Books published by Langham Publishing

Since the disintegration of the USSR many Russian Baptists have actively engaged in evangelism, church planting, and acts of social service. This book is a response to the need to critically evaluate the effectiveness of past mission efforts and their undergirding theology.In this detailed study, Dr Andrey Kravtsev combines historical and qualitative studies to outline the understanding of mission developed by Russian Baptists during the Soviet era when they were almost completely isolated from global missiological developments. First, Kravtsev identifies four key missiological concepts and uses them to analyze the history of mission theology in global evangelical mission movements and the Russian Baptists. He then interviewed thirty leaders from the Russian Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptists to find their view of these concepts, and their convictions of the need to reconsider traditional missiological views. From his findings, Dr Kravtsev suggests five themes for facilitating the transition of Russian Baptist mission theology from the late-Soviet model of eschatological escapism, to a holistic, missional evangelicalism. This book places evangelical mission in contemporary Russian socio-political and ideological contexts and provides an important contribution for leading churches to a renewed missionary encounter with culture.

Do you wish you had a better understanding of the issues and questions African Christians face as they seek to live out their faith in their cultural context? Do you wonder how Africans themselves frame these questions and their answers? Would you like access to actual research that can confirm your own experience or bring new information to your attention that would deepen and broaden your understanding? This unique book, the product of a multiyear study and survey sponsored by the Tyndale House Foundation, offers insights into all these questions and more. Featuring input from over 8,000 African survey participants and 57 in-depth interviews, it provides invaluable insight and concise analysis of the dynamics of the development of African Christian leaders today.

Since its founding in 1924, the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) has grown to span five synods across Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Dr Rhodian Munyenyembe traces the history of these synods back to their shared roots in the Reformation and individual roots in three separate Presbyterian missions.Dr Munyenyembe skillfully explores both historic and contemporary challenges to the unity of the CCAP, and raises the question of whether the CCAP truly functions as a single denomination or could better be understood as a loose federation of five distinct churches. His in-depth explanation provides a critical look that goes beyond a surface understanding of what it means to unite churches from different cultural traditions, and brings honest answers to disputes and conflicts among the CCAP synods. Through this analysis and exploration, Dr Munyenyembe also sheds light on the political and socio-economic aspects of life in relation to the influence of religious denominations. In this objective yet astute account, Munyenyembe gives voice to the CCAP’s complex history, present reality, and future potential.

Designed as an undergraduate textbook, and shaped by needs of both Muslim and Christian students across Africa, this resource provides a thorough introduction to the history, theology and teaching of early Christianity.Professors Helleman and Gaiya follow Christianity from its inception in Jerusalem through to the decline of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean and the development of Orthodox churches in the East and in Africa before the arrival of Islam. The book provides an overview of critical historical events, controversies, teaching, and important individuals and movements providing foundational understanding of early developments in Christianity and the general history of antiquity. Students and lecturers will also appreciate the attention given to the role of North African leaders in early Christianity and the impact of major issues on the North African church, such as Gnosticism, Donatism and Arianism.Additional Features:Introduction to online tools & resourcesSurvey of the study of early ChristianityIntroduction to key historiansEvaluation of recent literature & early Christianity 

Ethiopia is an icon of freedom and indigenous Christianity across Africa due to its historic independence, ancient Christian identity and rich religious heritage. However, Ethiopia and its various Christian denominations have their own understandings of this identity and how these communities relate to one another. In this detailed study, Dr Seblewengel Daniel explores the perception and identity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and evangelical church in Ethiopia and examines the relations between the two.Beginning with the earliest evangelical missionary engagement with the Orthodox church, Dr Daniel skilfully uses historical and theological frameworks to explain the dynamics at play when approaching the relations over two centuries between these two churches and their respective communities. Daniel ultimately emphasizes that what unites the Orthodox and evangelical church is greater than what divides – namely an ancient faith in the triune God. This important study urges both sides to place the Bible at the centre, using it to understand their differences, and challenges them to take responsibility for past negative perceptions in order to move forward together in greater unity and mutual respect.

The Christian faith presents a distinctive vision of last things: that God in Christ aims to reconcile the world to himself, and through his Spirit and a new people, to set all things to right. This good news is for all nations and peoples, but for too long the Christian doctrine of eschatology has focused on debates and arguments rooted solely in the Western church. In All Things New, leading theologians and biblical scholars from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America offer readers a glimpse of how Christians around the globe are perceiving and describing the Christian hope. The result is a remarkably refreshing and distinctive vision of eschatology guaranteed to raise new questions and add new insights to the global church’s vision of the eschaton.

It would seem that every culture on earth has a propensity towards controlling and authoritarian leadership - at its very core, the human condition has a desire for control and self-determination. In this book, Julyan Lidstone uses his decades of experience in western and central Asia and, most importantly, the authoritative teaching of the Bible, to shed light on issues of authoritarian leadership in honour-shame cultures.Gifted young leaders are gathering new believers in Jesus all over the world but the prevailing culture of domineering leadership is the single greatest obstacle to the healthy growth and firm establishment of these new churches. Lidstone winsomely and accurately applies the servant leadership modelled by Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, as revealed by Scripture, as the cross-centred antidote to the pain, damage and disillusionment caused by leadership that does not reflect the Christlikeness of the kingdom of God.

In this critical study, Dr Turbi Luka uses historical-theological methodology to engage in detail with Christologies of key African theologians and conventional theological sources for Christology, including the church fathers Tertullian and Athanasius as well as modern theologians. Turbi argues that existing African Christologies, specifically ancestor Christologies, are inadequate in expressing the person of Christ as Messiah and saviour, the fulfilment of Old Testament prophesies. Providing a new approach, Turbi proposes an African Linguistic Affinity Christology that explicitly portrays Jesus as Christ in a contextually relevant way for Africans in everyday life. This crucial study highlights the need for biblically rooted Christology and for sound theological understanding and naming of Jesus at every level. This book also warns the church in Africa, and elsewhere, to avoid repeating the dangerous christological heresies of the ancient church by remaining faithful to a biblical interpretation and orthodox theology of Christ.

Nations are haemorrhaging refugees around the world. How displaced peoples are treated is under constant scrutiny- whether in the UK, the USA, and Australia, or Turkey, Colombia, and Uganda.How will the Church respond in these turbulent times?Resurrection Church Beirut in Lebanon was a small church of around one hundred people who then welcomed refugees from Middle Eastern countries, sacrificially served those in need in their community and saw the kingdom of God come. Through Pastor Hikmat's leadership over the last decade, Resurrection Church has grown to over two thousand believers and the emphasis he brought on disciple-making has resulted in the church currently having two hundred and seventy life groups.Using his church's powerful testimony, Pastor Hikmat Kashouh teaches us how to disciple refugees from Arab contexts. Jesus is drawing more and more people to himself in the Middle East through the ministry of churches like Resurrection Church in Lebanon, and through miraculous divine visitations of God. In this book the church has a resource to help love, serve and disciple refugees, equip emerging indigenous leaders and understand discipleship of people from non-Christian backgrounds.

Students with a basic English proficiency struggle to benefit from the wealth of English language theological resources. This textbook bridges the gap between intermediate English and theological English by providing an overview of evangelical Christian doctrine that couples language instruction with theological education. The reading passages and learning activities, which focus upon particular doctrinal topics, guide students through content designed to grow their theological English proficiency. Discipline-specific language is highlighted in each chapter, and the range of tasks engages learners in critical thinking and application. As a result, students will improve their ability to interact with a much greater range of theological materials, while progressing in their English language skills.

It pleases the Father, Son and Spirit that the Son, Jesus Christ, be the centre of our worship, have the name above all names, and be first above all things. Everyone has a relationship with him - whether bearing his image but being estranged from him or knowing Christ as Lord and Saviour.In this book, John Stott draws our attention to how the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ. He examines the prepositions used to help us understand more deeply, our position in relation to the Son of God. We are to live in Christ, through Christ, on Christ, with Christ, under Christ, for Christ, and like Christ - and this book will help you become truly Christ-centred.

Our ignorance of the truth can wreak terrible havoc in people’s lives and in communities. Without a solid biblical understanding of disability, how can church leaders combat harmful attitudes and beliefs both within the church and the community to which they minister? Without a basic understanding of common disabilities, how can churches equip those with a disability and encourage greater inclusion in church and community life? This comprehensive guide to disability and the church will give theology students, pastors and church leaders the introduction they need to effectively minister in their churches and communities. Focused on the African context, but with lessons and information that are useful in many regions, this book is a valuable resource to help churches and practitioners grow in maturity and effectiveness.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah illustrate how leaders of God's people confronted the challenges facing the Jews during the post-exilic period of Israel. Zerubbabel inspires the people of God to rebuild the temple; Ezra leads them in renewing their faith in God; and Nehemiah rebuilds the wall and, importantly, the people as well. The examples in these books, of leading through challenges and opposition by trusting the Lord and committing to prayer, testify to how God's gracious hand guides and blesses his people at each step. The careful exposition of these two books provides a valuable model for us to balance prayer and action with contextual application, and how the full obedience of leaders can lead to communities being transformed.The Asia Bible Commentary series empowers Christian believers in Asia to read the Bible from within their respective contexts. Holistic in its approach to the text, each exposition of the biblical books combines exegesis and application. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the Body of Christ in Asia by providing pastoral and contextual exposition of every book of the Bible.

Asian Christian Theology provides a survey of contextually reflective, robustly evangelical theology for students to engage with the core doctrines of Christianity and their outworking in different cultures across Asia. The contributors of the chapters come from all corners of Asia to systematically examine traditional doctrinal themes and contemporary concerns for the Asian church. Ideal for use as a companion textbook in Asian seminaries and institutions, this book will also provide excellent further reading for those outside of Asia seeking global theological perspectives, and for those in contexts of significant Asian diaspora. Many excellent books surveying theology exist, but this book is a major step forward for students and scholars seeking to understand the dynamic environment of evangelical theology in Asia.

Dr Marvin Oxenham expertly uses the genre of the epistolary novel to help the reader understand the nature of character and virtue education and their relationship to theological education. This book will help educators respond to the increasing demands for formational and transformational education and enact concrete virtue related practices. Dr Oxenham draws on a vast array of disciplines, from educational philosophy and political science to theology and andragogy, in this winsome story that explores how global theological education can better contribute to the formation of virtuous students.Written from the perspective of a seasoned educator from the Minority World who engages with correspondence from his friend and peer in the Majority World, this is the honest story of two friends who struggle with their challenges and dreams. Academics will find this book compelling reading that, like good works of fiction, they won't put down, and, like good reference works, they will return to again and again. This book offers a chance to rediscover an ancient tradition and explore a new frontier in theological education.

À travers les âges, la religion a toujours été un élément incontournable dans la quête de compréhension de la vie de l'être humain, de ses aspirations, de son histoire, de sa communauté, de sa culture et de sa destinée. En vue de faciliter cette compréhension de l'autre, il est utile d'observer ses modalités culturelles et de s'interroger sur les fondements de ses croyances. Tout cela aide à établir un dialogue.C'est tout l'objectif de cet ouvrage. Il retrace les origines de certaines religions afro-caribéennes et fournit une analyse descriptive et comparative de leurs croyances et de celles de la foi chrétienne (entendue ici comme l'ensemble des croyances maîtresses ancrées dans les Saintes Écritures qui forment l'essence de la conviction et de l'orthodoxie chrétienne). En utilisant l'approche de Paul avec les Athéniens lors de son voyage missionnaire évangélique, les auteurs nous invitent à nous informer sur les religions afro-caribéennes afin de mieux les comprendre et de présenter l'Évangile de Jésus-Christ avec courage et grâce. Ce livre est destiné à tout lecteur souhaitant mieux comprendre les religions afro-caribéennes et la manière dont elles se rapprochent ou se différencient de la foi chrétienne.

In this commentary on Jonah, Dr. Rosa Shao beautifully weaves together the story of the biblical text with narratives from the Asian (Chinese and Filipino) contexts and psychological insights. Testifying to how she was drawn to the book, Dr. Shao shares how this book has impacted her personally and demonstrates how others can hear the book's message in their own context. From better understanding the story of Jonah, readers will gain valuable insight for discerning God's divine call on their own lives.The Asia Bible Commentary series empowers Christian believers in Asia to read the Bible from within their respective contexts. Holistic in its approach to the text, each exposition of the biblical books combines exegesis and application. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the Body of Christ in Asia by providing pastoral and contextual exposition of every book of the Bible.

In this historical account, Dr Raymundo Go presents the arrival and growth of evangelicalism in the Philippines from 1898 to 2000, looking in particular at the formation of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the motivating factors of the founding members. Weaving together a narrative almost forgotten in the Philippines, Dr Go also brings unique insights on the impact that North American events and theological debates had on the nascent Philippine church. Through detailed explanation of the interaction and influence of the modernist/liberal, fundamental, and evangelical movements in shaping Philippine Christian history, this study addresses the historical reason for a lack of unity in the Philippine church.Dr Go applies Paul Hiebert's theory of bounded and centred sets to the divisions between key organizations and churches in the Philippines to analyze and understand the behaviours of the influential groups involved in shaping Protestantism in the Philippines today. This important work is not only needed to draw attention to the history of the church in the Philippines, but it is vital in showing the need to learn from a divided past when considering the potential for future reconciliation and unity in the body of Christ.

More than half the people in the world live in cities, including a growing number of megacities with populations exceeding ten million people. This trend means that an understanding of urbanization must be an urgent priority for Christian theology and mission across the globe. This updated edition of Seeking a City with Foundations, with an additional chapter, explores Christian responses to the city, ranging from rejecting the urban as evil, to embracing it as being central to God’s redemptive purposes.Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, including history, social science, urban planning, and the history of art, readers are given a detailed text which confronts the challenges that contemporary urbanization presents to world Christianity. Looking at urbanism as a theme throughout Scripture, culminating with the great vision of the New Jerusalem, David Smith explains that God’s own future is revealed as urban, highlighting the need to identify modern-day idols as we share the gospel in cities and acknowledge the impact of global economic forces. The book also explores the causes of what has been called the divided city and traces the urban theme through the Bible to present an alternative vision of the urban future – a future in which the injustices in ever-growing slums and a crisis of meaning among the privileged might be overcome through the power of the reconciling message of the cross. This timely book proposes a way forward for urban mission, highlighting that transformation of our cities must be the focal point of Christian mission and hope.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14Kenya is a diverse nation, with many ethnic communities and cultural traditions. However, this diversity has led to deep divisions over the years, resulting in entrenched ethnopolitical tension and conflict. In this book, Dr David Kirwa Tarus advocates for a Christian theological response to the nation's divisions by presenting various theological perspectives on anthropology, society, and politics including those of John Calvin and John Mbiti, as well as other prominent Kenyan theologians. This work traces the history of ethnopolitical conflict in Kenya and the church's response from 1895 to 2013 and thoroughly examines how a reformed theology can provide a pathway to social cohesion in Kenya.David Tarus humbly yet boldly challenges Kenyans to pursue national unity and peace by interrogating their allegiances to their ethnic communities and political parties. This book carefully argues why it is only a Christian identity, commitment to humanity as bearing the divine image, and the triune God himself, that can heal the divisions in this land and in turn bring an end to other social evils such as corruption, intolerance, and violence. Ethnopolitical conflict is not confined to one nation, and this study will bear much fruit in other contexts where people yearn for social cohesion.