People communicate by speaking words in over seven thousand languages around the world. They also sing, dance, paint, preach, dramatize, and design communication that enlivens heart, soul, mind, and strength. God gave every community unique gifts of artistic expression to enable its members to proclaim the Truth and to bring healing, hope, and joy to others in the fallen world in which we live. Community Arts for God's Purposes highlights the CLAT (Creating Local Arts Together) method, a seven-step process that inspires artistic creativity and collaboration with local musicians, dancers, storytellers, actors, and visual artists. In this manual, the arts are treated as special kinds of communication systems, connected to specific times, places, and social contexts. As local communities use the creative gifts developed in their particular culture to worship God and extend his kingdom, a beautiful example of the Lord’s complex artistry emerges. This book helps communities draw on examples and insights from over two thousand years of church history to understand and improve the present. It motivates people by painting a vivid picture of a better future: the kingdom of Heaven. Contributors also apply expertise from multiple academic disciplines, such as ethnomusicology, performance studies, anthropology, biblical studies, and missiology. Experiment with this manual. Adapt it to your setting. Let it be an aid in creating astounding bits of artistry on earth that you’ll recognize in Heaven.

Creating Local Arts Together is a manual designed to guide an individual or group into a local community's efforts at integrating its arts with the values and purposes of God's kingdom. The practical, playful text reduces experience-based scholarly insights gained from multiple decades of incarnational ministry around the world into a flexible seven-step process. This manual is the second book in a two-volume set on the principles and practices of ethnodoxology. The first volume, entitled Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook, presents in textbook format the central "Foundations," "Stories," and "Tools" designed to equip readers in exploring more fully this important new field of research and ministry.

Creating Local Arts Together is a manual designed to guide an individual or group into a local community’s efforts at integrating its arts with the values and purposes of God’s kingdom. The practical, playful text reduces experience-based scholarly insights gained from multiple decades of incarnational ministry around the world into a flexible seven-step process. This manual is the second book in a two-volume set on the principles and practices of ethnodoxology. The first volume, entitled Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook, presents in textbook format the central “Foundations,” “Stories,” and “Tools” designed to equip readers in exploring more fully this important new field of research and ministry.

How to share your Christian Faith.

Listening to the Voices of Global Practitioners In Christian mission, we cross boundaries between the people of God and the not-yet people of God, declaring “[God’s] glory among the nations” (Ps 96:3). Mission begins and ends in worship. In mission, we proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We also care for the whole person. Thus, at its core, mission intertwines praise, word, and deed. This book represents the latest in missiological thinking. Though some contributors are scholars and even professors, most are field practitioners —evangelists, church planters, Bible translators, medical professionals, refugee workers, and community development specialists. Based on decades of faithful service, they report on what they have learned about mission. Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed addresses a wide range of critical concerns, such as informal theological education, Bible translation, business as mission, trauma care, and working on multicultural teams. As we ponder best mission practices, it’s wise to hear from global practitioners—those who have been at it for a long time. This book represents the diversity of the global church. They are men and women from Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, and Europe who have served or presently serve in places across the world. These contributors share the conviction that the future of missions involves a growing global church and missionary workforce joining hands to complete the Great Commission amid severe opposition and disruption.

Drawing upon his experience in teaching this material over the past twenty-five years in forty countries, Ron Man provides a rich and deep examination of biblical worship, drawing principles out of a rigorous study of the text of Scripture. He also writes as a practitioner, from the perspective of one who served as a church worship pastor for twenty-two years. Features distinguishing this book from other similar studies include: 1) a tracing of the foundational Revelation and Response pattern through the Scriptures; 2) a more thorough treatment of New Testament texts than is often found; 3) a comprehensive treatment of the crucial role of Jesus Christ as the true Leader of our worship; 4) a consideration of worship as it relates to world missions; and 5) a concluding summary of twelve “Biblical Principles of Worship,” synthesizing the results of the study.

An interactive workbook containing a good balance of insightful exposition and well--designed questions for personal and group application. The book also offers illustrations to help the reader understand the cultural background of Ephesians and interesting asides and quotes. Ideal for devotions as well as group or personal study.