God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church

EMQ » Jul – Oct 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 3

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.

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How is the gap bridged between what God has done for humanity in Christ and the believer’s response in mission and evangelism? Are we left alone to fend for ourselves, feeling guilty, inadequate, or lacking confidence and motivation while God sits back and watches as we try our best to obey the Great Commission?  

Is there more to mission and evangelism than trying to persuade people to believe, while we pay the price in rejection, lack of fruit, or persecution? In God Shines Forth, Hames and Reeves suggest that “unless we honestly find God to be beautiful and enjoyable, we’ll have nothing worth saying to the people around us. Until we see him aright, we’ll have no genuine desire to fill the world with the knowledge of our God” (21).  

The purpose of the book is therefore not to present new mission methodologies or practical approaches for more fruitful outreach. Instead, it is to show theologically and biblically how God gives so much of himself to us – including his goodness, his love, his delight, his fullness – that we cannot help but overflow in joyful mission out of deep fellowship and relationship with him. “The wellspring of healthy, happy mission is God himself.” (22).  

The rest of the book examines aspects of the nature of God, his glory, the cross, and his fullness and joy as found in both the Old and New Testaments. These endearing qualities of the Trinity, when known and experienced fully, are what help believers endure persecution and find peace and joy amid suffering and pain while on mission. Thus, renewed Christians can shine the light of God in the world because they stand in the light of the glory of the risen Christ, having believed and received what God intends for them to have of him. As Hames and Reeves aptly put it, “The God we know is the God we show.” (123).  

The book does not read like a theological treatise but inspires and motivates like a devotional classic. It is not full of real-life examples as so many popular books are, but instead examines scriptural truths and insights that teach of God’s glorious love and character. There is much to chew on here, and readers must take time to digest the deep things discussed so heart and mind transformation may begin. I could not help but to think of sharing this book with my students so they will always remember that Christ and his cross are at the center of mission, not methods, academic pursuits, or better cultural understanding.  

True and joyful fellowship with the Father is what all Christians need. Experiencing that daily must drive all mission. God Shines Forth is a great place to help find it.  

For Further Reading

On Mission with God: Living God’s Purpose for His Glory by Henry T. Blackaby and Avery T Willis (Broadman & Holman, 2002) 

The Tabernacling Presence of God: Mission and Gospel Witness by Susan Maxwell Booth and Michael W Goheen (Wipf & Stock, 2015) 

The Church on Mission: A Biblical Vision for Transformation among All People by Craig Ott (Baker Academic, 2019) 

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EMQ, Volume 60, Issue 3. Copyright © 2024 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.