This document summarizes Rev Dr Joshva Raja's background and experience in mission work, education, publishing, and interfaith dialogue. It outlines his journey from working as a missionary and priest in India and the UK to his roles in academic institutions. It also describes his research interests in developing a theology of dialogic interaction and using alternative communication methods like street theatre for awareness campaigns. His vision for SOCMS emphasizes academic excellence, personal spiritual formation, and praxis-oriented education to promote sustainable and effective mission that recognizes people at the margins.
2. MY JOURNEY
► Missionary Vision from my
Father
► Learning Mission Together from
People
My Family
Learning Mission
Healing as Mission
3. Mission and Ministry Experience
►Mission worker of Indian Missionary Society
►Catechist
►Ordained Minister of Church of South India,
►non-stipendiary priest in Leicester St
Andrews Church and in Edinburgh St James
and Holy Cross,
► Secretary for Asia, World Association for
Christian Communication
4. Academic Background
► M A Communication Leicester
► Ph D New Testament Communication Edinburgh
► 6 Years of Teaching and Supervision at United
Theological College – Graduate, Post Graduate and
Research students
► Edited three years Journal for Christian Ministry
► Member of the Academic Council of Senate of
Serampore College for Researches and Affliation
5. Publications -Books
► Facing the Reality of Communication: Culture,
Church and Communication, ISPCK, Delhi, 2000
► Edited - Refugees and Their Right to Communicate,
WACC, London, 2003
► Edited - Media, Religion and Representations, WACC,
London, 2004
► Edited - Media Education, A Text Book for School
Teachers, ISPCK, 2005,
► Edited and to be published – Introduction to
Christian Communication Studies (for Mission and
Ministry students), Board of Theological Studies,
Senate of Serampore 2006/7.
► Working on the book entitled - Controversies in
Theology and Media, SCM-Canterbury Press, 2007
7. Activist
► Street Theatre for HIV/AIDS Awareness – Provided Training
for the pastors, church leaders in India
► Training for Interfaith Dialogue – RSS Christian Dialogue,
Ecumenical Christian Centre, NIFCON, Archbishops
(FABC)…, setting up dialogic centres in India
► Technology for Life – Using IT for Development as
community media specially for Mentally Challenged Youth –
Tsunami and Community media
► Training Mission leaders for Far Eastern Broadcasting
Association (FEBA) for the past four years, Vishvawani
► Mediating between LMS and CSI Churches to resolve the
Union issues in South India
8. Examples of Alternative Methods of
communication
Street Theatre and
Puppets for
HIV/AIDs Awareness
God-talk
includes
AIDs-talk?
10. Dialogic Search from Asian Images
of Religious Violence
From Ayodhya
To Bali
To Israel
To Gujarat
11. Media and Mythical statements
►‘Christianity is a slow poison which is the
cause of peace and family felling among
the tribals. Christian missionaries have
made use of Government resources for
the purposes of conversions’. – Sandesh
Newspaper
►missionaries do forceful conversion in
Gujarat -Gujarat Samachar (a daily
newspaper), Nav Gujarat (a daily),
12. Media, Myth and Ignorance
Huntington’s thesis on Clash of Civilization
Edward Said’s Clash of Ignorance
Ignorance does not refer to ‘not-knowing the other’ rather
means to ‘knowing more or only the negative side of the
other’. It is often articulated by the vested groups and so
can be identified as ‘articulated ignorance’ of the other.
16. KARMA MARGA – Path of action
ANNAPRASADHA
JNANA MARGA – The Path
of Intellectual discussion
BHAKTI MARGA – the Path of
Spiritual experience
JEEVA MARGA – The path of
Life -together
Inter-
religious
Dialogue
17. Programs in Nepal, Bangladesh,
Indoensia and in India –IR
Communicating Networks between
NGOs and Different Religions
Building
Communities
through the
Technology
18. My websites and Yahoogroups
► Website for religious dialogue - Interfaith
interaction.htm (www.interfaithinteraction.org )
► Website for NGOs working among Refugees.htm
(www.refugees-sa.org )
► Yahoo groups for InterfaithInteraction
Understanding Other's Religious Faith.htm , Asia-
Refugee-concerns Refugees and Their Right to
Communicate.htm ,
► International HIV/AIDS network – Church of
Scotland Initiative- InternationalnetworkforHIV-
AIDS International Network for HIV-
AIDS(Cofs).htm
19. Organised
► First International Study Group of Network for Interfaith
Concerns (NIFCONS) of USPG at the UTC, Bangalore
► UNHCR and WACC programme on Refugees and Their
Communication issues at South Asian Level at the UTC
Bangalore
► WACC, Asia Region South Asian study group on Media,
Minorities and Representations, at Kathmandu, Nepal.
► WACC International Consultation on Communication and
Mission in Theological Education at the UTC, Bangalore
► Fifth International Consultation on Democracy and Citizens
Media at the UTC, Bangalore,
► Information Technology for Social Change for GOs, NGOs
and FBOs in Bangladesh (Daka); in Indonesia (Jakarta); in
India (Bangalore)
20.
21. Dialogue with the media Personal
N Pani of Times of India talking
to media and scholars
Asghar Ali
Engineer talking
to Journalists
Dialogue among journalists
and religious scholars
Dialogue in India
Bangladesh
Training
To the
streets
Dialogue in Nepal
22. Training NGOs for Development and Participatory Democracy in
Bangladesh and IT for Disaster Information Management in IAMCR
Taiwan
24. My Research Interests
►Developing Theology of Dialogic Interaction
at Grassroots
►Visual Hermeneutics and Mission in the
Public Sphere (also Virtual Hermeneutics)
►Conceptual orientation of Technologies for
Life (recent article on Disaster Information
Management)
►The role of Imagination in doing
Intercultural witnessing
25. Metaphors of Mission
►Mission as Communi-action (Bhaktin)
►People as Spect-actors (Augusto Boal)
►Character to Co-actor (Kierkegaard)
27. Holistic Mission
Plurality of Mission
Prophetic Liberative
Nourishes
Culture
Building
Communities
Proclamation
Development-
oriented
Participatory
Dialogic
and
interactive
Developed from WCC’s Statements 1980 -2005
You are the light of
the world Unity
29. My Vision for SOCMS
►Academic Excellence (research oriented)
►Personal Spiritual Formation
►Praxis oriented and Context based
education
►Cross-cultural Skills
►Sustainable, Effective Mission
►Recognition of People at the Margins
►Reflective
30. Prayer of Guru-Shishya Prambara
(Teacher-Disciple Tradition)
Saha navavathu
Saha nau bunakthu –(2)
Saha viryam karava vahai - (2)
Thejasvi navadhi Thamasdhu
Mavid visha vahai - (2)
(May God protect us both.
May he nourish us both together.
May we work conjointly with great energy.
May our study be vigorous and effective.
May we not mutually dispute)
Source: Upanisad Peace Invocation