Abstract
The cutting edge of global missions today is the diaspora movement. In this contemporary global context, the Asian Diaspora Christianity Series has contributed to bridging the gap in academic knowledge. The reflections by the twelve scholars in this edited version of mapping theologies and ministries are a fitting finale to the series. This collection of well-researched, peer-reviewed chapters on diverse trends and issues facing the Asian diaspora missional community is a useful tool for both academicians and reflective practitioners.
The editor, Sam George, presents the thesis of the series as the dispersion of Asians is transforming Christianity itself (xix) both at the sending and receiving places. In his introduction, he further argues the case that “migration is not only a theologizing experience but also a missionizing experience” (3), laying the foundation for the rest of the book. The authors, coming from diverse Asian diaspora backgrounds, provide sound biblical theology as the cornerstone on which systematic theological perspectives are built with a fresh look at motus Dei. Global missiological perspectives are illustrated with case studies of a Manila church in Toronto, South Korean missionaries’ global reach, and the Chinese churches in North America. The importance of leadership training in diasporic contexts, along with the church-based model of theological education by extension and the analysis of the international student ministry, provides a fitting role.
The highlight of this book is the concluding chapter discussing the diasporic doxology of the contextualized worship of Punjabi psalms in South Asia. The critical nature of cross-cultural missionary training with a focus on intercultural competencies is well presented by Paul Sungro Lee. The common thread of mapping used in this series to describe Asian diaspora Christianity as an emerging story in the twenty-first century provides a platform for many more voices to be heard in the coming decades. The diaspora missionary movement bypasses the existing church and mission structures and turns the traditional understanding of missions on its head. I would have loved to read more reflections on the challenges being faced by the diaspora movement as they take the mission forward with new wineskins. As Sam George pointed out in his introduction, this effort will be a catalyst for generating more reflections.