Editor’s Notes

October 31, 2017, marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s publication of his 95 Theses, protesting perceived errors and abuses on the part of the Roman Catholic Church of his day. For many current Protestants who will celebrate the anniversary, this event marks the beginning of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Others will lament it as a turning point in the splintering of the Church Universal. Still others will perceive it as largely unrelated to their own ecclesiastical community’s history and ongoing identity. Recognizing the variety of perceptions of this anniversary, we decided to publish an article on the missiological legacy of Martin Luther and the subsequent Protestant Reformation from five different points of view, representing five different ecclesiastical traditions. Phil Huber represents the Lutheran tradition; Nelson Jennings, the Reformed tradition; Ben Hartley, the Wesleyan tradition; Stan Nassbaum, the Anabaptist tradition; and Bill Burrows, the Roman Catholic tradition. We hope you enjoy reading this article as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

The second article presented here continues the conversation on public missiology started in the April 2016 issue of Missiology. Charles Fensham writes on “The conversation between public theology and missiology.” The third article strikes me as an outworking of public missiology, as Allan Effa writes on how Taylor Seminary engaged Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations. Thereafter, Christian Anderson leads us in “Reading missio Dei from the start of the Bible.” Then, Rebecca Kim asks (and answers) the question, “Why are missionaries in America?” The final article in this issue takes on a thorny and often controversial topic: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Harold Netland helpfully explores the matter by focusing on “What exactly is the question?”

Of course, this issue also includes a number of helpful book reviews. We pray that this issue of our journal challenges, enlightens, and prompts us all to wise missiological engagement.

Richard L. Starcher