This exhaustive theology of missions focuses on theory and biblical mandates for missions as a vital part of theology. George Peters, a foremost missions authority, considers both liberal and conservative views, although his own stance is solidly evangelical.
The saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation for Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is its message. This second edition of a classic NSBT volume emphasizes how the Bible presents a continuing narrative of God's mission, providing a robust historical and chronological backbone to the unfolding of the early Christian mission.
Theology disconnected from mission is not Christian theology at all. The pastors, professors, and missionaries writing Theology and Practice of Mission provide a clear biblical-theological framework for understanding the church's mission to the nations. Toward that goal, the book holds three major sections: God's mission, the church's mission, and the church's mission to the nations. Part one explores the canon of Christian Scripture from narrative and systematic angles, explaining how the mission of God-to redeem a people who will be a kingdom of priests to the praise of his glory, bear witness to his gospel, advance his church, and dwell with him forever on a new heaven and earth-is communicated in the Bible's four movements: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Part two sees the mission of God's people in the light of God's mission, emphasizing not only preaching and church planting but also gospel witness in every dimension of human culture-glorifying God in family, church, work, community, through the arts, sciences, education, business, and the public square. The writers encourage us to live missionally, leaving all of our resources at God's disposal for the sake of his kingdom. Finally, part three contends that the North American church must come to terms with its missional calling-just as international missionaries do-and gives a starting point and parameters for conceiving the church's mission to all people groups and cultural contexts. Chapters here include ones on unreached people groups, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Postmoderns.
Author Chris Wright offers a sweeping biblical survey of the holistic mission of the church, providing practical insight for today's church leaders. Wright gives special emphasis to theological trajectories of the Old Testament that not only illuminate God's mission but also suggest priorities for Christians engaged in God's world-changing work.
Countering scholarly tendencies to fragment the text over theological difficulties, this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume contends that Exodus should be read as a unified whole, and that an appreciation of its missionary theme in its canonical context is of great help in dealing with the difficulties that the book poses.
World missions needs a fully biblical ethos. This is the contention of the editors of and contributors to World Mission, a series of essays aimed at reforming popular approaches to missions. In the first set of essays, contributors develop a biblical theology of world missions from both the Old and New Testaments, arguing that the theology of each must stand in the foreground of missions, not recede into the background. In the second, they unfold the Great Commission in sequence, detailing how it determines the biblical strategy of all mission enterprises. Finally, they treat current issues in world missions from the perspective of the sufficiency of Scripture. Altogether, this book aims to reform missions to be thoroughlyâ€"not just foundationallyâ€"biblical, a needed correction even among the sincerest missionaries.
Capitol Hill Baptist Church associate pastor Michael Lawrence contributes to the IXMarks series as he centers on the practical importance of biblical theology to ministry. He begins with an examination of a pastor's tools of the trade: exegesis and biblical and systematic theology. The book distinguishes between the power of narrative in biblical theology and the power of application in systematic theology, but also emphasizes the importance of their collaboration in ministry. Having laid the foundation for pastoral ministry, Lawrence uses the three tools to build a biblical theology, telling the entire story of the Bible from five different angles. He puts biblical theology to work in four areas: counseling, missions, caring for the poor, and church/state relations. Rich in application and practical insight, this book will equip pastors and church leaders to think, preach, and do ministry through the framework of biblical theology.
Walter Kaiser questions the notion that the New Testament represents a deviation from God's supposed intention to save only the Israelites. He argues that--contrary to popular opinion--the older Testament does not reinforce an exclusive redemptive plan. Instead, it emphasizes a common human condition and God's original and continuing concern for all humanity. Kaiser shows that the Israelites' mission was always to actively spread to gentiles the Good News of the promised Messiah. This new edition adds two new chapters, freshens material throughout, expands the bibliography, and includes study questions.
Twenty-five doctoral students from around the world recently set out to forge a new path toward a theology of mission. As they blazed a new trail, they discovered the footprints of God--evidence that God was their trial guide.Charles Van Engen led this group of mission practitioners, pastors, teachers, and mission executives as they set out to discover answers to important questions, such as "What is theology of mission?" and "What is missiology?"The team used a new approach to answer these questions, employing narrative to integrate personal story, community stories, cultural stories, and biblical stories. Each writer brings his or her own unique context to bear on these important questions through personal story and by highlighting the work of a major missiologist who has impacted their life and work. By drawing from personal stories, the authors show how human factors affect missiology.All of the chapters are set within a unique theological framework created by Charles Van Engen that focuses on mission of the way, mission in the way, and mission on the way. This framework reveals that mission must be "of the way" (Christ-centered), "in the way" (happening among the peoples and cultures of the world), and "on the way" (moving forward over time through God's people as they anticipate Christ's present and coming kingdom).If you are concerned about connecting the Bible, theology, and ministry with the complexity and variety of contexts facing Christians today, then you will want to join this journey to discover the footprints of God. As Van Engen says, you will be encouraged to "think theologically about mission, and missiologically about theology."