A Survey of World Missions

Robin Hadaway

• Editore: B&H Academic
• Anno: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781462770441
• Argomento: Théologie et religion
• Categoria: Ministère chrétien

Reflecting thorough scholarship and decades of ministry experience, Robin Hadaway's A Survey of World Missions examines the biblical, theological, and historical foundations of missions, as well as issues of culture and worldview, contextualization, philosophy, and mission strategy. The book is designed to assist pastors, students, missionaries, and theologians in developing sound theory and praxis for both the international and North American mission field. Through his use of field illustrations and key questions, Hadaway achieves a conversational tone, making this textbook ideal for use in both academic and lay settings.

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Introduction

WHAT IS MISSIONS?

In the mid-1970s I served as the weapons and administrative officer of the Tactical Warfare Training Squadron (TEWTS) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Now part of the Nevada Test and Training Range, their mission “provides the warfighter a flexible, realistic and multidimensional battle-space to conduct testing tactics development, and advanced training in support of U.S. national interests.”¹ On a mission trip to Myanmar, I visited the U.S. embassy in Burma. The seal at the entrance proclaims the building as “The American Mission to Burma.” A management textbook defines “mission” as that “which defines the fundamental purpose the organization attempts to serve and identifies its services, products, and customers.”² Of course, Christian organizations have mission statements too. How is Christian missions different from these?

The term mission springs from the Latin word missio and denotes a “sending off” or “to send.”³ Although David Bosch calls missions undefinable, he distinguishes between the singular missio Dei, God’s mission, and the plural missions, the activities of Christians and the church.⁴ The term’s present meaning emerged in the sixteenth century when the Jesuit order spread the Roman Catholic faith abroad.⁵ Usually the singular, “Mission,” is capitalized while the plural “missions” is not. Christopher Wright says, “So the phrase [missio Dei] originally meant ‘the sending of God’—in the sense of the Father’s sending of the Son and their sending of the Holy Spirit.”⁶ George Peters defines “missions” as

the sending forth of authorized persons beyond the borders of the New Testament church and her immediate gospel influence to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in gospel-destitute areas, to win converts from other faiths or non-faiths to Jesus Christ, and to establish functioning, multiplying local congregations who will bear the fruit of Christianity in that community and to that country.⁷

From missions comes missiology, a subdivision of the field of Christian theology. The term came into English from the French missiologie, a compound from the Latin missio and the Greek logos (Λόγος).⁸ According to Justice Anderson, “The word missiology, therefore, connotes what happens when the mission of God comes into holy collision with the nature of man. It describes the dynamic result of a fusion of God’s mission with man’s nature. It is what occurs when redeemed mankind becomes the agent of God’s mission. . . . missiology, etymologically speaking, is the study of this redemptive relationship.”⁹ This book explores the subject.

Recently, the related term missional has gained popularity. A missional person or church focuses on mission work. Michael Goheen says the word mission connotes a geographical expansion, whereas missional describes “not a specific activity of the church but the very essence and identity of the church.”¹⁰ Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im say, “Missional means adopting the posture of a missionary, joining Jesus on mission, and learning and adapting to the culture around you while remaining biblically sound.”¹¹ Therefore, missions is the activity of the church, while missional focuses on what the church does.

VIEWS ON MISSIONS

This begs the question: What is God’s mission? Bosch says the Christian faith sees “all generations of the earth as objects of God’s salvific will and plan of salvation.”¹² There are numerous ways missiologists, theologians, and churchmen observe missions.

The Soteriological View

This represents the traditional rationale for missions: the people of the world need saving from their sin, therefore, evangelism and missions communicates the good news of God’s reconciliation to humanity. Proponents point to Luke 19:10 and the words of Jesus: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Dwight L. Moody pronounced, “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said, ‘Save all you can.’”¹³ Most conservative missiologists and practitioners until recently have held this view. Preston Nix says:

The method, or strategy, God has chosen to employ in order for the Great Commission to be accomplished is the evangelistic witness of his followers in his church. According to the Great Commission passages . . . [t]he object of proclamation is the gospel revealing that mankind through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus can receive forgiveness and enter a right relationship with the Father (Acts 20:21).¹⁴

The Eschatological View

This perspective holds that missions can usher in the end times. Jesus states in Matt 24:14, “This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations [ethnos, ἔθνος], and then the end will come.” Advocates juxtapose this verse with Rev 5:9,¹⁵ concluding Christ cannot return until representatives from “every tribe and language and people and nation”¹⁶ have heard the gospel.¹⁷ Furthermore, proponents interpret 2 Pet 3:12¹⁸ to mean the activities of God’s people can hasten the return of the Lord. This dispensational view was popularized by writers such as Charles F. Baker, J. Dwight Pentecost, and C. I. Scofield.¹⁹ This perspective has birthed an increased urgency for winning the world for Christ in this generation. Some criticize this view because God’s actions are linked to the works of men.

The Doxological View

This perspective sees missions as a vehicle for glorifying God. Those holding this view proclaim the gospel and insist souls are saved only by believing in Christ. They claim, however, missions is the by-product of the activity and not the chief aim of it. Representing this perspective, John Piper says:

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. . . . The goal of missions is the gladness of the people in the greatness of God. . . . But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. . . . Missions begins and ends in worship.²⁰

According to this view, missions exists, not primarily to save the lost, but to increase the praise offered to God. As missionaries proclaim the gospel and the lost are saved, God is glorified. This, in their view, is the primary purpose of missions. As more Reformed pastors have emphasized missions, this view has gained more traction. Due to the immense influence of John Piper, a former pastor and fervent supporter of missions, this perspective of missions is widely held.

The Kingdom View

This outlook holds missions is an expansion of the kingdom of God. Popularized by George Eldon Ladd, the Kingdom View sees the aim of missions as furthering God’s kingdom on earth. Ladd says the gospel must be preached to all nations (Mark 13:10) and equates this with the proclamation of the good news about the kingdom of God. He says, “[I]t will be the mission of the church to witness to the gospel of the Kingdom in the world.”²¹ Proponents see Matt 4:17 as an example: “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (NASB). The Kingdom View says the Lord desires obedience under his rule, not simply converts who may or may not alter their lifestyles and profess Christianity in name only.

The Holistic View

This vantage point of missions sees the gospel from a humanitarian perspective. Its adherents see the mission of Jesus as renewing mankind in body, soul, and spirit. They view the church’s primary mission as healing the sick, feeding the poor, sheltering the homeless, educating the ignorant, liberating the oppressed, and fostering world peace. Holistic missions, also known as the social gospel, often stresses political concerns, social justice issues, environmental causes, gender equality, and class consciousness over theological issues. They cite Jesus’s words in the Beatitudes, Matt 5:3–12.²²

Proponents note the apostle James’s admonition in Jas 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Many Roman Catholics, mainline Protestant denominations, and Eastern Orthodox communions subscribe to this view. The World Council of Church’s mission statement advocates a solidarity with the poor and considers this stance as part and parcel with the gospel.²³

Gustavo Gutierrez, considered one of the founders of liberation theology, took the social gospel to the extreme. Liberation theology sees Christ as more of a liberator of the oppressed than a savior. To their credit, many evangelical churches attempt to engage in social action and gospel proclamation at the same time. Some churches have excellent programs for meeting human needs.

THEORIES OF MISSIONS

In addition to these views of missions, missiologists conceptualize missions ...

Indice dei contenuti

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Biblical Basis of Missions
• 3. The Theological Foundation of Missions
• 4. The Historical Foundation of Missions
• 5. World Religions
• 6. Culture and Worldview
• 7. Contextualization
• 8. Philosophy of Missions
• 9. Missions Strategy and Methods
• 10. The Missionary
• 11. Conclusion: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Missions
• Appendix A: Baptism
• Appendix B: Ecclesiology
• Bibliography
• Name Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index