Ethnodoxology's Time is Here: How Engaging Local Artists Can Expand God’s Kingdom

Please check out this excellent interview with Brian Schrag, SIL International’s Ethnomusicology and Arts Coordinator.  Brian developed the World Arts program at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (GIAL) in Dallas, Texas, and is interviewed here by Robin Harris, the President of the International Council of Ethnodoxologists and Coordinator of the MA in World Arts program at GIAL.

In the interview, Brian explains what ethnodoxology is and why locally grounded artistic communication is so powerful for the expansion of the kingdom of God.  He goes on to describe the process of doing ethnodoxology in a community and the impact it can have for those people and for the Kingdom.

Here is an excerpt from the interview that gives a hint of the potential impact of ethnodoxology:

RPH: If we, the church, adopt the kind of approach you used in [Democratic Republic of Congo], what do you think will happen? 

BES: If ethnodoxology becomes the primary approach to growth in mission and worship: 

• Minority artists and their arts will be well integrated into their community’s church life.
• The church will become an engine for revitalization of minority arts and their communities, rather than a frequent contributor to their demise.
• Sharing of artistic resources in the church will move both from minority to majority cultures and vice versa.
• More artistic forms will be represented around God’s throne (Rev 7:9-12) and in his city (Rev 21:22-27).