EDITORIAL    

 

Collective Wisdom and Practical Knowledge: the New Christian 
Journal for Global Health  

The Editors 

The Christian Journal for Global Health is an 

initiative of the Center for Health in Mission. It re-

flects a broad and expanding collaborative move-

ment involving a large number of individuals and 

organizations globally.   There is a rich history of 

efforts in health care by people of faith with courage 

to change with the times.  This has inspired the con-

cept of a Christian journal to explore global health 

issues in a manner that reflects scholarly excellence 

and scientific credibility.   

We seek to capture, catalogue and distribute 

Christian thinking and practice that has been forged 

in real-time service among those in need.  These ex-

periences, and the motivations underlying them, 

warrant expression in an open access format, avail-

able world-wide and without cost.  We hope to bring 

a scholarly approach to global health problems, 

marked by critical analysis and practical application 

to the world our readers inhabit.  This journal will 

give voice to Christian workers, in every area of the 

world seeking best practices combined with com-

mon values.  Few journals have as integrative an 

approach to health and mission, science and faith, 

policy and practice as we hope for this multidiscipli-

nary resource.  Our aim is to maintain a missional 

call to bless the nations and promote the power of 

the gospel to heal the whole person, community and 

society.  With interdenominational global contribu-

tion and distribution, we hope to create new conver-

sations using the comments feature and social media 

platforms.  

To make this project sustainable and effective, 

we are calling for papers from around the world:  

editorials, review articles, original articles, case 

studies, short communications, field reports, current 

debates, commentaries, study design articles, capac-

ity building articles, conference reports, and book 

reviews. These contributions will cover one or more 

of the following areas: 

 Public Health (Health Promotion/Prevention, 

Nutrition and Food Security, Maternal and 

Child Health, Community Development) 

 Health Care Services (Primary Health Care, 

Surgical Service, Disaster and Emergency, Re-

habilitative services, Mental Health, Palliative 

Care) 

 Organization (Administration and Finance, 

Policy and Advocacy, Workforce) 

 Mission and Health (Theology, Evangelism, 

Community Transformation) 

 Conditions of Special Interest (HIV/AIDS, 

Non-Communicable Disease, Neglected Tropi-

cal Diseases, Ethics) 

Following the Scriptures which guide our 

work, we value strength in weakness, humility over 

bravado, evidence over superstition, honest apprais-

als over self-serving anecdotes, values over expedi-

ency.  Recognizing the value of the perspectives of 

our colleagues of various world views, we hope true 

wisdom can be applied to express in writing cohe-

sive knowledge for the good of others. As the source 

of all good gifts, and the reconciler of relationships, 

God will be glorified, and the Church’s role in heal-

ing the whole person and all nations will be en-

hanced. 

The tides of change in global health must in-

clude people of faith who retain and express the 

wisdom of God with a relevant Grand Narrative. By 

letting this light shine, as Jesus taught, it becomes a 

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June 2014. Christian Journal for Global Health, 1(1):1-2            

testimony to the presence and glory of God among 

the peoples of the world.  

The current issue embodies the original call 

for papers that speak to the past, present and future 

of global health work that is inspired and informed 

by a Christian world view.   Ted Lankester’s guest 

editorial is a call to commitment to broader Christian 

engagement in global health movements with an 

affirmation of the role the Christian Journal for 

Global Health might play in those efforts. 

This is followed by three historical reviews.  

Professor Grundmann summarizes the history of 

medical missions with a focus on the tension that 

has always existed between evangelism and service.  

His denouement of this tension is thoughtful, en-

couraging and relevant for today.  The Rev. Canon 

Ted Karpf reviews the relationship between faith-

based organizations and official government organi-

zations with all their ups and downs and offers an 

honest appraisal of the opportunities and difficulties.  

Dr. Reena George tells the moving story of the call 

of Ida Scudder to missionary service and the subse-

quent evolution of that call into the institution 

known throughout the world as Christian Medical 

College, Vellore, India.  This article particularly 

highlights the opportunity offered by the new jour-

nal to describe events best described as Christian 

formation – personal and historical, but informed by 

spiritual understanding and illumination.   

The present is illustrated by two original arti-

cles, one describing a successful contextualized in-

tervention for HIV prevention among the Massai in 

Tanzania, and the other reports on the challenges 

facing the Catholic Church in India in the provision 

of healthcare for their elderly, especially those with 

neurodegenerative illness.  An important aim of the 

journal is to show the integration of faith and health 

and this is well illustrated by a short communication 

on HIV home care in Zambia.  For the present and 

heading to the future, we require a robust theological 

understanding of our mission.  Apollos Landa offers 

a thoughtful commentary on what ought to be the 

full framework for healthcare. Ken Foster offers a 

proposal on what might be done for greater integrity 

in improving and maintaining professional training 

standards in countries where these lag behind.   

We also feature two book reviews.  Matthew 

Santosh Thomas’ review of a book by Peter and 

Jean Rookes takes us from the past through the pre-

sent into the future with a look at the organization 

and financing of medical missionary work in two 

specific contexts.  Meredith Long’s balanced and 

fair review of a book describing the faith-inspired 

motivations and activism of Dr. Paul Farmer in his 

selfless and insightful efforts to help the medically 

underserved.   

Our prayer is that we can give a leading voice 

from Christian thinkers, workers and leaders around 

the world, particularly those from majority world 

countries, who are ministering to millions of people 

suffering from illness and deprivation.  By promot-

ing intelligent scholarship we aim to see improve-

ments in quality care, and to articulate theological 

reflections that inspire a new generation of service in 

a broken world.  This project would not have come 

to fruition without hours of voluntary labor from a 

team of dedicated editors, reviewers, artists, techni-

cians, donors and writers.  They have been aptly 

supported by an expert team of advisors. We are 

pleased to be launching this inaugural issue of the 

Christian Journal for Global Health and are confi-

dent it will become everything we hope it will be.  

 

 

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