The Great Commission in Context (Being Together with God's Creation)

Knowing and responding to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ is central to Christian discipleship. This book spells out in clear and simple terms what the Great Commission is and how we can respond to it in the current historical setting. The twelve articles in this book are scholarly and challenging. They are prepared with much care and study by outstanding leaders and theologians of the Church in India by addressing the subject from the perspective of the Bible, Christian Theology, Science, Health and Wholeness, Mission, Justice and Liberation, Ecumenism, Christian Worship, Religious Pluralism, Bio- network, and Communication.

This collection of scholarly articles will certainly espouse the readers to gain wholistic understanding of the Great Commission in order to pave a way for a peaceful co-existence of human life on the planet earth where there would be no exploitation, manipulation and destruction of human life and nature.

Rev. Dr. Santhosh S Kumar is a Presbyter of the Church of South India hailing from the South Kerala Diocese. Presently, he is a Professor at the United Theological College and is the Dean of Doctoral and Non-Degree (Research) Studies. He holds Master of Theology degree from the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music, Philippines, and Doctor of Theology degree from the Melbourne College of Divinity, Australia, in Liturgy and Music.

Although Christianity had its humble origins in Asia, the cradle of multiple ancient religious faiths and cultures, it eventually got set into a rigid, western, affluent framework whereby all ensuing missionary enterprises were geared up for an aggressive evangelization campaign in a so-called 'western outfit. Evangelization in due course became a synonym for westernization and coercive conversion. It was so misconstrued to communicate drastic deviation of people from their own philosophy of life, faith- orientation and indigenous culture they were embedded in. Most missionaries in being devout in their passion for proclaiming the good news turned myopic to the contextual settings they were in. Their orientations and compulsions were such that they were rigid in their approach to the other' right in front of them. Apart from exceptional cases the general missionary mindset was not attuned to discovering the mysteries in other religious cultures and traditions. While remaining keen and assiduous in unraveling the Sitz im Leben of the Scriptures, they watered down the equally significant efforts they ought to have rendered towards contextualizing the good news for different listeners in diverse contexts. The United Theological College since its inception in 1910 has been viewed as a college with a difference in terms of its goals and It is committed to academic excellence without compromising on its determination to identify with rural and marginalized communities in the society. Its annual academic guidance programme continues to embrace students of marginalized communities deprived of urban education, and extends to them the right orientation for a meaningful theological education. Having been granted the autonomous status by the Senate of Serampore College since 1976 it has been making all possible efforts to enrich its curriculum by striking the right balance between academic and experiential components in ministerial training. on environment have been given due prominence in the curriculum. UTC works hand in hand with Churches and NGOs for the societal involvement of the students, which is a requirement to complete the study. The Annual Refreshment Course brings in first hand information about challenges confronted by the Indian society both urban and rural. The ecumenical students at UTC also bring in their input on issues confronted by their respective societies. As this book is published my sincere thanks to the scholars who contributed their writings and hope that this enterprise would assist the church in India in reviewing its mission approaches and fulfill the Great Commission today in a more committed, generous, and effective manner.

The United Theological College, Bangalore, is pleased to continue its publication. It is no secret that UTC has housed many theologies, produced scholars and scholarly and text books. A rich heritage often is spoken and written about. Yes indeed it is true and following this legacy many books have been published by my colleagues. Among the many programmes UTC runs, the one which is much sought after is the refreshers programme which meets every year. It is a joy to see many of our alumni attending the programme a time of not only renewing our fellowship, catching up with both professional and person news, but a time of rich learning from their experiences. Their presence provokes us to evaluate our curriculum and pedagogy of teaching. On the lighter side, it is like our children coming home... Indeed it is a joy to have them back....

This year the Convener and the Faculty of UTC took a decision to bring out a publication of all the papers presented on the theme 'Being Together: Fulfilling the Great Commission in Context. Most of the presenters were UTC alumni involved in teaching, pastoring churches or holding positions in different institutions. The papers stem from the reflection of their own experiences and faith. The focus again is on the contemporary situation and context, challenging the readers to revisit the approaches, communication skills, priorities in sharing and understanding of the Gospel. Their emphasis is to remove the gospel from the closet of proclamation only and to expose the wholistic nature of gospel whose goal is transformation of the whole being in relation to nature and to strengthen the relationship with one to another, in order to bring about the wellbeing of humans as well as the bio sphere. This book challenges us to understand the great commission, live and share the gospel in action. Taking risks to present the gospel in today's language, style and worship meaningfully which calls for a rethinking of our present liturgy, creeds and traditions. Gospel in action means to be involved in the struggles of people than being passive, complacent, yielding to conspiracy of silence, conforming to the existing values and competition, preserving one's status and standards which is contrary to the values of the gospel.

**Contents and Sample Pages**