Discussion Questions

1. Develop a statement you would use if your church asked you for a definition of mission in thirty words or less.
2. If you were asked by your church to define mission—and you were given the space and time to do it—would it be important to distinguish for them the differences between mission, missions, and missio Dei? Give reasons to support your answer.
3. If God is already among the unreached and cares for them more than we do, what are the implications of this for mission work?
4. The authors place mission at the center of theology (diagram 5.4). Explain why you agree or disagree with this orientation to theology.
5. If theologians agreed that mission is at the core of theology, what would you expect to be the impact on the field of theology as a whole?
6. What is the impact on missions when agencies chose justice or liberation as the organizing theme for their mission theology?
7. The authors identify six motifs for mission theology: (1) the kingdom of God, (2) Jesus, (3) the Holy Spirit, (4) the church, (5) shalom (the Hebrew term for peace), and (6) the return of Jesus. If you had to limit your mission theology to only one of these in addition to Jesus (motif 2), which would you choose and why?
8. Today some advocate that nonbelievers do not spend eternity in Hell but are annihilated after judgment. If true, how would this belief impact missions?

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Bibliography

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———. 2011. Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

Beyerhaus, Peter. 1971. Missions: Which Way? Humanization or Redemption. Translated by Margaret Clarkson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Bosch, David J. 1980. Witness to the World: The Christian Mission in Theological Perspective. Atlanta: John Knox.

———. 1991. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

Cardoza-Orlandi, F. 2002. Mission: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon.

Culver, Robert Duncan. 1984. A Greater Commission: Theology for World Missions. Chicago: Moody.

DeYoung, Kevin, and Greg Gilbert. 2011. What Is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission. Wheaton: Crossway.

Dyrness, William A. 1983. Let the Earth Rejoice! A Biblical Theology of Holistic Mission. Westchester, IL: Crossway.

Fernando, Ajith. 1995. The Supremacy of Christ. Wheaton: Crossway.

Gibb, Richard. 2006. Grace and Global Justice: The Socio-Political Mission of the Church in an Age of Globalization. Carlisle: Paternoster.

Hollinghurst, Steve. 2010. Mission Shaped Evangelism: The Gospel in Contemporary Culture. London: Canterbury Press.

Johnstone, Patrick. 1998. The Church Is Bigger Than You Think: Structures and Strategies for the Church in the 21st Century. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.

Jones, Beth Felker. 2010. "Not Bootstraps Theology: Holiness and Grace in Christian Mission." In Exploring Christian Mission beyond Christendom: United Methodist Perspectives, edited by Michael G. Cartwright, 109–24. Indianapolis: University of Indianapolis Press.

Moreau, A. Scott. 2000. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, edited by A. Scott Moreau, s.v. "Mission and Missions." Grand Rapids: Baker Books.

———. 2001. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed., edited by Walter A. Elwell, s.v. "Missiology." Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Payne, J. D. 2012. Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration, and Mission. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity.

Peters, George W. 1972. A Biblical Theology of Missions. Chicago: Moody.

Piper, John. 1993. Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Potter, Philip A. 1991. Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, edited by Nicholas Lossky, Jose Miguez Bonino, John Pobee, Tom F. Stransky, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Pauline Webb, s.v. "Mission." Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Rottenberg, Isaac C. 1980. The Promise and the Presence: Toward a Theology of the Kingdom of God. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Shenk, Wilbert R. 1999. Changing Frontiers of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

Van Engen, Charles. 1996. Mission on the Way: Issues in Mission Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Vanhoozer, Kevin. 2006. "'One Rule to Rule Them All?' Theological Method in an Era of World Christianity." In Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity, edited by Craig Ott, Harold Netland, and Wilbert R. Shenk, 85–126. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Willis, Avery T., and Henry T. Blackaby. 2002. On Mission with God. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

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