EMQ » July–September 2023 » Volume 59 Issue 3
Missiological Reflections on Life and Mission
By Stephen M. Davis
Wipf and Stock, 2022
148 pages
US$38.00
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Reviewed by Brent H. Burdick, DMin, adjunct professor of missions, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina, and director of the Lausanne Movement’s Global Classroom.
When you spend much of your adult life as a cross-cultural missionary, you learn many things. You learn about adapting to other cultures, about various aspects of theology and missiology, and about interpreting the Bible through fresh cultural insights. As you reflect on your years of service, you want to pass on what you have learned, and share ideas, thoughts, lessons learned, and perspectives gleaned to those with fewer years and less experience.
Missiological Reflections on Life and Mission by Stephen Davis is just such an attempt. Davis has years of cross-cultural ministry experience living in countries such as France and Romania and has traveled widely in Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Africa. He has also served as a missions pastor and church planter in the US. He has advanced degrees in missiology and intercultural studies.
Davis reflects on a wide array of topics that he encountered over the years. From theological concerns such as salvation, signs and wonders, and missional priorities, to practical concerns such as poverty and the gospel, music and worship in missions, polygamy, and whether Allah is the father of Jesus. Most cross-cultural servants will encounter these topics to varying degrees during their ministry, and it is helpful to have a book by someone with knowledge and experience that provides a road map for thinking and application of these issues to missional life.
Each chapter is short, very readable, and well-researched, giving a good introduction to each topic addressed. However, this is also a problem because each issue is so complex theologically, culturally, biblically, and socially that a short discussion cannot begin to fully address the myriad aspects each entails in the carrying out of mission. Can one begin to address, for example, all that needs to be said about the gospel of the kingdom in seven pages (chapter 6), or about polygamy in missional contexts in nine pages (chapter 15)?
Even so, Davis’ reflections are a good starting place for younger leaders involved in missions to begin thinking about these issues. He points the way like a mentor, opening the door for a more complete exploration of the various missiological challenges faced in cross-cultural ministry. Though the book is short, it still has much value in helping start conversations on such important considerations for effective global witness.
For Further Reading
Advanced Missiology: How to Study Missions in Credible and Useful Ways by Kenneth Nehrbass (Cascade Books, 2021).
A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World by Gregg Okesson (Baker Publishing Group, 2020).
EMQ, Volume 59, Issue 3. Copyright © 2023 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.
