A Commission to Convert:
Missions in Theory and Practice
Honors Junior Seminar, Fall
2002
Donna Bowman
Write
a research paper of at least 10 pages, with thorough citations, in which you
explore the history of the mission effort in your own religious tradition. You may choose the religion or denomination
in which you were brought up, or the one you now profess, if the two are
different.
If
you have no religious tradition, then consider the history of your culture’s
secular missions – the effort to evangelize other peoples with the good news of
capitalism, industrial development, democracy, temperance, abolition, human
rights, environmentalism, or other saving values.
In
either case, your investigation will probably:
1)
Identify
key figures, along with their writings and/or speeches, who began or
transformed the movement;
2)
Consider
the scriptural basis for missions – what are the crucial texts, how are
they interpreted, and what distinctions are made between your tradition and the
missionary efforts of other groups (for secular missions, consider other
“sacred documents” as well);
3)
Introduce
the reader to the missionary organizations in your tradition, including
the history of their formation, their purpose, and their membership;
4)
Trace
the primary recipients of the missionary effort, whether foreign,
domestic, or both;
5)
Utilize
the insights of our readings, especially Bosch (including chapters not
assigned, if applicable), to understand the paradigms, theories, and
theological/political/social rationale behind the missionary tradition.
You
may include first-person interviews or other primary research if you find good
sources, but I expect that you will complete the paper in a largely secondary
research mode (i.e., using materials already compiled and interpreted in books,
journal articles, etc.).
Your paper should include properly formatted citations and a bibliography with complete information, and should evaluate sources critically. I do not expect that you will be able to use the Internet as a major source. You should use websites primarily to point you to credible sources in print. Begin your research early so that you can use interlibrary loan to get the materials you need, since it is unlikely that you will be able to do a thorough job with what the library has on hand. Check with your church as well; they will probably be able to point you to histories and documents that aren’t readily available elsewhere (because they are privately published in small editions, primarily for use within the denomination).