How to Engage Theology from the Majority World
By Stephen Pardue, TGC.
For at least two decades, a standard narrative about worldwide Christianity has been affirmed: the church’s center of gravity has shifted southward and eastward as churches in the West contract and their counterparts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America expand.
Though this story is becoming old news, we’re still trying to figure out what it means—especially in the realm of evangelical theology and biblical studies. Today, most theological books and commentaries are written primarily by and for North American Christians, who represent a little more than 10 percent of the global Christian population. Much of this work is excellent and blesses the whole church.
Even so, evangelical writers from the Majority World—where evangelical Christianity was almost nonexistent only decades ago—are increasingly producing theological resources that offer original and important perspectives on Scripture, theology, and Christian living.
In the West, some Christians might wonder, Why does this matter? After all, theology is always local in the sense that we’re all tasked with living faithfully in our families, local churches, and communities. So while demographers and historians might have fascinating things to say about the global shift in the church’s composition, Christian leaders in Omaha (or Quito or Jos or Penang) must still primarily concern themselves with feeding and shepherding the flocks in front of them, not with the theology of far-flung Christian counterparts. Thus the “So what?” question is entirely natural.
Yet I’d suggest the rise of evangelical theologies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America is good news for the whole body of Christ. Here are three suggestions for how readers in the West could best respond.
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