional Perspectives, Donald M Lewis and Richard V. Pierard examine world evangelicalism. Their subject has many facets and is often described by scholars with these other words: evangelist, evangelism, evangelical and evangelicalism. Interesting to me is that all of the words, other than…
By: Pablo Morales on January 20, 2017
SUMMARY Global Evangelicalism is a collection of essays that paint an international portrait of the contemporary Evangelical Church movement. Authors Donald M. Lewis and Richard V. Pierard declare a two-fold purpose for the book. First, they want to present a summary of the history of Evangelicalism with a special focus on its beliefs and practices. Secondly, they…
By: Garfield Harvey on January 20, 2017
“This book’s main purpose is then to trace the recent history of evangelical churches and evangelical movements while providing a general introduction to the beliefs, practices and characteristic emphases of evangelical Christianity. A second important purpose is to offer a worldwide survey of where evangelical movements have come to exist and of the greatly varying…
By: Kristin Hamilton on January 20, 2017
In what may be one of the greatest understatements of our time, D. W. Bebbington notes, “Evangelical religion in Britain has changed immensely during the two and a half centuries of its existence” (269). Although Evangelicals may argue that they have remained consistent throughout history and have remained bearers of truth, the reality is that…
By: Lynda Gittens on January 19, 2017
Evangelism in Modern Britain by Bebbington Bebbington took on the task to share the history, or the growth of a movement in Britain. He stated that he wanted to present it in two-folds. “to consider the influence of Evangelicals on society; and explore the ways in which Evangelical religion has been molded by its…
By: Phil Goldsberry on January 19, 2017
Introduction Evangelicals, exactly who and what are they? The Christian community loves to work on nomenclature to help define who and what you are. You are not just a Baptist; Southern, American, Primitive, Independent, Fundamental, fire-breathing, and the list goes on. Evangelicals struggle with the same identity crisis.The term “evangelical” seems to morph into whatever…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on January 19, 2017
I have never taken to topic of history with fervor or excitement. Although, it is a subject matter that I deem very important, I am not stirred by diving deeper into it. I do however, have an appreciation and even an admiration for those who do like Dr. David Bebbington, who is a renowned historian.…
By: Aaron Peterson on January 19, 2017
Global Evangelicalism is a textbook, complete with a glossary, written for the university or seminary student. Divided into three sections, the book tackles theoretical issues (chapters 1-3), five regional studies (chapters 4-8), and a couple of current cultural issues (chapters 9-10). This collection of essays will find a home in my library as it will…
By: Marc Andresen on January 19, 2017
This week’s epiphany is WHY we have been reading the books that we have been reading for the last eighteen months. The third chapter of Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History and Culture in Regional Perspective, is entitled “Globalization, Religion and Evangelicalism.” Here Donald M. Lewis declares, “The scholarly discussion of globalization is particularly difficult because it…
By: Jim Sabella on January 19, 2017
Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s Summary Since its beginning in the 1730’s Evangelicalism has been a force in Britain and in the world. According to Bebbington’s thesis, one of the reasons Evangelicalism has had such far-reaching impact is because it has been able to change with the times…
By: Chip Stapleton on January 19, 2017
As those of you that have read my posts before know, I almost always have some image at the top of my posts. There is something I like about giving a visual clue as to the point I am trying to make, and it helps me focus in on the direction I am trying…
