Todd M. Johnson
Todd is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of Mission and Global Christianity and co-director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as well as Visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute for Culture, Religion and World Affairs
Abstract: In 1900, 7.8 percent of all Evangelicals lived in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. By 2020, this grew to 77 percent, representing an epochal shift to the Global South. Yet, Evangelicalism is still characterized as a European faith, with Western perspectives normalized in theology, spirituality, leadership, and other areas. This article examines what it would look like to decenter Western perspectives and build equality for perspectives from cultures around the world. We consider how increasing diversity within Evangelicalism impacts the reading of scripture, the development of key theological concepts, holistic or integral mission, relationships between Christians of different denominations, and relationships with people of other religion or no religion.
Keywords: Evangelicalism, Global North, Global South, global equality, Scripture, theology, unity, diversity, contextualization
