Rupen Das is a missiologist with experience in Christian mission, academia, and managing in complex and turbulent circumstances. He is President of the Canadian Bible Society (CBS). He is also Research Professor at Tyndale University (and Seminary) in Toronto.
He serves on the board of the Canadian National Christian Foundation (CNCF) and the Navigators of Canada. As a Trustee of the United Bible Societies Association (UBSA), he had also chaired the Church Relations Committee.
Prior to all this he had been on secondment from the Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) to the European Baptist Federation (EBF – supporting churches ministering to refugees across Europe and IDPs in Ukraine) and to the International Baptist Theological Study Centre (IBTSC) in Amsterdam. Before moving to Amsterdam, also on secondment from CBM, he had been the Program Director for the Master of Religion (MRel) in Middle Eastern and North African Studies (focusing on the church and mission in the region) at the Institute for Middle East Studies of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, Lebanon and the director of the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development’s (LSESD) community development and humanitarian programs, now known as Merath. He set up LSESD’s humanitarian response to the Syrian refugees.
Rupen was Professor and Program Coordinator of International Project Management, the award winning postgraduate program at Humber College in Toronto. He has extensive experience in humanitarian assistance, community development, and managing in turbulent contexts, having been the Director for Emergency Response and Disaster Mitigation at World Vision Canada. Prior to that he was WV’s Field Director for the South Pacific (which included PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga) based in Papua New Guinea (before WV withdrew from Fiji and Tonga). He was also WV’s Project Manager in post-Soviet collapse Russia (a USAID project) and Belarus (Chernobyl project). He was involved in WV Canada’s emergency responses in Kosovo, India, Afghanistan, and Iraq, among others. He was part of the Canadian team that did the pre-war assessment of the potential impact of war on the civilian population of Iraq in 2003. Early in his career he had been the Dean at Kodaikanal International School in India and had been involved with the Navigators in North America (campus ministries) and Asia (with insider movements before the term was coined).
As a consultant he worked on projects for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA – now known as Global Affairs Canada), the Canadian CIMIC and DART, Pearson Peacekeeping Center, Plan Canada, Focus Humanitarian (part of the Aga Khan Network), World Vision International, International Development Support Services (IDSS Australia), among others. He was adjunct faculty at Eastern University in the US. On behalf of the Canadian Baptist Ministries, he trained and mentored staff of national church denominations in Kenya, Rwanda, Congo, South Sudan, Angola, and India (the Diploma in Integral Mission accredited by Carey Theological Seminary, Vancouver). As an analyst he contributed to Oxford Analytica on humanitarian issues.
His undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Syracuse University in the US, doctoral degree (DMin) from Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University, Canada, and a certificate in Organizational Resilience from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. He attended the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon. In addition he holds certificates in Disaster Management from the University of Wisconsin, in Refugee Studies from York University, and in Evaluating and Managing Evaluations of Humanitarian Action from ALNAP, UK. He has lived in 11 countries since childhood. Rupen has twice been a 21st Century Fellow in the UK, an Ashoka Fellow (1986, page 77) and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University with Howard Gardner, the developer of the theory of multiple intelligences. He was also the recipient of a sports science fellowship (in the area of sports psychology) awarded by the Government of India. His clients included Rahul Dravid (cricket) and Ashwini Nachappa (athletics).
During his tenure, the International Project Management program at Humber College won three national awards as the top college program in Canada and the top international program among the colleges and universities in Canada. The courses he developed and taught at Tyndale are Compassion, Justice, and the Mission of God, The Church Transforming the Community (MDiv), Project Design and Operations Management (undergraduate), and Facing the Unique Challenges of Leading Non-Profit Organizations (DMin). He taught Ministries of Compassion and Social Justice: Theology and Practice (DMin) at Acadia Divinity College (taught at IBTSC Amsterdam for the European students).
Rupen is an ordained minister.
Some of Rupen’s publications include:
Books
God that the Poor Seek: Conversion, Context and the World of the Vulnerable, Leicester: Langham Global Library, 2022.
The Poor and Poverty in the Religions, (co-authored and co-edited with Dr. William Brackney), Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger (ABC-CLIO), 2018.
The Poor and Poverty in Islam: Compassion and Social Justice, Riga: Scholars’ Press, 2018
Strangers in the Kingdom: Refugees, Migrants and the Stateless, (co-authored with Brent Hamoud) Leicester: Langham Global Library, 2017. Foreword by Anthony Peck
Compassion and the Mission of God: Revealing the Invisible Kingdom, Leicester: Langham Global Library, 2016. Foreword by Dr. Gary Nelson.
Connecting Curriculum and Context: Handbook for Context Relevant Curriculum Development in Theological Education, Leicester: Langham Global Library and ICETE, 2015. Foreword by Dr. Riad Kassis.
Church and Poverty: The Church’s Witness to the Kingdom of God (Arabic), Beirut: Dar Manhal al Hayat, 2015.
Profiles of Poverty: The Human Face of Poverty in Lebanon, (co-authored with Julie Davidson) Beirut: Dar Manhal al Hayat, 2011.
Chapters in Books
“Christian Humanitarianism Through the Lens of the Majority World,” Majority World Perspectives on Christian Mission, Johannesburg: UJ Press, 2022, 117-138.
“Preface,”Hope in the Heart of a Beirut Slum: Living Stories between Shadow and Light, Le Horpes, France: Tahaddi France, 2021. 3-9.
“The Mission of God and the Role of Christian Humanitarian Agencies,” Mission and Global Crises: Academy, Agency, and Assembly, Perspectives from Canada, Toronto: Tyndale Academic Press, 2020.
“Relief and Development in the Mission of God,” The Missiology Behind the Story: Voices from the Arab World, Leicester: Langham Global Library, 2019.
“The World of the Poor: How Development Professionals Understand and Assess Poverty,” The Poor and Poverty in the Religions, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger (ABC-CLIO), 2018.
“From Displacement to Diaspora” From the Margins to the Center: The Diaspora Effect, Toronto: Tyndale Academic Press, 2018.
“Connecting Curriculum and Context: Foundations for Relevance in Theological Education,” Is It Working? Researching Context to Improve Curriculum; Leicester: Langham Global Library and ICETE, 2018.
“What is the Relationship Between Poverty, Peace and Justice,” The Bible for Peace and Justice (Arabic), Bible Society of Lebanon, Beirut, 2014.
“The Wonder of Confusing Knots and Skirting Chaos,” Real Change is Incremental, Toronto: BPS Books, 2014.
“Humanitarian Space in Unconventional Warfare,” Helping Hands and Loaded Arms: Navigating the Military and Humanitarian Space, Clemensport: Canadian Peacekeeping Press, 2007.
“Dealing With War Trauma: A Do No Harm Perspective,” Options for Aid in Conflict: Lessons From Field Experience, Boston, MA: Collaborative for Development Action Inc., 2000
Journal and Periodical Articles and Blogs
“God’s Work of Transformation in the World : Defining ‘transformation in the invitational mission of God”, Lausanne Global Analysis (September 2022) Volume 11 / Issue 5
“What the Majority World is Saying About Mission Today”, Evangelical Review of Theology (2022) 46:3, 197-212.
“Emanuel: o Deus que os pobres buscam” (Portuguese) Martureo: Centro de Reflexão Missiológica (2022). “Immanuel – The God that the Poor Seek“ (English)
“Vulnerable Faith: Why I Wrote ‘The God That the Poor Seek'” Langham Publishing (12 April 2022)
“Migration And Displacement Woven Into The Fabric Of The Biblical Narrative“ Langham Publishing Blog, (2020)
“Becoming a Follower of Christ Exploring Conversion Through Historical and Missiological Lenses” Perichoresis Vol. 16 No. 1 (2018): 21-40
“A Compassionate Community: What did the Early Church Teach that Made Christians ‘Lovers of the Poor’?” Journal of European Baptist Studies Vol.17 No.2 (2017):31-46
“Relevance and Faithfulness: Challenges in Contextualizing Theological Education” InSights Journal for Global Theological Education, Volume 1, No.2,
“Humanitarianism in Highly Religious Contexts: Responding to Syrian Refugees in Lebanon” Adrift: Migrant Crises in the Mediterranean and Asia Pacific, Middle East Institute (American University, Washington D.C.),
“God and Refugees: Foundations for Hope. The Church Responding to Muslim Refugees” Muslim Christian Encounter, Volume 9, No.1,
“Refugees: Exploring Theological and Missiological Foundations” Journal of European Baptist Studies, Volume 16, No.2, January 2016, pp.33-47.
“Impact of the Local Church Showing Compassion: Lessons from the Syrian Crisis” SEEDBED: Practioners in Conversation, Volume XXIX No.1, June 2015, pp. 43-50.
“Food Security and Food Sovereignty in Iraq: The Impact of War and Sanctions on the Civilian Population”. Food. Culture and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Volume 10, Number 2, Summer 2007, pp. 317-348(32)
Compassion and the Mission of God 