translatability of the gospel
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Translatability of the Gospel
Subtitle
Hendrick Kraemer (1888-1965)
• “The church is always in a
state of crisis, its greatest
shortcoming is that it is only
occasionally aware of it.”
The translatability of the Gospel
refers to the ability of the gospel
to be communicated in a
potentially infinite number of
cultural settings and challenges.
Mega Trend #1: U.S.A. as an
Emerging Mission Field• Tertullian’s famous question : What has
Athens to do with Jerusalem?
• Athens – “Mars Hill” – skepticism, dialogue,
dispute, “mission field”, scattered unfaithful,
not the gathered faithful.
• Jerusalem “Temple Mount” – faith,
revelation, cultural stability, faithful gathered
to hear God’s word.
U.S.A. as emerging
mission field (continued) Traditional Seminaries:
pastors and teachers
21st century seminaries:
pastors / teachers / church planters /
evangelists
Changing Face of the U.S.A.
Ethnic changes in America“Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!”
Asbury in 2025
Wesley: “The world is my parish!”
Today: “The world is in my parish!”
Religion of legal immigrants, 1989-2004
Christians
68%
Muslims
10%
Nonreligious
7%
Buddhists
5%
Jews
0%
Neoreligionists
1%
Ethnoreligionists
2%Chinese universists
2%Hindus
4%
Atheists
1%
Homogenization? Or...
...Time for a jumbo crayon pack?
*New church planting movements and
networks
* Response to New Atheism / unbelief
* Robust gospel to address the decline in
spiritual vibrancy of mainline churches
and the Gospel “lite” of mega-church
Mega-Trend #2: Emergence of
Majority World Church
1. Shift in the “center of
gravity”
We are in the midst of the
most dramatic re-alignment
in Christian demography in
the history of the world!
Southern Shift of Christianity
Shift in Christianity by Mega-Sphere “Windows”
Graph 1. Christians, North and South, by Percentage, AD 33-AD 2100
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
33 100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
Year
50%
South
North
100 year change in religious
identity as a percent of the world
Center of Population of USA,
1790-2000
Center of Population of USA,
1790-2000
Emergence of Majority World
Church
• 2. Evangelism vs. church planting gap
(leadership development)
• “The global evangelistic movement is
far outpacing the global church planting
movement.”
Evangelism…. Church Planting /
Leadership?
Emergence of Majority World
Church
• 3. Emergence of Fourth Branch of
Christianity 1900
• Roman Catholic 266 mil.
• Eastern Orthodox 115 mil.
• Protestants /Anglican 103 mil.
• Independent 8 mil.
Emergence of Majority World
Church
• 3. Emergence of Fourth Branch of
Christianity 2000
• Roman Catholic 1.1 billion
• Independent 423 million
• Protestants /Anglican 386 million
• Eastern Orthodox 252 million
MainlineProtestant
(North Americaand Europe)
Fourth Frontier:Preaching to the World-Oriented
Graph by Global Mapping International, (719) 531-3599
OMEGA_5 07/99
Data from Patrick Johnstone, Operation World data files, 1993
OmegaTransparency 5
Frontier 4 Frontier 2 Frontier 3Frontier 4
1960-2000
1900 Xns 2010 Xns 2050 Xns
USA 73 USA 251 USA 329
Russia 62 Brazil 167 China 218
Germany 42 China 111 Brazil 202
France 41 Mexico 102 DR Congo 145
Britain 37 Russia 84 India 137
Italy 33 Philippines 74 Mexico 131
Ukraine 29 India 68 Nigeria 130
Poland 22 Germany 62 Philippines 112
Spain 19 Nigeria 61 Ethiopia 104
Brazil 17 DR Congo 53 Uganda 95
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
White
NonWhite
Global Ethnic Background of Christians
1900-2025
3. Mega-Trend #3: Renewal in
our understanding of the power of
God’s Word!
“Famine for the Word of God” –
Amos 8:11
Neill McGregor, Nat. Gal. of Art
Biblical literacy
“Theologically educate”
Applications to our context in N.
America
(1) Re-emergence of Catechesis (church and
home)
• (2) Missional churches
• (3) Pastors assigned to “communities” not
merely to a “church”
• (4) Building distinctive Christian communities
Missional Church
• The missional church is one where people are
exploring and rediscovering what it means to
be Jesus' sent people as their core identity.
Invitation to a Missional
adjustment…..• The word mission was originally about God
and His redemptive initiative, not about us and
what we were doing. However, in its popular
usage within the church, it seems that the word
mission has now come to refer almost
exclusively to various tasks which the church
is doing.
• Invitation to World Missions
Mission vs. Missions
• Mission – God’s redemptive, historical
initiative on behalf of His creation.
• Missions – All the specific and varied ways in
which the church crosses boundaries to reflect
the life of the Triune God in the world, and
through that identity, participates in His
mission, celebrating through word and deed
the in-breaking of the New Creation.
Missional model
• From attractional to incarnational…
• From uniformity to diversity…
• From “seating” to sending…
• From decision to disciple…
• From services to service…
• From programs to process…
• From marketing to missional
Rebirth of Catechesis
• Catechumen – Mystagogy Model
• Lent to Easter / Easter to Pentecost
• Celtic Model
• community, monastic, relational not doctrinal
• Catechisms – shorter (home) and longer (church)
– Q and A
Catechesis
• Ten Commandments
• Lord’s Prayer
• Apostles’ Creed
• Great Commandments
• Sermon on the Mount
Catechesis Models (cont.)
• Wesleyan Catechesis
• “My great desire to have Christ
formed in my heart by faith.”
(John Wesley, 9, 24)
Pre Baptism catechesis
• Do you renounce the spiritual forces of
wickedness?
• Do you repent of your sin?
• Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior?
• Do you put your whole trust in his grace?
• Do you promise to serve him as your Lord?
• Questions for Baptismal Covenant
Society – Holy Club
• For John Wesley, a society was
• "united in order to pray together,
• to receive the word of exhortation,
• and to watch over one another in love,
• that they may help each other to work out their
salvation."
• [The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 9, 69)
Canonical Sermons & Wesley’s
Notes to the NT
• 52 canonical sermons
• Wesley’s notes
• Doctrinal consistency
By 1735 the following in place:
• The willingness to submit to discipline;
• the importance of an experiential knowledge;
• Pursuit of holiness / second blessing
• Catechesis ….Baptismal covenant ….
accountabilty groups ….canonical sermons…
service to the poor, growth in holiness (going
on to perfection)
Catechesis Models (cont.)
• Means of grace –
prevenient/justifying/sanctifying
• Community (small accountability groups) –
formational accountability
• Canonical sermons , notes – doctrinal clarity
• External practice of piety – serving poor
, gr
Spiritual
Formation:
Holiness
Grace
Small group
Accountability
Service
Doctrine
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