November 30th, 2011
The Meeting Of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church
The Meeting Of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church
The Meeting of the Waters calls us to adapt to a changing world as technology, generational transitions, and new social priorities make their mark on the Global Church.The Meeting of the Waters calls us to adapt to a changing world as technology, generational transitions, and new social priorities make their mark on the Global Church.
List Price: $ 16.99
Price: $ 16.99
Tags: Church, Currents, Future, global, Meeting, Propel, Waters
Filed under: Church News
Emerging Trends in Global Culture the Church Must Address,
From 2006-2007, Fritz Kling and his associates facilitated a “Global Church Listening Tour” with 151 church leaders in 19 countries. The Meeting of the Waters is his report on emerging trends that will affect the mission of the worldwide church. This report is timely since younger Christians are rethinking both the nature of the church’s mission and of the missionary calling.
Here are the trends that emerged through Kling’s conversations with church leaders:
* Mercy: The church must address the physical and material needs of humanity, not just their spiritual needs.
* Mutuality: The church in the developed world must interact with the majority world as peers, not as patrons who seek to control the use of their patronage.
* Migration: The church must minister to populations that are increasingly multinational, multiracial, and multiethnic.
* Monoculture: The church must realize that globalization is making local cultures increasingly similar to one another, and this face presents both challenges and opportunities.
* Machines: The church must utilize technology (especially computers) to accomplish its mission.
* Mediation: The church must take the lead in making peace and resolving the conflicts that increasingly characterize global culture.
* Memory: The church must take into account the fact that memory (especially of tragedy and oppression) shapes the way that people respond to the gospel.
If you are the pastor, missionary, or denominational leader, I urge you to read The Meeting of the Waters. It will not answer all your questions about how the church should carry out its mission in the postmodern world, but it will help you understand the questions that need to be asked and answered.
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|Global Currents Provide Unique Challenges and Opportunities,
Based on Kling’s extensive experience meeting with Christian leaders in ministry in over 40 countries and analyzing the effectiveness of their ministry organizations, The Meeting of the Waters is an insightful look at the way global forces are affecting the Church. The author recounts the feedback derived from a “listening tour” in which he asked leaders in developing countries to reflect on things like relationships with missions organizations and the government, the effect of global phenomena on their faith community, and the effectiveness of particular ministry strategies. It is not so much a guidebook or playbook for the future, which would become outdated within a month or year because of our rapidly changing times. Kling’s very premise is that, in a world in flux, we need to learn to ask the right questions, listen, and adapt- much needed skills for the Christian Church. Because of their staggering implications, drilling down on just two of the seven currents- “migration” (movement of people and people groups) and “monoculture” (worldwide images, ideals and icons causing diverse cultures to suddenly come together) would be a fruitful enterprise for anyone interested in the Church’s mission. Kling’s book is a thoroughly engaging and thought provoking read. He creatively frames the questions which will need to be addressed as the Church navigates the global currents that are providing unique and unfamiliar challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing world.
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|Required Reading for Missions,
In the past decade, two books have been profoundly important to me when it comes to world evangelism: Let the Nations Be Glad!, by John Piper, and Cities: Missions New Frontier, by Roger S. Greenway and Timothy N. Monsma. The former provides a robust theology for why we do missions*, while the latter addresses the changing focus of missions from the middle of nowhere in the bush or outback to the world’s cultural centers.
I now have a third book for my list of required missions reading: The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church, by Fritz Kling, releasing March 1 (click here to pre-order your copy at a discounted price.)
When it comes to how the work of foreign missions is executed, the twenty-first century has brought with it an entirely new set of trends that missionaries-in-training would do well to heed. Kling, a world traveler many times over in his role as president of a philanthropic management firm, has spent years on the ground in “the field,” interacting with leaders throughout global Christendom, asking questions and analyzing his findings into seven “global currents” presently at work in the river of world missions.
From my much more modest experience doing missionary work in Asia, Central America, Africa and North America, I found myself uttering enthusiastic “amen’s” throughout my reading of The Meeting of the Waters. How I wish I had the perspective this book offers when I first delved into the world of foreign missions over a decade ago. Kling is careful to honor the old wineskins, which for centuries have broken ground and reaped fruitful returns in many unreached areas. However, he is unapologetic and unflinching in his honesty when he articulates the changing tide of world evangelism and the challenges those changes pose for Christians going forward. While I could never quite get comfortable with the title he gave old-school missionaries – “Mission Marm” – neither could I deny the accuracy of his conclusions that we – those of us committed to doing the work of world evangelism – must change our perspective.
I hope every missionary, pastor, and student of the Christian faith will read this book; its message is profoundly important, both philosophically and pragmatically. I also hope those who are non-vocational Christians will also read it, as the implication of these seven global currents is every bit as important for those not called to be in full time ministry as for those who are. In fact, one of the conclusions this book makes is that the work of world evangelism will be accomplished not by a few individuals with a vocational call to missions, but rather by the students, businessmen, artists, filmmakers, educators and political leaders who shape world culture.
Order your copy of The Meeting of the Waters now, and add this excellent book to your missions library. Besides the Bible, I cannot think of a more relevant, practical resource for those who plan to work on behalf of world evangelism in the twenty-first century.
(“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church; worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” This is the opening line of John Piper’s missiology book, Let the Nations Be Glad!)
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