BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana, announces its latest release, entitled Breaking Tradition to Accomplish Vision: Training Leaders for a Church-Planting Movement by Paul R. Gupta and Sherwood Lingenfelter.
Breaking Tradition is the story of Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI), a Bible institute founded in Chennai, India, to teach pastors and to foster church planting. Over time the institute had lost its vision and had, in the process, become more “academically respectable” as a degree-granting institution.
Bobby Gupta, son of the founder, had his eyes opened to the school’s failure to produce evangelists and church planters. Bobby organized a consultation of Indian leaders in 1987 to consider the question “What will India look like when we have fulfilled the Great Commission in India?”
This fascinating book continues the story of the dismantling and re-building of the HBI program to return to its original vision. It chronicles the long and often painful process of realizing that new and creative ways of training pastors and church planters would be needed if India were, indeed, to have one million churches in its one million villages, thus effectively reaching that massive nation for Christ.
Breaking Tradition is largely Bobby’s story, but Sherwood, Provost and Senior Vice President of Fuller Theological Seminary, comments after each chapter, giving his perspective on moves that were made and applications to the larger world of evangelism and church planting. Helpful exercises follow each chapter for those who would learn more, and who would seek to make practical application of the principles.
Lingenfelter, son of longtime Grace Brethren pastor Galen Lingenfelter, is chairman of the board of Grace Brethren International Missions. His field research includes three years in the Yap Islands of Micronesia and short-term research and consulting work with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Dr. James Montgomery, founder of Discipling a Whole Nation (DAWN) Ministries, says “If understood and implemented by Bible institutes and seminaries around the world, this work could greatly enhance the process of making disciples of all nations. It provides a major breakthrough in strategic thinking.” Noted missiologist Dr. Paul Hiebert calls it “essential reading.”
The 244-page paperback retails for $14.99 and its ISBN number is 0884693058. Log onto www.bmhbooks.com to make credit card purchases or call (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756 to purchase.