Book Review of Missionary Methods

Flemming draws frequently upon the work of Michael Goheen, a prominent missiologist and Lesslie Newbigin scholar, to support many of his assertions of applications of biblical mission in contemporary contexts. Newbigin was a forefather of the missional movement applying missionary techniques to minister to post-Christian western society. The influence of Goheen’s scholarship, along with many other missiologist, is clear in the conclusions drawn by Flemming. Additionally, Flemming draws heavily on the work of two New Testament scholars, Michael J. Gorman and Joel B. Green. This is particularly important in Flemming’s examination of the book of Revelation on which Gorman’s work was

Finally, his call to know and experience God in a “vitally Trinitarian” way by the Spirit captures the very essence of Paul’s ministry and encapsulates the entire thesis of the book.

Five missionaries, one plane, the Bible, and the Ecuadorian jungle;Elisabeth Elliot’s biography Through Gates of Splendor shows Jim Elliot’s experience in the Ecuadorian jungle. Jim and his four friends venture into the jungles of Ecuador to preach the bible to the fierce tribe of the Aucas. they manage to win the hearts of the Aucas and they preach the bible and manage to win some souls and baptize some Aucas. Unfortunately, not all Aucas believed what they were doing was right and they killed the missionaries. Elisabeth’s book Through Gates of Splendor teaches that in order to be a missionary, oneself needs or should have dedication and patience.

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

Zae Niringe from Uganda says that the North American Church spends too much time thinking about roles and positions.3 “What’s the role of the North American Church?” do we have an interdependent relationship with our brothers and sisters in the global church? There are many things to learn from our global church by building relationships with them. Western Christians need a more robust involvement in the global missions community. North America has much education and resources share with the global Christian community. We also have things to learn and ways to learn from Christians in other countries. Borthwick encourages us to form mutual partnerships with our global church. To invest in these relationships will take time, but the relationships produced will be

This book calls the church to rethink and modify its practices, by providing a middle path between the emerging church and the conservative that aims to benefit all. There are major shift happening in the Western Church that has people talking. The problem is that churches fail to follow a mission-centered approach. Chester and Timmis have found that in order to refocus the churches

Paul wrote the book of Philippians as a letter to the church of Philippi. Paul uses this letter to thank the church for sending him financial aid while also trying to “bolster their enduring faith” (Neal, 88). Throughout this letter, Paul gives guidance to the church, however, in chapter 4 he focuses on encouraging “harmony”, “Christian joy and peace”, and “a sense of satisfaction” (Elwell & Yarbrough, 296-297). Each topic Paul discusses continues to be issues today and Paul’s words of wisdom remain true. In my own life, I have learned from Paul’s teaching to cast all my cares on God and try to lean on His, rather than my own, understanding.

In the first chapter of “Christianity Rediscovered” by Vincent J. Donovan he is introducing us to the idea that missionaries now have a poor reputation due to their history. He says “History has offered the opportunity to deflect and distort the meaning of missionary work in every age”. For a long time a missionary was a person spreading the word of God and after years of doing so we have diminished many different beliefs, practices, cultures and history. At the time it was thought to be the right thing, to spread out and share the gospel to help people find meaning and acceptance. In today’s age a missionary is a lot of different things, in many cases it is more focused on the health and physical wellbeing of the people. Many people still share the gospel through missionary work, but in other cases it is more of a material aid. Donovan introduces the book as a voyage of discovery he wants us to put our normal beliefs aside to see his perspective of living a missionaries life and struggling with the fact of if you are helping or hurting.

The goals this book presented were convincing and challenging for the Christian reader. The main goal of Questioning Evangelism is to develop a new way of thinking for the

Dr. Bob Wagstaff was a retired product development specialist in the food industry. In 2005, he was performing a voluntary service mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when he was confronted with a problem that he turned into an opportunity. Dr. Wagstaff was responsible for coordinating 200 nineteen to twenty-year-old American and Filipino missionaries in the Philippines. The missionary’s objective was to convert people in the community over to the church by spreading the message.

Paul wrote letters to churches and went on long, dangerous journeys in order to share the Word. Humbly serving the Lord, no matter what the cost, he became a disciple who made disciples. His personal, deep relationship with Timothy reveals the kind of atmosphere and level of commitment required in discipleship. The discipleship model Paul follows allows for a personally invested relationship between any amount of gathered people whether it be an entire church congregation, a small group, or

David Wesley’s main idea is a set of best practices, or what he terms “healthy patterns,” in congregational mission partnerships. Wesley observes that in the emerging “third way” of missions that began at the end of the 20th century and is coming into its own in the early 21st century is focusing on congregational partnerships. As such, Wesley seeks to lay out “common patterns for healthy global partnerships observed in these congregational partnerships.” Consequently, Wesley presents five healthy patterns around which common mission can flourish.

Missionary expansion throughout the centuries has taken a hard, often violent road. The expansion of Christianity begins with the adherents of Jesus Christ and ended with the premature demise of many of the disciples. In the centuries following the disciples, many missionaries were faced with percussion and death as the gospel was proclaimed. As missionary expansion occurs throughout the centuries, often times facing trial and difficulty, the question comes up; is the capital cost of missionary expansion worth the monetary value? This paper will highlight many trials that have been faced by three missionaries in particular and explain often by the words of these missionaries why the enormous cost of missionary expansion is worth the cost. The thesis of this paper is: everyone is called to preach the gospel; the calling of the missionary is called to live by faith even when facing difficulty.

This course has had a great impact on my walk with Christ as well as my witness for Christ. I pastor a church and teach two classes and for me I thought that I was doing plenty. However this course has helped rekindle my passion for sharing Jesus Christ with people through personal evangelism. This paper will demonstrate what I have learned throughout this course.

As I began to read and reflect on Paul Knitter’s book, a conversation from ten years ago surfaced to the front of my memory. This memory was about a conversation with a local Ugandan while doing mission work overseas. It reemerged as my mind was intrigued by Knitter’s thoughts and reflections on world religious theologies. In Knitter’s book Theologies of Religion, one is really challenged to reevaluate what one believes when it comes to their faith and their Theology of Religion. As I reflect on through out this research paper I hope to do a few things: one, discuss some of Kintter’s thoughts and challenges, two, identify where I currently fall in regards to my Theology of Religion, and three, what does this look like in hands on ministry.