EMQ » October–December 2021 » Volume 57 Issue 4
[memberonly folder=”Members, EMQ2YearFolder, EMQ1YearFolder, EMQLibraryInstitution”]By John R. Franke
Baker Academic, 2020
192 pages
US$22.99
Reviewed by Marcus Dean, Professor of Intercultural Studies and Missions, Houghton College, and former missionary for fourteen years in Colombia and Puerto Rico.
Two sentences bookend John Franke’s work. The first sentence of chapter 1, “The starting point for missional theology is the notion of a missional God.” (1) and an early sentence in the Epilogue. “Missional theology must be lived in the life of a community for the sake of the world.” (167). Franke has done a good job of bringing together previous writings on this topic. Each of the five chapters fills out the content between those bookends focusing on the missional nature of God, the Church, theology, multiplicity, and solidarity. The Epilogue brings the thoughts together.
Missional Theology starts with discussing mission as coming from the missio Dei – explained as God being a missionary God. Franke sets a clear distinction between “the mission of God and the mission activities of the church” (7) with the focus on the activities of God as seen through God’s love for the world. From this foundation the Church is seen as missional, meaning that “the church is intimately connected with the mission of God in the sending of Jesus and the Spirit” (31). For Franke this means that the church is the community of God that is to share God’s love with everyone through the work of the Spirit witnessing to the values of God’s kingdom.
The remaining three chapters explain the implications of these two key building blocks. Missional theology is largely practical calling the church to be missionary – that is to be a witness to the gospel. By this Franke is clear that the gospel is to be culturally specific, not what the sharing church has articulated for its own cultural context. It appears that Franke is calling for a balance that avoids excessive accommodation to a culture and the gospel message being seen as not connected to the culture (67). Yet, there seems to be an unresolved (and it may not be resolvable) tension between the localness of theology and the voice of the global church speaking to each other. Franke seems to be saying that no one voice can be any more significant than any other; including, for example, the importance that many put on the Nicaean Creed. Chapters 4 and 5 explore the impact of this perspective of theology that calls for the church to be both diverse (plurality and multiplicity) and unified. One key for Franke is that unity is not uniformity (147). As the gospel message transforms the church in each culture, we will find ourselves both in sync with our culture and out of step with our culture (153). In essence, we are to be followers of Jesus Christ together, yet from within our different cultures.
I wish Franke had added one more chapter exploring or giving examples. It seems a bit esoteric without giving a clear understanding of what he would see as acceptable. But that might be his intention. There is plenty here in this short work for missiological discussion and debate, both in the field and in academia.
For Further Reading
Ekstrom, Bertil, ed. The Church in Mission: Foundations and Global Case Studies. William Carey Library, 2016.
Van Engen, Charles. Transforming Mission Theology. William Carey Library, 2017.
