Hope for Creation

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Can the Desert Be Green?

Our world is in peril. Environmental degradation, human suffering, and relentless calamities confront us daily, painting a picture of a planet in distress. Amid this daunting reality, how can God’s people respond effectively? This critical question beckons for a thoughtful and proactive response that intertwines faith and ecology with tangible action in our increasingly fragile world.

Hope for Creation offers a unique blend of theological insight and practical application. It gathers perspectives from theologians and practitioners, each giving a comprehensive understanding of creation care. The contributors not only diagnose environmental and humanitarian issues but also propose actionable solutions rooted in biblical foundations and contemporary experiences.

This book is a call to action for Christians and mission leaders worldwide, urging active participation in restoring and preserving our planet. It equips church leaders, missionaries, and believers with the knowledge and tools to make a meaningful impact. By embracing this mission, readers contribute to a sustainable, hopeful future, joining a transformative journey towards environmental and human healing. [/DESCRIPTION] [SUBTITLE]Missional Responses to Environmental and Human Calamities[/SUBTITLE][CREDIT] Jonathan J. Bonk, Michel G. Distefano, J. Nelson Jennings, Jinbong Kim, and Jae Hoon Lee (editors) [/CREDIT] [PAGES] 392 [/PAGES] [BINDING] Paperback [/BINDING] [PUBLISHER] William Carey Publishing [/PUBLISHER] [PUBLISHYEAR] 2024 [/PUBLISHYEAR] [ENDORSEMENT2]

This latest volume from the Korean Global Mission Leaders Forum (KGMLF) deals with the pressing issues of ecological and human calamity, and in so doing, offers an unusual richness of biblical reflection and practical wisdom. Wide-ranging, diverse, and hopeful, the book is the fruit of the unique space KGMLF creates by bringing together Korean and international scholars in conversation with mission practitioners.

Paul Bendor-Samuel MRCGP, MBEExecutive Director, Oxford Centre for Mission StudiesDirector, Regnum BooksSundo Kim Research Tutor in Global Mission [/ENDORSEMENT2] [ENDORSEMENT3]

Far too many Christians write off environmental concerns as marginal to the gospel or simply expressions of left-wing ideology. With solid biblical, theological, scientific, and practical grounding, the book in your hands compellingly challenges those assumptions and offers a hopeful and urgently needed corrective: love of God and love of neighbor require care for God’s creation of which humanity is only a part.

Ruth Padilla DeBorst, PhDRichard C. Oudersluys Associate Professor of World Christianity, Western Theological SeminaryMember, Asociación Casa Adobe, Costa Rica [/ENDORSEMENT3] [ENDORSEMENT4]

Hope for Creation represents a milestone in mission thinking: churches in the Global South collaborating on a series of international mission discussions and cooperation, and Christian mission now takes creation care as a major agenda. This urgent topic also promises a broader interaction with various institutions and even different faiths for the common future of humanity. This book will serve churches and mission communities as a road map for local reflections and applications.

Wonsuk Ma, PhDExecutive Director, Center for Spirit-Empowered ResearchDistinguished Professor of Global Christianity, Oral Roberts University [/ENDORSEMENT4] [TOC]

Preface

Section A. Bible and Theology

Chapter 1 God’s Word to a Nation in Denial and Rebellion: Jeremiah 1 by Chris Wright

Chapter 2 God’s Word in a Culture of Delusion and False Security: Jeremiah 7 by Chris Wright

Chapter 3 God’s Word of Global Judgment and Salvation: Isaiah 24–25 by Chris Wright

Chapter 4 Toward a Biblical Theology of Calamity by Michel G. Distefano

Response by Han Young Lee

Chapter 5 Biblical Foundations for Creation Care by Dave Bookless

Response by Regina Ryu

Section B: History and Culture

Chapter 6 Learning from the Past and Finding Hope for the Future by Allison Howell

Response by Jung-Sook Lee

Chapter 7 Indigenous Epistemologies: Connecting with Christ and Creation by Jay Matenga

Response by Seung-hyun (Nathan) Chung

Chapter 8 Creation Care: The Gospel’s Third Dimension by Ed Brown

Response by Youngmi Shin

Chapter 9 Environmental and Human Calamities in Korea and Implications for Mission by Bright Myeong-Seok Lee

Response by Jay Matenga

Section C. Economics, Sufficiency, Justice, Perceptions of Christian Leaders

and Missionaries

Chapter 10 Climate Crisis and Stewardship: A Christian Economist’s Perspective by Jong Ho Hong

Response by Dave Bookless

Chapter 11 A Critical Analysis on the Transformation of Korean Missionaries’ Epistemological Beliefs on Environmental and Human Calamities by Jooyun Eum

Response by J. Nelson Jennings

Chapter 12 Who Will Feed the World in the Twenty-First Century? Lessons and Questions from a Brief Comparison of China’s, India’s, and Africa’s Food Systems and Food Sovereignty- by Zhou Li

Response by Anna Lisa Mudahy

Chapter 13 Gold Mining in the Southwest of Burkina Faso and Christian Mission: The Great Commission and Structural Evil by Ini Dorcas Dah

Response by Jonathan J. Bonk

Section D. Local and Regional Responses to Climate Change and its Effects,

Historical and Current

Chapter 14 Partnership with God in Restoring Creation: A Story of Hope by Tony Rinaudo

Response by Gihong Park

Chapter 15 Onnuri Church’s Environmental Mission and Strategy by Woon-Oh Jung, Regina Ryu, and Woo-Yong Kim

Response by Laura S. Meitzner Yoder

Chapter 16 Economically Viable Green Energy from Waste Plastic: A Fourth River Energy Proposal to Support Missions and Bless the Environment by  Ben Torrey and Bong Ju Lee

Response by Jeffrey T. M. Yoder

Chapter 17 Environment, Natural Disasters, and the Experience of the Dandelion Community by Insoo Kim

Response by Douglas Day Kaufman

Chapter 18 Evangelizing All Creatures: Pastoral Ecology as Mission by   Douglas Day Kaufman

Response by Hansung Kim

Chapter 19 Can the Desert Be Green? An Environmental Mission to Plant Hope in the Wilderness by  Lawrence Ko

Response by Myung-Soo Lee

Section E. Testimonies

Chapter 20 The Founding of Shine Church and Its Environmental Missionary Work by   Hyoungmin Kim

Chapter 21 My Journey of Growth and Hope: From God’s Word to Works and Wonders to World Care by Laurence Gatawa

Chapter 22 KGMLF Missional Koinonia by Sun Man Kim

Section F. Summary and Conclusion

Chapter 23 The Gospel of Hope in a Hopeless World by Jonathan J. Bonk

Appendix: Resources for Mission and Congregation

Acknowledgments by Jinbong Kim

Participants

Contributors

Indices – Subjects, Names, Scriptures

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