Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Writing in Australia: a missiological analysis

During my time in Australia, I’ve had 26 pieces of writing published. This includes 13 book chapters; 2 peer reviewed journal articles; 3 book reviews in peer reviewed journal; 7 other pieces including 3 in Australian Leadership. It totals to over 80,000 published words in the 5 years.

(I have also completed work on a number of rejected journal articles and work on two book manuscripts in relation to sustainability of fresh expressions.)

In preparing for the Mission and the church course, I decided it would be interesting to analyse this published-in-Australia writing from a missiology perspective. It would test the frame of this course, the seven practices. It would also be a way of letting the frame test my work. Am I covering all the areas of mission or am I narrowcasting?

I was (pleasantly) surprised to find that my writing covers all seven areas. I have written most about the planting and forming of new ecclesial communities and least about evangelism. (although I do spend a lot of time talking about evangelism with certain PhD candidates!) Four of the pieces do not fit the frame and I want to think further therefore about whether the frame might need some adaption.

Prayerful discernment, listening – 3
Apologetics – 2
Evangelism – 1
Catechesis – 4
Ecclesial formation – 4
Planting, forming new ecclesial communities – 6
Incarnational mission -3
Unplaced – 4

This exercise thus becomes helpful in guiding my ongoing research. I need to pay more attention in the next phase to apologetics and evangelism. Overall, the pieces include a degree of engagement with indigenous voice, but less engagement with Pacifica cultures. Again, doing this overview of my work helps clarify for me my ongoing research.

On the course website, I have provided an annotated bibliography of this writing. Over the next few days, I will be adding a brief summary of each piece. I will also provide a second paragraph, explaining the missiological reasons why I wrote it and what were the missiological questions that I was seeking to engage with.

This resource sits alongside a standard class bibliography. That was representative of global voices. This is one voice. Most of these pieces I have written do not provide a neat overview of learning to date. Instead, they are more at the edge. They are seeking to address questions I think need to be answered in moving mission thinking forward. This includes the fact that many of my pieces involve engagement with contemporary popular culture and from these emerge conversations about various practices of mission.

The full bibliography is as follows:

Book chapters

Taylor, S. (2015). Transmitting Memories: U2’s Rituals for Creating Communal History. In Scott Calhoun, ed. U2 Above, Across and Beyond:Interdisciplinary Assessments. Lanham, MD 20706: Lexington Books, pp. 105-121.
Taylor, S. (2014). Embodiment and transformation in the context of e-learning. In Les Ball, James R. Harrison, ed. Learning and Teaching Theology: Some Ways Ahead. Northcote, Victoria, Australia: Morning Star Publications, pp. 171-183.
Taylor, S. and Dewerse, R. (2014). Colouring Outside the Lines … In Rosemary Dewerse, ed. Colouring Outside the Lines. Unley, South Australia: Mediacom Education Inc, pp. 5-12.
Taylor, S. and Matton-Johnson, T. (2014). This is my body? A post-colonial investigation of indigenous Australian communion practices. In Mark Brett, Jione Havea, ed. Colonial Contexts and Postcolonial Theology: Storyweaving in the Asia-Pacific. New York, United States of America: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 201-217.
Taylor, S. (2013). Baptist Worship and Contemporary Culture: A New Zealand Case Study. In David Bebbington and Martin Sutherland, ed. Interfaces. Baptists and Others. Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, pp. 292-307.
Boase, E.C. and Taylor, S. (2013). Public Lament. In MJ Bier & T Bulkeley, ed. Spiritual Complaint: The Theology and Practice of Lament. Eugene, USA: Pickwick Publishers, pp. 205-227.
Taylor, S. (2012). Emerging Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand. In RK Bolger, ed. The Gospel after Christendom. Grand Rapids, USA: Baker Academic, pp. 17-31.
[Web Link]
Taylor, S. (2012). U2. In RK Johnston, C Detweiler & B Taylor, ed. Don’t Stop Believin’. Pop Culture and Religion from Ben-Hur to Zombies. Louisville, USA: Westminster John Knox Press, pp. 125-126.
[Web Link]
Taylor, S. (2012). “Bullet the Blue Sky” as an Evolving Performance. In Scott Calhoun, ed. Exploring U2: Is This Rock ‘n’ Roll? Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, pp. 84-97.
Taylor, S. (2011). When land is layered: Jacob in conversation with coloniser (James Cook) and colonised (Te Horeta Te Taniwha) In Philip Church, Peter Walker, Tim Bulkeley and Tim Meadowcroft, ed. The Gospel and the Land of Promise: Christian Approaches to the Land of the Bible. Eugene, USA: Wipf and Stock, pp. 133-146.
Taylor, S. (2010). Creating Space for Innovation. In Jonny Baker, ed. Curating Worship. London: SPCK Publishing, pp. 129-138.
Taylor, S. (2010). Reading “Pop-wise”: the Very Fine Art of “making do” When Reading the Bible in bro’Town. In Philip Culbertson and Elaine Wainwright, ed. The Bible in/and Popular Culture. A Creative Encounter. Atlanta: Brill / Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 157-172.
Taylor, S. (2010). A Pneumatology for an Everyday Theology: Whither the Anonymous Spirit in Luke 10:1-12. In Myk Habets, ed. The Spirit of Truth. Reading Scripture and Constructing Theology with the Holy Spirit. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, pp. 41-56.

Refereed journal articles

Taylor, S. (2015). The complexity of authenticity in religious innovation: “Alternative worship” and its appropriation as Fresh expressions. M/C – A Journal of Media and Culture, 15(1)
Cronshaw, D. and Taylor, S. (2014). The Congregation in a Pluralist Society: Rereading Newbigin for Missional Churches Today. Pacifica: Australasian Theological Studies, 27(2) pp. 1-24.

Journal articles

Taylor, S. (2013). Starting Old – A re-resurrection. Australian Leadership, pp. 15-17.
Taylor, S. (2012). Fresh Expressions of the Uniting Church. Australian Leadership, 5(1) pp. 7-9.
Taylor, S. (2011). What reaches emerging young adults? Australian Leadership, 3(6) pp. 10-12.
Taylor, S. (2010). A Uniting Church an Emerging Church? Cross Purposes, pp. 3-8.

Book reviews

Taylor, S. (2014). Review Yarta Wandatha. Uniting Church Studies, 20(2) pp. 69-71.
Taylor, S. (2014). Book Review Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography. Uniting Church Studies, 20(2) pp. 67-69.
Taylor, S. (2013). Book Review: Christian Scharen, ed., Explorations in Ecclesiology and Ethnography, 17(2)

Other public research outputs

Taylor, S. (2013). Theology needs Art. Seasons of the Spirit.
Taylor, S. (2012). Seeking holy ground. The Journey.
Taylor, S. (2012). Deacons, pioneering and the mission of God. SA Historical Newsletter May 2012, pp. 24-26.
Taylor, S. (forthcoming), “Inhabiting Our Neighbourhoods: Plot by plot, plant by plant,” Urban Seed, Melbourne.

Posted by steve at 10:23 AM

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