Introducing Christian Mission Today: Scripture, History and Issues, By Michael W. Goheen

Introducing Christian Mission Today

Scripture, History and Issues

by Michael W. Goheen

Introducing Christian Mission Today
casebound
  • Length: 448 pages
  • Dimensions: 6 × 9 in
  • Published: July 14, 2014
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • Item Code: 4047
  • ISBN: 9780830840472

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Mission--a driving force in the long Christian story--today is often cast as the embarrassing relative of tall-steeple religiosity.

In our wider culture it's now tucked in the endnotes of book-club histories or forms the ghostlike ellipses in the six o'clock news. But in Introducing Christian Mission Today, Michael Goheen brings the vibrant history, motivation and challenges of Christian mission to the fore.

Through the centuries Christian mission has always been recalibrating, retooling and reevangelizing. It has repeatedly taken surprising turns as it is carried along by the Spirit of God. Goheen's introduction to mission's biblical, theological and historical dimensions engages the present and anticipates the future. As he unfolds the major issues of the global and urban, the pluralistic and wholistic contexts of mission today, he lays the ground for engaging in God's great kingdom enterprise.

This full-scale text incorporates the keen missional insights of Lesslie Newbigin, David Bosch and other formative thinkers. It will be a valued resource not only for those in crosscultural contexts but also for those engaged in reevangelizing the West.

"Michael W. Goheen has produced here more than an introduction to mission studies. In this volume of some four hundred pages he provides a comprehensive, scholarly survey of the biblical, historical and contemporary issues in world mission that will serve to inform a generation of students and pastors. It is a remarkable achievement."

Gerald H. Anderson, director emeritus, Overseas Ministries Study Center

"This is an outstanding and needed book. Michael Goheen gives us a distinctive introduction to mission study that takes full account of both the momentous changes happening in global Christianity and recent thinking about the missional nature of the church. Rich in its biblical and theological grasp of mission, the book addresses precisely the right issues confronting the mission of God's people today. This introductory text is accessible, balanced and, at times, profoundly moving. Readers beware! This book will reshape your thinking about the nature and practice of Christian mission."

Dean Flemming, professor of New Testament and missions, MidAmerica Nazarene University

"Very few people can combine multiple areas of expertise in their own thinking, let alone in a single book. Mike Goheen is one of those few. This wide-ranging survey is the fruit of a true teacher's passion for the whole scope of his discipline. We are led steadily to understand mission from its biblical foundations, in theological reflection, through millenia of historical practice, across multiple cultural and ecclesial contexts, to the most urgent issues facing the church in mission today and tomorrow. Theologically enriching, reliably informative, and both conceptually and practically challenging."

Christopher J. H. Wright, international ministries director, Langham Partnership

"Based on Scripture and in light of current and historical developments, Introducing Christian Mission Today recalibrates the church's understanding of mission. Evangelical in spirit, yet ecumenical in breadth, this is an important and stimulating introduction to the foundations, challenges and issues of Christian mission today."

Craig Ott, professor of mission and intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Introducing Christian Mission Today is a well-written, accessible and comprehensive survey of mission theology. Michael Goheen provides the reader with an authoritative and balanced account of the salient developments--starting with a robust biblical theology that puts the mission of God at the dynamic center--that have transformed our understanding over the past century. This work edifies and challenges."

Wilbert R. Shenk, senior professor of mission history and contemporary culture, Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies

"Michael Goheen has distilled some of the best of recent Western missiological thinking into a readable and well-organized presentation. The book is current and has God's entire, comprehensive and worldwide mission in view. There are also particular examples and focused discussions on such crucial topics as urban mission. Many congregations, individuals and mission agencies will find great insight and reap much benefit here."

J. Nelson Jennings, executive director, Overseas Ministries Study Center

"An excellent resource for mission agencies as a well-written introduction on the missional nature of the Church, with focused exploration of the developments that have contributed to transformed understandings of mission over the last century."

Allison Norton, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, July 2015

"Goheen argues compellingly that we have much to learn from the global church."

Nick Smith, Christian Renewal, July 29, 2015

"Michael Goheen's book will be added to my list of recommended books. Part one gives a biblical and theological reflection on mission. Part two hands the reader a historical and contemporary reflection on mission. These chapters are more than mere reflections; they also contain gospel-centered recommendations to move the worldwide church forward. . . . This book gives the church guidance and hope to continually be involved in God's mission."

Henry Bartsch, Haddington House Journal, 2015
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CONTENTS

Preface
Introduction: A Paradigm Shift in Mission Studies Today
PART I: BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON MISSION
1. Scripture as a Narrative Record of God?s Mission
2. Theology of Mission and Missional Theology
PART II: HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY REFLECTION ON MISSION
3. Historical Paradigms of Mission
4. An Emerging Ecumenical Paradigm of Mission
5. A Survey of the Global Church
PART III: CURRENT ISSUES IN MISSION TODAY
6. Holistic Mission: Witness in Life, Word and Deed
7. Faithful Contextualization: Church, Gospel and Culture(s)
8. Toward a Missiology of Western Culture
9. A Missionary Encounter with World Religions
10. Urban Mission: The New Frontier
11. Missions: A Witness to the Gospel Where There Is None
Indexes

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Michael W. Goheen (PhD, Utrecht) is theological director and scholar-in-residence at the Missional Training Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He earned his PhD at the University of Utrecht, writing his dissertation on Lesslie Newbigin's missionary ecclesiology. Beyond his academic appointments at a number of universities and colleges, he has served as a church planter and pastor to several churches and is currently a minister in the Christian Reformed Church. He is the author of several books, including The Drama of Scripture (with Craig Bartholomew) and A Light to the Nations. His articles have appeared in Theology Today, Missiology, Mission Studies and Missionalia.