Tim Stabell, PhD

Assistant Professor of Mission

Email: tstabell@briercrest.ca

Department of Christian Ministry

Education

BA Sociology, Eastern College, 1973 
MA Sociology, New School for Social Research, 1976 
MAR Theological Studies, Westminster Theological Seminary, 1979 
PhD Intercultural Studies, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2005

 

Areas of Specialization

Theology of mission Contextualization Cultural Anthropology – the anthropology of witchcraft in Africa

Biography

Tim grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the son of American Baptist missionaries. He gave his life to Christ early in life, and after graduating from the American School of Kinshasa in 1969, he went to Easter College, where he did a BA in Sociology under Tony Campolo at Eastern Baptist College (now Eastern University). It was during his subsequent MAR studies at Westminster Seminary that he felt the Lord was leading him to mission work in the country where he had grown up. On the way there, he met Susan, and they were married in 1982. They have four children, all born during the years that they were working in Congo (1982 to 1996).

After that time in Congo, Tim went on to do a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, completing that degree in 2005. This was the same year that he began teaching at Briercrest, where he is program coordinator (with Alan Guenther) of the Global Studies program. During the summers, he often returns to the Congo where he continues to be involved in teaching and leadership training at various levels.

Research Interests

Tim's research concerns are focused on two fairly distinct areas. First, in the domain of theology of mission he is interested in the way in which God's missionary purpose for Old Testament Israel helps us understand New Testament Mission, and by extension our mission as God's people today. Second, in terms of the intersection of anthropology and missiology (often referred to as "contextualization"), he continues to work toward a missiological and pastoral approach to the challenges of ideas about "witchcraft" in the African context.

Notable Publications

"Rethinking Contextualization and the Gospel in Africa" published in the Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 24, no. 2 (2005): 165-78.

"'The Modernity of Witchcraft' and the Gospel in Africa" published inMissiology38, no. 4 (2010): 460-474.

 

Memberships and Affiliations

The American Society of Missiology

The Evangelical Missiological Society (Canada)