Intro to Missiology

  • Dec 4, 2005
  • Series: Missiology

    Introduction

     

    The study of the missional nature of the Church has been overlooked. As a community sent by God, it is of the utmost importance we understand what we are sent to do. This writing looks at God’s plan for the world, revealed to us in scripture as well as our mission within God’s sovereign plan.


    Understanding our mission as a church is of the utmost importance because it is the only reason we or the world exists at all. What I mean is, God has already completed his sovereign plan by conquering death & sin on the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God in his infinite mercy has delayed the end of the world so that the church may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth and people may repent and put their faith in Christ. This is the “Great Commission” given to the church.


    Matthew 28: 18-20
    18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."


    By way of introduction, it will be valuable to outline a little about the topics we are going to cover over and introduce what I imagine is going to be a new set of vocabulary for us to use. My hope is that you don’t already know most of the words that we’re going to look at. In fact, some of these words I’m purposefully using a different language so we can approach these ideas with a clean slate. It’s always harder to unlearn bad teaching than learn new ideas. I hope these words and their definition will have a profound impact on how we live and will forever shape how we respond to the gospel.


    So let’s look at a couple of these words:


    Missio Dei defines God's plan for the world. It includes the mission of the triune God; understanding that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all have different roles in this mission but serve to fulfill God’s sovereign plan for all mankind.

    First: God the Father created the world. (Genesis 1)
    Second: God sent His son Jesus to redeem the world. (John 3:17)
    Third: The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to apply that redemption through the means of grace. (Galatians 4:4)


    Missio Ecclesia starts with the understanding that mission is the work of God, it belongs to Him; it is not "ours." We were called to continue to work of Christ (John 20:21) and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19,20)


    Missio Hominis defines the mission or calling of the individual as part of the body of the community of Christ. This mission finds it’s identity as part of the Church, which is sent to participate in God’s mission. (Romans 12: 4-6)


    Missiology is the study of the salvation activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit throughout the world geared toward bringing the kingdom of God into existence. It includes the study of the worldwide church's divine mandate to be ready to serve this God who is aiming his saving acts toward this world.


    Contextualization is the work of presenting and practicing the Christian faith in such a way that it is relevant within the surrounding cultural context. This contextualization must maintain theological coherence, biblical integrity and theoretical consistency. The four gospels are good examples of contextualization:

    Author / Primary Audience /Contextualization of Jesus
    Matthew / Jews /Messiah and King who fulfills the Law of the OT
    Mark / Romans /Servant
    Luke / Gentiles /Perfect Man whom all OT pointed to
    John / Greeks /God incarnate, who came to give us eternal life


    Syncretism is where the gospel is so merged with culture that it no longer is truth. It has been perverted in order to merge with the local religion, philosophy and world view outside of the Church.


    Sectarianism is where the gospel is so divorced from culture that the world is largely forbidden from hearing the “good news” and the people of God lose the gospel because without a cultural engagement it becomes co-opted by the people of God.


    Evangelism is the proclamation of salvation in Christ to those who do not believe in him, calling them to repentance and conversion, announcing forgiveness of sin, and inviting them to become living members of Christ's earthly community and to begin a life of service to others in the power of the Holy Spirit
    Roman Evangelism – Present Gospel, accepted, invite into community
    Celtic Evangelism – Invite into community, live out gospel, accept.


    Apologetics is the practice of defending the Christian faith against those who raise objections to its validity. We are commanded to be apologists (those who defend the faith) in 1 Pet. 3:15.


    Next week we begin our look at Missio Dei. Here is the class schedule:


    Class 1
    Missio Dei
    The Kingdom of God
    God the Father
    God the Son
    God the Holy Spirit

    Class 2
    Missio Ecclesia
    The Church as the Community of the gospel
    The Church as a Royal priesthood

    Class 3
    Missio Ecclesia (part II)
    Gospel & Culture
    The Church Contextualizing the Gospel

    Class 4
    Missio Ecclesia (part III)
    Practical Application

    Class 5
    Missio Ecclesia (part IV)
    Syncretism
    Sectarianism

    Class 6
    Missio Hominus
    Apologetics
    Evidential
    Arguments
    Presuppositions

    Class 7
    Missio Hominus (part II)
    The Evangelist
    Law vs. Love
    Celtic vs. Roman


    Missiology Bibliography/Reading Suggestions:

    What Is Mission, J. Andrew Kirk
    The Mission of Jesus and the Disciples - according to the Fourth Gospel, Andreas J. Kostenberger
    The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter III
    How to Reach Secular People, Georg Hunter III
    A Peculiar People, Rodney Clapp
    Foolishness to the Greeks, Lesslie Newbigin
    The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society, Lesslie Newbigin
    Honest Religion For Secular Man, Lesslie Newbigin
    The Kingdom of God in America, H. Richard Niebuhr
    Contextualizaiton: A Theology of Gospel and Culture, Bruce J. Nicholls
    Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, David Jacobus
    Believing in the Future: Toward a Missiology of Western Culture (Christian Mission and Modern Culture Series), David Jacobus Bosch
    Trinitarian Doctrine for Todays Mission, Lesslie Newbigin
    Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (The Gospel and Our Culture Series), Darrell L. Guder
    The Church Between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America, George R. Hunsberger

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