Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-248) and index.

Setting the stage : what is contextualization? -- The social dimension : introduction, association, and kinship -- The social dimension as exchange : economics -- The social dimension as learning : education -- The social dimension as organizational : politics -- The mythic dimension -- The ethical dimension -- The artistic and technological dimension -- The ritual dimension -- The experience dimension : the supernatural -- The doctrinal dimension -- The future of contextualization.

This major statement by a leading missiologist represents a lifetime of wrestling with a topic every cross-cultural leader must address: how to adapt the universal gospel to particular settings. This comprehensive yet accessible textbook organizes contextualization, which includes "everything the church is and does," into seven dimensions. Filled with examples, case studies, and diagrams and conversant with contemporary arguments and debates, it offers the author's unique take on the challenge of adapting the faith in local cultures. -- !c From publisher's description.