Billy Graham stated in an interview that he would be willing to go anywhere, sponsored by anyone, so long as there were no strings attached to his message, in order to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The example set by so many in the church throughout history to do just that is humbling and challenging. From the earliest days in Cyprus and Cyrene as the unnamed disciples evangelized the Gentiles[1], upon which the groundwork of the cultural translatability of the gospel was laid, up through Raymond Lull’s ministry to the Muslim peoples and his groundbreaking and counter cultural work to reach out to those who would have been considered the enemy;[2] it is inspiring to hear how the redemption of mankind found in Jesus has been proclaimed.
The history of missions reveals that God is still pursuing the nations. The Korean church is a wonderful example of this as God takes Korean nationals out of Korea for them to hear the gospel and be saved, only to send them back to Korea in order to build His church.[3] Also the fact the Scriptures have been translated in over four hundred new languages[4] is a powerful testimony to the fact God wants the nations to know Him. The example of a contextualized[5] gospel as the need for churches to be planted in cultures to disciple Christians in order to root the redemptive work of Christ further into the culture.[6]
The changing face of global Christianity with Pentecostalism[7] is something that needs to be recognized and understood. Stereotyped for lacking a robust theology,[8] this movement in the church needs to be addressed as God continues to move in a remarkable way through Pentacostalism. The Pentecostal church is not isolated to Latin America[9] but is also having a remarkable impact in Africa as well. The Zionist[10] churches are growing and influencing global Christianity and cannot be ignored. The church in Africa, misunderstood[11] as it may be, is demonstrative of God moving as it “will soon become the most Christian continent on earth.”[12]
The growth in Pentecostalism is increasing, perhaps renewing, the global churches understanding of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He provides,[13] the importance of worshiping God in Spirit and in truth,[14] and the urgency with which the world must be evangelized[15] before Christ returns to receive His Bride, the church. The Holy Spirit is the “central agent in the unfolding of the missio dei, enabling the church to experience the New Creation”.[16] The church, infused with the power of the Holy Spirit, is the embodiment of the New Creation.[17] The church will suffer; the world hated Christ, and the world will hate His Bride. This suffering, though not wanted but normal, identifies believers with their Master Jesus.[18] Suffering also matures believers and give them doors for evangelism that would not have been available in other contexts and situations. As believes in Messiah suffer, hope in the return of Christ increases.[19] The missio dei is not yet fulfilled; suffering increases the hope in the kingdom of God being established on earth where all peoples at all times worship Jehovah. We long for the return of King Jesus.
Analysis
Invitation To World Missions is thorough and broad in laying a foundation for understanding what God is doing in the world and what our part, as the church, should be in partnering with Him. It is very good to see how God has used the church, even individuals within the church, throughout history to impact their culture with the gospel. There is much knowledge to be gleaned by learning of the triumphs and failures of those who risked, sometimes all, to get the message of Jesus Christ to those who have not heard. Even though the way the gospel is presented, or the means through which the gospel is presented, may vary from generation to generation, the message of the gospel will never change.
One of the many strengths of this book is the consistent focus on the church’s responsibility to get the message of the gospel into the hands and hearts of people in all cultures. This book is not about laying out any programs or strategies for doing this, because programs and strategies may work for one group at one time in history but will not work for another group at another time in history.[20] Success in presenting the gospel to a culture can be a great thing; but the danger is that the culture may think the success was because of the method, not the Power of the Spirit of God behind the method.[21] When the church contextualizes, we must remember the goal is to be “faithful to the original biblical context and authorial intent of the biblical message.”[22] The goal is not faithfulness to the particular method or strategy used.
Another strength in this book is the author begins to lay a foundation for a good theology of suffering. He is right in diagnosing the problem with Western Christianity’s “inability to live theologically in the ‘not yet’ arises because of a rigid, Enlightenment-initiated dualism, which unduly separates God and world, including God and His church.”[23] In a culture that values triumphalism[24] while lacking a good theology of suffering[25], the idea that suffering is a true mark of the church[26] (not a mark of failure on the part of the believer who suffers for Christ), and to help His children be connected more to the identity of Jesus,[27] is radical. The missio dei is God’s initiating act of establishing His kingdom, and there are many places on this earth where the people do not want His kingdom established. To partner with the missio dei is to participate in the sufferings of Christ.[28] A good and robust theology must include suffering in order to press on in this endeavor to be used by God to establish His kingdom. This is certainly challenging, and indeed it is counter-cultural here in the West where we are taught from childhood to be the strongest, the best, the victors, and to not be used by anyone.[29]
Mark 9:35, Jesus teaches those who would aspire to leadership must be willing to serve. The greatest in the kingdom are not those who are the strongest, or those who demonstrate their success by using others to come out on top, but those who are willing to serve others. To become least is the key to greatness in God’s economy. This is a radically different teaching. And given the lack of this type of teaching in Western Christianity[30] it is crucial the church begins to teach this and even be willing to model this.
There has been an assumption of mission that believes one can participate in the global work of Christ and what the church looks like in the States is what the church will look like in other cultures. In some circles, Pentecostalism carries a lot of negative baggage associated with the movement such as the “health, wealth, and prosperity” teaching found in some Pentecostal circles.[31] This association with heresy causes great angst at what the church will look like in places where Pentecostalism is rising. The desire for the church to be biblically sound, coupled with the knowledge that Biblical depth is not a priority for the Pentecostal church,[32] is very unnerving. However, it is refreshing to know God is breathing a fresh and “vibrant life”[33] into His church by renewing the churches emphasis on worship.[34] Sometimes Western Christian’s have the idea that what we know about God is the most important priority, in other words the priority of cognitive knowledge is what God favors. As important as a solid, theological foundation is, Ephesians 2:17 reminds us the knowledge God desires is an experiential, or relational, knowledge. A knowledge of “trust between” two persons that recognizes the two as friends in a love relationship.[35] The global Pentecostal movement will challenge the body of Christ to increase in areas of worship. To celebrate this relationship humanity has with their Creator in beautiful worship. We worship God because we cherish Him. The Pentecostal movement is demonstrating to the church how to cherish God in worship. This is highly valuable because “missionaries will never call out, ‘Let the nations be glad!’ who cannot say from the heart, ‘I rejoice in the Lord.’”[36] As we partner with God in the missio dei we need not only to be theologically strong with our minds, but also to be emotionally strong with our hearts. The most crucial issue facing the church today is the lack of the centrality of God[37] in the life of the body of Christ. We have made lesser things our priority in the church. We forget that God’s ultimate goal is worship[38] of Himself by all peoples at all times every where.
The denominational walls that separate the body of Christ must be broken down. As difficult as it may be, the body of Christ must learn from each other and value each other. Pentecostalism can benefit from other areas of Christ’s body where deep and rich theological waters reside. Those areas of the body where academia and headiness are a priority can benefit from the fresh spiritual breezes of Pentecostalism to refresh their hearts and invigorate their robust theological lungs.
Bibliography
Brown, Colin. “Dictionary of New Testament Theology.” Vol.2. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1986.
"Success-N-Life." www.roberttiltonlive.com.
http://www.roberttiltonlive.com/webcast.html (accessed October 26,
2011).
Osteen, Joel. “Your Best Life Now.” New York: Time Warner Book Group, 2004.
Tennent, Timothy C. “Invitation to World Missions.” Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010.
Trump, Donald. “Think Big.” New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
Piper, John. “Let the Nations Be Glad.” (Grand Rapids:Baker, 2003.
[1] Timothy C. Tennet, “Invitation to World Missions,” (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010.) 233.
[2] Ibid, 243.
[3] Ibid, 253.
[4] Ibid, 267.
[5] Ibid, 348-349.
[6] Ibid, 275-276.
[7] Ibid, 286
[8] Ibid, 289.
[9] Ibid, 287.
[10] Ibid, 297-298.
[11] Ibid, 300-301.
[12] Ibid, 301.
[13] Ibid, 421.
[14] Ibid, 422.
[15] Ibid, 422.
[16] Ibid, 431.
[17] Ibid, 457.
[18] Ibid, 483.
[19] Ibid, 484.
[20] Ibid, 350.
[21] Ibid, 412.
[22] Ibid, 349.
[23] Ibid, 479.
[24] Joel Osteen, “Your Best Life Now,” (New York: Time Warner Book Group, 2004.) In this book Mr. Osteen argues suffering is not a part of God’s plan, but the result of our negative words, or the negative words of others, spoken over us that we have received. His argument would be it is not God’s will for His children to suffer, but to triumph.
[25] Tennet, “World Missions,” 470.
[26] Ibid, 472.
[27] Ibid, 476.
[28] Ibid, 479.
[29] Donald Trump, “Think Big,” (New York: HarperCollins, 2007.) This book provides tips on achieving success in business and in life, discussing thinking big, passion, instincts, creating luck, fear, revenge, momentum, focus, and prenuptial agreements. It is all about being stronger and coming out as the winner. Indeed it is counter-cultural to the suffering Servant, Jesus Christ.
[30] Tennet, “World Missions,” 470.
[31] "Success-N-Life." www.roberttiltonlive.com. http://www.roberttiltonlive.com/webcast.html (accessed October 26, 2011).
[32] Tennent, “World Missions,” 287.
[33] Ibid, 287.
[34] Ibid, 422.
[35] Colin Brown, “Dictionary of New Testament Theology,” Vol.2. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.) 392.
[36] John Piper, “Let the Nations Be Glad,” (Grand Rapids:Baker, 2003.) 17.
[37] Ibid, 20.
[38] Ibid, 20.
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