by Janel Kragt Bakker Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York, NY, 10016, 320 pages, 2013, $29.95. —Reviewed by Benjamin Espinoza, director of youth and community life, Covenant
Many churches may be satisfied with defining “a church for all peoples” as meaning, “a separate church for each people group.” But I found it increasingly difficult to justify this position.
The paradigm shift in missions from a primarily Western to a now-global phenomena is profound and far-reaching, particularly for the leadership of traditional mission agencies.
In the 1970s, about the time that I started paying attention in our youth group Sunday School class, we studied Fritz Ridenhour’s book about world religions: So What’s the Difference? In those days, however, most of us thought of people of Jewish faith, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Muslims as exotic “over there” people. They lived in far-away places with unusual foods, attire, and worship centers. I daresay there was no one in our suburban youth group who actually knew a follower of these religions.
—Reviewed by W. Stephen Gunter, associate dean and research professor of evangelism and Wesleyan studies, Duke Divinity School.
—Reviewed by George Beals, global impact pastor, Central Wesleyan Church, Holland, Michigan.
Who is God?” It’s the most basic question, but one that is frequently lost sight of in discussions about insider movements and the contextualization of ministry to Muslims.
—Reviewed by Larry Poston, professor of Religion, Nyack College.
Church planters must reckon with the problem of how to stimulate Muslims to think creatively outside the boundaries put down by the community.
—Reviewed by Ezekiel O. Ajani, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.
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