EMQ » January–March 2021 » Volume 57 Issue 1
Edited by Jerry M. Ireland and Michelle L. K. Raven
Evangelical Missiological Society Series
William Carey Publishing, 2020
200 pages
USD $14.99
Reviewed by Perlita Tan, former missionary among Muslims, missions mobilizer, and currently the Paul E. Pierson scholar at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
Practicing Hope is both a timely book and a timeless book. Compiled after the Evangelical Missiological Society’s 2019 conference “Missions Amid Global Crises,” these twelve essays are now published to benefit Christian workers and churches worldwide “for such a time as this.”
The twelve essays are easy to read and brimming with insights for ministry and hope in God. There is something for everyone in this comprehensive and multidisciplinary compilation. The contributing authors studied different crises (persecution, war, violence, incarceration, disaster, sickness, death) using the lenses of the Bible, theology, history, sociology (ex. women, reactions to death), music, and geography (Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe, East Asia).
The first six articles deal with Nigerian Christians practicing hope during crises through songs containing the theology of the cross, faith-based organizations and churches working together to provide hope to refugees, a school equipping workers to channel God’s hope during disasters and emergencies, God’s Word penetrating walls and helping women in prison and women “imprisoned” by violence, research calling for missionaries to be prepared for the crisis of persecution, and interdenominational churches in war-torn Ukraine uniting to bring hope to crisis victims.
The last six articles are about two Franciscan fathers going against their prevailing culture of violence and using loving deeds and interfaith dialogues to reach Muslims, integrating God-given African peacebuilding concepts like ubuntu into peacebuilding initiatives, adapting Gregory the Great’s missionary principles today, China’s house churches preparing to face together the increasing persecution brought about by new religious regulations, the gospel being contextualized to bring restoration to North Koreans raised in Juche ideology, and terror management theory describing open doors for missionaries to respond to needs and share the gospel in the midst of disasters and death.
It is clear that the book fulfills its purpose of “bring[ing] together global voices from a wide spectrum of crises in order to better inform the church in the task of missions” (xiv). But since this compilation was printed late enough for a few authors to mention in passing the current COVID-19 pandemic, the book would have been even more timely and helpful if a chapter was added which specifically equips churches to practice hope during a pandemic.
Co-editor Jerry Ireland writes in the introduction, “Perhaps if we take one lesson away from this book, it should be that preparation should begin today for what our tomorrows likely hold” (xiii). All churches and Christians need to read this book. People who are suffering will find much encouragement and hope. Educators, humanitarian workers, peacebuilders, and missionaries ministering to Muslims, women suffering from imprisonment or violence, and in places like China and North Korea will find ideas that they would want to try in their ministries.
For Further Reading
Lutzer. Erwin W. Pandemics, Plagues, and Natural Disasters: What is God Saying to Us? Moody Publishers, 2020.
Wright, N.T. God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath. Zondervan, 2020.
