This summer, Pedrito Maynard-Reid, professor of biblical studies and missiology, traveled through Asia to continue his research into “Diverse Worship.” He spent a week in Punjab, India, another week in Kolkata, India, and one more in Bangladesh.
His book “Diverse Worship: African American, Caribbean and Hispanic Perspectives” describes his contention that true Biblical/Christian worship should be holistic, not just a cerebral experience. Looking at those three cultures, he demonstrated that conclusion by specifically investigating cultures whose roots are in the global south and indigenous.
He had a strong inkling that this would be true in Asia, too. To explore this, he spent a summer in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and another in Indonesia and Malaysia. He hoped this research pilgrimage would bring further confirmation of that inkling.
Throughout the trip, he got to experience different church, vespers, and worship styles, and was even asked to speak at some of the services. On the last day in Punjab, he visited three worship services at the mother church of Punjab.
Maynard-Reid also visited many culturally significant sights like the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the church of William Carey—the father of Protestant missionary work—and Mother Theresa’s House.
He especially wanted to see the place that was so special to one of his former students, Rachel Davies, who spent a year at Mother Theresa’s House while attending WWU. After his visit there, he couldn’t help but reach out to Davies about it, and she shared her own must see sites and experiences that Maynard-Reid included in his itinerary.
He spent the whole trip soaking in every aspect of the cultures he encountered, enjoying the food and the environments of each new city and town—even their traffic, where he got to experience a dream fulfilled by riding in a rickshaw for the first time. “I continue to be amazed by the traffic and the driving. Hats off to the deft navigation by all!”
One of the churches he was especially excited to see was a church house in Kolkata. “This little church exemplified real contextual worship,” he said. Their use of the whole person in worship illustrated just what he believes God wishes us to bring into the worship space.
Paired with meaningful conversations and interviews, immersive experiences like these were just what Maynard-Reid had sought out to complete his research.
Maynard-Reid returned to Walla Walla in mid-July after 48 hours of travel. “What a blessing. What a success!” he said. “Thanks be to God! And special thanks to my hosts in Punjab, Kolkata, and Dhaka.”
Each gracious host arranged key interviews, worship events, and most importantly, allowed Maynard-Reid to engage in numerous, varied cultural experiences. Through this immersion, Maynard-Reid could actually put context to “any theoretical information I would gain from research in a library or even from a Zoom interview.”
Looking at the culmination of what this research mission has shown and taught him, Maynard-Reid said, “Happily, my contention that true worship needs to be holistic, and can be demonstrated biblically and more clearly in the global south’s indigenous cultures, was affirmed with many illustrations in South Asia.”
For more photos and details about the trip from Maynard-Reid himself, visit his blog Blessin's from Pedrito. To learn more about studying theology at WWU, visit wallawalla.edu/theology.
Posted Aug. 19, 2026.
