Rethinking Missio Dei among Evangelical Churches in an Eastern European Orthodox Context

Vladimir Ubeivolc

Description

Following a paradigm shift in his own personal understanding of mission, Vladimir Ubeivolc proposes the adoption of mission principles based on missio Dei to meet the social and spiritual needs of people in Moldova. Biblically grounded and insightful, the lessons to be learned from this book apply far beyond Eastern Europe.
Dr Ubeivolc uses his knowledge from six years of research, twenty years of pastoral ministry and a lifetime of experience to summarize the landscape of the Moldovan Evangelical and Orthodox churches and their historical approaches to mission. His evaluation emphasizes the need for a biblical foundation to mission for Eastern European Evangelical churches.
This book’s message is a timely, scholarly reminder of the need to pursue holistic mission if the church of Jesus Christ is to be an authentic and effective vessel to bring transformation to people’s lives and society.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 30 septembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783681266
• Langue: English

Extrait

Dr Ubeivolc’s book is an excellent introduction to mission theology and practice in the Eastern European Post-Soviet setting. Based on solid academic reflections and expert knowledge of the evangelistic practices of Christian churches encountering each other in mission, the book offers invaluable insights into the missiological conceptualizations and paradigms of mission engagement in a culturally Orthodox context. Grounded in the particular context of mission encounters in Moldova and in the erudite use of the overarching concept of missio Dei , the author explores resources of, and argues persuasively for, a holistic ecumenical cooperation in common gospel-witness to the transforming presence of God in the contemporary social and spiritual realities of life. I commend this richly textured work to academics and scholars-practitioners seeking to understand mission in times of momentous transition in Eastern Europe.
Parush R. Parushev
Senior Research Fellow,
International Baptist Theological Study Centre,
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The concept of missio Dei has not been well known in the context of the former Soviet Union. Vladimir Ubeivolc has presented it here not only as a key concept for mission, but also as a central point at which the evangelical and orthodox dialogue can take place. As mission has often been a divisive issue between the different traditions, this research is a turning point and marks out a better way of understanding and appreciating each other in light of the mission of God. Opening this book, the reader will appreciate the perspective offered and the ground proposed for continuing what mission is and church in mission needs to be.
Peter Penner
Director of Advanced Studies, Professor for Mission and New Testament,
Haus Edelweiss Campus, TCM International Institute

Rethinking Missio Dei among Evangelical Churches in an Eastern European Orthodox Context
Vladimir Ubeivolc

© 2016 by Vladimir Ubeivolc
Published 2016 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
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ISBNs:
978-1-78368-104-4 Print
978-1-78368-127-3 Mobi
978-1-78368-126-6 ePub
978-1-78368-128-0 PDF
Vladimir Ubeivolc has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible ® , Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, Used by permission.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-104-4
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and a scholar’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Contents

Cover


Abstract


Acknowledgments


Abbreviations


Introduction


Purpose and Motivations of the Current Dissertation


Situation in Moldova


Situation in the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches


Definition of the Basic Conceptual Apparatus


Overview of the Presented Dissertation


Expected Results


Part 1


The Evangelical Churches in an Orthodox Context in Moldova


Chapter 1 The Birth and Development of Evangelical Churches in Moldavian Orthodox Context


The Emergence of Christianity in the Territory of Moldova


The Growth of Evangelical Churches in Moldova in the Period (1918–1944)


The Growth of Evangelical Churches in the Soviet Period (1944–1991)


Conclusions


Chapter 2 Mission of Evangelical Churches in Moldova from the End of the Twentieth to the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century


Religious Situation after Collapse of the USSR Block


Evangelistic Crusades and Church Growth in Independent Moldova


Theological Reflections in the ECB Union


Conclusions


Chapter 3 Contemporary Relationships between Evangelicals and the Orthodox Church


The Orthodox Church in Moldova in the Early 21st Century


Proselytism and Foundations for Conflict between Evangelicals and the Orthodox Church


Evangelical-Orthodox Dialogue in Moldova in the Early 21st Century


Conclusions


Part 2


Missiological Paradigms and Their Connections with Churches in Moldova


Chapter 4 How “Mission” is Perceived by Evangelical Theologians


Managerial Missiology


Post-Imperial Missiology


An Anabaptist Missiology


Conclusions


Chapter 5 How “Mission” is Perceived by Orthodox Theologians


The Foundation and Content of Orthodox Mission


Kenosis as an Incarnated Method of Orthodox Mission


Theosis as the Final Goal of Orthodox Mission


Conclusions


Chapter 6 How “Mission” is Perceived in Ecumenical Circles


Missio Dei as an Ecumenical Paradigm


The Content of Missio Dei


The Goal of Missio Dei


Conclusions


Part 3


Perspectives for the Mission of Evangelical Churches in Moldova


Chapter 7 The Trinitarian Foundation for Mission


Mission of the Father


Mission of the Son


Mission of the Spirit


Conclusions


Chapter 8 Analytical and Synthetic Evaluation of the Missiological Paradigms


Distinctions and Similarities in Different Missiologies


Mission of the Church – Synthetic Dynamics for the Whole Church


Conclusions


Chapter 9 Holistic and Cooperative Approach in Mission


Biblical, Theological and Practical Aspects for Holistic Mission in Moldova


Mission as Dialogue and Common Witness


Conclusions


Conclusion


Bibliography


Primary Sources


Books and Monographs


Articles, Essays and Component Parts within Books


Theses and Dissertations


Electronic Sources


Interviews (in chronological order)


Web Sources


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Abstract
The main purpose of this research is to discover what God is doing among and through evangelical Christians in Moldova. The vast majority of the Moldavian population affiliate themselves with the Orthodox Church. The country is full of Christian symbols, people are aware of the name of Jesus Christ, and almost every settlement of the country has a visible Orthodox presence in church building and priest. At the same time, Moldavian Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB) are very active in doing mission by church planting and preaching the gospel. The union of ECB from Moldova experienced significant church growth in the 1990s. The beginning of the twenty-first century shows very different results – decreasing numbers of church members and new believers. Many churches show signs of frustration and apathy, while applying the same missionary methods they were using ten to fifteen years ago. This dissertation tries to evaluate the missionary approaches in Moldova, and in harmony with that, to shape a missionary paradigm for evangelical churches.
The proposed dissertation consists of an introduction, three main parts and a conclusion. The first part describes the Evangelical churches in a Moldavian Orthodox context, talking about the birth and development of the Evangelical churches in Moldova, evaluating the mission of the Evangelical churches in Moldova during the last twenty years of Moldavian independency, and observing contemporary relations between Evangelicals and Orthodox communities in Moldova. The first part is primarily descriptive.
The second part helps to understand the current situation in Moldova, observing and evaluating the missiological paradigms, which are relevant to this country, such as Church Growth Movement, Lausanne Movement and Anabaptist Movement. It is important to understand the Orthodox view of mission, which is the dominant paradigm in the context o