NEW ADVENTURE IN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS¡G
DIASPORA MISSIOLOGY IN ACTION
Linda
Gross, Director of SEAM International and
D-Miss Student, Western Seminary
PUBLISHED IN THE ¡§FEATURED ARTICLE¡¨SECTION
OF WWW.GLOBALMISSIOLOGY.ORG JULY
2007
INTRODUCTION
It Is the 21st Century! We are Christians
in the 21st Century! People all over the world are moving all over
the world. Many of these people are displaced by war, famine, political and
religious oppression, and a variety of personal reasons showing their pursuit
of a ¡§better life.¡¨
People who are moving and scattered around the
world away from their homelands constitute diasporas.
Diaspora is a word used for people groups that are displaced from the lands of
origin or even cities of origin. However, many if not most of the people who
scatter around the world will not be displaced from their beliefs and cultural
characteristics very quickly. They
take them with them wherever they go. In this issue of Global Missiology you
will be introduced to the idea of the present challenge of reaching the
diasporas and training to reach them .
CONSULTATION
FOR A NEW DIRECTION GLOBAL DIASPORA MISSIOLOGY CONSULTATION
Sponsored
by FIN & endorsed by Lausanne
Edmonton,
Alberta (Nov. 16-18, 2006) -- Participants
included missiologists, theologians and leaders of diaspora groups such as
Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Jewish, South Asian, Korean, Brazillian, Hispanic, Nepalese, West African, East
African, Russian, Arab and Filipino.
The impact of global migration on the future of global missions and new
missions strategies were the major issues discussed at
the Consultation.
The
Consultation was hosted by
NEW APPOINTMENT
Joy
Tira, a long-time pastor with the Christian & Missionary Alliance in
Joy
Tira joins other Senior Associates:
Patrick McDonald (Viva Network) for Children at Risk; Joni Eareckson
Tada (Joni and Friends) for Evangelism among Disabled People; Evvy Campbell for
Holistic Mission; Joseph Vijayam for InformationTechnology; Elke Werner for
Women in Evangelism; Peter Brierley (Christian Research) for Church Research;
Todd Johnson (World Christian Database) for Study of Global Christianity; Phill
Butler (visionSynergy) for Strategic Evangelism Partnerships; Stan Toler for
Stewardship; Berit Helgøy Kloster for Tentmaking; Kent Parks for Least Reached
Peoples; Glenn Smith for Urban Evangelization; and Mats Tunehag for Business as
Mission.
Asked
how he feels about his role with LCWE, Tira said: ¡§I am honored and humbled by
this ¡¥high calling¡¦ to serve the Master and His global-church.¡¨ He added a
timely observation: ¡§The nations can no longer be defined by geography because
there has been an accelerated mass movement of tribes and peoples. These
diasporas (i.e scattering or dispersion) are God¡¦s way of reaching and
discipling the nations.¡¨ Being an ethnic Filipino who is now a naturalized
Canadian, Tira feels that there should be a strong network among Christian
diaspora groups for coordinated evangelism and discipleship. He would like to
see a functional synergy among the scattered Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, South
Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, Jews, Africans, etc.¡¨
He
received a Doctor of Ministry in Intercultural Studies degree from Reformed
Theological Seminary (
NEW
INSTITUTES
A
New Initiative for training People on the Move
IDS
Launching
Manila,
Philippines & Portland, Oregon, USA (April, May 2007)
-- The committed Christians in the Filipino Diaspora ¡V a substantial estimate of
7% of 8 million registered Filipino expatriates, are a great potential witness
around the globe! With the goal to ¡§motivate, equip, and mobilize Filipinos to
partner for global missions¡¨, the Filipino International Network has partnered
with Alliance Graduate School (AGS) in Manila, Philippines, and Western
Seminary in Portland, USA to launch the Institute of Diaspora Studies (IDS)
this Spring (2007).
Negotiations for this new initiative in training have been
underway since FIN began in the mid-nineties; however, it was not until the
FIN-initiated Filipino Theological Educators Consultation, held from
1. That the Filipino church will
continue to excel in equipping all Christians for growth and witness,
and training leaders for effective ministry globally.
2. That theological institutions
especially those in the
3. That region-specific curricula
be developed to prepare the Filipino diaspora Christians to engage in effective
and contextualized ministry.
4. That a sustainable
multi-delivery system of formal and non-formal theological education be
sensitively coordinated and implemented for diaspora Filipino believers in
creative access nations.
5. That networking and partnership
be sought with other Diaspora groups and networks to enhance and expand the
availability of theological education for all Christians.
Results include the kairos
partnership of FIN with AGS in the East and with Western Seminary in the West
to develop the IDS program which would be inline with the Baguio Challenge. AGS
launched the first-phase of IDS-ASIA in April 2007, and Western Seminary launched
IDS-USA in May 2007. Dr. Tetsunao
Yamamori, evangelical leader, missiologist, and former International Director
of Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization expresses congratulations on the
launching of the IDS centres, and affirms the program by saying: ¡§The
topic of people on the move is of immense significance missiologically and
those committed to the Great Commission ministry must explore its strategic
implication.¡¨ The hope is that
IDS will result in the upgrading of lay-pastors who are presently leading
diaspora congregations, and that it will contribute to increasing the maturity
of their lay leaders, particularly in the high-priority Creative/Limited Access
Nations where there is a large presence of Filipinos. In the past, many have benefited from
excellent informal training opportunities that have been made available through
various agencies. What makes IDS unique is that it is a more formalized and
systematic education program. Such an approach will draw other diaspora
Christians to take advantage of this training.
Core courses to be offered
at IDS-Asia are as follows: Diaspora Missiology; Practical Evangelism; World
Religions (e.g. Buddhism, Islamic, Hinduism, etc.; Globalization and Global
Violence: Implications on Global
Missions; Contextualization; Catalytic Leadership; Intercultural Communication;
Cultural Anthropology. The courses offered in Spring
2007 were: ¡§Diaspora Missiology: A
Filipino Case Study¡¨ taught by Dr. Sadiri Joy Tira; ¡§Cultural Anthropology¡¨
taught by Dr. Enoch Wan; ¡§Catalytic Leadership¡¨ taught by Dr. T.V. Thomas.
For the launch IDS-USA at Western Seminary offered the two
following courses: "Diaspora Missiology: Case Study of Jew, Chinese and
Filipino", taught by Dr. Enoch Wan, Dr. Twovya Zaretsky and Dr. Joy Tira; and
"Business as Transformation:
Principles and Practice of Holistic Mission", taught by Dr. Ted
Yamamori.
FIN welcomes future partnerships with other institutions in
For more information about IDS-ASIA please contact Dr. Averell
For further information
about IDS-USA please contact Dr. Enoch Wan at Western Seminary. E-mail him at ewan@westernseminary.edu; and visit the website
at http://www.westernseminary.edu/Diaspora/index.htm.
NEW RESOURCES
Coming Soon! We will soon have new and a growing variety of
written resources available in the Diaspora link of the Global Missiology
site. These resources will include
links to articles, journals, books, websites, demographic/ethnographic sites, media, cultures,
religions, diasporas in various locations and countries and more. Both
Christian and non-Christian resources will be made available to enhance your
studies. Please note the following
list and categories that are partially filled in. Soon they will be completely
filled in.
NEW CHALLENGES AHEAD
As we move forward beyond 2007 where are we
going? Diaspora Missiology is a new
topic and subject in Seminaries. It is used to describe the new challenges
which the church faces in receiving scattered peoples from other parts of the
world. It represents a new
adventure for the church, to be prepared and trained to rise to this amazing
missiological occasion and reach people of the various diasporas.
CONCLUSION
Are you ready to meet this exciting and
enriching challenge to expand your missions vision? We are ready to serve you, equip you,
encourage you to reach the diasporas in your
communities and beyond.
____________________________________________________________________________________
DIASPORA JOURNAL
PROLOGOMENA
(comments)
Non-Christian
Resources
Articles
Websites
Chinese Diaspora
International Conference on Literature of the Chinese
Diaspora - http://www.conferencerecording.com/conflists/lit22.htm
Books
Cultures
General
Fludernik,
Monika, Diaspora and Multiculturalism,
Kokot, Waltraud, Diaspora, Identity and Religion: New Directions in
Theory and Research,
Morey, Peter, Rohinton Mistry,
Neubeboren,
Jay, News from the New American Diaspora
and other Tales of Exile,
Chinese
Goodrich, Luther Carrington, A Short History of the
Chinese People, NY, Courier
Jewish
Religions
Animism
Buddhism
General
Morreale,
Don, Ed., The Complete Guide to Buddhist
Socially Engaged Buddhism in the West
From: http://www.bpf.org/html/resources_and_links/bibliography/bibliography.html#chapter03
Compiled by Donald Rothberg
__________.
Widening Circles: A Memoir.
*
_________ and Molly Young Brown. Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect
Our Lives, Our World.
Aitken,
Robert. The
Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice.
Brazier,
David. The New Buddhism.
*Glassman,
Bernie. Bearing Witness: A Zen Master¡¦s Lessons in Making Peace.
*Macy,
Joanna. World as Lover, World as Self.
*Queen,
Christopher (ed.). Engaged Buddhism in the
West.
Thurman
Robert. Inner
Revolution: Life,
Ethics for Socially
Engaged Practice
From: http://www.bpf.org/html/resources_and_links/bibliography/bibliography.html#chapter03
Compiled by Donald Rothberg
__________
(ed.). Buddhism and Abortion.
__________
(ed.). Contemporary Buddhist Ethics.
__________
(ed.). Buddhism and Bioethics.
*Aitken,
Robert, The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics.
Batchelor,
Martine (trans.), The Path of Compassion: The Bodhisattva
Precepts.
Dalai Lama. Ethics for the New Millennium,
*Harvey,
Peter. An
Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues,
Keown,
Damien, The Nature of Buddhist Ethics.
Keown, Damien, Charles Prebish, and Wayne Husted (eds.), Buddhism and Human
Rights.
LaFleur,
William. Liquid
Life: Abortion and Buddhism in
*Nhat
Hanh, Thich. Interbeing:
Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism (3rd ed.),
Nhat
Hanh, Thich, et al, For a Future to be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Wonderful
Precepts.
Sadhatissa,
Hammalawa, Buddhist
Ethics: The Path to Nirvana.
Senauke,
Alan (ed.),
Sizemore,
Russell, and Donald Swearer (eds.), Ethics, Wealth, and Salvation: A Study in Buddhist
Social Ethics.
Journals
_____,Turning Wheel: The
Journal of Socially Engaged Buddhism: issue on Buddhists Consider Medical Ethics (Spring 2002).
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
The Concept of
Diaspora as an analytical tool in the study of refugee communities
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713680594~db=all
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713433350
Demographic, Ethnographic
Resources
Countries
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/linksDiaspora.htm
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?category=News%20from%20the%20Diaspora
African Diaspora Central
http://www.grad.cgu.edu/~ruffinh/african_Diasporacentral/
(News
Engines and Online Papers; Politics, Law, Labor, and Living; Sports. Daily Concerns)
Essay,
images, and terminology. From:educate.si.edu/migrations/rasta/rasta.html
Provider of
African-American daily news and educational resources and home of Microsoft's
Encarta Africana. From:www.africana.com/
From:www.armeniaDiaspora.com/
Arab Diaspora
http://www.arabinfoseek.com/arab_Diaspora.htm
Asian (General) Diaspora
http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/graphics/migration_map.html
Chinese Diaspora
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/chu/chinos/Diaspora.html
Bi-lingual (English & French) Pan Africa news update
Border Crossings (with list of helpful links)
http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/resources/bordercrossings/Diaspora.html
Filipino Diaspora
& OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers)
Tanikalang Ginto www.filipinolinks.com
www.filipinolinks.com/Filipino_Diaspora/
Migration
Information Source
http://www.migrationinformation.org/GlobalData/
(fresh thought, authoritative data with searchable global
data by country & glossary)
South Asian
http://www.samarmagazine.org/archive/keyword.php?id=24
Groups
Institutions
Profit
Non-Profit
Faith-Based
Muslim
Non-Faith-Based
Christian
Resources
Articles
Websites
MISSIONS
World
Christian Video Series ¡V Indian Christian Video Directory - http://christianvideos.org/indiavideo.html
MINISTRIES
Books
COUNTRIES
General
_____, The New People Next Door,
Grimes, Mabel S, Life
out of death; or, the story of the
Kumm, Hermann Karl Wilhelm, African Missionary Heroes and Heroines,
Milligan, Robert H, The Fetish Folk of
Milum, John, Thomas
Birch Freeman : missionary pioneer to
Taylor, William, Christian Adventures in South Africa, New York Nelson &
Phillips, copyright 2006.
Call number: AAB-0632
Gidoomal, Ram and TV Thomas, Catalyst for Change, The South Asian Diaspora,
South Asian Concern,
Mejudhon, Nantachai, Meekness:
A New Approach to Christian Witness to the Thai People, D.
Mejudhon, Ubolwon, The Way of Meekness:
Being Christian and Thai in the
Seamonds, John, Tell
It Well: Communicating the Gospel Across Cultures,
Zwemer, Samuel Marinus, The
nearer and farther East : outline studies of Moslem
lands and of
RELIGIONS
World Religions
Partridge, Christopher, General Ed., Dictionary of Contemporary Religion in the Western World, Downer¡¦s
Grove, Intervarsity Press, 2002 US
ISBN: 0-8308-1436-1
Animism
Hiebert, Paul G., R. Daniel Shaw, and Tite Tienou, Understanding Folk Religion, Grand
Rapids, Baker Books, 1999. ISBN: 0-8010-2219-3
Van
Rheenen, Gailyn, Communicating Christ in
Animistic Contexts,
Buddhism
_____, Bridges for
Ministry Among Buddhists,
Davis, John, Poles
Apart? Contextualizing the Gospel,
Dybdahl, Jon, Meeting
the Challenge of Buddhism in a Changing World,
Green, Michael, But
Don¡¦t All Religions Lead to God?,
Hathaway, Paul, Peoples
of the Buddhist World,
Lim, David and Steve Spalding, eds., Sharing Jesus in the Buddhist World,
Petsongkhram, Wan, Talks
in the Shade of the B o Tree,
Shin, Hong-Shik, The Though and Life of
Hinayana Buddhism,
Smith, Alex, Buddhism Through Christian Eyes, Littleton, CO: OMF
International, 2001.
Tsering, Marku, Sharing Christ in the Tibetan Buddhist
World,
Thirumalai, Madasamy, Sharing
Your Faith with a Buddhist,
Wagner, Paul, Good News for Buddhists, Available by contacting the
Weerasingha, Tissa, The Cross and the Bo
Tree,
Zacharias,
Confucianism
Hinduism
Thirumalai, Madasamy, Sharing
Your Faith with a Hindu,
Islam
Zwemer, Samuel Marinus, The
Nearer andFfarther East : outline studies of Moslem
lands and of
Jainism
Shintoism
Sikhism
Taoism
Zoroastrianism
Journals
Media
Bibles
In Print:
Multi-Language
Media
717-738-0582 (voice)
mlminfo@multilanguage.com
www.multilanguage.com
International Bible
Association
P.O. Box 225646
Bible
On Cassette:
P. O. Box 621
Videos
Gospel
Tracts
Chick
Publications
P.O. Box 662
909-987-0771 (voice), 909-941-8128 (fax)
postmaster@chick.com
http://www.chick.com/catalog/TractLookUp.asp
Countries
Groups
Institutions
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PUBLISHED IN THE ¡§FEATURED ARTICLE¡¨SECTION
OF WWW.GLOBALMISSIOLOGY.ORG JULY
2007