Missiology: An International Review

Anthropology and Mission have had a long and stormy history to the present era. Nevertheless, anthropologists have used ethnographic data compiled by missionaries to develop their theoretical models. This article briefly traces this history and shows how applied anthropology emerged and impacted mission. Missionaries' use of anthropological insights is also explored, including discussion of the precursor to Missiology, the journal Practical Anthropology. The article concludes by drawing on the Incarnation as a model for mission and then arguing that there are biblical and theological reasons for developing a closer connection between anthropology and mission. In order to be more incarnational in cross-cultural ministry, we need to draw on the insights from anthropology.

This article considers some aspects of quality of care for short-term medical mission teams. Results of an intervention using patient-care cards provide a basis for discussion of some cultural, missiological, and operational factors that may negatively impact quality of care. Alternative styles for short-term health mission teams arise from a comparison of the underlying assumptions of short-term medical missions that are at odds with the current trends in health missions toward community-based, transformational development ministries. Responsibility for the quality of care and for understanding the relevant factors ultimately rests with the health professionals on the short-term teams.

A clash of cultures arose in the late nineteenth century as Spanish government and Roman Catholic officials encountered marginalized Protestant missionaries on politically shifting turf—the cemetery plot. Legislation had so limited open Protestant manifestations of faith that the burial service became the only event that allowed the minority to venture into public view. As a result, the funeral service took on characteristics of a mass evangelistic crusade. Rather than meeting the needs of the dying and their families, funerals became a venue to preach the Protestant message to a Catholic audience. The majority viewed these evangelistic funerals as subversive because they jeopardized the notion of Spanish religious unity.

The following article contends that the historical context of the African-American community within North America has produced a need for African-Americans to find a new identity. The development of Islam within this community has provided the basis for ‘asabiya, group identity, which is neither American nor African. Within the contemporary social setting of the African-American community, primarily in the urban areas of the United States, the development of Black Muslim groups during the early 1990s has been seen as a moral force within urban communities. This has enabled African-American Christians to participate in Black Muslim community projects even though uncertainties still remain regarding the Islamic basis of these projects.

Imagination is a key activity as missionaries work at a border in the face of cultural differences. The achievements of recent anthropologists can shed light on the effective use of imagination. Clifford Geertz examines the styles of four anthropologists as they reflect on their cultural engagements. Kenneth Burke provides a succinct analysis of the respective anthropological strategies. The four approaches together provide a self-corrective array of practices so that missionaries can reflect on their experience, train themselves in the activity of symbolic imagination, and as they announce the Word, develop patterns for joining with their addressees through community and collaboration.

A student Christian movement called the University Bible Fellowship (UBF) is now spreading around the world. Using a tentmaking approach to lay ministry with strong emphasis upon Bible study and disciplined living, UBF has become a dynamic Christian movement in our time. Yet the ideals and achievements of UBF remain obscure and even controversial. In this article, I discuss the history, structure, and activities of UBF, including the role played by its founder, Dr. Samuel Lee, who died on January 8, 2002.