Reformed Means Missional: Following Jesus into the World

by Samuel T. Logan Jr. (Editor), Christopher J.H. Wright (Foreword), Martin Allen (Contributor)

If It Isn’t Missional, It’s Not Church–and Certainly Not Reformational Church

Christians are not on a mission for God; his church is on his mission—the mission of bringing the grace of Christ to sinners; the mission of bringing the whole world into obedience to Christ; and the mission of covering the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Being on God’s mission means following Jesus into the darkest places of the world to bring the good news of the total redeeming work of Christ. Leading reformed thinkers including Tim Keller, Thomas Schirrmacher, P. J. Buys, Diane Langberg, John Leonard, Basyle Tchividjian, John Freeman, and many others, demonstrate why and how the church must be on God’s mission of bringing grace, holiness, compassion, and justice to a world of sin and suffering.

This ebook edition features eight additional chapters on topics such as majority world challenges in the twenty-first century, worship and ministry in both word and deed, and unity in the universal church.

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Joe Johnson]

First few chapters were helpful…then it seemed like it was random topics that were vaguely connected to the theme of the book…some not at all. But all in all, feels good to read a book that collected dust on my shelf for 10 years.

[Kirsty Otten]

If you're looking for a book to read that will give you one comprehensive message about cross-cultural missions, this probably isn't the book for you. However, this book has been extremely helpful in opening my eyes and mind to a vast array of different topics and views surrounding missions. I feel I'm left with a sense of humility that wasn't there before.

[Kevin Sorensen]

I was intrigued by the title of this book, simply because I'm somewhat tired of this debate, 'Are you missional or not?' I've simply never found a good definition or description…until now. Logan, the editor of this work, does a great job of pulling together a good number of writers to tackle this very issue: define, describe and convince the church that if you are a true church you are missional. This is so because the 'mission is God's', not ours. Too often, we (the church) have made missions just a part of what we do. And sadly, there have been too many who have made it an optional part of what we do, whether one thinks globally or locally. The very mission of God is to create worshipers for Himself. We are the worshipers. He's called us to be a part of His great work. If we are not, then we are being disobedient, standing in need of confession (corporate as well as individual) and repentance.

Coming out of a non-reformed church tradition, but holding to the doctrines of grace (and many of the main reformed doctrines), this has never really been an issue for me. I grew up in a church/denomination which always sought to be involved in missions. Perhaps, if we had a weakness, it was emphasizing world mission over local mission (that was always considered outreach and those who were gifted 'came and held meetings' for us). This book helps to balance that out well. For reformed churches, I can only hope it brings much needed perspective and correctives.

This is a somewhat 'weighty' book; it's not a quick or easy read. That doesn't mean Christians shouldn't read it and just save it for academics. Pastors and church leaders should especially wrestle with these issues for the sake of their local churches, communities and perhaps, even to set a tone for their denominations.

A commendable read.

[Margaret Ann]

Was a bit dry, though admittedly I am not always enthralled by theology books. I think the fact that it was composed of a series of pieces by different individuals made it difficult to find an overarching theme or point to follow throughout the book. If you are a pastor or in seminary, you might find this interesting, but as a member of a small group that did a study on this, it wasn't my favorite.

[David Westerveld]

I think this could have been more focused in the topics and editing. There was a wide ranges of thoughts and ideas, which was helpful is some ways but also meant that some parts were much more interesting than others. In some ways I think it missed the sweet spot for me. Some of the articles were along the lines of 'yeah, yeah I already know that' and others were interesting, but covering things that were almost to big to get into in my own context.

[Adam]

Good book. Mission = Gospel movement and transformation in all spheres. So this book covers theology, missions, and ethics in a collection of essays.

[Jennifer]

Review on my blog: http://wp.me/pf2RR-rw

[Josh]

Good overall. The essays weren't all of the same caliber, but some very good entries.