Category: World Christianity

Grace Happens: Reconciliation in a Post-Colonial Age as the New Paradigm for Christian Mission

September 8, 2022

Reconciliation is not new to the faith, but as a paradigm for mission, it is being put in a position of greater urgency in Christian practise. Christian mission has been focused on growth, expansion, translation, transformation, and renewal. But now reconciliation must take centre stage. Reconciliation is when conflicting parties come to make amends, ideally turning to friendly relations, and right now the Church is one of the offending parties. … More Grace Happens: Reconciliation in a Post-Colonial Age as the New Paradigm for Christian Mission

Why I Changed My Mind: The Perils of Highway Charisma and the Megachurch

June 7, 2022

News of pastor Bruxy Cavey’s arrest, which comes after other sad news of his sexual transgressions, prompts me to take a more critical look on the liabilities of megachurch charisma. “Highway charisma” is my new term for the runaway power of personality fostered by megachurches and the technology that built them. … More Why I Changed My Mind: The Perils of Highway Charisma and the Megachurch

Engaging the Global Polylogue: Why Listen to Christians in the Majority World When it Comes to Sexual Ethics?

December 1, 2021

Is the majority world on the wrong side of history when it comes to sexual ethics? Where harsh laws exist criminalizing homosexual acts, it seems to be true. But Western arrogance in declaring the direction of history could be seen as the vestiges of colonialism. What about the church? Who is having their ethics sullied by their social context? Here I don’t give all the answers, but I do raise some issues and say we can at least start by listening to each other. … More Engaging the Global Polylogue: Why Listen to Christians in the Majority World When it Comes to Sexual Ethics?

Dr. Jean Bieri: A World of Wonders from Electrons to the Cosmos

October 17, 2021

Our Global Scholar Dr. Jean Bieri died of natural causes, alone in his own apartment in Montreal, Quebec, on the weekend of September 25th 2021. This was sudden and unexpected, and we are in a state of shock and disbelief. I looked back at his application for our guild and pieced together a few reflections on his life and faith. … More Dr. Jean Bieri: A World of Wonders from Electrons to the Cosmos

Post-Christendom Ethics: Evangelism as Immoral, Confessional, Embodied and Beautiful

June 12, 2021

If sharing Good News can never be a bad thing, how come its such a turn off in North America? Can a professor “evangelize” in his university class if evangelism is understood as a form of persuasion? How does evangelism relate to sex and beauty? Here I review two books on the ethics of evangelism in a post-Christendom world. … More Post-Christendom Ethics: Evangelism as Immoral, Confessional, Embodied and Beautiful

A Quiet Celebration? Global Scholars Canada at 25 (+1) Years

May 31, 2021

In the West there is a growing assessment of the wider legacy of Christian mission that may subdue any celebration of global missions because it indites missionaries for their part in colonization, enslavement, and the cultural and racial genocide of countless peoples—a terrible legacy that is said to be the direct cause of global geo-political injustice and strife to this day. This narrative is no doubt the dominant narrative about Christianity on our public university campuses across Canada. But there is more to be said here… … More A Quiet Celebration? Global Scholars Canada at 25 (+1) Years

Confessions and a “No Hate” Religion: Lessons on Racism from Jack

May 17, 2021

This Pentecost, I tell the story of my Jewish neighbour Jack, and how he reminded me that God created this wonderful diversity, but we have this tendency to want to raise ourselves up and put our neighbour down. Racism, prejudice, anti-Semitism, bullying–its personal, its tribal, its systemic, and it can be transnational–but it is exhibit A in terms of evidence for sin as the chronic human problem. … More Confessions and a “No Hate” Religion: Lessons on Racism from Jack

George Vandervelde, Passion Week, and Ecumenism: The Gift of the Hermeneutics of the Gospel

March 31, 2021

“The closer we come to the cross of Christ, the closer we come to each other.” Here I tell the story of George Vandervelde, Reformed ecumenist, but not until after I make the case for Christianity’s multi-denominational character as a mirror of the four gospels. … More George Vandervelde, Passion Week, and Ecumenism: The Gift of the Hermeneutics of the Gospel

A Bridge Too Far? Faith Seeking Understanding of Chinese Culture

March 18, 2021

Here is the story of Dr. Ruth Hayhoe — a GSC board member and a model of the kind of international faith-based academic work we seek to do: call it bridge-building, reconciliation, or being a “redemptive influence”–its making a difference in a way that the light of Jesus Christ shines through. Her story is a marvellous testimony to the wonder of spiritual surrender and international leadership. … More A Bridge Too Far? Faith Seeking Understanding of Chinese Culture