A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story

by Michael W. Goheen

The Missional Impulse in the Biblical Narrative"Goheen expertly traces the continuities of and developments in the Bible's grand story of the people of God, showing that at every stage God's people exist for the sake of God's mission to all the peoples of the world. Here is the biblical depth needed for the contemporary church's reflection on and practice of its missional identity."—Richard Bauckham, University of St. Andrews, Scotland; Ridley Hall, Cambridge"A book that stands out from the crowd and merits careful attention, A Light to the Nations is a much-needed and well-crafted basic text for the biblical study of the missional church. Based on careful reading and interpretation of an impressive range of biblical scholars, Goheen's book engages the scholarly voices that merit serious interaction, lays out the major themes of a biblical theology of the missional church, and offers an integrative approach that will stimulate further investigation. Certainly it will become a staple of college and seminary syllabi dealing with the church and its mission. Pastors, congregations, and mission agencies will find in this book biblical orientation for faithful mission in a time of rapid and challenging change."—Darrell L. Guder, Princeton Theological Seminary"A Light to the Nations masterfully calls readers to a renewed missional imagination. Goheen traces the missional theme through Scripture, enabling us to see that his vision is not really new but the rediscovery of the robust, missional ecclesiology that has always characterized the people of God at their best. Goheen leads us into an expansive vision of what it means to be God's called, eschatological people embodying the new creation. If you long to understand what it really means to be a missional church, not as a simple slogan but as our deepest identity, then this book is the indispensable road map. I heartily recommend it!"—Timothy C. Tennent, Asbury Theological Seminary"Based on the whole biblical narrative, this book is a powerful presentation of what it takes for a missional church in the twenty-first century to be 'A Light to the Nations.' It is both compelling and persuasive!"—Gerald H. Anderson, Overseas Ministries Study Center, New Haven, CT

Genres: Theology, Ecclesiology, Christian, Church, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Christian Living

242 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Michael W. Goheen (PhD, University of Utrecht) is professor of missional theology, Newbigin House of Studies, San Francisco, and Jake and Betsy Tuls Professor of Missiology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is also minister of preaching at New West Christian Reformed Church in Burnaby, British Columbia, and is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Drama of Scripture, Living at the Crossroads, A Light to the Nations, and a work on Lesslie Newbigin's missionary ecclesiology.

Reviews

[Craig Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

For over the last year the buzz in ecclesiology has been the discussion of the missional church. “If your church is not missional then it is not fulfilling God’s purpose”, is the cry of many. It is probably fair to say that much of the conversation concerning the missional church has been held in the arena of practical ecclesiology. That is, describing what a missional church looks like as it lives out the mission in its local context. While the church needs a practical vision for the mission of the church, there has not been enough discussion regarding the biblical theological concept of mission as the foundation for being missional. In an effort to fill this space Michael W. Goheen has written an enlightening book A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story.

“Mission”, as Goheen defines it, “is the role and identity of the church in the context of the biblical story (p. 4).” Thus, being missional is not about “describing the activity of the church but the very essence and identity of the church as it takes up its role in God’s story in the context of its culture and participates in God’s mission to the world (p. 4).” Put another way, “Mission is what God is doing for the sake of the world: it is God’s long-term plan to renew creation. The people of God are missional in that they are taken up into this work for the sake of the world (p. 25).” So, since much of the discussion on the missional church has been dominated by the pragmatic implications of the mission of the church, there has been more discussion on its activity rather than its identity and essence. Goheen believes we need to get back to the mission of the church as found in the biblical story (biblical theology) and then move forward from there lest we continue to lose our way.

A Light to the Nations can be summed up in three main stages that present the biblical development of the people of God as missional people: (1) OT Israel as the beginning of the people of God, (2) the coming of Jesus to restore the people of God and (3) the NT church as the reconstituted people of God.

In the search for the uncovering of the mission of the church as found in its biblical theological context, Goheen begins in the Old Testament. The OT is the only proper place to begin for Goheen because the place of the church in the mission of God is the same as and a continuation of Israel’s but with resurrection implications. This is a necessary corrective to much of the missional church discussion. Following Gerhard Lohfink’s comments Goheen states:

The church was not founded or established for the first time in the New Testament. Rather, the church is a covenant community that has been gathered and restored to its original calling. A proper understanding of the church begins with Israel – its role and identity, its relation to other nations – because the church is Israel’s heir (p. 21).

Take a moment to soak that statement in – the church is Israel’s heir. For Goheen, there is only one people of God and therefore one mission of God for His people. This mission begins in the OT with Israel and continues with the church as the reconstituted people of God.

OT Israel as the beginning of the people of God

The mission of God begins with Abraham in Genesis 12: 1-3. Amidst the many things mentioned in these verses there are two aspects that help to define the mission of the church. First, Abraham is chosen to receive the blessings of God. God’s election of a people (Israel) is for the purpose of mission. Second, as recipients of God’s blessings God’s people are to in turn mediate those blessings to the world. From Genesis 12 we move to Exodus 1-18 where we see God releasing Israel from their captivity in order “to fulfill its Abrahamic role and identity (p. 34).” Once Israel is delivered from captivity they are given the covenant at Sinai which functions to show that they are bound to God and not Pharaoh. At Sinai God tells Israel how they are to live in order to receive God’s blessings and how they are to mediate those blessings to the nations (p. 37). Exodus 32-34 describes how God will dwell with Israel which is important for Israel to be able to carry out their two sided purpose.

Flowing from Sinai to Israel’s missional living is the threefold role and identity of Israel. First, Israel was to be a people in the center of the nations. Surely this was their position when they entered the Promised Land in Joshua. Israel was to visibly live out their identity before the nation’s such that they would desire to come and see and join. They are not to be passive observers but active engagers “with the pagan cultures of the surrounding nations, by which it is to confront idolatry with the claims of the living God (p. 53).” Second, Israel was to function as a priestly kingdom. The life surrounding the priesthood was to nourish Israel amidst their missional encounter with the pagan nations. The temple plays a huge role in this purpose and the prophets are seen as Israel’s ‘covenant enforcers’ keeping them on track (p. 59). Third, the story of Israel in the OT closes with them as a dispersed people. Fortunately, because of God’s covenant faithfulness He promised through the prophets (Isa. 60 & Eze. 36:24-27) that He would return and restore them.

The Coming of Jesus to Restore the People of God

Goheen does not mince words when it comes to his assessment of the significance of Jesus’ coming, “With the coming of Jesus, the promised gathering of God’s eschatological people begins (p. 76).” Following the gospel of Mark, Goheen defines the kingdom of God as “the restoration of God’s rule over the whole world (p. 77).” Though God rules on His own, His people are to proclaim this rulership to all the world as they carry out their missional identity.

Though there are many that believe Israel rejected the offer of the kingdom, Goheen contends that

Many within Israel do respond to the invitation of faith, and they begin to form the true eschatological Israel, the people of the kingdom, purified by judgment to take up the task of being a light to the nations….Those who respond thus become part of this community of Jesus-followers and receive the gifts and obligations of the kingdom (p. 84-85).”

Though there are no doubt many Jews who will reject the offer of the kingdom and the call to restoration, there is a remnant that accepts and thus becomes the beginning of the eschatological fulfillment of the people of God – the light to the nations.

It is Jesus’ work on the cross and resurrection that become the defining works of Jesus that enable Him to restore Israel and give them the power to carry out their missional task. It is through the cross that Jesus takes on the punishment of Israel’s sin, thus freeing them from it. “The death of Jesus creates a restored community, reinstated in it vocation as a channel of salvation to the nations. The cross is an event that creates a redeemed and transformed people (p. 107).” As for the resurrection it “marks the restoration of God’s people to new life as part of a new creation (p. 112).” Of this new creation Jesus is the ‘first fruits’, the ‘first born’ and the ‘beginning.’ It is at the close of the Gospels that we see Jesus giving restored Israel (the church) its new identity through the great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). The church is to take the gospel to all the nations. The church is the new Israel and thus the light to the nations as Israel was in the OT.

The question for many is how do the NT writers perceive and describe the church as the reconstituted people of God – the restored Israel?

The NT Church as the Reconstituted People of God

For Goheen the clearest NT example of how the church (reconstituted Israel) continues the mission of God is to read the book of Acts. Beginning with Pentecost (Acts 2) and running through the end of the book we see God’s people spreading the gospel to the nations while God builds His church and kingdom through this activity. The geographical structure of Acts is huge for Goheen. “The story line of Acts is about the geographical spread of the Word (p. 129).” Jerusalem has great redemptive-historical and eschatological significance (p. 129 & 131). “God has chosen Israel to be a blessing to all nations, and the centrifugal movement in Acts marks the beginning of the process by which that blessing is to be fulfilled (p. 131).” What Goheen believes is clear from the book of Acts is that God restored many Jews and that He brought many Gentiles into the church.

So how what evidence is there that the NT writers saw the church and themselves as the reconstituted people of God? Take Peter for example. In 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter uses no less than 5 explicit word/phrases to describe the church that are used in the OT to describe Israel. Peter uses “a chosen race,” “a royal priesthood,” “a holy nation,” and “a people for his own possession” all to describe the church. Not only is the language telling but the historical context of I Peter. 1 Peter is written to dispersed believers. In the OT Israel was dispersed because of unbelief and disobedience. Now, reconstituted Israel is once again dispersed but not because of unbelief. Their dispersion is caused because of their belief and by command (Matt. 28:19-20). I Peter exemplifies for us “how the church can live faithfully in a non-Christian environment (p. 182).” Goheen contends that the imagery and word usage here is I Peter is just a small example of the many examples in the NT where the authors saw the church as the continuation and expansion of Israel.

Conclusion

A presentation of a biblical theology of mission would be incomplete without some suggestion for what this might look like today. Goheen offers thirteen suggestions. Some of the most notable are the need for the church to reach out to the world with its message. This follows along the lines of the people of God being the mediators of God’s blessings to the world – namely, salvation. Along the same lines we need preaching that is more missional minded. While the ministry of the Word through preaching is primarily for believers, we need to make sure our preaching proclaims the biblical story of redemption. Perhaps the most relevant of Goheen’s suggestions is the need for the church to live out as a community within its community. This is how the NT church lived mission and this is how the church today and in the future needs to live out its mission.

A Light to the Nations is a great corrective to much of the missional talk of the day. It puts the meat on the bones of some weak theology of mission that too many have today. The greatest strength of the book is its truly biblical theology approach as it begins with the concept as originated with Israel and Abraham. For those who see more discontinuity within Scripture in regards to Israel and the church this book will be a much needed dose of corrective medicine. It is perhaps not a stretch to say that, a rejection of Goheen’s biblical theology of mission is a rejection of the Scripture’s concept of mission.

[Andy Littleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

God’s mission is at the core of the Christian Church’s identity, and Mike Goheen proves and makes this point practical.

[Austyn Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mission in not just an act of going and doing but an Identity. This book helped bring clarity and language to a deep tension I have felt inside for a long time.

[Bob O'Bannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those paradigm shift kind of books, where your eyes are opened to something big you might not have seen before. In this case, it is the persistent, central and dominant theme throughout all of scripture that God‘s people exist primarily to be a light to the nations, “an alternative community nourished by an alternative story” (7). Goheen tells us that the mission of the church actually is not primarily about doing anything, but about being (25) — that is, the church is called to be a “contrast community” or a “display nation” (descriptors used frequently throughout the book) before a watching world. In contrast to competing narratives of reality, we are called to embrace God’s story of the world by looking backward to creation, looking forward to God‘s redemptive goal, and always looking outward to the nations. In this context, evangelism becomes an invitation to people to “come and join us,” to take part in what God is doing in the church and for the world.

The content here is pretty thick, and could be perceived as overly theoretical, except that Goheen takes the last chapter to give 13 practical suggestions for how these principles can be implemented in the local church, making this the kind of book that could transform the vision and purpose of any local congregation.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Missional" is one of those buzz words that has been running around various church circles a lot in the past decade or two. Everyone seems to be calling themselves or others "missional" but there does not seem to be a consistent understanding of what "missional" and the "missional church" really is.

Enter Light to the Nations. This book is an academic level attempt to define the term as well as give a solid biblical and theological base for what being "missional" really is. At times the book gets a bit too wordy, but there is a lot of solid truth that makes this book a worthy read. There isn't enough low hanging fruit to make this a best seller but it is something I believe everyone who is, or who aspires to be a leader in the church world should read.

A couple quotes:
"Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship... is the fuel and goal of missions."

"Religion is not one area of life among many but a directing force that forms all cultural life."

[Peter Bringe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biblically rich and helpful book on the church and culture. Goheen describes Christians with the paradigm of a “contrast community” that embodies by worship, community life, words, and cultural involvement a foretaste of the consummated kingdom and gathers others to become part of this community of Christ. I might not agree with everything that he says or emphasizes (for example, I did not appreciate his caricature of Christendom on pages 9-11, and his chapter on the death and resurrection of Christ could have been more balanced with regard to its individual and corporate significance), but I think his emphasis on the threat of cultural assimilation and the importance of the distinctiveness of the church and its way of life in the midst of the world is biblical and helpful.

"The missional church continues the mission of Israel to the nations....The giving of the law that follows God's summons to Israel indicates that the whole of Israel's life is to be lived under God's authority. The lives of the people of Israel look backward to creation; they embody God's original creational design for the whole of human life. Their lives look forward to the consummation; they are a sign of the goal to which God is taking redemptive history: the restoration of all of human life to its original blessing in the context of a restored creation. Their lives are to face outward to the nations; they are to be a contrast community, leading lives that differ from those of the peoples around them. Israel is to challenge the cultural idolatry of the surrounding nations while embracing the cultural gifts God has given it." (p. 193)

"First, the institutional life of God's people is essential to the missional church. As the church attends steadfastly to the Word of God, to fellowship, to the Lord's Supper, and to prayer, its is built up in the eschatological life of the Spirit....Second, the communal life of the church manifests the coming of the kingdom. The church itself must be a transformed body, a picture of the social order that God intends for human life....Third, this community has a task in the world...The missional church is an evangelizing church that speaks the good news pointing to Christ. It also enacts the good news with deeds of mercy and justice...The good news will bring opposition as the church challenges the deepest convictions of the cultures surrounding it. This will happen especially as God's people become deeply involved in the institutions of their culture. The church is charged with a mission in the public life of its culture. Its people participate, are involved, in the ongoing cultural task of the world, all for the welfare of their neighbors. Finally, this eschatological community has a mission 'to the ends of the earth'...The church's local mission is, of course, essential, but a healthy church must also maintain a vision for mission beyond the local context." (p. 198-199)

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read enough of Goheen (and been in circles with his students) that I'm no longer surprised by what he teaches. I appreciate the consistency between what he writes in "The Drama of Scripture" and this text. Once again, I am amazed at how this theme of a missional people traces its way from the beginning to the end of the story of Scripture. What an incredible task we get to participate in together as a church! It's been refreshing seeing the ways my own church lives into many of these principles and plans to do so in the future. I really appreciated Goheen's final chapter, where he articulates some strategies that have helped him as a pastor, teacher, and parent in shepherding his flock towards reaching the nations (albeit imperfectly at times). Worth coming back to for sure.

[Michael Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goheen offers a biblical foundation and direction for missional Christianity. Eschewing an individualistic approach to discipleship and mission, he stresses God's use of a people to bring his light to the world. He follows his theology with practical application in the final chapters, accompanied by warnings of distraction and misplaced focus. Although I questioned a couple of his suggestions for personal application, his overview of scripture and emphasis on the church as both institution and community provide a secure foundation that, coupled with helpful, thoughtful suggestions for application, make this book one that I heartily recommend.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goheen has some clear and insightful descriptions of what God has always wanted His church, or His people to be, and how that has been executed (or not) through various ages.

In current postmodern Western, secular climate, we are probably closest to the early church of the first few centuries, which also closely mimics the exiled people of Israel, living among foreign secular powers. This creates a situation with the age-old cultural balance tension - how to live as a "contrast community" in the midst of a culture the church inhabits, engages with, and desires to build up.

[James Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goheen does a great job with a pseudo biblical theology of mission. This is an academic work. His reading is vast but Leslie Newbign is on every page. That is not necessarily a bad thing but it did make some of the book one dimensional. The early chapters on the Kingdom of God are fantastic followed by the chapter on imagery in the OT (though much was from Minear), and his final chapter on 13 applications. Many in the comments hope the writes a book from this chapter and I agree with them.

[Mike Engbers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great to see a solid theological entry from a Canadian theologian and pastor. Goheen does a wonderful job rooting the theology of being missional in all of scripture, not just the NT. He provides a wholistic engagement on the topic from our own family to our church and our communities to the global engagement. Highly recommend. I read this as a text for a course at Carey Theological College I'm currently auditing.

[Clinton Crumley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an accurate portrayal of the biblical theology of God’s mission to bring people from all nations to Himself. The reason why I am not giving it a 5 star is because it it seemed he used so many words to describe things. The book could have probably be a quarter shorter if he hadn’t as much fluff. Otherwise, excellent and faithful book to the mission of God.

[Wassenario · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too long in developing his arguments for me. It got a bit repetitive. But definitely exhaustive if that’s what you are looking for. I would have preferred to see him flesh out the last chapter. That’s the book I would like to read.

[David Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good tracing of the missional heart of God throughout the entirety of the Scripture. Loved the exploration of the gospel of the kingdom and how the future hope we have of a renewed creation fuels our mission to see renewal in our day and age.

[Malachi Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

🚨🚨not by choice

A decent proposal for the claim that the church is inherently missional. Basically that “missional ecclesiology” is a redundant term.

He’s convinced me I guess; I’m not sure I needed convincing on this.
Boring as I’ll get out

[David Westerveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty academic book, but a lot of good stuff in here. The last chapter especially was gold

[John Muriango · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful work on being missional as a local church community. Problem I had with it though is that it approaches on too much continuity from Israel to the church.

[David Fenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Premise is good, conclusion is good, application is critical, but reading is bland.

[Danny Vaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blessed me as much as any other in quite some time.

[Riley Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my thought-shaping books (5 stars). It's a missiology, but it's really an ecclesiology. So good.

[Tucker David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dry for a book about the most incredible news and mission in the world. Has been said better by C. Wright, M. Williams, and others.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply theological, firmly planted in Scripture, well researched and presented. A more challenging vocabulary read, but very relevant for any pastor or church leader.

[Doug Howitt]

Really interesting book on the biblical story of God and his mission of restoring his people.

[Ryan Wentzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Tim Casteel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite type of book - an expert who has done a TON of reading, synthesizes and organizes all his learnings into a cohesive, accessible book (it would take you decades to read all the books that Goheen cites- 622 endnotes in a 226 page book!).

Goheen’s book will help you read your Bible better. Quoting Christopher Wright:
"the mission of God (and the participation in it of God’s people) [is] a framework within which we can read the whole Bible. Mission is . . . a major key that unlocks the whole grand narrative of the canon of Scripture.”

A wide ranging explanation of missions and the church (making the case that the church=mission), rooted in the story of God. Goheen goes far beyond typical ecclesiology:
* beginning with the people of God in the Old Testament (which he says "has been conspicuously neglected” and adds "ecclesiology does not truly begin with the New Testament”; additionally - most missions books start with the Great Commission, or at best, the life of Christ. Goheen roots Missions in the purpose of Israel which becomes the purpose of Christ which becomes the purpose of the Church)
* as well as explaining how we got to now (through church history - from aliens living under persecution, to Christendom, to the enlightenment, to modern times).

Immensely helpful.

I picked up the book, trying to understand gathering vs scattering: how the mission of God went from a centripetal force (sucking in to Jerusalem; with exile/scattering being THE punishment for sin) to a centrifugal one (with the Holy Spirit intentionally pushing out and scattering his people, not as punishment but on mission).

Goheen: "Gathering becomes a terminus technicus for salvation”. And I’d argue the opposite is true as well- scattering in the OT is shorthand for the wages of sin (equivalent to hell).
The short of Goheen’s answer: we are now a centrifugal/scattered people, embodying the presence of God among the nations in centripetal, contrast communities that suck people in to Christ.

[Cliff Dailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is for one wanting to know more about "What does God require of His people?" from the Transformationalist perspective.

Briefly put, there are 2 ends of the spectrum: Two-kingdom and One Sphere (Transformationalist). Honestly, Goheen doesn't present the One Sphere understanding very well. First, he doesn't outright own it, and second he doesn't dive deeper into general concepts conveyed in Scripture. For example, Goheen mentions "cosmic salvation" but he doesn't divide appropriately what carries into eternity and what doesn't.

Thankfully, Goheen goes to the Holy Scritpures to some extent. Oddly enough, the first chapter on the "Mission and Identity of the Church" scarcely references Holy Scripture. Therefore, I'm not impressed by Goheen's thoughts. I want what the Bible says, not what Michael Goheen says.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full review is available in Koers
http://www.koersjournal.org.za/index....

The concept of mission has been shaped by nineteenth-century assumptions: mission is a matter of geography, it is a cross-cultural activity done by a select few individuals; some are called to mission others are not. This book exposes these erroneous views and places mission in the context of Israel and the church. It provides a whistle-stop overview of 'the missional impulse in the biblical narrative'. It begins to explore the missional roots of the church in the Old and New Testaments. Many missional books neglect the Old Testament, Goheen does much here to redress the imbalance.


This book is inspiring and insightful - it should be required reading for all those who take the lordship of Christ seriously.

A website accompanies the book: www.missionworldview.com
There is a two page list of further reading, an eight-page subject index and a six-page Scripture index.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't think of a better book of its kind. The fact that Goheen writes with a specific focus on missional church is a huge and helpful step forward over more generic theologies of mission. I first encountered Michael Goheen a few years back listening to a message of his entitled "The Urgency of Reading the Bible as a Single Story" given at Regent in Vancouver. I've followed his work ever since with great profit. This book, along with his two previous works, "The Drama of Scripture" and "Living at the Crossroads" (written with Craig Bartholomew) actually make a formidable trilogy for those interested in relating the Biblical Story, Worldview, and Missional Church. Goheen gets the necessity of consciously living into the biblical story as the only viable way to avoid being swallowed up by our competing cultural narrative(s). All three books actually belong on the short list of anyone reading missiology these days. "Light to the Nations" needs to be required reading for all seminarians and anyone hoping to plant or lead a church.

[Shaun Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goheen may not be a theologian who introduces earth-shattering new defining concepts for us to chew on (like Newbigin for example), but he is a master researcher who compiles the material in a concise and very readable package. With a 1500 page reading requirement for a Missions module, this was by far the breath of fresh air amidst some other very painfully tedious (and boring) titles.

Of the tens of books I utilised for a research paper on the biblical theological perspective on missions, this was the one I found the most enjoyable to read. My guess is that this provides a lighter dose of his more comprehensive "Introducing Christian Mission Today" that is almost twice as thick, and where many similar concepts are visited but in greater detail. Goheen writes with an interest in the biblical theological framework and what made the book a truly pleasurable read was that even novice readers would find the title highly engaging and accessible. More advanced readers can refer to his abovementioned lengthier title.

[John Medendorp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grand and magnificent exploration of the nature of the church through the narrative of Scripture. Goheen traces the whole history of the people of God throughout Scripture, demonstrating its missional purpose to live as in a way both differentiated from and a part of the world around them.
This book is great, firmly rooted in Scripture, and concluding with some very helpful, relevant, and practical advice for congregational leadership. Goheen's writing style took me some time to get used to. It is rather dense, with constant references to European theologians, and a heavy reliance on Lesslie Newbigin's theology and Joachim Jeremias' biblical studies. Chris Wright and Tom Wright also feature heavily in the footnotes. Goheen uses quotation marks for "emphasis" at times, which is one of my pet peeves, but I got over it.
All in all, a great book, extremely biblical, extremely relevant, and extremely helpful. It gets a solid "I really liked it" from me.