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Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World
Many Christians in the West sense that traditional Christian teaching is losing traction in the public square. What does faithful Christian witness look like in a post-Christian culture?
Paul Williams, the CEO of one of the world's largest and oldest Bible societies, interprets the dissonance Christians often experience while trying to live out their faith in the twenty-first century. He provides constructive tools to help readers understand culture in myriad contexts and offer a missional response. Williams calls for a truly missional understanding of post-Christendom Christianity whereby local churches are reimagined as embassies of the kingdom of God and Christians serve as ambassadors in all spheres of life and work.
This book invites readers to embrace the language of exile and imagine a hopeful mission of the scattered and gathered church in the post-Christian West. It shows a clear pathway for fruitful missional engagement for the whole people of God, helping Christians make sense of the world in which they live, more authentically integrate faith with everyday life, and orient all of their efforts within God's missional purpose for the world.
Paul Williams, the CEO of one of the world's largest and oldest Bible societies, interprets the dissonance Christians often experience while trying to live out their faith in the twenty-first century. He provides constructive tools to help readers understand culture in myriad contexts and offer a missional response. Williams calls for a truly missional understanding of post-Christendom Christianity whereby local churches are reimagined as embassies of the kingdom of God and Christians serve as ambassadors in all spheres of life and work.
This book invites readers to embrace the language of exile and imagine a hopeful mission of the scattered and gathered church in the post-Christian West. It shows a clear pathway for fruitful missional engagement for the whole people of God, helping Christians make sense of the world in which they live, more authentically integrate faith with everyday life, and orient all of their efforts within God's missional purpose for the world.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 15, 2022
"For some time the church in the West has given its main energy and focus to propping up institutions and models that are clearly no longer fit for purpose, to accommodating to or judgementally critiquing Western culture, and to anaesthetizing ourselves to the missional challenges we face through our Christian consumerism and pietistic withdrawal. It is time to face up to the missional challenges of our generation; to sharpen our focus, perception and prayer lives; to resolutely seek awareness of what God is doing so as to follow him; and to harness our resources as if we mean business. "
From the conclusion on page 230. It is hard to disagree.
From the conclusion on page 230. It is hard to disagree.
January 9, 2021
A perfect remedy for Christians wondering what posture to take in a post modern world. We are to live as ambassadors, to be a blessing to the nations, to redeem every part of creation back to him. We tend to point to our culture at what’s wrong with it.
But why not to the good it points? Why not , like the 6th century Celtics who would go on voluntary evangelistic trips and upon arriving on shore declare, ‘The Kingdom of God is here!’
But why not to the good it points? Why not , like the 6th century Celtics who would go on voluntary evangelistic trips and upon arriving on shore declare, ‘The Kingdom of God is here!’
April 5, 2020
This could easily be the most important Christian book published in 2020. The ideas, concepts, and reflections here are critical. If we (as the Church) in the West can internalize and actualize this book renewal and revival will be on their way.
June 3, 2025
“It is important to emphasize that this pilgrimage is not a journey from earth to heaven. The Bible does not envision the Christian life as a kind of Gnostic escape from material reality. Nor is it a metaphor for building heaven on earth… Instead, we are journeying through time on earth and in heaven simultaneously. The journey’s goal is the marriage of heaven and earth that will take place only when Christ returns… In other words, the pilgrim people of the church are not a large crowd traveling through the world, touching or impacting it as little as possible, nor are they a group trying to take it over and settle down. Rather, Christians are called to journey through the world in ways that bless it and help prepare it for the coming of God” (217)
May 15, 2021
This book is the distillation of years of thoughtful teaching (at Regent College in Vancouver) and it shows. Whereas many books of Christian teaching are worked-up sermons, this feels more like a boiled-down course and would be enormous fun to work through in a group setting over a term or so. The diagnosis (my analogy, not his) is that the Church is like a cruise liner with the tide having gone out. Crew and passengers are busy trying to keep everything going. But really, rather than hoping for the tide to come back in, we need to engage with the new reality.
I am reluctant to summarize a b0ok that is so measured and thoughful, but it seems that the beaching of the Church is mostly an opportunity and call to re-think our view of the world, realize that Christians are already distributed widely through it, and for us all to learn how to follow Christ in whatever places we've landed. We should be ambassadors, he argues, and not the sort of ambassadors who are just dishing out a few passports; the kind who are engaging with the culture's stories and helping compose new ones. The apostle Paul talked about the church as 'pillar and foundation' of the truth, and so it became in the Roman Empire, supplanting the previous cultural settlement.
In terms of a book trying to engage seriously with the teaching of the Bible and contemporary church and its mission, rich with further avenues to explore, this is about the best thing I have read in years.
I am reluctant to summarize a b0ok that is so measured and thoughful, but it seems that the beaching of the Church is mostly an opportunity and call to re-think our view of the world, realize that Christians are already distributed widely through it, and for us all to learn how to follow Christ in whatever places we've landed. We should be ambassadors, he argues, and not the sort of ambassadors who are just dishing out a few passports; the kind who are engaging with the culture's stories and helping compose new ones. The apostle Paul talked about the church as 'pillar and foundation' of the truth, and so it became in the Roman Empire, supplanting the previous cultural settlement.
In terms of a book trying to engage seriously with the teaching of the Bible and contemporary church and its mission, rich with further avenues to explore, this is about the best thing I have read in years.
September 24, 2021
Definitely the most important book I've read all year.
For anyone who is trying to figure out how to live missionally while the sun is setting on the West -- this is something I'll be coming back to. I just laid it down next to my copy of David Bosch's book "Transforming Mission" -- another critical read for anyone who is seeking to figure out how to live as a follower of Christ in the 2020's. The metaphor changes are instrumental:
- Exile
- Ambassador
- Diplomacy
- translation
- Pilgrimage
This is critical stuff to think about and to discuss.
I highly recommend this book for any believer who is thinking about ways to make a difference in the weird days in which we find ourselves. This book and the concepts it contains is really important.
For anyone who is trying to figure out how to live missionally while the sun is setting on the West -- this is something I'll be coming back to. I just laid it down next to my copy of David Bosch's book "Transforming Mission" -- another critical read for anyone who is seeking to figure out how to live as a follower of Christ in the 2020's. The metaphor changes are instrumental:
- Exile
- Ambassador
- Diplomacy
- translation
- Pilgrimage
This is critical stuff to think about and to discuss.
I highly recommend this book for any believer who is thinking about ways to make a difference in the weird days in which we find ourselves. This book and the concepts it contains is really important.
July 22, 2020
One of the most honest, yet hopeful books on the church that I've read. Exiles on Mission offers a critique of the church that is rooted in history, culture, and deep love for the world. It articulates well why so many struggle to find any relevance in the church today and stirs imagination for a prophetic, and creative way forward. It left me with tools and a renewed imagination for ways my local church can equip its people with an understanding of faith that is deeply relevant to all of life.
November 19, 2021
The metaphor of exiles on mission is perhaps the most fitting way to describe Christianity in today's world. Williams' analysis and advocacy for the democratization of mission is insightful and comprehensive. His passion and desire for his vision to become realized in the life of believers and in the church is admirable and perhaps inimitable. The book ends very practically with examples that will be helpful for anyone attempting to live out an integrative missional life.
July 7, 2022
An excellent book, very thought-provoking. My only complaints are that it does not present enough practical advice and that sometimes it is written in such a way that it is hard to understand what is being said. But well worth the read and you will come away encouraged and inspired.
July 7, 2021
Framing the work of Christians in the biblical motif of exile as well as the current cultural one, this is a helpful resource I hope gets wide readership.
August 24, 2022
An exceptionally encouraging book about how to live faithfully as a follower of Jesus in our current moment in the Western world. A great blend of worldview analysis and scriptural exegesis.
October 3, 2024
I have mixed feelings on this book. I mostly liked it and agreed with many points. A few things I didn’t fully agree with but this book is worth reading.
January 28, 2026
…4.8 stars.
August 12, 2025
This was a very good book with a lot of food for thought. I was not quote certain whether it was a "keeper" (as in, keep on the shelves), but I think that it is. Paul Williams' use of the ambassador metaphor is the key to the entire book. Ambassadors to other nations have to know the language of another country, the culture/customs, and the people themselves. What better metaphor when bringing the Christian gospel to bear in this world? Ambassadors also realize that though they are in positions of authority and power, that authority and power only go so far in other countries. The reason is the ambassador is a representative and has not governmental control.
Therefore, to be an ambassador for the kingdom of God would be to represent Christ wherever you go, and that could include public office. But that means divorcing ourselves from the notion of obtaining power in order to implement what is often a very shallow "biblical worldview." The best example in Scripture is Daniel, who acknowledged that he was in exile and served the Babylonian emperor, but, at the same time, never compromised on his devotion to the God of Israel.
Williams also made a fascinating observation early in the book in a footnote that I think is worth quoting at length. Speaking of the "foundationalist mindset" and the "emerging church" he says:
"It is questionable whether the biblical foundationalism of fundamentalism was ever a good apologetic strategy, given that it accepted the Enlightenment quest for certainty acquired through the application of reason to evidence, differing only in that it allowed Scripture as providing admissible evidence. The strategy had some short-lived success in helping some people retain a biblical faith but has not detached many believers from the more biblical stance of the tradition--namely, that all knowledge begins with trust, not Enlightenment doubt, and ends in a humble confidence, not an arrogant certainty. The biblical stance of 'faith seeking understanding' is also a more effective way to resist postmodern relativism and engage apologetically in postmodern culture. The argument between foundationalist evangelicals and relativistic emergent Christians is thus particularly distressing given that the entire conversation is taking place in a theological dead-end in which both sides appear ignorant of the intellectual history of their epistemological claims." (p. 15)
I think that observation is absolutely spot on and puts into words what I've been thinking for years. The emergent brand of Christianity represented by the likes of Brian Maclaren and the foundationalist brand found in worldview schools like Summit Ministries can benefit from having more of a ambassador mindset with faith seeking understanding.
Therefore, to be an ambassador for the kingdom of God would be to represent Christ wherever you go, and that could include public office. But that means divorcing ourselves from the notion of obtaining power in order to implement what is often a very shallow "biblical worldview." The best example in Scripture is Daniel, who acknowledged that he was in exile and served the Babylonian emperor, but, at the same time, never compromised on his devotion to the God of Israel.
Williams also made a fascinating observation early in the book in a footnote that I think is worth quoting at length. Speaking of the "foundationalist mindset" and the "emerging church" he says:
"It is questionable whether the biblical foundationalism of fundamentalism was ever a good apologetic strategy, given that it accepted the Enlightenment quest for certainty acquired through the application of reason to evidence, differing only in that it allowed Scripture as providing admissible evidence. The strategy had some short-lived success in helping some people retain a biblical faith but has not detached many believers from the more biblical stance of the tradition--namely, that all knowledge begins with trust, not Enlightenment doubt, and ends in a humble confidence, not an arrogant certainty. The biblical stance of 'faith seeking understanding' is also a more effective way to resist postmodern relativism and engage apologetically in postmodern culture. The argument between foundationalist evangelicals and relativistic emergent Christians is thus particularly distressing given that the entire conversation is taking place in a theological dead-end in which both sides appear ignorant of the intellectual history of their epistemological claims." (p. 15)
I think that observation is absolutely spot on and puts into words what I've been thinking for years. The emergent brand of Christianity represented by the likes of Brian Maclaren and the foundationalist brand found in worldview schools like Summit Ministries can benefit from having more of a ambassador mindset with faith seeking understanding.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews