Biblio Format	Annotation
Bjork, David. "A Model for Analysis of Incarnational Ministry in Post-Christian Lands." Missiology 25:3 (July 1997): 279-91.	Why are Western Protestant missionaries who work in areas of the world where Christian churches date back many centuries so ineffective? Is it really necessary and unavoidable that we be seen as members of sectarian and cultist groups by the post-Christendom peoples we seek to win for Christ? This article considers the ways in which our missional paradigm and ministry methods combine to shape the way we are perceived by others. Based on lessons learned from years of ministry in France, it provides conceptual glasses through which we may discover new perspectives on the incarnation of the gospel in countries marked by Christendom.
Chikane, Frank. "The Incarnation in the Life of the People of South Africa." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 51 (June 1985): 37-50.	In trying to develop a better understanding of the meaning and implications of the incarnation in the life of the people in southern Africa we are going to first review critically the prevailing Christological models from which we can extract the various conceptions or misconceptions about this Logos that became flesh. We shall include here the models advanced by African Theology, theology of the African Indigenous Churches and the Black Theology of Liberation. The second part of this paper, which will naturally be the most difficult, will engage in a struggle for a reconstruction of this concept of incarnation and the development of a new understanding of it. Our goal is to come up with a "new incarnation" which will then produce in us a new life which we shall "live in the flesh by faith in the son of God". (Gal. 2:20)
Costas, Orlando. "Contextualization and Incarnation." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 29 (December 1979): 23-30.	In the course of our discussion we stress the relevance of context for theology, the dynamic nature of contextualization, its theological roots in the incarnation and the imperative of incarnating Christ in our respective contexts of oppression for a meaningful communication of the gospel in today's world. The point, however, is not a matter of theological precision and missiological awareness, but rather of commitment and practice. The real issue is whether we as Christians are willing to be immersed in the concrete situations of the disenfranchised of our societies and witness to the lordship and saviourhood of Christ from within, a commitment which will have to be verified in our participation in the concrete transformation of these situations. Anything else is pure talk, and the kingdom of God "does not consist in talk but in power" (2 Cor. 4:20).
Costas, Orlando. "Contextualizing and Incarnation: Communicating Christ Amid the Oppressed." Chap. in Christ Outside the Gate: Mission Beyond Christendom, 3-20. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1982.
de Mesa, Jose M. "Doing Theology as Inculturation in the Asian Context." Kerygma 20 (1986): 151-73.	A Philippine Catholic perspective on inculturation in Asia. Presents discussion on doing theology in the local church, inculturation as the doing theology, agenda of theology in Asia, emphasis on positive resources of the culture, and a schematic description of doing theology as inculturation. Concludes: I hope that the foregoing exposition has made somewhat clear how doing theology in a specific socio-cultural setting contributes to the inculturation of the Gospel and of the local Church. Within the basic process of theologizing, i.e. the mutually respectful and critical interaction between the culture and the Faith Tradition, we emphasized the contribution of a specific theological method towards the achievement of cultural identity in contemporary society among the peoples of Asia. It was the intent of the method to bring the doer of theology to an appreciative awareness of and to utilize the positive resources offered not only by the cultural wisdom and genius of a people but also by the Judaeo-Christian Tradition. May it serve as an invitation to do theology which is culturally meaningful and situationally relevant.
Gaquare, Joe. "Indigenisation as Incarnation: The Concept of Melanesian Christ." In Christ in Melanesia, Point Series, ed. James Knight, 146-65. Goroka, Papua New Guinea: Melanesian Institute for Pastoral and Socio-Economic Service, 1977.	Christianity came to the Solomon. Islands with Western civilization. Political colonizers and missionaries arrived about the same time. Thus Christianity has been seen and accused as the colonizing race's religion. Certain local people saw Christianity as identical to Western imperialism. Although Christianity has done a lot to reform Melanesian society, certain people are now questioning its destructive orientation in relation to culture. The author believes that Christianity is a universal religion. Therefore, it must not be identified as "the white man's religion." In this paper he argues that Christ is the Melanesian Christ. Christ was in the Solomon Islands before any white men ever landed. The author is also sad to see that the core of Christianity does not seem to sink down into the inner beings of his own people. He discovered that to some people Christ remained a "foreign Christ. " Christ is rather abstract and remote. By advocating the concept of a Melanesian Christ, he suggests a pastoral concern. His aim is. to try and help people see Christ as a Melanesian--the ideal Melanesian. Thus the paper is apologetic and pastoral in emphasis.
Gibbs, Philip. "Blood and Life in a Melanesian Context." In Christ in Melanesia, Point Series, ed. James Knight, 166-77. Goroka, Papua New Guinea: Melanesian Institute for Pastoral and Socio-Economic Service, 1977.	If the Gospel is to become truly incarnate in Melanesia today, we will have to continue our search for an authentically local theology as the proper response to the Christian message. Adaptations or translations of Christian forms and concepts do not go far enough. For a truly Melanesian theology to emerge we must begin at that level of meanings which bear the distinctive stamp of Melanesian life and thinking. Such a task is not easy. We too readily treat culture and cultural forms as factors extrinsic to the Gospel; as historical contingencies within which the Gospel message finds its con text; as factors which can be separated from any appearance of the Gospel in a situation. The Gospel does not present itself as a kernel of truth easily separated from a contextual husk; rather, the notion of the incarnation tells us that they are always given together and have to be read and understood in that way.
Gilliland, Dean S. "Contextual Theology as Incarnational Mission." In The Word Among Us: Contextualizing Theology for Mission Today, ed. Dean S. Gilliland, 9-31. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989.	Our purpose is not to take the reader through the technicalities of contextualization. Rather, the main reason for this chapter is to show why contextualization opens the way to evangelize every nation, as our Lord commanded, without paternalizing, dominating, or setting up foreign and dependent churches. The contextual principle begins with the moment when the first message is preached and continues through the planting, nurturing, and witness of the church. We want to consider six reasons why contextualization is the mode for the mission enterprise today and for the future: 1) it guards against the imperialism of theology; 2) it provides for training in the Holy Spirit; 3) it cultivates a mission-conscious church; 4) it fosters the growth and multiplication of churches; 5) it provides a multi-dimensional gospel for multi-dimensional needs; and 6) it opens the way for incarnational witness.
Hill, Harriet. "Incarnational Ministry: A Critical Examination." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 26:2 (April 1990): 196-201.	A term used to describe the task of paralleling Jesus' incarnation in our becoming one with the people we serve. Hill describes her desire to be an incarnated missionary, and subsequent failures which lead her to question the model, arguing that we will always be somewhat of an outsider in our adopted culture and trying to adopt an insider role will hinder rather than help us in our task.
Hill, Harriet. "Lifting the Fog on Incarnational Ministry." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 29:3 (July 1993): 262-69.	I discuss three different models of "incarnational" ministry and develop a theme I touched on in my previous article that, I hope, will resolve our differences while providing a model for ministry based on friendship that is both workable and effective.
Hovemyr, Anders. "Towards a Theology of the Incarnation in the Thai Context." The East Asia Journal of Theology 1:2 (1983): 78-83.	What is the significance of the incarnation for the church in Thailand?
Kraft, Charles H. "Contextualizing Communication." In The Word Among Us: Contextualizing Theology for Mission Today, ed. Dean S. Gilliland, 121-138. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989.	If we see Jesus as a kind of bridge between God and humans, it is significant that Jesus so frequently emphasized the relationships at the human end of that bridge. For at this end the name of the game is communication. And, apart from his carrying out the plan of salvation, it was the communication of God's messages to humans to which he devoted his ministry. To neglect the communicational aspects of the activity of the triune God is, therefore, to miss a major part of what he did and said. It is, therefore, highly appropriate in any treatment of the contextualization of biblical Christianity to address the contextualization of the communication of that message initiated by God for the sake of his errant creatures. At, least three principles can be observed as basic to God's communicative activity: 1) our God is a relational God; 2) our God is self-revealing; and 3) our God wants to be understood.
Kraft, Charles H. "God's Model for Cross-Cultural Communication--The Incarnation." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 9:4 (Summer 1973): 205-16.	What is your communications batting average? If you act the way the nationals think you would act, then you can be pretty sure your average is about zero. How can this be? Isn't this our role? Aren't we supposed to live up to the expectations of the nationals in a consistent, predictable manner? In this, one of the most perceptible anthropological articles written in regard to missions, Charles Kraft challenges the stereotype. He forces us to reconsider that which we have previously assumed and taken for granted. His supreme example for rethinking the missionary role is Jesus Christ, for in Jesus "the stereotyped God broke out of the stereotype."
Kraft, Charles H. "The Incarnation, Cross-Cultural Communication, and Communication Theory." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 9:5 (Fall 1973): 277-84.	The missionary's awareness of four communication principles, and how Jesus used them, will make him more effective in crossing cultural roadblocks to the gospel.
Laschenski, S.J., Sigmund J. "The Meaning of the Incarnation for the Church in Thailand." The East Asia Journal of Theology 2:1 (1984): 75-81.	Explores the implications of the incarnation in relation to the church of Thailand.
Maeliau, Michael. "Searching for a Melanesian Way of Worship." In The Gospel is Not Western: Black Theologies from the Southwest Pacific, ed. Garry W. Trompf, 119-27. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1987.	I believe that most of the distinctly Melanesian ways of worship and theology are going to arise spontaneously out of the revival movements, which are bound to spread throughout the churches of the region. The established churches must be flexible enough to accommodate these movements. There is a danger that most of the leaders of Melanesia's established churches, as well as the sponsoring churches in the West, are going to be highly critical and may even consciously seek to stifle such revivalism. They must apply the incarnation principle, which some of their theologians talk about, if they are going to lead, guide, and correct any errors in these movements; otherwise participants in the revivals will break away, either to join other churches that allow them to exercise their freedom or to found Melanesian Independent Churches, comparable to those in black Africa. I do not think we need to work hard to find indigenous forms of worship. They are now emerging, ready to be identified, encouraged, and refined. I believe that this also applies to indigenous theology. I suggest that we start our search for indigenous theologies wherever new patterns of worship are forthcoming.
Massih, Bashir Abdol. "The Incarnational Witness to the Muslim Heart." In The Gospel and Islam: A 1978 Compendium, ed. Don M. McCurry, 85-93. Monrovia, CA: Missions Advanced Research & Communications Center, 1979.	Dr. Saeed Khan Kurdistani, an outstanding Iranian Christian, died in 1942. In the 1960's a friend of mine served with the government in Dr. Saeed's area and became acquainted with an old man there. The aged man, when asked if he had known Dr. Saeed, caught his breath and whispered: "Dr. Saeed was Christ himself ! " Surely the desire of every person witnessing to Muslims is that Christ, in all his fullness, may be visible. Western culture, however, often looms so visible that the Muslim has trouble seeing him. Culture is a major factor in the incarnational witness.
McElhanon, Kenneth. "Don't Give Up on the Incarnational Model." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 27:4 (October 1991): 390-93.	Responding to Hill's and Loewen's articles on the incarnational model; posits that our identification transcends material culture and behavior roles and focuses on the servant's attitudes.
Taber, Charles R. "Contextualization." In Exploring Church Growth, ed. Wilbert R. Shenk, 117-131. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.	The purpose of this chapter is to examine the nexus between contextualization and Church Growth theory. I will argue that contextualization as a central missiological emphasis based on the incarnation has profound implications for missionary methodology which are not given sufficient attention in Church Growth theory. This is in large part because Church Growth theory--like several other mission models--proceeds deductively and fails to consider some important dimensions of the human context in which mission takes place. It will become evident that I am in fundamental sympathy with the Church Growth model and that my effort is indeed to strengthen and not to debunk it. Perhaps paradoxically, a part of this attempt will involve relativizing the Church Growth model by placing it within a broader framework.
Tan, Che-Bin. "Ethical Particularism as a Chinese Contextual Issue." In The Word Among Us: Contextualizing Theology for Mission Today, ed. Dean S. Gilliland, 262-281. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989.	Chinese culture is not homogeneous. It is a complex system, consisting of various traits and themes. This present discussion, therefore, is not meant to be exhaustive, nor do we intend to offer a comprehensive contextualized theology. Our purpose is to examine an important cultural trait, which is present in both high and folk cultures, in the light of biblical teaching, with a view to pointing to certain directions in a contextualized Chinese theology. We begin by tracing the roots and formulation of a Chinese cultural characteristic, in this case, ethical particularism (each ethical situation requires a particular approach in light of relationships and obligations) . Then we will discuss this cultural characteristic in action. Thirdly, we will attempt to examine what the Bible has to say of parallel concerns underlying this particular cultural trait. And finally, we will point out some practical implications for an "incarnation model" of a contextualized Chinese theology.
Wilson, Henry S. "One Faith and Several Theologies: A Plea for Contextualization." Theological Review 15 (1994): 70-84.	With the introduction on contextualization, the challenge of rethinking, rearticulation is now extended to all areas of the globe, South and North, East and West, the younger churches and the "elder" sister churches, the churches situated in the multi-religious and cultural situations and those which are in a basically "Christian" environment. I would like to elaborate on this issue further as follows: Challenge to the claim of universality, communication through the model of incarnation and affirming the gift of pluralism.
Yi-Fan, Shen. "How New China Helps Christians Think Anew Theologically." In A New Beginning, ed. Theresa Chu and Christopher Lind, 52-56. Montreal: Canada China Programme, 1983.	New theological insights on the part of the Chinese Christians are not the outcome of abstract contemplation in our studies, but are the result of the "praxis" of the Chinese Christians bearing and testing our faith in New China, especially of the "praxis" of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. In the course of our participating in the Three-Self Movement, some basic doctrines of our faith and some basic theological theses seem to throw new light upon us and help us to know many more things about Christ which seemed to be unknown to us before. For all these, we are thankful to God, and are willing to share with our friends here. Explored are the areas of incarnation, grace and witness, resurrection and ascension, and eschatology.