EMQ » October–December 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 4
By Stefan Paas
SCM Press, 2019
384 pages
US$40.00
Reviewed by Benjamin Espinoza, Associate Vice President for Online Education & Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, NY.
Drawing on decades of experience and research, Dutch missiologist Stefan Paas has produced a volume that graciously articulates a missional spirituality for a secular society. Paas is concerned that missiology has been obsessed with finding the most effective missional strategies and structures, but that secularization has demonstrated its ability to become infused into the church and reshape her priorities. At the core of Paas’ work is this penetrating question, “how can you keep a positive Christian identity, while knowing at the same time that the majority of the people around you does not share this identity, nor ever will?” (xvi). Paas draws on a number of different disciplines in order to build his argument – “social science, historiography, a bit of systematic theology, quite a lot of biblical theology, and some tentative exercises in practical theology” (xvii). The result is a work that will challenge Christians to rethink their missiological theology and practices.
Paas begins his work by painting a picture of secular life in Western Europe. He is concerned that many church leaders shy away from the deep challenges of secularism in hopes that their missional strategies can “overcome” the trends. Next, Paas provides an overview and robust critique of the dominant missiological models, such as the church growth, revival, and transformation models. In his view, these models are too grounded in Christendom ideology to have true impact in a secular society. For Paas, what Christians must do in secular society is draw hope and inspiration from the Old Testament prophets (the “uprooted and dispersed”) and the first Christians (the “scattered and sent”) – those who embraced their role as “pilgrims” and “priests” simultaneously. In the last couple of chapters, Paas puts together a vision for what it might look like for congregations to engage in mission in a secular society.
As a missiologist in Western Europe, Paas’ perspective is unique. Paas is faced with the reality that secularism is the new normal, which requires the church to continually challenge its existing missional models and develop new ones. Paas notes in an early chapter that to be truly missional in an extremely secular context, one must labor intensively to yield only a handful of new converts who receive baptism – a prospect which will discourage those who embrace church growth models. But Paas does not shy away from the challenges that await missionaries and ministry leaders. Paas’ argumentation is careful, and his writing style is accessible for those who value interdisciplinary thinking.
I highly recommend this work to pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries working in a diverse array of cultural contexts. While Paas is grounded in a Western European context, his theology and vision can apply to contexts where secularism is gaining a foothold and help ministry leaders understand the challenges they will face.
For Further Reading
Paas, Stefan. Church Planting in the Secular West: Learning from the European Experience. Eerdmans, 2016.
Williams, Paul. Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World. Brazos, 2020.
EMQ, Volume 56, Issue 4. Copyright © 2020 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
