The practice of religious conversion in the 21st century has revived academic interest in the subject. Most theories and frameworks for understanding religious conversion are still based on outdated models. Recent studies have focused primarily on converts’ testimonies, which is a valuable starting point for contextualizing religious conversion. However, much of this research has concentrated on individuals and their past religious worldviews. There is a significant gap in understanding the contextualization of religious conversion in relation to culture, theology, community, and other factors. In September, OCMS will address this gap through its MBL lecture series, focusing on the contextualization of religious conversion in the majority world. Full Programme Details here
Previous Lectures
Speaker Dr David Zac Niringiye
About the speaker Dr Niringiye is a bishop in the Church of Uganda, a scholar-practitioner theologian, a peace and social justice activist, and an organizational development consultant. He is currently an Academic Visitor at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. His research interests are in Theology and Mission History, Church and Society, and Religion, Culture, and Public Life. Among Dr Niringiye’s publications are: The Church: God’s Pilgrim People (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2014); and The Church in the World: A Historical-Ecclesiological Study of the Church of Uganda with Particular Reference to Post-Independence Uganda, 1962-1992 (Carlisle, Cumbria UK: Langham Monographs, 2016).
Lieu and Espace: Michel de Certeau and a Question of Means and Ends. Assessing Outcomes for Christian Mission
Speaker Jeffrey Robert Thomas
About the speaker Jeffrey Robert Thomas is a multi-skilled professional. He completed his doctoral research on Religious Spatiality with OCMS in 2021. He combines 8 years in local church leadership, with 14 years in the home construction and improvement industry, with research on development, inter-faith relations, and Christian mission to explore how genuine Christian “space” or praxis emerges within ostensibly secular “places”.
A Speculation of Digital Pneumatology: The Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit in the Metaverse
Speaker Dr Guichun Jun
About the speaker Dr Guichun Jun is an ordained minister who has experienced various ministry contexts in both Korea and the UK. He is a practitioner who is interested in discovering local knowledge of a particular congregation situated in a specific time and space to improve his and others’ understanding and skills of ministry and mission through understanding the congregants’ lived experiences and realities. Dr Jun is currently exploring theological controversies and missional potential of Virtual Reality Church.
Violence towards women in the political arena
Speaker Ms Florence Maina
About the speaker Ms. Florence Maina is an African Womanist theologian and a member of the Circle of Concerned African Theologies (St Paul’s University Kenya). She is a paralegal with experience on human rights and gender equality issues in Kenya. She is currently a master’s student at St. Paul’s University in the specialization of systematic theology, gender, and theology.
Speaker Wanjiku J. Mwangi
About the speaker Wanjiku J. Mwangi is a teacher, spiritual companion and integrated healer, within the Anglican tradition. She holds an MDiv-Biblical Studies and a PGDE from African International University (Formerly NEGST - Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology). Wanjiku is a published author who is the founder and leader at Integrated Living.
