EMQ » October–December 2021 » Volume 57 Issue 4
[memberonly folder=”Members, EMQ2YearFolder, EMQ1YearFolder, EMQLibraryInstitution”]By Matthew Newkirk
Wipf and Stock, 2020
328 pages
US$40.00
Reviewed by Hoon Jung, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California.
This theologically deep, academically rigorous, and missiologically creative volume was written because the church rarely considers the message of the Bible as a whole as the basis of missions. However, the author argues that “the entire Bible provides compelling rationale for the work of missions” (2). The author’s goal is to show that “the church’s call to missions is based not simply on Jesus’ most famous post-resurrection command, or even on a few ‘missions verses,’ but on a biblical theology that begins with God’s first mandate to humanity at creation” (2).
Newkirk argues that God’s mission is “for his kingship to be represented to the ends of the earth,” and, accordingly, the mission of God’s people is “to fill the earth as God’s representatives and thereby demonstrate that his kingship extends over the entire earth” (5–6).
A strength of the book is that it is written from three perspectives – biblical, historical, and missiological. First, as an Old Testament scholar, the author examines in detail both the Old Testament and the New Testament concerning mission. This is important because contemporary discussions of mission are often far removed from a biblical perspective and often focus on various theological viewpoints.
Secondly, the author discusses the historical development of mission in the Bible. When looking at the biblical story from creation to the church epoch, God’s mission experiences frustration, resumption, organizing, integrating, and reinstatement.
Finally, this book is missiologically insightful in that it grounds the missionary task in the story of creation. This contrasts with the idea that mission is a rather new idea presented by Jesus in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20 or, at the earliest, in God’s call of Abraham in Genesis 12.
Some concepts may be controversial. For example, when discussing mission and missions, the author defines missions as the effort “to establish a witness to the gospel in places or among peoples where there is none or where it is very weak” (2, citing Michael Goheen). As the author acknowledges, such a definition seems at odds with the popular concept of missions which can encompass almost everything. In yet another sense, Scott W. Sunquist uses missions to refer to mission organizations or institutions. This means that readers need to pay attention to how terms are used.
Nevertheless, this is a well-written and thoughtful piece worth reading, especially for missiologists and students who want a robust and creative biblical foundation for mission.
For Further Reading
Goheen, Michael W., ed. Reading the Bible Missionally. Eerdmans, 2016.
Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations. Baker, 2012.
