Religious Studies
Global theology in evangelical perspective by Jeffrey P., Greenam, and Gene L. Green is a very insightful book as far as modern day theology and evangelism is concerned. This is more so because of the diverse opinions present in the book because of the book focusing on opinions from a large number of evangelical experts from different parts of the world. The book thus explains the impact the gospel has had in different parts of the globe over the years and delves into the future of the gospel in different parts of the world. The thesis of the book is the interpretation of the gospel. This is because there are very many factors affecting how the gospel would be interpreted by people in different parts of the world. One such factor is that of linguistics. The language dominant over a given geographical set up would most definitely affect the interpretation of the gospel and in turn, this would affect how the local people in the given geographical set up would understand the gospel both personally and as a community. Another factor brought out in the book, which affected the interpretation of the gospel, is the beliefs of the recipients, which were inherent within the general population prior to the inception of the gospel into their particular setup. Ken Gnanakan explains for example how the Hindu tried to identify Jesus Christ in terms of the Hindu frame of thought by associating him with the Satpurusha, which means the true man. It is clearly evident that this association of Jesus Christ with the Hindu theological set up clearly brought about attributes in the Hindu version of Jesus Christ that may have not been present in other version of Jesus Christ for example the African version or even the Chinese version.
On a personal note, this thesis agenda is clearly a contentious issue as far as evangelism and the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned. This is because the gospel has this general universal appeal or rather universal message but as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. This being the case, the minute details that may be added to the persona of Jesus Christ or to the gospel as a whole as a result of linguistic differences or beliefs in a given area, might lead to a situation where people are referring to the same gospel yet have entirely different perceptions of the persona of Jesus Christ and of his divine gospel. Thus, it is important to understand that the interpretation of the gospel throughout the world is subject to some geographical factors present within a given area. This notwithstanding however, the gospel is spreading at an alarming rate and will soon be present in all corners of the globe for the entire world.
The book can be divided into for primary sections or parts depending on the context. The first part of the book contains the first three chapters and gives a long historical view of Christianity in a global scale. This part therefore focuses on the global spread of the gospel and the factors in play as far as this global spread is concerned for example the language barriers and thus the ensuing translation complications. The second part of the book entails the fourth to the ninth chapters and focuses mainly or rather exclusively on evangelism in Latin America. This section focuses on the challenges and progress made by the gospel in Latin America because of evangelism. The third part of the book entails the tenth to the thirteenth chapter and focuses on the opinions of North American theologians, and how North American theology merged with the gospel of Jesus Christ. A good example is Vincent Bacote discussing African American theology in chapter thirteen, and how African American theology differs from other forms of theology for example Asian American theology. The fourth part of the book contains the fourteenth and the fifteenth chapters and it focuses mainly on perspectives about Christianity and evangelism. Mark Lobberton for example in the fourteenth chapter urges Christians to pursue the love of God and to exercise humility in all of their activities be they related to the gospel or otherwise.
This book is clearly in line with the context and mission of my own ministry. This particular ministry entails me as a pastor leading a church and preaching the gospel. The mission of my ministry is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible and bring them to the light. With insight from the book about evangelism, I will have a much easier time appealing to the congregation. One particular focus of my ministry is on the humility of the Christian community in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the conduct of the man himself. My ministry thus encourages humility in all the dealings of any Christian man. As the pastor I will exercise humility as an example to the congregation and also focus on it during the service. I will also employ the various evangelism related pieces of knowledge garnered from the book for example the fact that context of the gospel in a particular setting and the beliefs of the congregation also play a part in the spread of the gospel.
This context of my ministry is echoed in the book especially in the fourteenth chapter, which emphasizes on Christians exercising their humility in all aspects of their lives and not just in evangelism. Evangelism and Christian ministry is also deeply embroiled in the spreading of the gospel and this book clearly outlines the factors in play as far as the spreading of the gospel is concerned and helps future evangelists to clearly determine their emphasis areas as far as my ministry is concerned.
The book is clearly revolutionary as far as the Christian ministry is concerned. The only downside to the book is that of lack of representation of certain parts of the world such as Europe. Europe is one of the major players as far as evangelism is concerned thus insight from Europe would further strengthen the book. The book however rewrites the rules as far as evangelism and the spreading of the gospel is concerned. The book lets the readers know all the dos and don’ts as far as evangelism is concerned. The book is a source of priceless intel for any aspiring evangelist or ministry.
Bibliography
Greenam, Jeffrey, and Gene Green. Global theory in evangelical perspective. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2011.
