Missio Dei 1 (August 2010)

Editorial Preface to the Journal

by Greg McKinzie

An Abbreviated Introduction to the Concept of Missio Dei

Greg McKinzie

From Theology to Practice: Participating in the Missio Dei

Gailyn Van Rheenen

This article seeks to reflect the reciprocal flow from theology to practice. People of God prayerfully read and discern the meanings of Scripture and are led to Christian practice by the Spirit of God. This flow from theology to practice is illustrated by the theology and practices of missio Dei. The narrative of Scripture describes God as the source of mission. This God, who is both holy and compassionate, calls and sends missionaries who carry out his purposes. These finite humans, however, typically question and doubt their abilities and calling along the journey. The theology of missio Dei implies a number of missional practices: entering God’s presence, interpreting and entering into God’s story, participating in trinitarian community, and incarnating God’s mission. These ministry practices, in turn, give rise to dilemmas and new questions, which lead the practitioner back to theological reflection. Missional growth occurs within this reciprocal interaction between theology and practice.

Missio Dei, Trinitarian Theology, and the Quest for a Post-Colonial Missiology

Mark Love

Missio Dei is the name given by theologians to the conception and practice of mission in a post-colonial world. Proposals related to missio Dei have appealed to and coincided with a rebirth in trinitarian theology. The present essay traces this conversation from Barth and Rahner to recent revising directions represented by Moltmann and Pannenberg, proposing that the way forward for understandings of missio Dei are tied to the reality of God constituted by dynamic, reciprocal, and open relations.

Reactions to Van Rheenen, Love, and Missio Dei from the Bronx

Jared Looney

What’s it all about? The missionary enterprise faces significant challenges. Religious consumerism, established traditions, and personal temptations for self-fulfillment are difficult to overcome. However, the church is called to participate in God’s mission and to recognize that the mission is indeed God’s. Christian workers begin the missionary task by asking certain questions. Reflecting on the nature of God and imitation of that nature, practitioners of mission learn to listen to God’s leading while interpreting the culture. As a result, missional methodologies are shaped first by theological dialogue.

Reactions to Van Rheenen, Love, and Missio Dei from the Bush

Kyle Holton

Reflecting from a Folk Muslim context in sub-Saharan Africa, and in response to articles written by Mark Love and Gailyn Van Rheenen, the author questions the value of trinitarian language, traditional definitions of syncretism, and Western hermeneutical assumptions in narrative theologies. A post-colonial theology of missio Dei could help us move beyond modern, power-structured forms of mission and cultivate open congregations gathered around work and life together, not homogeneous belief or culture.

Following God's Tune into the Australian Rock Scene

Del Hoehn

"New Day"

Filmmaking in God's Direction

Patrick Cone

Transformation

Daniel Weber

Christopher J. H. Wright. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. 581 pp. $38.00.

Reviewed by Michael Sweeney, Emmanuel School of Religion

Fred Peatross. Missio Dei: In the Crisis of Christianity. Nashville: Cold Tree Press, 2007. 116 pp. $10.95.

Reviewed by Stan Granberg, Kairos Church Planting

Sherwood G. Lingenfelter. Leading Cross-Culturally: Covenant Relationships for Effective Christian Leadership. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. 170 pp. $16.99.

Reviewed by Chris Flanders, Abilene Christian University

Glenn Rogers. The Role of Worldview in Missions and Multiethnic Ministry. Bedford, TX: Mission and Ministry Resources, 2002. 216 pp. $14.95.

Reviewed by Mark Blackwelder, Freed-Hardeman University

David J. Bosch. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NT: Orbis, 1991. 587 pp. $32.00.

Reviewed by Monte Cox, Harding University