Description
Book SynopsisToday the language of mission is in disarray. Where do the language and idea of 'mission' come from? Do they truly have precedence in the early centuries of the church? Michael Stroope investigates these questions and shows how the language of mission is a modern phenomenon that shaped a 'grand narrative' of mission. He then offers a way forward.
Trade ReviewAll the main churches of the UK have 'mission' high on the list of their priorities at the moment -- mostly in the sense of 'missional church' or 'evangelization'. So Michael W. Stroope's findings that 'mission' is a late usage -- unsupported by the Bible and premodern Christian literature -- will certainly provoke. Nevertheless, when so much is invested in mission, this in-depth and insightful interrogation of the discourse and rhetoric is essential reading for scholars and practitioners alike. * Kirsteen Kim, Professor of Theology and Wolrd Christianity, Leeds Trinity University, UK *
Above everything else, it is a well argued, well thought through and well written piece of iconoclasm . . . if you’ve read Bosch, Wright’s Mission of God, Bevans and Schroeder or any other serious missiology book, then you must read this one, too. * Kouyanet *
I think this is a brilliant book. It is meticulously researched, cogently argued, and utterly convincing. It should become a standard textbook in mission courses, though those courses will probably now need be called something different! It must surely take its place as one of the seminal arguments in the rehabilitation of a truer form of gospel living as the church emerges out of modernity. * Mike Pickett *
