Becoming the People of God: Creating Christ-Centered Communities in Buddhist Asia

by Paul H. De Neui (Editor)

Overview

How do Christ followers celebrate unity in the midst of diversity? How do we become the people of God in more than name only? A unifying Christ-centeredness demands living out kingdom values and bearing witness to transformation in and through a multitude of cultural manifestations. We struggle to serve, worship, and witness in the midst of this age-old challenge. This collection of perspectives come from settings where the good news of Jesus has not been the dominant historical norm. All contributors in this volume are practitioners. They have a deep appreciation for the cultural heritage and important moral values found in Buddhist contexts. We believe these chapters hold valuable lessons that speak to all of the family of faith. Here you will find a wide range of topics and approaches that address what it means to become the global body of believers. These can speak to you wherever you are called to participate with God's work in the world. Christ followers are in the process of becoming what will one day culminate in a huge and starling celebration of people from all of God's beloved creation. If you are interested in hearing from those discovering what that might look like outside traditional packaging, this book is for you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878080427
Publisher:	Carey, William Library Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2015
Series:	SEANET Series , #11
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Paul H. De Neui is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Covenant Church. He and his wife served as missionaries with church planting and community development organizations in northeast Thailand from 1987-2005. He completed his PhD in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. Paul has been involved in SEANET for many years, dedicated to seeing the writings of emerging non-Western and other practitioners in print for the benefit of the global church. Presently he is the professor of missiology and intercultural studies and the director of the Center for World Christian Studies at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL.

Table of Contents

Contributors vii

Introduction xiii

Part I Becoming the People Who Reflect God's Kingdom through Worship

1 First Impressions of a Buddhist Visitor to an Evangelical Worship Service in Sri Lanka: A Liturgical Analysis G. P. V. Somaratna 3

2 Toward a New Breed of Churches in Japan Mitsuo Fukuda 21

3 Where Are Your Temples? Do Christianity and Buddhism Share a Temple Ethos? Steve Spaulding 31

Part II Becoming the People Who Reflect God's Kingdom through Witness of Word and Deed

4 Context-sensitive Evangelism in the Thai Setting: Building Capacity to Share Good News Alan R. Johnson 63

5 Apply Cultural Contexts to Generate Multiple Christ-centered Communities Alexander G. Smith 93

6 Communication Strategies for Christian Witness among the Lao Stephen Bailey 117

Part III Becoming the People Who Reflect God's Kingdom through Welcome

7 Creating Christian Funerary Culture: An Invitation to Japanese Churches Katsuhiko Seino 143

8 Changes in Thai Church: Moving towards a Relational Model Ubolwan Mejudhon 167

9 Appropriate Typologies for Thai Folk Buddhists Paul H. De Neui 187

Index 217

Scripture Index 225

Figures

Figure 1 Contrast of temple ethos 42

Figure 2 The environment that facilitates effective evangelism 72

Figure 3 The four "toolkits" for sharing the gospel 75

Figure 4 Lao worldview themes 129

Figure 5 Structure of characteristics of the Thai way of meekness 173

Figure 6 C1 to C6 spectrum adapted for context of popular Buddhism 209

Figure 7 Grid for viewing direction of C1 to C5 211