EMQ » July–September 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 3
By Michael W. Goheen and Jim Mullins
Baker Academic, 2019
224 pages
USD $22.99
Reviewed by Geoff Hartt, Executive Director of Hispanics for Christ (resourcing church-planting among Hispanics), Affiliate Faculty, Sioux Falls Seminary, and Director of SFS Kairos Project–Spanish Program.
The authors have succeeded in condensing an expansive topic into a reasonably sized text that will encourage anyone considering vocational missions and will provide an overview of mission work to those on local mission boards. This overview moves the reader from reflecting on or wrestling with the idea of mission to personally participating in mission by comparing mission to a symphony.
The book was birthed out of discipleship training that surfaced the need to answer three questions: What is the church’s mission as it participates in God’s mission? What is my role within God’s mission? And, what does mission look like in daily life? Using the analogy of a symphony, the authors present the answers as a process. First, we must listen to the symphony, then we learn to play basic notes which allow us to follow the symphony through the three movements. Finally, we find our place in the orchestra and join in with an eye on persevering through the entire piece.
Each chapter focuses on one of these steps. Chapter one covers listening to “how God and his people have been performing the symphony of mission for thousands of years” (2). In chapter two they present the foundations of missional engagement akin to learning the notes of music. Chapter three covers the three broad movements within mission: stewardship, service, and the spoken word. In chapters four through six, each movement is explained biblically, theologically and illustrated with real world examples. The final movement, the chapter focusing on “What is the gospel?” is especially well presented.
The book takes a practical turn in chapters seven through nine. The question of calling is addressed in chapter seven. In a section titled “Nuggets of Vocational Wisdom” they offer six wonderful pieces of practical advice for those contemplating vocational mission. Chapter eight helps the reader chose a specific area of mission to focus on, offering a warning about becoming overwhelmed with the over abundance of choices we have today. Finally, chapter nine addresses perseverance in mission. Their advice for missionaries is to maintain the practices of Sabbath, prayer, and living proximately (making peace with the here and now realities of our lives) if a missionary is to persevere over a long period with the possibility of few visible results.
Overall, this is a very readable book; not too lengthy or academically complex to lose the interest of the person in the early stages of considering vocational mission.
For Further Reading
Borthwick, Paul. A Mind for Missions: 10 Ways to Build Your World Vision. NavPress, 1987.
Steffen, Tom, and Lois McKinney Douglas. Encountering Missionary Life and Work: Preparing for Intercultural Ministry. Baker Academic, 2008.
