Soul, Self, and Society: A Postmodern Anthropology for Mission in a Postcolonial World

by Michael Rynkiewich

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2012

Overview

Globalization and urbanization are twin forces that are powerfully shaping economics, politics, and religion in the world today. Traditional anthropological theories are inadequate to recognize and analyze trends such as global migration, diasporas, and transnationalism. New departures in anthropology and the social sciences seeking to address these and other phenomena can help us critique and reshape the theology and practice of Christian mission.

Today most societies are no longer monocultural. In such multicultural contexts any given individual may be competent in several cultures, several languages, several social networks. What does it mean to be in mission with people on the move--people who present themselves in one social identity, language, and culture within a particular setting, and then in another setting, even on the very same day, present themselves in another social identity, language, and culture? In the face of widespread, rapid movement of peoples and their increasingly fluid and multifaceted identities, will the missionary settle down somewhere or be itinerant along with the people? How are perplexing new questions in particular contexts to be addressed, such as: In what ways is the Nigerian who is founding an AIC congregation near Houston a missionary too? How will Brazilians and Koreans be trained for cross-cultural ministry?

The world is changing faster than missionaries can be retrained for service. And yet ethnographic tools are still crucial to missionary practice. This important work seeks to draw on recent developments in anthropology to bring valuable perspective and tools to bear on equipping missionaries for work amidst the rapid shifting and complex shaping of peoples by the forces of today's globalized world.

Praise for Soul, Self, and Society

"Rynkiewich has written an excellent accessible introduction for missionaries to postmodern anthropology. Soul, Self, and Society provides up-to-date perspectives and 'tools' for properly understanding the cultural/social phenomena of our complex and changing world today, such as migration, urbanization, globalization, and postcolonialism, and therefore enabling missionaries to proclaim, serve, and witness to God's Reign more appropriately and deeply within the heart of the human situation."
-Roger Schroeder
Catholic Theological Union in Chicago

"This book is a worthy successor to texts by Nida, Luzbetak, Mayers, Hiebert, and Lingenfelter. Good writing, clear thinking, and cutting-edge engagement with contemporary concerns such as migration, diaspora, transnationalism, urbanization, and globalization set this volume apart from its predecessors. It deserves to become the standard textbook for introductory anthropology courses in Christian colleges and seminaries."
-Jonathan Bonk
Overseas Ministries Study Center

"Anthropology has always played a critical role in missiological reflection. Yet, though the discipline of anthropology has changed, missiology often has not. In this important work, Michael Rynkiewich, a senior missiological anthropologist, calls for a much needed 'upgrade.' His mature reflection challenges traditional missiological thinking as he argues for a postmodern, postcolonial missiology that engages current anthropological theory. All who take mission and context seriously must grapple with the ideas in this book!"
-Christopher Flanders
Abilene Christian University

"In an irenic spirit, Rynkiewich chides anthropologists, missiologists, and missionaries for not adequately coming to grips with the enormous changes our world has undergone in the past fifty years. We therefore ignore at our peril these urbanizing and globalizing dynamics, and may by default promote a missiological practice or follow an anthropological theory that is no longer useful or even true in today's world. In a masterful way, Rynkiewich, drawing on his anthropological research and mission experience in the South Pacific, brings together anthropology and missiology and shows us how both can inform each other, and move us forward through the murky waters of our increasingly postmodern era."
-Darrell Whiteman
The Mission Society

"...His book will hopefully be used extensively to begin challenging current and future missionaries to grapple with the complex realities faced by billions on our planet every single day."
--Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, Rice University, as reviewed in Evangelical Missionary Quarterly

Product Details

• Title : Soul, Self, and Society: A Postmodern Anthropology for Mission in a Postcolonial World
• Author: Rynkiewich, Michael
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication Date: 2012
• ISBN: 9781621894278

About the Author

Michael A. Rynkiewich recently retired as Professor of Anthropology at the E. Stanley Jones School of Mission and Evangelism and as Director of Postgraduate Studies, both at Asbury Theological Seminary. His previous works range from The Nacirema (1975) to Land and Churches in Melanesia (2004).