Rethinking Life What The Church Can Learn From Africa

Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini (ret.) and missionary Peter Holmes debunk myths about African experience so that Western Christians may glean wisdom from the world s fastest growing church..

This reference collection presents academic reviews of more than twelve-hundred contemporary Africa-related publications relevant for informed Christian reflection in and about Africa. The collection is based on the review journal BookNotes for Africa, a specialist resource dedicated to bringing to notice such publications, and furnishing them with a one-paragraph description and evaluation. Now assembled here for the first time is the entire collection of reviews through the first thirty issues of the journal’s history. The core intention, both of the journal and of this compilation, is to encourage and to facilitate informed Christian reflection and engagement in Africa, through a thoughtful encounter with the published intellectual life of the continent. Reviews have been provided by a team of more than one hundred contributors drawn from throughout Africa and overseas. The books and other media selected for review represent a broad cross-section of interests and issues, of personalities and interpretations, including the secular as well as the religious. The collection will be of special interest to academic scholars, theological educators, libraries, ministry leaders, and specialist researchers in Africa and throughout the world, but will also engage any reader looking for a convenient resource relating to modern Africa and Christian presence there..

How many countries experienced a religious revival during the 20th century? According to this new book on church revival history, there were, at the very least, twenty such revivals occurring in various parts of the world. Revival swept from Asia to Australia, through America, and across the European continent; all within the space of one century. When did I begin writing The Twenty Revivals of the Twentieth Century? It was many years ago; I first took pen to paper and began jotting down some of the revivals that occurred over the last one-hundred years. At that time, the twentieth century had barely ended. Yet, looking back, the realization came that there were at the very least twenty revivals, many of which do not appear in other books of this nature. The fact that there were so many revivals may come as a surprise to some, considering it averages out at one spiritual awakening every five years! So, one could say, the early twentieth century was an era of Revivals. Why This Book? I wrote The Twentieth Revivals of the Century because there are so many stories that need to be told. Stories of sweeping revivals, which happened all across the globe. Spiritual awakenings that occurred in countries making headlines today--sometimes for all the wrong reasons. Nations like North Korea's Pyongyang, which had at one stage, in 1907, over 3,000 people in one church. Who would think when looking at the North Korea of today under the current regime, Pyongyang was once called the Jerusalem of East Asia! Then, there is Japan, which almost became a Christian nation, leading up to the twentieth century. At this time, Christianity began gaining ground at a rapid pace. It even got to the point where some non-Christian government officials suggested that Christianity could become Japan's state religion. Such was the impact heading into the twentieth century that some said not to send any foreign missionaries into Japan. Why? Because the homegrown churches were gaining so much ground. Besides this, many also believed that if the local Christians continued the way they were going, wrote Verbeck in 1889, "you need not, after 1890; send any more missionaries to Japan." So, what was the date for the expected Christianization of the country? The writer continues, "Some put 1890 as the date, some 1895, but no one puts it any later than 1900!" Great revivals covered in this book also include China, India, the former Soviet Union, as well as the United States, when America felt the flame of true religious revival. The thing that surprised me most, though, when writing this book, was that the first flames of worldwide revival were the prayer circles that originated in Australia. Most, if not all, of the revivals detailed in this book, took their cue from these praying groups in Melbourne. For example, Pandita Ramabai, in 1905, sent her daughter from India to Australia. Why? To learn about the prayer circles. Before long, India experienced a revival similar to that of the Welsh Revival of 1904. There are very few books today, which go into such depth as The Twenty Revivals of the Twentieth Century does. So. if you want to learn about some unknown revival activity in the church, why not look at this book, it may change the way you think and pray about worldwide revival in the church..

This book explores the influence of ubuntu on South Africa’s post-apartheid transitional justice mechanism, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and—in contrast to ethnophilosophy—takes differences, historical developments, and social contexts seriously..

Theology has a rich tradition across the African continent, and has taken myriad directions since Christianity first arrived on its shores. This handbook charts both historical developments and contemporary issues in the formation and application of theologies across the member countries of the African Union. Written by a panel of expert international contributors, chapters firstly cover the various methodologies needed to carry out such a survey. Various theological movements and themes are then discussed, as well as biblical and doctrinal issues pertinent to African theology. Subjects addressed include: • Orality and theology • Indigenous religions and theology • Patristics • Pentecostalism • Liberation theology • Black theology • Social justice • Sexuality and theology • Environmental theology • Christology • Eschatology • The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament The Routledge Handbook of African Theology is an authoritative and comprehensive survey of the theological landscape of Africa. As such, it will be a hugely useful volume to any scholar interested in African religious dynamics, as well as academics of Theology or Biblical Studies in an African context..

AIDS. Famine. Ethnic strife. Refugees. Poverty. Debt. Environmental degradation. These form the wounded face of Africa today, the reality confronting the church of Africa. To heal Africa, Spiritan Father Elochukwu Uzukwu argues that the church in Africa must become a credible and effective agent of change by making full use of African resources--natural and sociohistorical--including traditional patterns of social organization. In order to renew itself, the church must remember that it does not exist for itself but for the people--to bear witness in Africa to the risen Lord. Focusing on the Catholic Church in Africa today, A Listening Church proposes a fresh approach to ecclesiology. Following closely on the African Synod of Bishops, Uzukwu proposes the initiation of serious theological discussion on the structure of the Church in Africa that came out of that historic occasion. Simply speaking, the African churches must listen to their people, and the Church in Rome must listen to the churches in Africa..

Leisure and Fellowship in the Life of the Black Church explores why leisure and fellowship in congregational life of African American churches matters. The book provides a biblical and theological foundation for the concepts of work, rest, Sabbath, play, leisure and fellowship. Moreover, the book explores how religious tradition and doctrine shape and constrains our attitudes and behaviors about leisure, fellowship and living abundantly. Several churches are lifted as exemplars based on the way that they embrace leisure and fellowship within their respective congregations. In the closing chapters, the book examines what leisure and fellowship might be like in Heaven and how we engage Christ and each other in congregations..

By exploring how the religious beliefs, scientific knowledge, and social surroundings of African-American sufferers of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) impacts their understanding of the condition, this book develops a new model of effective adult learning. Presenting the findings of rigorous qualitative research undertaken with five individuals with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), this volume considers how individuals’ educational background, their personal experiences, and their relationship with African-American theism, have impacted their efforts to understand and manage the disease. Identification of the social and spiritual dynamics which govern adults’ acceptance of a chronic condition such as diabetes, and their ability to manage the illness according to modern medical principles, informs the development of a new theory of adult learning known as Permeated Learning. This model, which extends beyond Transformative Learning to recognize the influence of social constructs specific to African-American communities, will have broad application to adult education and the management of chronic diseases. This scholarly text will be of great interest to graduate and post graduate students, researchers, academics and policy makers in the field of adult education, African-American education, Transformative Learning, Lifelong learning, and Multicultural Education..

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Developing Teaching and Learning in Africa is a collection of chapters that carry on the topical discussions on indigenous knowledges and western epistemologies. African societies still aspire towards knowledge that is liberatory, enhance critical thinking and decentre Eurocentrism. The contributors explore these decolonial debates as they navigate ways of moving towards epistemic freedom and cognitive justice..

Stinton has edited the work of prominent African theologians, making their writings accessible at an introductory level. Some African scholars have written new pieces for the book, others have given permission for articles to be condensed and simplified in style. Kwame Bediako, Benezet Bujo, Philomena Mwara and Isabel Phiri are just four of the theologians featured..

This volume of BiAS/ ERA is a Festschrift honouring Nyambura J. Njoroge. She is an outstanding woman theologian whose work straddles diverse fields and disciplines. Inspired by her rich and impressive œuvre, in this volume friends and colleagues of her (among them celebrities like Musa Dube, Gerald West, Fulata Moyo, Ezra Chitando, and others) explore how religion and theology in diverse contexts can become more life giving. Contributors from many countries and different continents explore themes such as African women's leadership, theological education, HIV/ AIDS, lament, the Bible and liberation, adolescents and young women, sexual diversity and others. Collectively, the volume expresses Nyambura's consistent commitment to the full liberation of all human beings, in fulfilment of the gospel's promise that all may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).

In recent decades, Christianity has acquired millions of new adherents in Africa, the region with the world's fastest-expanding population. What role has this development of evangelical Christianity played in Africa's democratic history? To what extent do its churches affect its politics? By taking a historical view and focusing specifically on the events of the past few years, Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa seeks to explore these questions, offering individual case studies of six countries: Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, and Mozambique. Unlike most analyses of democracy which come from a secular Western tradition, these contributors, mainly younger scholars based in Africa, bring first-hand knowledge to their chapters and employ both field and archival research to develop their data and analyses. The result is a groundbreaking work that will be indispensable to everyone concerned with the future of this volatile region. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa is one of four volumes in the series Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in the Global South, which seeks to answer the question: What happens when a revivalist religion based on scriptural orthodoxy participates in the volatile politics of the Third World? At a time when the global-political impact of another revivalist and scriptural religion -- Islam -- fuels vexed debate among analysts the world over, these volumes offer an unusual comparative perspective on a critical issue: the often combustible interaction of resurgent religion and the developing world's unstable politics..

At this historic moment of global revolutions for social justice inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the philosophy of Black Consciousness has reemerged and gripped the imagination of a new generation, and of the merciless exposure by COVD-19 of the devastating, long-existent fault lines in our societies. Frantz Fanon, James Baldwin, and Steve Biko have been rediscovered and reclaimed. In this powerful book Black liberation theologian and activist Allan Boesak explores the deep connections between Black Consciousness, Black theology, and the struggles against racism, domination, and imperial brutality across the world today. In a careful, meticulous, and sometimes surprising rereading of Steve Biko’s classic, I Write What I Like, Boesak re_ects on the astounding relevance of Black Consciousness for the current academic debates on decolonization and coloniality, Africanity and imperialism, as well as for the struggles for freedom, justice, and human dignity in the streets. With passion, forthrightness, and inspiring eloquence Boesak brings his considerable political experience and deep theological insight to bear in his argument for a global ethic of solidarity and resistance in the ongoing struggles against empire. Beginning with Biko’s “Where do we go from here?,” progressing to Baldwin’s “the _re next time,” and ending with Martin Luther King Jr.’s “_ere is no stopping short of victory,” this is a sobering, hopeful, and inspiring book.

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"This study guide is the second in a new Paulist Press series - The Bible: Question by Question. It provides an interactive, dynamic, and more engaging way to study the Bible by inviting the reader to read the entire Gospel of Matthew in the context of certain fundamental recurring themes. This distinctive guide also helps readers and group-discussion leaders to relate the gospel text to their own Christian experience and to that of the contemporary Church." "This unique format, which was initially developed by William Miller in his commentary on the Book of Genesis, engages the reader in thoughtful interaction with the actual text. The introduction and conclusion in each chapter also provide material found in no other traditional commentaries." "This book, along with the entire Bible: Question by Question series, is ideal for use by adult bible-study groups, by introductory scripture courses in colleges, universities, and seminaries, as well as by individuals interested in personal study."--BOOK JACKET..

Hip-hop is here. The beats ring out in our cities. Hip-hop culture is all around us: in the clothes youth wear, in the music they listen to, in the ways they express themselves. It is the language they speak, the rhythm they move to. It is a culture familiar with the hard realities of our broken world; the generation raised with rap knows about the pain. They need to know about the hope. Enter the hip-hop church. Like the culture it rises from, the hip-hop church is relevant and bold. And it speaks to the heart. In this book, pastors Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson show the urgency of connecting hip-hop culture and church to reach a generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They give practical ideas from their urban churches and other hip-hop churches about how to engage and incorporate rap, break dancing, poetry and deejays to worship Jesus and preach his Word. Hip-hop culture is shaping the next generation. Ignoring it will not reduce its influence; it will only separate us from the youth moving to its rhythm. How will they hear Christ's message of truth and hope if we don't speak their language? And how can we speak their language if we don't understand and embrace their culture? Hear the beat. Join the beat. Become the beat that brings truth and hope to a hungry, hurting generation..