Biblio Format	Annotation
Conn, Harvie M. "A Contextual Theology of Mission for the City." In The Good News of the Kingdom: Mission Theology for the Third Millennium, ed. Charles van Engen, Dean S. Gilliland, and Paul Pierson, 96-104. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993.	Contextualization requires that we connect the normative biblical horizon that provides divine meaning with our contemporary urban horizons. It calls for "a critical discernment of the text's inner meaning and then a translation of it into our own culture" (Stott and Coote 1980, 315). A contextual mission theology then, by definition, adds a third horizon to the task--that of the one to whom we translate the text in gospel witness. Out of this linking of three horizons (message or text, messenger and responder-in-context) comes a theology of mission for urban missiology.
DeSilva, Ranjit. "House Church Movement Catches on among Sri Lanka's Urban and Rural Poor." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 27:3 (July 1991): 274-78.	Case study of contextualizing communication, power encounter, conversion, and worship patterns among Sinhalese Buddhists and the response.
Elder, William M. "Human Relations in the Japanese Congregation." The Japan Christian Quarterly 41:3 (Summer 1975): 127-32.	This article will focus on the interpersonal relations in the Japanese congregations--self-images, expectations of the other, roles, patterns of relationship, etc. These elements exist in any organization, but are often undefined, or often different from those that are verbalized forces that are felt but only vaguely identified. Material for this article comes primarily from three sources: 1) a questionnaire sent specifically to gather data for this, 2) two group interviews with pastors with whom I have been involved in human relations study with the Japan Institute of Christian Education at Rikkyo University, and 3) personal experiences and observations while working with local churches in both rural and urban situations in Japan.
Elliston, Edgar J. "Contextualized Christian Social Transformation." In The Word Among Us: Contextualizing Theology for Mission Today, ed. Dean S. Gilliland, 199-218. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989.	Developing contextually appropriate social transformation ministries is important for three key reasons. (1) To evangelize with no intentional concern for the social or physical situation will result in a truncated evangelism and disobedience to the command of the Lord to love our neighbors. (2) To do development without an intentional concern for discipling the nations will likely lead to a disobedience to the Lord's command in the Great Commission. (3) And to disregard the context-social, physical, and spiritual-will lead to dysfunctions with both the evangelistic and cultural mandates. The context does not set the eternal priorities between, evangelism. and social ministries, but it does affect the present strategic balance. Context serves to condition what can and should be done in the light of the clear commands of the Lord. Rural contexts in Kansas or Kenya, or urban slums in Sao Paulo or Jakarta will each require a different balance if we are to be obedient.
Fleming, Kenneth C. "The Gospel to the Urban Zulu: Three Cultures in Conflict." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 22:1 (January 1986): 24-31.	Three conflicting cultures compete for Zulu loyalty: traditional Zulu, colonial Christian, and secular urban. This article explores these three and works through implications for making the Gospel meaningful to a Zulu and developing a contextual church in an urban Zulu setting.
Gnanakan, Ken. "Theology for Asia." Evangelical Review of Theology 20:4 (October 1996): 365-368.	Asia is in a crucial stage of its history. Economic prosperity is bringing rapid development. On the one hand, a growing middle class is wallowing in material prosperity, while on the other hand, the staggering population growth and ecological disasters demand our urgent attention in the face of the poverty which confronts us. A theology that addresses Asia today should take into account not only God's dealings with us as his people within the church, but also discern God's dealings with the world, which should be primarily through the church. Two major challenges face Asia: 1) The communication of God's word within the plurality of religions and cultures that we confront today, and 2) the response to the environmental challenge within Asia. All else, i.e., poverty, religion, modernity, urbanization etc., are only factors that help us to understand these issues within our context.
Meneses, Eloise Hiebert and Stapleford, John E. "Defeating the Baals: Balanced Christian Living in Different Cultural Systems." ChristianScholar's Review 30:1 (Fall 2000): 83-106	In this essay we will examine the choices presented by different cultures to their members from the perspectives of an economist and an anthropologist. . . . As Christian social scientists we, the authors, do not attempt to remain value neutral in the evaluation of cultures. We believe that it is a matter of honesty and responsibility to state our Christian position clearly and to do critical social science analysis from that stance. In order to do this, we have identified five factors, four of which are derived from the various spheres of human life, that cultures choose to promote or to discourage: 1) the need for wealth, and therefore of work and productive activity in general (the economic sphere); 2) the concern for justice, particularly in the distribution of resources and benefits (the political sphere); 3) the emphasis placed on social relations of all types, including family and community, which we have termed love (the social sphere); and 4) the willingness to put aside material and other concerns in the interest of the pursuit of spirituality (the religious sphere). The fifth factor, which we have termed humility, is the ability of the culture to acknowledge God's sovereignty over all the spheres of our lives. It is this final factor that evaluates the level of idolatry in a culture.
Ortiz, Manuel. "Circle Church: A Case Study in Contextualization." Urban Mission 8 (1991): 6-18.	One of the most creative and exciting ministries in Chicago during the late sixties and early seventies was Circle Church. This ministry, in a short time (approximately ten years), had a significant impact on the church nationally and on its immediate environment. The Circle Church model provides concerned Christians who are taking on the challenge of planting metropolitan churches with guidelines and cautions that will assist them in this mission. It is the intention of this author to evaluate the significance of this metropolitan city church as it changed life and society. That church of the '70s, the one portrayed in David Mains' book, Full Circle, is still a viable contextual model that has much to say to us today, especially to those interested in developing ministries in a metropolitan environment. I am convinced that Full Circle, written in 1971, is applicable and challenging for pastors and church planters wrestling with contextualization in the urban centers of our nation.
Park, Heon-Wook. "The Indigenization of the Gospel and Nationalism: A Study of the Korean Christian Church in Japan." In Perspectives on Christianity in Korea and Japan: The Gospel and Culture in East Asia, ed. Mark R. Mullins and Richard Fox Young, 47-60. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1995.	I shall focus specifically on the transplanting of Korean Christianity in the spiritual soil of Japan before and after World War 11. Within the close relations and interactions of the two countries, the question of Christian identity was crucial, for Korean Christians did not encounter their Japanese counterparts on an equal basis; rather, they were an ethnic minority forced to assimilate and adjust to the predominant order and values of Japanese churches. It is this process of accommodation and acculturation that is my primary research concern. Inasmuch as I was nurtured in that very Korean Christian community that became rooted in and then prospered in Japanese soil, my study of that transplanted tradition is at the same time an exploration of my own personal roots. Nonetheless, I hope that in due time my research results will enrich the Japanese-Korean Christian encounter and serve as a stepping-stone for the mission and work of Christianity in Asia. In recent times, churches in Korea have mounted evangelistic efforts in a number of urban centers in Japan, resulting in various independent denominations and churches. Unfortunately, trends among these churches are still too fluid to permit a comprehensive overview. Accordingly, I must concentrate on earlier evangelistic efforts among the large numbers of Koreans who migrated to Japan after being deprived of their livelihood.
Pothan, S. C. "The Status of Women in the Indian Society and its Implications for Christian Ministry." AETEI Journal 11:1 (Jan. - Dec. 1998): 21-44.	This paper examines the status of women in society and in the family and marriage in both the Hindu and Christian communities and the changes due to urbanization, and tries to evaluate the problem theologically. It does not aim to provide a complete critique of the subject, but endeavours to highlight some of the major issues.
Steffen, Tom. "How User-Friendly Is Your Teaching?"Evangelical Missions Quarterly 32:2 (April 1996): 178-85.	Advocates integrating teaching methods using stories rather than only ones that utilize "facts" and "logic" in organizing course teaching and materials. Lists and debunks 5 "myths" about stories: 1) they are for entertainment; 2) they are for children; 3) they are for those living outside urban areas; 4) only professionals can tell stories and 5) Bible stories and theology are unrelated.
Sundermeier, Theo. "Inculturation and Syncretism." Scriptura S10 (1992): 32-48.	Indigenisation, inculturation--a transformation of the Gospel by means of the encounter with other cultures and religions. Does such a thesis not give reason for a growing suspicion about syncretism? Mrs. Chung's speech during the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, Australia in 1991 caused a revival of the debate on this topic. How are inculturation and syncretism distinguishable and how do they interact? A theological decision incorporating an understanding of syncretism becomes necessary. In the following discussion, the author distinguishes two basic forms and structures of syncretism: symbiotic syncretism (unavoidable and necessary, it describes a process rather than a condition and comes into existence in all places where primal cultures and their systems of religion are dominated by differentiated and superior societies and their systems of religion) and synthetic syncretism (which occurs horizontally in the encounter of equal systems of religion, be it an 'exchange' between tribal religions or an urban border-crossing world religion).
Thornton, W. Philip. "The Cultural Key to Developing Strong Leaders." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 20:3 (July 1984): 234-41.	This study of urban churches in Colombia shows how growth is tied in with 'caudillo'-type pastors; the article describes the churches studied and their perceptions about leadership.
Wagner, C. Peter. "Spiritual Power in Urban Evangelism: Dynamic Lessons from Argentina." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 27:2 (April 1991): 130-37.	Explores the successes of several Argentinean evangelists and pastors in light of spiritual warfare issues and advocates more conscious spiritual warfare strategies in reaching urban areas for Christ.
Wright, David. W. "What Can Missions Learn from Post-War Shifts in Anthropology?" Evangelical Missions Quarterly 29:4 (October 1993): 402-9.	Focus on the single most influential factor which makes today's international context irrevocably different from pre-WW II missions (the reality that our [urban] world is far more international than it ever was) and two shifts within anthropology that are linked directly to this changed international context: (1) does the anthropologist have the 'right' to enter other cultures?; and (2) the demise of the concept of "objectivity" on the part of the anthropologist. Concludes by suggesting implications of these changes that require profound and wide-ranging discussion among missionaries.
Yoshimasa, Ikegami. "Okinawan Shamanism and Charismatic Christianity." The Japan Christian Quarterly 59 (1993): 69-78.	This paper presents finding of intensive field research on a charismatic Christian church named the Okinawa Christian Evangelical Center. It began in the mid-1970s as a small Brethren meeting with just a few participants, but in less than twenty years it recorded the baptism of nearly 1,500 people. In the 1980s alone, OCEC is the church that baptized the largest number of people in Okinawa Prefecture. The concrete activities observed in this church will be explained as one typical example of the reorganization of a religious meaning system as individuals search for effective solutions to the new demands of modern urban life. It will be shown that these demands emerge from the struggle between the indigenous shamanistic, religion and the various features of modern industrial society that are rapidly becoming a part of life in Okinawa.