Publisher's Synopsis
Description: The story of the BEM and the SIB highlights the importance of intentional mission policy and its sustained implementation for the development of an indigenous church. Having a clearly defined exit policy provided the necessary impetus for the BEM to plant a church, which was able to stand on its own feet. There have been a number of contextual factors, such as the administrative policies of the Brooke government and the changing political situations in Sarawak and Malaysia that have threatened to limit the growth of BEM and SIB. However, the abilities of indigenous leaders in taking ownership of the SIB, have enabled them to negotiate these challenges in such a manner that has made it the most significant indigenous church in Malaysia. Endorsements: This publication is an event to be warmly welcomed. In important respects this work breaks new ground. Southeast Asia is still underrepresented in the scholarly literature on the history of indigenous appropriation of Christian missionary traditions--at least so far as Anglophone scholarship is concerned. Tan Jin Huat's research into the origins of the SIB illuminates the ways in which village peoples who adhered to a spirit-based cosmology reframed a conservative evangelical presentation of the gospel as a message about the superior power of Christ over the spirits. From the Foreword by Brian Stanley, Professor of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh An amazing story of revival, renewal, and transformation of the entire region chronicling the powerful effect of it evident to date! What can we learn from this extensive and careful study of the Borneo Revival, so that global Christianity will become ever more dynamic. Tan certainly has his suggestions. Wonsuk Ma, Oxford Ccntre for Mission Studies, UK A model of respectful, humble, thoughtful, and analytical scholarship and a story worth telling. Dr Tan Jin Huat has written a pioneering study of the origins and development of Malaysia's most significant indigenous church. This is a rich and vital source for grounding the identity of the Sidang Injil Borneo in an informed understanding of its own history. Seldom do churches early in their lives have an account of their origins where respect for those involved in its formation is matched by a willingness to note the human side of all the work they seek to do for God. John Roxborogh, Mission Historian, Dunedin, New Zealand. About the Contributor(s): Jin Huat Tan has served as a theological lecturer for many years in two theological seminaries in Malaysia. He is the Dean of Studies at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia (Malaysia Theological Seminary), Seremban, Malaysia. As an Anglican minister, he was involved in planting an Anglican church in Kuala Lumpur, and has served as pastor in a few Anglican churches. His interest in history from his primary schooldays has finally led him to fulfill his childhood dream to write a book on history. His other passion is expository preaching.
