Introducing myself (McTair Wall)

Let me introduce myself as a recent member of the Executive Committee of FEET. I have been teaching missiology in the French-speaking world for over ten years. I love traveling to various countries in French Africa, Madagascar, French Europe and French Canada. I have lived in the Paris area for over thirty years, and have enjoyed the rich cultural and intellectual heritage of this European context. I am a visiting lecturer at the Faculté Libre de Théologie Évangélique (FLTE) and at the Institut Biblique de Nogent in the Paris area, and head up the missiology programme at the Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (Acadia University) in Montreal, Canada. I bring my (West) Indian heritage, my extensive intercultural experience and my specialization in missional theology to the table of the FEET Executive Committee. I see myself as somewhat of a “hybrid” between the Northern and the Southern hemispheres, bridging two worlds.

My research over the past ten years has been in the area of missional hermeneutics, a new field of research at the crossroads of missiology and biblical scholarship. I have been particularly interested in how the hermeneutics of biblical authors can contribute to the discussion on missional hermeneutics. My doctoral research focused specifically on how the author of Luke-Acts quotes the Old Testament in the interest of his mission theology and practice. Seeing that I have been publishing exclusively in French, I was thankful to the editor of the European Journal of Theology (EJT) who invited me to “try my hand” at writing something in English. This invitation led me to work on an article for the EJT that brings the research on missional hermeneutics up to date and focuses on my particular contribution to the debate. Who knows? Maybe two articles will come out of this.

My major area of interest, alongside the missiological reading of Scripture, is filling a gap on missional theology from a biblical perspective for the French-speaking world. The relation of Bible and mission has not gained a lot of attention among biblical scholars in French. I have recently finished editing a new book on “Holistic Mission Theology” (awaiting publication in French) in which I look at the Lukan contribution to this question. Other contributors to the book come at the question from a historical, philosophical and theological perspective. I am also interested in how the Gospel relates to culture in view of strengthening our missiological thinking and practice. So things like worldviews, the relation of religion to culture, shame and honour, and contextualization are some areas of interest.

McTair Wall, the Executive Committee Member of the Fellowship of European Evangelical Theologians