Nourishing Mission

Theological Settings

Series: 

Author:
Graham Kings
The theological treasures gathered here show the intriguing coherence of an unfolding vision. Earthed in the ministry of a priest, missionary, academic theologian, and well-travelled bishop, the five settings provide 16 chapters written over 34 years in Kenya, Cambridge, Islington, Sherborne and Lambeth. Art, poetry and archives mingle with theology, history and spirituality. Memorable scenes include a Kenyan liturgy on the environment and Bishop Gitari’s preaching, the drama of worship on the streets of London, a Deuteronomic prequel to the Prodigal Son, flashes from the lives of Henry Martyn and Stephen Harding, the birth of South Sudan and the historic dialogue of John Stott and Basil Meeking.
Copyright Year:
2022
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ISBN:
978-90-04-46938-9
Publication:
15 Nov 2021
Paperback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-46941-9
Publication:
25 Nov 2021
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Graham Kings, Ph.D. (2002), Utrecht University, founded the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide, where he is Research Associate. Formerly Bishop of Sherborne, his books include Christianity Connected: Hindus, Muslims and the World in the Letters of Max Warren and Roger Hooker. (Boekencentrum, 2002 and ISPCK, 2017).
"This book is a box of fine chocolates in different shapes and sizes. It presents theological reflections on a variety of subjects in a variety of styles. (...) The diversity within the book makes it appealing to various audiences, perhaps especially to reflective practitioners in the fields of mission, evangelism, and parish ministry. The autobiographical nature of the texts, especially the Kabara, Islington and Sherborne sections, may prompt such readers to reflect on their own journey in church, mission, and academia." Wilbert van Saane, in: Exchange 53:2, 173-174, March 2024.

"Kings offers probing and imaginative studies on a wide range of topics, which include Max Warren and John V. Taylor’s contributions to mission theology, Christianity, and inter-faith dialogue, the Evangelical–Roman Catholic Dialogue on Mission (1977–1984), David Gitari’s public diatribes against political corruption in Kenya, Evangelical ecumenicity at Lausanne II in Manilla (1989), a delineation of the differences between “conservative,” “open,” and “charismatic” evangelicals, and how Christianity’s shift to the Global South is gradually changing our mental maps of the world.[...] anyone interested in mission and world Christianity will find nourishment in these pages." F. Lionel Young III in: Religious Studies Review, March 2024

"This is a stimulating collection of writings, from different times and contexts." Michael Nazir-Ali, Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy & Dialogue, in: Studies in World Christianity, Volume 29.1 (2023).

"The papers on the two great English mission theologians of the 20th century, Max Warren and John V. Taylor, and on Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogue on Mission are important. The first of these papers throws new light on Warren’s and Taylor’s sympathy with and insight in relation to other faiths. Kings notes that their work has influenced many missiologists, if not much contemporary Evangelicalism. The second paper illuminates John Stott’s urbanity and statesmanship in initiating conversations with the Vatican, despite more conservative Evangelicals’ suspicions. The papers reveal Kings’s personal experiences and wide-ranging contacts." The Ven. Dr. William Jacob, in: Church Times, 21 October 2022

"Nourishing Mission is like the Kenyan mash-up dish mataha, a flavorful mix of the personal reminiscence, missiology, and exegesis. Kings makes the point along the way that the interpersonal and the theological cannot, and should not, be separated in the reflections of a missionary. " in: George Sumner, in: Covenant, first published 7 July 2022.

"The volume is multifaceted. It draws on archival research, especially the John Stott Archives in Lambeth Palace Library, and wide reading. It includes analyses of inculturation, varieties of evangelicalism, approaches to other (especially African indigenous) religions, dialogue between different Christian traditions, sympathetic examinations of the thought of Henry Martyn, Max Warren, and John V. Taylor, and innovative liturgy and performance art. Chapter 9, looking at Deuteronomy and the Prodigal, leaves one wanting more of Kings’s biblical insights.
The writing has a grace rare in academic writing." in: Terry Barringer, in: International Bulletin of Mission Research, first published 16 June 2022.

"ONE OF the Church of England’s great networkers, noticers and encouragers, Graham Kings served as missionary, scholar, priest and bishop in Kenya, Cambridge, Islington and Sherborne before winding up as Mission Theologian in the Anglican Communion. His latest book Nourishing Mission (Brill) is described by David Ford in his Foreword as “feeling like an embodiment of Graham Kings in print, characterised by energy and encouragement, with connections in many directions”." in: The Tablet, The International Catholic Weekly, 11 December 2021.
Contents
Foreword
by David Ford
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations

Introduction
 1 Title Words
 2 Settings and Chapters
 3 Cohering Themes
 4 Thanksgivings

Setting 1: Kabare

1 Kenyan Church-State Relations and the Bible
 1 Context
 2 Was There No Naboth to Say No?
 3 Scriptural Litany for the Environment
 4 Daniel Chapter 6 and Kenya Today?
 5 One-Party State?
 6 A Kenyan Passion Play
 7 Conclusion

2 The Bible, Christianity and African Traditional Religions
 1 Ngai or ngai?
 2 The Treasures and Wealth of the Nations
 3 Theological Fornication
 4 Extra Regnum Nulla Salus (Outside the Kingdom There Is No Salvation)
 5 Conclusion

3 Evangelicals in Search of Catholicity: Lausanne II in Manila
 1 Gospel of the Kingdom and ‘Coinherence’: The Intermingling of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
 2 Eschatology: It Is Always Soon
 3 The Whole Church: Growth or Obesity?
 4 Conclusion

Setting 2: Cambridge

4 Henry Martyn: Missionary Scholar for Our Age?
 1 Introduction: Portraits
 2 Henry Martyn’s Life and Context
 3 Martyn’s Influence on People in the Past and Today
 4 The Study of Mission, Dialogue and World Christianity Today
 5 Conclusion: Martyn’s Challenge for Vocations for Our Age

5 Icon of Indian Indigeneity: Abdul Masih
 1 The Turban: A Muslim Convert
 2 The Open New Testament
 3 The Books and Bottles

6 Mission and the Meeting of Faiths: Max Warren and John V. Taylor
 1 Introduction
 2 Background Influences on Warren and Taylor
 3 Warren’s Theology of Christian Presence and of Attention
 4 Taylor’s Theology of the Go-Between Spirit and the Meeting of Faiths
 5 Conclusions: Warren and Taylor’s Influence in World Christianity in the Later Part of the Twentieth Century

Setting 3: Islington

7 Worship on Upper Street, Islington
 1 Context
 2 Good Friday Procession, 2003
 3 Good Friday Procession, 2004
 4 Good Friday Procession, 2005
 5 Guest Service and the South African Mysteries
 6 Civic Services and Muslim Interviews
 7 Christmas Day Broadcast, 2004 BBC
 8 Praise Nights
 9 Conclusion

8 Canal, River and Rapids: Contemporary Evangelicalism in the Church of England
 1 Introduction
 2 Current Outlines of Watercourses
 3 Navigators
 4 Historical Reflections on the Watercourses
 5 Theological Reflections on the Watercourses
 6 Conclusion: Rigour without Rancour

9 Don’t Throw Stones: Deuteronomy and the Prodigal Son
 1 Introduction
 2 Deuteronomy 21.15–17 Protection against a Capricious Father
 3 Deuteronomy 21.18–21 The Dreadful Stoning of the Son at the Town Gate
 4 An Honourable Father and Son Relationship in Modern Hebrew Scholarship
 5 The Awful Sentence
 6 Luke 15.11–32 Welcome Home for a Lost Son
 7 Deuteronomy 21.22–23 and Galatians 3.13 Paul’s Reinterpretation
 8 Conclusion

Setting 4: Sherborne

10 Doing Theology as a Bishop
 1 Introduction
 2 Word – Ezra 7.10
 3 Tradition – Isaiah 51.1
 4 Sacrament – 1 Corinthians 11.26
 5 Unity – Ephesians 3.18
 6 Conclusion

11 South Sudan: Birth and New Life
 1 The Promised Land, July 2011
 2 Learning Together in Malakal, February 2013

12 Saint Stephen Harding: From Sherborne to Cîteaux
 1 Introduction
 2 Portraits
 3 Sources
 4 Life
 5 Conclusion

Setting 5: Lambeth

13 Sarah the Mother of Mission
 1 Introduction
 2 Exposition in Text, Painting and Poem
 3 Ramifications in Mission, Theology and Theologians
 4 Conclusion

14 Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue on Mission, 1977–84: Insights and Significance
 1 Introduction
 2 Background
 3 Meetings
 4 Report
 5 Conclusion: Insights and Significance

15 Remembering, Thinking, Imagining: Augustine, Anselm and Rowan
 1 Introduction
 2 Remembering: Augustine
 3 Thinking: Anselm
 4 Imagining: Rowan
 5 Conclusion

16 Maps and Myths Matter: Christianity in the Global South
 1 Introduction
 2 Maps Matter
 3 Myths Matter
 4 Conclusion

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Subjects
Scholars and students of theology, history, mission studies, religions, world Christianity and ecumenism, including clergy and bishops who are preparing for the Lambeth Conference 2022. Institutions: Faculties of Divinity, Theology and Religious Studies in British, American, African and Asian Universities and Colleges.
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