Evangelical Missiological Society, Northeast Region
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Diversity in Mission Today
8:30 a.m.
Registration and Coffee
9:00 a.m.
Welcome
Scripture and Prayer
9:15 a.m.
Rodney H. Orr, founder and former director, Africa Leadership and
Management Academy (ALMA), Harare, Zimbabwe
Diversity of Gifts: Launching, Developing, and Handing Over the
Africa Leadership and Management Academy into African Hands
10:00 a.m.
John Wang, pastor for the Chinese Congregation, First Baptist Church,
Flushing, New York
Mission by the Immigrant Churches: What Are They Doing?
10:45 a.m.
Break
11:05 a.m.
Mary C. Nebelsick, professor, Union Theological Seminary of the
Philippines and Philippine Christian University
Old Wine and New Wineskins: Distilling Unity from Diversity,
Promoting Diversity in Unity in Theological Education
11:50 a.m.
Lunch
12:50 p.m.
Philomena Mwaura, lecturer, Religious Studies Department, Kenyatta
University, Nairobi, Kenya
Women in Mission in the Context of Socioeconomic and Ethnic
Diversity in Nairobi, Kenya
1:35 p.m.
Dwight P. Baker, associate director, Overseas Ministries Study Center,
New Haven, Connecticut
Doing Diversity Right by Keeping (or Chasing) Western Missionaries
Away? The Story of George Leslie Mackay
2:40 p.m.
Round Up: What We Have Learned
2:55 p.m.
Business
3:00 p.m.
Time of Prayer
3:10 p.m.
Adjournment
Held in
Great Commission Hall
Overseas Ministries Study Center
490 Prospect Street, New Haven CT 06511
Directions to OMSC: see www.omsc.org/directions.html
Contact: Dwight Baker at baker@omsc.org; (203) 285-1556
Further Information on Presentations Scheduled for March 20, 2010
The topic of diversity in mission has many ramifications. It also cuts in two directions. Core questions
are: “How are we embracing our God-created differences for the benefit of his kingdom?” and, from the
other side, “How are we (unfortunately) exploiting our differences for the protection of our kingdoms?”
Presenters for the spring meeting of the northeast region of the Evangelical Missiological Society:
Dwight P. Baker, Associate Director, Overseas Ministries Study Center, and Associate Editor,
International Bulletin of Missionary Research, New Haven, Connecticut
Doing Diversity Right by Keeping (or Chasing) Western Missionaries Away? The
Story of George Leslie Mackay
Following a method at odds with what his mission board expected of him, Mackay was one of the few
missionaries of his time to live and work in the style of the people he came to reach, one of the very, very
few to marry a national, and someone almost unique in adamantly refusing to let Western missionaries
come and “help” him, because if they were present they would displace indigenous leaders. Following
screening of The Black-Bearded Barbarian of Taiwan, a docu-dramatization of Mackay’s life and
ministry, we will discuss some of the strengths of his approach.
Philomena Mwaura, Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, and
former president of the International Association for Mission Studies
Women in Mission in the Context of Socioeconomic and Ethnic Diversity
in Nairobi, Kenya
Philomena Mwaura brings an East African perspective to the topic of diversity. She focuses—within a
context of socioeconomic and ethnic diversity—on ways by which the women in the Catholic Church she
attends in Nairobi are involved in mission, especially in peace building and economic empowerment.
Mary C. Nebelsick, Instructor, Old Testament and Biblical Studies, Union Theological Seminary of the
Philippines and Philippine Christian University
Old Wine and New Wineskins: Distilling Unity from Diversity,
Promoting Diversity in Unity in Theological Education
Theological education in Southeast Asia continually struggles with the task of distilling the core of
Christianity out of a complex theological and social matrix. One of the most productive ways theological
education has moved forward is by recognizing that diversity in gender, nationality, and even faith stance
does not lead to a watering down of the historic Christian witness, but a strengthening of it. This
presentation will lift up some of the ways in which the challenge of diversity has been understood by
seminaries in the Philippines and how diversity in mission and in missions is being addressed.
Rodney H. Orr, Founder and Former Director, Africa Leadership and Management Academy (ALMA),
Harare, Zimbabwe
Diversity of Gifts: Launching, Developing, and Handing Over the Africa Leadership
and Management Academy into African Hands
Rodney Orr discusses the challenges faced and lessons learned in launching the Africa Leadership and
Development Academy, in developing an international and multiethnic administrative team, and in
handing over direction of the academy to Zimbabwean leadership.
John Wang, Pastor for the Chinese Congregation, First Baptist Church, Flushing, New York, and
Candidate for the Ph.D. in Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois
Mission by the Immigrant Churches: What Are They Doing?
Born in Taiwan and raised in Argentina and, previous to his theological studies, a professional engineer
working on the design of bridges and other transportation facilities, John Wang’s multicultural
background and his cross-cultural church leadership role equip him with unusual strengths for discussing
today’s style of congregational involvement in mission outreach.
Contact: Dwight Baker at baker@omsc.org; (203) 285-1556
Registration
To register or obtain further information, contact Dwight P. Baker at baker@omsc.org;
490 Prospect Street, New Haven CT 06511; tel: (203) 285-1556; fax: (203) 865-2857.
Registration through March 14 is $15.00 ($10.00 for students); after March 14, $20.00 ($15.00 for
students). Registration includes lunch and coffee breaks.
For those coming from a distance, limited overnight accommodations are available at the Overseas
Ministries Study Center. Overnight guests may purchase meals at the cafeteria of a nearby college or visit
one of the many area restaurants. Please e-mail for further information.
Information on EMS and Travel Directions
For information on the Evangelical Missiological Society, the 2010 EMS Annual Meeting,
or membership in EMS, go to www.emsweb.org.
For directions to OMSC, see www.omsc.org/directions.html.
Contact: Dwight Baker at baker@omsc.org; (203) 285-1556