Christian Mission in the Modern World

It's been a while since I have read John Stott, but this was definitely a book that will make me read more of him. This book is a necessity for anyone that considers themself a missiologist or is wanting a deeper look into what it means for us Christians to be in the world. Stott hammers away in only 190 pages so much depth that any review will leave the subject at hand wanting in a desperate way. It is still hard to believe that this was first written in 1975 as he hits some people today straight between the eyes with his theological and practical conclusions (myself included). Stott hits on five subjects and really pinpoints them further for great discussion. The Five Subjects that he hits are: 1. Mission Stott breaks down the two movements that are most abused, which are evangelism only ministries and social action only ministries. After breaking down why neither of these are correct, he blends the two to show the biblical aspect of how these two need to work together, not separate. 2. Evangelism Stott lays out what must be considered in evangelism. He shows the priority, the meaning and then unpacks what must be included while presenting the gospel according to Christ and the apostles. 3. Dialogue In this chapter, Stott again shows the two extremes in dialogue. One where the dialogue is so open that you can't tell that a Christian is in the conversation and the other being where the Christian believes that no dialogue should be had with other religions. Stott shows a balanced view to this and gives great examples how this can work and has worked. 4. Salvation Stott works to find the biblical answer to what this term means in the Scriptures. He works through what salvation truly is and the areas of difference within this. Some of these would be salvation from political oppression, salvation of sickness and poverty, etc. Then Stott answers the question of salvation theologically and shows why salvation is more than just what we see, but is really the salvation of what we don't see. Namely, salvation from God's wrath in regards to hell. 5. Conversion In this chapter Stott gives a precedence for conversion to the Christian faith. He fights against the universalists and also those who believe that there is no need to be converted to Christianity because Christ can be found in other religions as well. After this defense, Stott then shows what one is converted to when converted to Christianity. This book is so well rounded and Stott unpacks the extremes in each case above to even the heretical. He then gives the biblical reasons to balance the extremes or to deny the heretical and comes to conclusions. The arguments are very well thought out and linear so that the reader can follow very easily and understand the concepts and defenses put forth by Stott. I would urge any pastor or missionary to pick up this book. This book is something that would have helped the start of my study on the church's mission before going to deeper studies tha

This book by John Stott is part of the Intervarsity Press (IVP) Classics Series. The book is a collection of lectures by Stott at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford in 1975. Much of what is addressed is still relevant in contemporary thought. This book, to me, is both good and poor. First the good: Stott addressed many issues that need to be addressed. He addresses the social gospel and declares that social action alone will not be enough to accomplish the Christian mission. He then adds that social action should be a part of the Christian mission. It should be used to show the true concern of the Christians for the people to whom they are ministering. Sadly, too many Christians have left engaging the world and sheltered themselves within their own subculture. Too many of us have focused only on the spiritual aspect of Christianity while neglecting the fact that we are called to a holistic sort of ministry. Stott also tackles the issue of interfaith dialogue. He states that dialogue is good and necessary if we are to reach people. To listen respectfully to the ideas of others fosters understanding and goodwill. It also will open the door to the proclamation of the gospel. Dialogue does not necessarily mean compromise. One thing that Stott addresses very well is the apparent desire by some to lean toward universalism. Stott maintains the unique and exclusive nature of the Gospel. We must not seek to sync the gospel with other religions, but respectfully show the superiority of the gospel. Stott tackles the idea of healing being the gospel as well as liberation theology. Stott acknowledges that psychophysical healing is something that could/should be a part of the Christian mission, but is not the whole of it. Liberation of oppressed peoples is a good thing, too. It is not the whole of the gospel mission, however. Stott contends that the essence of the gospel mission is the salvation of sinners, conversion, and the establishing of Christians in churches with those churches being salt and light in the cultures where they are located. The poor: The book is from a series of spoken lectures and as such is not necessarily as easily read as it was heard. Out of five stars this book gets four with one star being withheld due to the readability issue.

This book is typical of all of Stott's work: solid, Biblical, considerate and epistimologically sound. Stott breaks down what 'mission' is, and places each 'piece' back into it's proper place according to Scripture. It is a calling back to 'true' Christianity, which is really no different than 'mission' in the first place. This book is one that you'll want to keep handy, and read at least once a year, if not more (it's fairly short, and can easily be read in a single day). It is not overly academic, and can be understood by most laypeople. Buy it... Unless you don't want change in your outlook to Biblical missions, you will not be disapointed.

It's hard to believe that Stott wrote this book in 1976, yet, I read it in 1999 for a Christian Mission class, and it seems so appropriate today. Dr. Stott was on the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, and has obviously thought about these and researched this deeply. He comes from an Evangelical Protestant heritage.This is a particularly insighted book, an introduction to Christian Mission. The change from the plural, missions, to the singular, mission, is indicated by Stott as what all Christians should be doing, that is, both evangelism AND striving for social justice (that is, arguing the case of the orphan, widow, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, fighting against oppression, etc.).Stott defines a number of crucial terms and places them within the context of Christian theology, for instance, evangelism just means 'proclaiming the Good News,' specifically that of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, Stott is very practical and uses biblical theology (such as the theology of the Incarnation gives us an example of what it means to be involved with others, to share their sufferings and concerns, and to understand their culture and be able to dialogue with them at where they are at). And Stott is very good at providing negative examples, or warnings, such as that Christians are also to be 'salt and light,' maintaining their identity as Christians; that the Gospel is not liberation theology (although the influence of the Gospel may be seen in the culture in fighting against social injustices), the Gospel does not ensure health and wealth. Salvation does mean freedom from sin, to serve and obey God.The book is divided between 5 large chapters that have a number of topics discussed. The first is Mission -- what is Christian Mission? As mentioned, evangelism, theology, social justice are all discussed.The second chapter is Evangelism, and the priority and meaning (even definitions) of evangelism, and what we as Christians should be doing.This leads into dialogue, and how we are to dialogue with others. Stott is very practical at the end of the chapter discussing what are some different arenas of dialogue, for example, with Muslims, within Great Britain, and Hindus.The next chapter is on Salvation, what it doesn't mean, and what it means.This leads us into Conversion, and discussion on theology (as well as the individual's responsibility) in matters, such as the Christian doctrines of regeneration, repentance, and the effects of conversion on the church, society, culture, and the role of the Holy Spirit (and even the necessity not to be stupid, like assuming that the Holy Spirit will overcome my own stupidity or lack of preparation).In all, a very solidly theological and practical work, as all of Stott's works are.