On June 8, 2022, Dr. Kirsteen Kim delivered the inaugural Gailyn Van Rheenen Lecture in Mission and World Christianity at the Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars' Conference, held at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.

Dr. Kim is the Paul E. Pierson Chair in World Christianity and Associate Dean for the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary. She was the editor of the academic journal Mission Studies, a member of the Lausanne Theology Working Group, and the vice moderator of the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, chairing the drafting group of the mission statement Together Towards Life. She was research coordinator for the Edinburgh 2010 project, drafted its Common Call, and edited the Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series that emerged from it. She currently edits the book series Theology and Mission in World Christianity (Brill). Her research interests include theology of mission, pneumatology, world Christianity, Korean studies, and development studies. Kim is the author of nearly 150 publications, including The Holy Spirit in the World: A Global Conversation (Orbis, 2007) and Joining in with the Spirit: Connecting World Church and Local Mission (SCM Press, 2010).

The abstract for Dr. Kim's lecture, "The Spirit of Mission and the Mission of the Spirit," follows: 

The story of Pentecost makes a direct connection between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of Christian mission. Here and elsewhere in the New Testament, the Spirit appears as the Spirit of mission. In mission history too, the Spirit was invoked as the initiator and enabler of mission. In this view, the Spirit is the Christian Spirit. However, the Bible refers to the presence and activity of the Spirit not only at Pentecost but also as a “wind” at creation. In the biblical story, this breath from God engages in a world of many spirits and is not limited to the people of Israel. Extrapolating from the biblical material, the Nicene Creed names the Spirit as “the Giver of Life,” and theologically, the Spirit, like the Son, is sent from the Father. In other words, there is a mission of the Spirit to the world. This lecture aims to bridge between the Spirit of mission and the mission of the Spirit to integrate Spirit, spirits, and Holy Spirit in a theology for mission that both affirms the Holy Spirit’s wider life-giving work and also discerns the Spirit of Christ among the many spirits of this world.

The Zoom recording of the lecture follows (sound quality is poor): 

The PowerPoint of the lecture can be viewed HERE.

The lecture text can be viewed HERE.

The lecture was followed by a response from C. Leonard Allen. The response text can be viewed HERE.