One In Jesus

Christopher Wright’s outline of mission is very sensible, and there’s much to support it in scripture. But there are problems, too. Thompson points out some difficult truths that force us to add a layer of nuance. And we American Christians don’t do nuance well — not at all.

Evangelism

Let’s talk about the Great Commission. Thompson focuses on Paul’s writings, and so he doesn’t say much about the Great Commission. Nonetheless, it’s a great place from which to make Thompson’s point.

(Matt. 28:18-20 ESV)  18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

First, most preachers and teachers skip v. 18. The fact that Jesus has “all authority” is the predicate for his command, and we skip it. Too easy. Too obvious. But Jesus is announcing that he has been enthroned as King of the Universe. He has defeated or will defeat all opposing powers. There will be some resistance to be battled, but the victory of Jesus is assured. Therefore, we should take great comfort that the most powerful being in the Universe is with us — always — until he returns. Continue reading →

We’ll return to Thompson’s book shortly. I want to digress just a hair to cover Wright’s understanding of mission so we can then reflect on the two differing perspectives.

In a recent lecture, Wright broke mission down into five elements:

• Evangelism (proclaim the good news of the kingdom)

• Teaching (teach, baptise and nurture new believers)

• Compassion (respond to human need by loving service)

• Justice (transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation)

• Creation care ( strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth)

All intrinsically flow from the Lordship of Christ

Now, I don’t see much to criticize here. This is certainly a more thoroughly worked out mission than most of what we read in church mission or vision statements.  Continue reading →

The Missional Church

Missio Dei

Technically, “missional” is a newly coined adjective for “mission.” A church truly on the right mission is missional. But, sadly, the term has been co-opted by some to refer to their particular way of being missional.

Advocates of the missional church have observed that the traditional understanding of the church as the place where the word is preached and the sacraments are administered fits within the context of Christendom but is inadequate in a post-Christian era, for its focus on the church as “the place where” offers no understanding of its mission.

Thompson, James W.. The Church according to Paul: Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ (p. 12). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

The goal, therefore, is to leave the building and enter the world as salt and light. Continue reading →

Thompson begins his book by summarizing several possible views on the mission of the church.

Political Action Committee

Thompson explains,

While liberals and conservatives choose different issues, they agree that the task of the church is to mobilize and influence public opinion in a democracy. Liberals have addressed the most contentious issues of the day: wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the rights of the marginalized, and the evils of corporate capitalism. Conservatives have mobilized to shape public policy on sexual mores, abortion, and the maintenance of a “Christian America.” Despite their differing priorities, both hope to inject Christian values into the larger society, and both exist in continuity with the Constantinian relationship between church and society.

Thompson, James W. The Church according to Paul: Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ (p. 9). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Thompson doesn’t unpack his conclusions in any detail, but there’s a lot of truth here to think about. For example, both Republican and Democratic Parties have libertarian strands. The Republicans want the government out of the way of business and education, but they want government to criminalize gay sex and to encourage family values, prayer in the schools, and such like. The Democrats want the government out of our sex lives — even to the extent of paying for abortions — but they want the government to compel businesses and individuals to respect the sexual freedoms of others by banning LGBT discrimination. And they love the idea of government strictly regulating business and education. Continue reading →

As I mentioned in the last post, James W. Thompson, a professor at Abilene Christian, just published The Church according to Paul: Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ.

He begins by reviewing several popular theories of church mission.

Having observed the numerous attempts at reimagining the church, I am convinced that the most basic questions are not being asked. In the various strategies for reinventing the church, the theological identity of the church is assumed but not examined. The crisis of the church pertains not only to the loss of numbers but also to the fundamental question, what kind of church should survive? That is, what is the purpose of the church?

Thompson, James W. The Church according to Paul: Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ (p. 2). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

I think this is exactly right. The need for church growth is assumed and is assumed to apply at the local congregational level. This seems obvious, but don’t we first need to be certain that our church is the sort that God would like to see grow? I mean, long before we get to growth, we need to cover faithfulness — and the church growth literature assumes faithfulness. But not all churches are faithful and not all deserve to grow. Some would serve the Kingdom better by dying — or, better yet, changing. Continue reading →

I earlier introduced the readers to the writings of Christopher J. H. Wright (no kin to N.T.) in my review of his commentary on Ezekiel. Wright is a marvelous writer, and he’s twice turned his attention to the doctrine of mission.

In The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative Wright builds a hermeneutic based on mission. That is, he takes mission to be the central theme of scripture and then reads the entirety of scripture through that lens. This approach is very similar to John Walton’s Covenant: God Purpose, God’s Plan, which sees scripture through the lens of God’s self-revelation (which the covenants are a major part of). God’s self-revelation is, of course, for a purpose — and that purpose is mission.

Wright later published The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Biblical Theology for Life), which is written for a more popular audience and is about mission rather than hermeneutics. I’m reading this book as I write this series.

Also excellent is an article summarizing one of Wright’s lectures published May 16. I’ll cover this in a future post. Continue reading →

I do not like vision statements. I think they’re a colossal waste of time and energy. As Exhibit A, allow me to introduce into evidence these statements I found by searching “Church Vision Statement” in Google Images:

Continue reading →