The Local Church in a Global Era

How is the church being affected by globalization? What does wider and more direct contact between the world religions mean for Christians? What is God doing in the midst of such change? Resulting from a noteworthy collaboration between World Vision and Princeton Theological Seminary, this important volume explores the implications of today's emerging global society for local churches and Christian mission. Prominent scholars, missionaries, and analysts of world trends relate Christian theology and ethics to five clusters of issues - stewardship, prosperity, and justice; faith, learning, and family; the Spirit, wholeness, and health; Christ, the church, and other religions; and conflict, violence, and mission - issues that pastors and congregations will find critical as they think through the mission of the church in our time.

William Schweiker asks whether it is possible to be faithful to God in a world of mammon. James Ottley discusses world debt from the perspective of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. David Befus provides an analysis of church strategies for empowering the poor. Richard Osmer argues for the church's "perennial tasks" of catechesis, edification, and discernment. Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen looks at the effects of globalization on the structure of the family. John Mbiti shows how prayer and worship in light of globalization are possible. Ronald Cole-Turner issues a compelling call for the evangelization of technology. Susan Power Bratton advocates an "econormative" ethics focused on global ecological change. Allen Verhey questions contemporary approaches to health care.

Kosuke Koyama provides a basic summary of mainstream Buddhist beliefs. Lamin Sanneh explains the central place of Muhammad for Muslims. Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., traces essential steps toward improved ecumenical relations between Christian groups. John Witte, Jr., offers practical guidance to two of the worst contemporary interreligious battlefields - Orthodox-Evangelical and Christian-Muslim. Donald W. Shriver, Jr., chronicles the ways in which religious people have both promoted and curbed our global propensity for violence. Ian T. Douglas discusses the growth of "short-term" mission service by American Christians and poses provocative questions about motives, values, and outcomes.

Assembled and introduced by Max L. Stackhouse, Tim Dearborn, and Scott Paeth, these highly relevant essays will serve as essential starting points for discussion of globalization and its meaning for local churches.