Jan. 24, 2008, Grand Rapids, Mich. - Two scholars with strong ties to the Christian Reformed Church's mission efforts have been awarded inaugural Nagel Fellowships to further their work in studying aspects of Christianity's impact on various cultures.
Diane Slager, a Calvin College nursing professor, and Mariano Avila, Sr., a Calvin Theological Seminary professor of New Testament, will split the $10,000 award.
They likely will use part of the money to pay for travel in connection to their research, says Joel Carpenter, director of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, which was founded in early 2006.
Carpenter says Slager will research the role of faith communities in HIV prevention in West Africa, particularly in the African Instituted Church (AIC), which is made up of church leaders who have banded together to fight and prevent the spread of AIDS.
Her study will also assess the knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV among pastors from mainline churches and evaluate the impact of HIV information programs they offer. "She wants to get a sense of what types of programs are out there and which might be more effective," says Carpenter.
Slager and her husband, Tim, served with Christian Reformed World Missions Liberia in the mid 1980s.
Avila, who has served as an adviser to and written materials for many CRC mission-related projects, as well as being deeply involved in the CRC's Hispanic ministries, will research "Worship as Spiritual Warfare in Latin America."
His research will concentrate on practices and theologies that inform and drive Pentecostal approaches to worship and their relation to native religion and magic in Peru, Brazil, and Mexico.
He also is interested to see the extent to which these theologies and practices have some origins or effects in North America, says Carpenter.
"These projects are good examples of part of the work we do. We try to get Christian intellectuals and academics to think more about the Christian faith and concerns elsewhere in the world," says Carpenter.
Starting in 2008, the institute plans to present Nagel Fellowships to Calvin College and/or Calvin Theological Seminary researchers every year.
Carpenter says the institute's goals are:
* To promote a deeper understanding of Christian movements from the global south and east * To partner with Christian scholars and support Christian thought and cultural engagement in the global south and east * To provoke a reorientation of Christian thought and cultural expression in the global north toward the concerns of world Christianity.
"We seem to be at a moment that cries out for a renewal of Christian scholarship," says Carpenter, former provost for Calvin College. "Christian inquiry is a strategic response to the 'now what?' question for post-modern world Christianity, as churches face the broader and longer-term issues of cultural discipleship and the teaching of nations."
The funds to establish the institute were provided by Doug and Louis Nagel, who have long been active in supporting frontline Christian mission efforts, says Carpenter.
- Chris Meehan, CRC Communications
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Henry Hess
Director of Communication
Christian Reformed Church
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