This thesis deals with the complex question of how global Christian mission organizations must learn to function, especially the Wycliffe Global Alliance (WGA). I summarize how the Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT) began in 1942 as the resourcing organization for the Summer Institute of Linguistics (now called SIL International) and how their mutual founder, American William Cameron Townsend, was influenced by Western mission strategy and conservative evangelical theology. The changing global context is impacting how the missio Dei takes place and this is influencing how mission agencies interact with each other and the church worldwide. This is leading to new paradigms of how mission is conceptualized around the world. The thesis outlines how the changing global context has forced Wycliffe to reevaluate its place in the world because, half a century after its formation, the church has new homes in the global South and East. It follows that as a Western mission, Western resources have decreased and this has shaped how Wycliffe Bible Translators (International) has now become Wycliffe Global Alliance (WGA). However, this goes beyond a mere change of name and has resulted in a type of structure that enables it to better engage with the church worldwide. The thesis also examines the complexity of contextualization in the global environment, noting how different languages and cultures are involved, each with its own rules and subtleties. I show how the shift of the centre of gravity of the church to the global South and East presents new theological challenges for the Bible translation effort and these directly impact WGA. There are many missiological implications for WGA that come from influences in church history regarding the importance of language, the translatability of the gospel, the history of Bible translation and how missional reflection is necessary in various situations. These merge together to provide new implications which are influenced by globalization for mission agencies such as WGA. The thesis also emphasises that WGA is a global mission movement, so I have identified methods of leadership development and structure, all of which are critical to WGA’s effectiveness and involvement in the missio Dei. I show that forming global mission leaders is unique and complex, and how the leaders must embrace a wide variety of qualities, skills and capabilities, especially in responding to greater cultural diversity. Since most leadership principles are culturally bound, this creates obstacles in cross-cultural situations. Therefore, I emphasize that a successful multicultural organization like WGA must learn to focus on both worldwide and local objectives. The thesis outlines how theological, missiological, cultural, contextual and leadership values converge and therefore reshape a mission movement like WGA. My conclusion is that none of these influences can be ignored – all are relevant. Each must be reflected upon in order to provide directions for WGA as it seeks to be faithful to its vision and serve the global church. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2013 / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:20:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Gondim.pdf: 474928 bytes, checksum: c5c425e193764100734e45b834ad3b54 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-09-03 / The identity of the Evangelical Movement comes from the Puritans, from the revival movements, but specially from the milleniarisms that marked the final of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The fundamentalism concepts emerged to support the scatologic longing of these groups. The evangelical identity hás been formed from the fundamentalism attempt to diminish the impact of the Darwinism theory in the United States. The evangelicals organized themselves through conferences and seminars, magazines and evangelistic efforts that strenthgthened them throughout the world, specially in Latin America. Even though they showed a more flexible way in interacting with the culture, the evangelicals kept their millenarist and fundamentalist concepts. In Latin America , the evangelicals had a very relevant participation in the International Evangelization Conference in Lausanne, 1974. They proposed that the church mission should include social responsibility with the same importance as the proclamation of the faith contents. Even having arrived late in Brazil, young leaders mobilized themselves around the Integral Mission proposition. However, the question about what should be considered priority was not totally answered causing disappointment and discouragement among the evangelicals.(AU) / A identidade do Movimento Evangélico vem dos puritanos, dos movimentos avivalistas, mas principalmente dos milenarismos que marcaram o final do século XIX e o começo do século XX. Os pressupostos do fundamentalismo foram articulados exatamente para dar sustentação ao anseio escatológico desses grupos. A identidade evangélica se formou a partir dos vexames do fundamentalismo que tentou diminuir o impacto do darwinismo nos Estados Unidos. Os evangélicos se organizaram e mostraram capacidade de mobilização. Seminários, revistas, conferências e eventos evangelísticos tornaram os evangélicos uma força no cenário mundial, principalmente na América Latina. Embora tenham demonstrado maior flexibilidade em interagir com a cultura, os evangélicos mantiveram os pressupostos milenaristas e fundamentalistas. Na América Latina, conseguiram relevante participação no Congresso Internacional de Evangelização em Lausanne, 1974. Foi proposto que a missão da igreja incluísse responsabilidade social com a mesma relevância que a proclamação dos conteúdos da fé. Mesmo tendo chegado tarde ao Brasil, lideranças jovens se mobilizaram em torno da proposta da Missão Integral. Entretanto, a questão sobre o que deve ser considerado prioritário não foi totalmente respondido, gerando decepção e desencorajamento entre evangelicais.(AU)