British and Commonwealth Methodism in London (Matthew Wood)

On Monday afternoon, the 13th of May, 2013, the GSRL research team (Paris, France) had the opportunity to listen to a fascinating in-depth analysis of "the price of enthusiasm: British and Commonwealth Methodism in the "Global City".

The main point of Matthew Wood's topic was to study interactions at a local Methodist level in London, in order to understand better the cultural challenges of remixing Methodist identity today through the impact of migrations.

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Back from South Sudan and Hope for a New nation Festival

I just come back from an amazing week in JUBA (South Sudan), where I came to survey, as a French scholar, a huge Christian event organized by Rev Franklin Graham. 

At the HOPE FOR A NEW NATION Festival I've been to, there were apparently up to 94,000 attenders in 2 days. Amazing!

For those who speak French, there are more details in my French-speaking blog, and also in this other one devoted to promote friendship between France and South Sudan. See also my Flickr album here.

French Evangelicals through an American lens (GetReligion)

In our last post, we just highlighted the paper published by the Christian Science Monitor on French Evangelicals. A few days after, the GetReligion website (worth a visit!) released a critical review of this paper, written by George Conger.

Although it may be a little bit severe, it is inspiring (read also the comments).

Link here

French Evangelicals screened by the Christian Science Monitor

"For years, intellectuals proclaimed the end of Christianity in France, swallowed by the tides of modernity, science, and reason."

Not so sure! To know more, read this month the Christian Science Monitor, one of the most US respected magazine on christian news.

Robert Marquand, CS's Staff writer, authored a must-read study on French Evangelicals in the July 2012 issue. With facts, analysis, and comparative view (France/America). Link here

Evangelicals accuse French officials of discrimination (Global Post)

Immigrant Evangelical churches are a fast-growing movment in France. Mostly related to the Francophone world (According to the La nouvelle France protestante 2011 book, there is around 40 millions of  French-speaking protestants in the World), they are often poor, and have a hard time finding proper worship places.

To know more about these issues, Clea Caulcutt just released a very well-crafted report, published in the Global Post (July 1, 2012). Link

French Evangelicals on the move: the CNEF holistic evangelism

Connexion (June 2012) is the CNEF magazine (written in French). Its third issue is the opportunity to get a confirmation that social work, social Gospel and solidarity are back on the map for French Evangelicals, after a few post World War II decades during which these themes became old-fashioned.

Under the umbrella of the CNEF organization, evangelism appears to be defined in a holistic way, starting from the individual to reach social level.  One of the reasons of this emphasis may rely on the CNEF distinctives.

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A new leading figure of the European research field on African churches

Remember Annalisa Butticci’s name (picture left) : as the Padova International Conference on Pentecostalism reaches its end today, she’s the one to be praised (along with her mentor Enzo Pace) for boosting studies on Pentecostal and immigrant churches in Latin Europe.

 After having completed her Ph.D in Sociology and Methodology for Social Science Research from the Catholic University of Milan (Italy), she conducted an ambitious field work, both in Nigerian immigrant churches and in Nigeria (she spent 8 months in Lagos), and she just achieved an amazing task in organizing such a large and successful conference in Padova. (Click to continue)

Kingdom Theology : a shift within Health and Wealth Gospel?

As a keynote speaker at the 2012 Padova international conference on Pentecostalism (Italy), I was glad to present my paper today (Friday 8th of June, 2012).

I was not the only one : several fascinating studies have been presented, including one describing a theological schift occuring within the Health and Wealth Gospel trend in Nigerian Pentecostalism.

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Religion studied by social sciences: the visual turn

As I attended the first day of "Pentecostals, politics of space and power", the Padova international Conference organized by Professor Enzo Pace and Annalisa Butticci, let's highlight one inspiring concept emphasized by Annalisa Butticci : contemporary teaching and science are facing a "visual turn".

Less texts, more images. Social sciences have to adapt!

It makes all the more relevant "Na God", the picture exhibit realized by gifted photographer Andrew Esiebo (pictured left).

Pentecostals, politics of space and power (Padova, 7-9 June 2012)

Pentecostals in Italy? Nothing really new, as Pentecostals spread in the motherplace of Catholicism since the beginning of the XXth Century.

However, this italian pentecostal landscape is rapidely changing through African first-generation immigrants, mainly from Ghana and Nigeria. More and more new African Pentecostal Charismatic Churches are now spreading in cities like Milano, Pavova or Rome.

This is one of the reasons why scholars Enzo Pace and Annalisa Butticci have successfully conducted a 4 years research project on African Pentecostal churches in Italy. The coming Padova Conference (7-9 June, 2012) aims to share the results of this project, as well as boosting comparisons and further studies.

French pastor André Thobois (1924-2012) remembered

Often nicknamed "pastors' pastor" ("le pasteur des pasteurs"), French Evangelical leader André Thobois (1924-2012) passed away on the 26th of March, 2012.

A memorial service was held on the 31th of March, 2012, in the Avenue du Maine Baptist Church (Paris, France).

Christians from all denominations came to express their thanksgiving for what they considered to be such a lasting and fruitful ministry.

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Death of a megachurch leader in France: Selvaraj Rajiah (1952-2011)

Megachurches are not just a US (or Nigerian, Korean...) phenomenon.

Even Secular France has got some, including Paris Christian Center in La Courneuve (North of Paris), attracting more than 4,000 regular attenders every week.

This is why the sudden and unexpected death of Selvaraj Rajiah, senior pastor of PCC, is a major event in the French protestant news.

French Evangelical News: a new portal

Under the umbrella of an Evangelical network whose main ambition is to support Christian witness in France, let's highlight this website: http://www.scoop.it/t/french-evangelical-news.

This new portal puts together news from many different origins (including this blog), and appears to be a valuable ressource in order to document French Evangelicals' contemporary life.

Immigration impact on an old Parisian congregation: a case study

As migrants flow in increasing numbers in "old Europe", changing forever social and cultural landscapes, more and more studies are currently undergone about new multicultural and immigrant churches.

Although all Christian traditions are impacted by immigration, Evangelicalism is at the frontline, as warm, grassroot and zealous Evangelical congregations appear more attractive to migrants than other more traditional religious forms.

Lorraine Winston (1922-2011)

Strange, while highlighting the Faculté de Vaux-sur-Seine's impact on the French Evangelical field, I mentioned a few days ago John Winston and Lorraine Winston's legacy. In their own ways, both of them impacted French contemporary Protestant history.

I just learned that Lorraine Winston passed away. The service will be held on the 24th of October, 2011.

The rise of French Evangelicals: an article from the Guardian

Lizzy Davies, a journalist from the Guardian, called me a few days ago to ask me some questions about French Evangelicals.

 

Unfortunatly, I was not in my home and I did not have the opportunity to answer in due time.

 

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French Baptists celebrate

French Baptist history goes back to 1820, giving the French the oldest unbroken history of any Baptist community on the European continent.

 

There were Baptist churches in France before Baptist churches started in Texas!

 

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Billy Graham's legacy in Europe

On the occasion of today's Billy Graham's 90th Birthday...

"Billy Graham is without a doubt the most global American evangelist of the twentieth century. Supported by the BGEA, an evangelism multinational, he travelled the five continents for over half a century.

It is no surprise that Continental Europe has been one of the main targets of his outreach. Isn’t Europe the world’s most secular continent?

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A new book on Evangelicals and Empire

The globalization process brings specific issues: who will control the dynamics of the global capitalist economy? Two famous authors, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, emphasize in two well-known books, Empire and Multitude, that an imperial trend is currently working.

Its aim is domination, domination, and profit.

What about the religious factor? What about the role of Evangelicals in empire?

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