Book excerpt: Amid the ongoing acceleration of cultural interaction that accompanies globalization, it is more important than ever that practical theology be freed from cultural bias and united in a common christological understanding. In Practical Theology and the One Body of Christ Thomas John Hastings draws on decades of his own cross-cultural teaching and on current transformational models to develop a "missional-ecumenical model" of practical theology. By studying in detail the life and ministry of first-generation Japanese Protestant pastor Tamura Naomi, Hastings generates a real-life example of the practicality of his original model and offers a more global, alternative perspective on the religious education movement than what is common in Western societies.