Contextualization in the New Testament: Patterns for Theology and Mission

• Winner of a 2006 Christianity Today Book Award
• Honored as one of the "Fifteen Outstanding Books of 2005 for Mission Studies" by International Bulletin of Missionary Research

From Cairo to Calcutta, from Cochabamba to Columbus, Christians are engaged in a conversation about how to speak and live the gospel in today's traditional, modern and emergent cultures. The technical term for their efforts is contextualization. Missionary theorists have pondered and written on it at length. More and more, those who do theology in the West are also trying to discover new ways of communicating and embodying the gospel for an emerging postmodern culture. But few have considered in depth how the early church contextualized the gospel. And yet the New Testament provides numerous examples. As both a crosscultural missionary and a New Testament scholar, Dean Flemming is well equipped to examine how the early church contextualized the gospel and to draw out lessons for today. By carefully sifting the New Testament evidence, Flemming uncovers the patterns and parameters of a Paul or Mark or John as they spoke the Word on target, and he brings these to bear on our contemporary missiological task. Rich in insights and conversant with frontline thinking, this is a book that will revitalize the conversation and refresh our speaking and living the gospel in today's cultures, whether in traditional, modern or emergent contexts.

• Contextualization in World Missions: Mapping and Assessing Evangelical Models
• Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context (American Society of Missiology Ser)
• MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium
• Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology
• The Gospel in Human Contexts: Anthropological Explorations for Contemporary Missions
• Contextualization & Syncretism
• Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends (Cultural Exegesis)
• One Gospel for All Nations*: A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization
• Contextualization: Meanings, Methods, and Models
• Models of Contextual Theology (Faith and Cultures Series)