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The Gospel and Our Culture
증인으로의 부르심
Distillation of crucial issues for the church by one of the leading voices in missional theology
Since the publication of the groundbreaking volume Missional Church in 1998, there has been wide-ranging engagement with the theme of the missional church. One of the leading voices in the missional church conversation, Darrell Guder here lays out basic theological issues that must be addressed for the church to serve God faithfully as Christ's witnessing people.
Guder argues that there are major consequences for every classical theological locus if the fundamental claims of the missional church discussion are acknowledged. In Called to Witness he delves into these consequences, saying that we need to keep doing missional theology until it is possible to leave off the "missional scaffolding" because, after all, mission defines the very essence and calling of the church.
Since the publication of the groundbreaking volume Missional Church in 1998, there has been wide-ranging engagement with the theme of the missional church. One of the leading voices in the missional church conversation, Darrell Guder here lays out basic theological issues that must be addressed for the church to serve God faithfully as Christ's witnessing people.
Guder argues that there are major consequences for every classical theological locus if the fundamental claims of the missional church discussion are acknowledged. In Called to Witness he delves into these consequences, saying that we need to keep doing missional theology until it is possible to leave off the "missional scaffolding" because, after all, mission defines the very essence and calling of the church.
- GenresTheology
395 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 4, 2015
It seems as if every church deems itself missional. My congregation deemed itself so when it called me, even if it didn't completely understand what it means. My denomination is putting "Mission First." There are all manners of missional conferences, books, educational programs (including degrees). As with most terms taht become popular the meaning of the word "missional" is in the eye of the beholder.
The question is this: what did those who began this movement have in mind two decades or so in the past? One of the key figures in the founding of what is now called Missional was Darrell Guder, who is the author of "Called to Witness." This book is a compilation of essays and speeches written/shared over the past decade. The author offers this book as an attempt to renew the conversation about the theological foundations of the missional movement, or perhaps better -- to reconnect mission to theology. Because the book is a collection of previously produced materials focusing on a specific theme, there is considerable overlap/redundancy from one essay to the next. Nonetheless, as one reads through the essays (and readers might want to pick and choose which ones to read), one gets a good sense of what was intended by the creators of this movement.
Guder is a theologian by training whose interest in mission and evangelism landed him amongst the practical theologians, a division of theological education that is often deemed "practical" but not very "theological." Guder rues the fact that much theology done since Constantine's embrace of Christianity has had little inclination to connect mission and theology. Mission doesn't appear in the creeds nor in most systematic theologies. He would like to see that change. Missional theology is, according to John Franke, editor of the Gospel and Our Culture Network series in which this book appears, an attempt to "repair this divide and restore the inherent relationship between mission and theology" (p. ix).
What we seem to discern from reading this book is that mission and theology belong together, and that much of our theological work has been impoverished by the fact that they have been set apart with mission being set off on the margins. We also are reminded that the catalyst for this reengagement of theology and mission was Lesslie Newbigin, who wrote a series of books after his return to England from India where he had served as a bishop of the Church of South India. Newbigin had noticed the increasingly secular nature of the Western world and the church's inability to speak to it. This challenge was taken up by the Gospel and OUr Culture Network, beginning in 1987. The first published work that came from this effort emerged in the mid-1990s. Guder was among the first to be called to an academic post that would bring to theological students this message -- at Princeton Theological Seminary.
The Book is composed of eleven essays. The first essay was delivered at Princeton Seminary and seeks to bring mission and theology together in a missional theology. He discusses the idea of Missio Dei, the Christological formation of missional practice, the church as missional community. There is a chapter on the "Nicene marks of the Post-Christian Church," in which he reads the Nicene marks backward, beginning with apostolicity, which he believes speaks to the missional nature of the church. There are two chapters dealing with Scripture, and two on the "Worthy Walk" of missional community -- these were Payton Lectures delivered at Fuller Seminary. He returns to Mssio Dei as he explores theological formation for an apostolic vocation. Finally he concludes with a discussion of missional ecumenism.
There is both diversity of focus and overlap. In my reading of the book I found it helpful to be reminded that it is easy to overlook mission, and that this is a dangerous thing to do in a time when we live in a post-Christian world. As Newbigin clearly declared -- the church must regain its missionary calling. While denominations from across the theological spectrum have embraced the missional idea, Guder roots it in the Reformed tradition. The overwhelming emphasis on the Reformed roots and expression may have to do with the audiences, but one is hard pressed to find a person engaged in the essays who is not Reformed. The key figures here are Newbigin and Karl Barth. Barth is seen as being the first missional theologian. His works are engaged throughout the book.
It is a good and important book. It is scholarly in its focus. It's not where one might want to turn as a starting point. I would suggest instead some of the books of Craig Van Gelder. Nonetheless for those who have some idea of what the movement is about might find this a helpful opportunity to engage the movement theologically. I would have liked to see Guder engage persons outside the Reformed tradition, and persons outside the European and North American context. With a few exceptions the conversation is held with white men from the first world. Maybe greater engagement with those outside this context -- at least persons of color as well as more woemn -- would be helpful. Having said this, I still believe that Guder is right that mission and theology must be brought together -- for the health of both.
The question is this: what did those who began this movement have in mind two decades or so in the past? One of the key figures in the founding of what is now called Missional was Darrell Guder, who is the author of "Called to Witness." This book is a compilation of essays and speeches written/shared over the past decade. The author offers this book as an attempt to renew the conversation about the theological foundations of the missional movement, or perhaps better -- to reconnect mission to theology. Because the book is a collection of previously produced materials focusing on a specific theme, there is considerable overlap/redundancy from one essay to the next. Nonetheless, as one reads through the essays (and readers might want to pick and choose which ones to read), one gets a good sense of what was intended by the creators of this movement.
Guder is a theologian by training whose interest in mission and evangelism landed him amongst the practical theologians, a division of theological education that is often deemed "practical" but not very "theological." Guder rues the fact that much theology done since Constantine's embrace of Christianity has had little inclination to connect mission and theology. Mission doesn't appear in the creeds nor in most systematic theologies. He would like to see that change. Missional theology is, according to John Franke, editor of the Gospel and Our Culture Network series in which this book appears, an attempt to "repair this divide and restore the inherent relationship between mission and theology" (p. ix).
What we seem to discern from reading this book is that mission and theology belong together, and that much of our theological work has been impoverished by the fact that they have been set apart with mission being set off on the margins. We also are reminded that the catalyst for this reengagement of theology and mission was Lesslie Newbigin, who wrote a series of books after his return to England from India where he had served as a bishop of the Church of South India. Newbigin had noticed the increasingly secular nature of the Western world and the church's inability to speak to it. This challenge was taken up by the Gospel and OUr Culture Network, beginning in 1987. The first published work that came from this effort emerged in the mid-1990s. Guder was among the first to be called to an academic post that would bring to theological students this message -- at Princeton Theological Seminary.
The Book is composed of eleven essays. The first essay was delivered at Princeton Seminary and seeks to bring mission and theology together in a missional theology. He discusses the idea of Missio Dei, the Christological formation of missional practice, the church as missional community. There is a chapter on the "Nicene marks of the Post-Christian Church," in which he reads the Nicene marks backward, beginning with apostolicity, which he believes speaks to the missional nature of the church. There are two chapters dealing with Scripture, and two on the "Worthy Walk" of missional community -- these were Payton Lectures delivered at Fuller Seminary. He returns to Mssio Dei as he explores theological formation for an apostolic vocation. Finally he concludes with a discussion of missional ecumenism.
There is both diversity of focus and overlap. In my reading of the book I found it helpful to be reminded that it is easy to overlook mission, and that this is a dangerous thing to do in a time when we live in a post-Christian world. As Newbigin clearly declared -- the church must regain its missionary calling. While denominations from across the theological spectrum have embraced the missional idea, Guder roots it in the Reformed tradition. The overwhelming emphasis on the Reformed roots and expression may have to do with the audiences, but one is hard pressed to find a person engaged in the essays who is not Reformed. The key figures here are Newbigin and Karl Barth. Barth is seen as being the first missional theologian. His works are engaged throughout the book.
It is a good and important book. It is scholarly in its focus. It's not where one might want to turn as a starting point. I would suggest instead some of the books of Craig Van Gelder. Nonetheless for those who have some idea of what the movement is about might find this a helpful opportunity to engage the movement theologically. I would have liked to see Guder engage persons outside the Reformed tradition, and persons outside the European and North American context. With a few exceptions the conversation is held with white men from the first world. Maybe greater engagement with those outside this context -- at least persons of color as well as more woemn -- would be helpful. Having said this, I still believe that Guder is right that mission and theology must be brought together -- for the health of both.
January 6, 2019
There is some really good stuff in here. I like that the author is willing to acknowledge the harm that missionaries and mission trips have done in our world. I like that he acknowledges the influence of the Global Church and that Christianity in the West is on the decline. However, this book is extremely academic and full of a lot of technical jargon which makes it harder to engage with and follow. I think he could have cleaned up the jargon and made it more accessible and easier to read. Again, some great ideas in here but just a bit hard to follow because of all the academic language.
February 11, 2022
A healthy challenge to the ecclesial status quo
June 15, 2020
Worthy of reading
This book has a plethora of references, New and Old Testament, related to being called into missions. Also, the author expounds on the idea of "sentness" of the historical to the present-day churches. There is a need for the action "to-go" into the mission field (to be "sent"). I recommend this reading to anyone interested pastoral (congregational) ministry or mission theology.
This book has a plethora of references, New and Old Testament, related to being called into missions. Also, the author expounds on the idea of "sentness" of the historical to the present-day churches. There is a need for the action "to-go" into the mission field (to be "sent"). I recommend this reading to anyone interested pastoral (congregational) ministry or mission theology.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews