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 PrintableVersion A practical theology of missionsThinkers, doers, reportersA PRACTICAL THEOLOGY OF MISSIONS Books on missions are written by thinkers, doers or reporters; thinkers tell us God’s blueprint for mission, doers tell us to get on with it, and reporters tell heart-warming stories. Here is a book that combines all three. Roughly half the book deals with key biblical teaching and its implications, helping us think rightly about mission; the second half covers practical matters of strategy, planning and adaptability; and interspersed throughout are vivid firsthand reports of God’s work from Pakistan to Paraguay and Brazil to Burkina Faso. This is thorough but readable evangelical theology, written by a practitioner and with passion. Seeking to clear up ‘fuzzy thinking’ about the central task of missions, the author puts church planting in first place and underlines that humanitarian activities, although Christlike and necessary, are not missions as such. He lambasts a lethargic church and calls for action. Sometimes scathing about today’s Western church, he is optimistic about missions. This sane book is useful for our evangelism at home and will also moderate our expectations of results from overseas. There is a wealth of scriptural and practical information here for churches, and it includes critiques or snippets of other writers. The issue of culture is dealt with sensitively. Read it if you care about missions (and you should!) or if you’re thinking about becoming a missionary yourself (the ‘call’ chapter is excellent) or if you’d like your church to be more active in overseas missions. And if you’re not a fan of long missionary biographies, you’ll find the eight snapshots of missions refreshingly short. Paul Every-Clayton, © Evangelicals Now - August 2010 |
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