This is timely discussion, in light of the fact that several Christian flocks are booming, once again, in Africa and this trend is having a major impact on some churches in the Western world (think Anglicans and United Methodists, for example). Reporters might want to check out two books in particular, "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity" by theologian Thomas Oden and then "The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity," by historian Philip Jenkins.
In terms of journalism at the local level, this feature in The Daily Beast focuses on the slow, but steady, growth of a network called the Brotherhood of Moses the Black in a number of Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions.
Read Full Article »