It affords us real pleasure to present this editorial on behalf of the Majority World Christian Leaders Conversation (MWCLC). The MWCLC started slowly, but surely since 2016, following a groundbreaking conversation among eleven mission practitioners from the Majority World who met in the United Kingdom somewhere between London and Oxford. At the meeting, several themes emerged under the banner of missionary questions and impulses of the Majority World, from the perspective of the reign of God. These themes and more find reflection in the book. However, before proceeding to the content of the anthology, a note on the concept “Majority World” seems necessary. The time where terms like “Third World” gained strong currency, is long since gone. The term “Majority World” is a new kid on the block and requires some clarification. The use of the term is a strategy of avoiding concepts like “Developing” or “Third World” or even “Global South” which are pejorative in a real sense. To speak of the Majority World is geographically accurate in that Africa, Asia and Latin America are included.

More Christians live in the Majority World than in Europe and North America. Yet most theological literature does not reflect the rising tide of Christian reflection coming from these regions. Bringing together theological resources from past and present, East and West, this work engages conversations with leading global scholars on theology, faith, and mission for the enrichment of the entire church.

As Christianity's center of gravity has shifted to the Majority World in the 21st century, many younger churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are now coming of age. With this maturing comes the ability to theologize for themselves, not simply to mimic what they have been taught from the West. As theology is an attempt to articulate through human language and culture and contexts the timeless truths of the eternal and transcendent God, Majority World churches have much to offer the West and the world, as they contribute to a greater understanding of the Lord. Here is a collection of chapters exhibiting local theologizing from around the world, not just from the "big three" non-Western continents but also including the Middle East and indigenous North America. Just like Jesus (a first-century Aramaic-speaking Jew from Roman-occupied Israel) exhibited, the local is applicable to the global. And with Christ's call to his disciples to take his message to "the ends of the earth," this volume exemplifies the concrete reality of that today, not just as the message having been received but also as having been incorporated, synthesized, and rebirthed in new and exciting ways.

This comprehensive introduction helps students, pastors, and mission committees understand contemporary Christian mission historically, biblically, and theologically. Scott Sunquist, a respected scholar and teacher of world Christianity, recovers missiological thinking from the early church for the twenty-first century. He traces the mission of the church throughout history in order to address the global church and offers a constructive theology and practice for missionary work today. Sunquist views spirituality as the foundation for all mission involvement, for mission practice springs from spiritual formation. He highlights the Holy Spirit in the work of mission and emphasizes its trinitarian nature. Sunquist explores mission from a primarily theological--rather than sociological--perspective, showing that the whole of Christian theology depends on and feeds into mission. Throughout the book, he presents Christian mission as our participation in the suffering and glory of Jesus Christ for the redemption of the nations.

Veteran missiologist Samuel Escobar explores the new realities of our globalized world, assesses the context of a changing mission field, sets forth a thoroughly biblical theology of missions, and considers implications for how Christians are to go about the task of global mission.

Thinking more globally about the formation of theology enriches our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. It's no secret that the center of Christianity has shifted from the West to the global South and East. While the truths of the Christian faith are universal, different contexts and cultures illuminate new questions, understandings, and expressions. What does this mean for theology, as Western theologians understand it? Timothy Tennent argues that the Christian faith is culturally and theologically translatable. Theology in the Context of World Christianity is written to expand our "ecclesiastical cartography" by highlighting—within each of the major themes of systematic theology—studies that are engaging the global church, such as: Anthropology (with studies drawn from the different views of human identity between Eastern and Western cultures). Christology (with a focus on the emphases that African Christians place on the characteristics of Christ). Pneumatology (by looking at the role of the Holy Spirit in Latin American Pentecostalism). Eschatology (by focusing on how this branch of theology shapes world missions and evangelism). Each of the ten chapters examines traditional theological categories in conversation with theologians from across the globe, making this volume valuable for students, pastors, missionaries, and theologians alike. Theological reflection is active and exciting in the majority world church, and Tennent invites you to your own reflection and celebration of Christ's global church. These are perspectives that should be heard, considered, and brought into conversation with Western theologians. Global theology can make us aware of our own blind spots and biases and has much to offer toward the revitalization of Western Christianity.

Centered on the rule of Christ over the whole of life, explores multiple aspects of holistic ministry including proclamation, evangelism, and social transformation.