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Fuller’s President, Dr. Rich Mouw, has regularly referred to Philip Jenkins’ The Next Christendom during the five years I’ve been at Fuller. I finally decided to read it. I can see why Rich thinks it’s a noteworthy book.
Jenkins, a Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State University, has one basic thesis: the center of gravity of the Christian world is shifting southward to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. No longer is Christianity a religion of the “west” or the “global North”. According to Jenkins, “If we want to visualize a ‘typical’ contemporary Christian, we should think of a woman living in a village in Nigeria or in a Brazilian favela” (page 2).
What does this mean to us? It means we in North America have volumes to learn from our Christian brothers and sisters on other continents. Jenkins quotes John Mbiti who says, “It is utterly scandalous for so many Christian scholars in the (old) Christendom to know so much about heretical movements in the second and third centuries, when so few of them know anything about Christian movements in areas of the younger churches” (page 4).
Ouch.
In some cases, Southern Christians (and by that I mean in the Southern part of the world, not those who folks who live in Louisiana or Mississippi) are more “conservative” in their beliefs and moral teachings. In other cases, Southern Christians are more “liberal” in their tendencies toward liberation theology and an emphasis on the freedom and justice offered (and maybe demanded) by the gospel. In either case, those of us in the west and north have much to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world.
I saw that firsthand at Fuller this past June. We were able to host a Global International Youth Development Summit with 25 of the sharpest youth ministry leaders from the four corners (whatever that means) of the earth. We had research insights to share, to be sure. But the richest part of the Summit was the chance to learn from the entrepreneurial and creative leaders from Brazil, the Philippines, Columbia, and Africa who see and experience kingdom ministry in ways that inspire me. I’ll never forget the tears in Philip’s eyes as he shared about his vision for helping the 30,000 residents of a nearby Brazilian slum reach their potential. To read more about the research shared by FYI, the Search Institute, and the Summit-eers, please see the summary report of the Global Summit by downloading this pdf.
God, please give us ears—big ears—to hear You speak through all your children around the world.
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