COME AND SEE:
A History and Theology of Mission
By Glen Scrivener and Justin Schell
Union Publishing. 130 pages. £10.00
ISBN 978 1 916 899 544
This a helpful little primer on mission; it is almost like one of the volumes from the Very Short Introduction series. It will be a useful resource for students wanting to have a brief but reliable guide to the history and theology of mission, or anyone who wants to fill in the gaps inx their knowledge of mission.
What is good about this book? It is rooted in a robust Biblical theology of mission. It breathes the spirit of faith and prayer. I like the way that each chapter concludes with a well-thought-through prayer.
It masterfully compresses a great deal of information into 12 brief easy-to-read chapters. It is comprehensive in that it covers all the bases of mission: its theology, Biblical basis in both Old and New Testaments, and its practical implications for how the church does mission today.
It helpfully, albeit briefly, engages with issues like the balance of the ministry of the word and ministries of mercy, and the ongoing discussion of contextualisation.
The drawback of this book being brief is that inevitably it does not include everything. This is particularly noticeable in the historical chapters, that have no reference to the seminal missions conferences held in New York (1900) and Edinburgh (1910), nor is there any reference to J.H. Bavinck, David Bosch, or Leslie Newbiggin. Reading this historical section of this book one might imagine that it is only Reformed churches who have engaged in mission. There is no mention of the significant mission activity of Methodism, from preachers riding the circuit in the virgin territory of the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and pioneer missionaries in Africa and South India. Among those benefitting from their work was Nelson Mandela, who was educated at a Methodist secondary school. One of the authors suggested that a follow-up volume, entitled Go and Tell: the Church on Mission, will pick up these loose threads.
Yet I trust that many people will read this book to learn much and respond positively to the following statement made by the authors:
‘Our God is a missionary God! And we’re invited to join Him on that mission.’
