Paul the Missionary - by Eckhard J Schnabel (Paperback)

About the Book

Drawing on his monumental scholarly study Early Christian Mission, Volume 2, Schnabel gives us an overview of Paul's missionary practices, strategies and methods, and then weighs contemporary evangelical missiology and practice in light of Paul. This is a manageable study for students of Paul as well as students and practitioners of Christian mission today.

Book Synopsis

Biblical Foundations Book Award

Eckhard Schnabel's two-volume Early Christian Mission is widely recognized as the most complete and authoritative contemporary study of the first-century Christian missionary movement. Now in Paul the Missionary Schnabel condenses volume two of the set, drawing on his research to provide a manageable study for students of Paul as well as students and practitioners of Christian mission today.Schnabel first focuses the spotlight on Paul's missionary work--the realities he faced, and the strategies and methods he employed. Applying his grasp of the wide range of ancient sources and of contemporary scholarship, he clarifies our understanding, expands our knowledge and corrects our misconceptions of Paul the missionary.In a final chapter Schnabel shines the recovered light of Paul's missionary methods and practices on Christian mission today. Much like Roland Allen's classic Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? of nearly a century ago, Schnabel offers both praise and criticism. For those who take the time to immerse themselves in the world of Paul's missionary endeavor, this final chapter will be both rewarding and searching.

Review Quotes

"Paul the Missionary is a joy: rigorous in its scholarship, clearly written, and relevant. It is a welcome antidote, first to those studies of Paul that focus exclusively on his theology while totally ignoring the fact that he was a missionary and, second, to all missiological methodology that is rooted in pragmatics rather than in theology and Scripture. Twenty-first century missionaries, students, New Testament scholars, pastors, and all thinking Christians would profit from this book."

--Keith Ferdinando, Theological Book Review, 2009

"A reliable guide to students of Paul. A fresh study of Paul's mission work with the stated aim of undesrtanding the goals that the apostle had and the methods he used."

--Greg Goswell, New Life, May 28, 2009

"Although Paul the Missionary is not a quick read, it is a rewarding one. New Testament scholars, missiologists and missionaries, and local pastors like me will profit from Schnabel's focused attention on Scripture. And ministers of the gospel will profit through extended reflection on the theology and praxis of Paul, whose example is well worth imitating."

--George P. Wood (www.georgepwood.com), February 6, 2009

"Invaluable to pastors, teachers, students, missionaries, and missiologists that see their work as closely related to that of Paul."

--Thomas M. Anderson, Religious Studies Review, March 2010

"Schnabel invites the reader to a biblical feast that is both academic and spiritually refreshing. Should prove to be influential in ongoing Pauline and mission studies."

--Edward L. Smither, Criswell Theological Review, Fall 2009

"Schnabel succeeds admirably. Paul the Missionary is an excellent resource that I will be recommending for years to come. I know of no other book that provides such a comprehensive, biblically faithful, and nuanced understanding of Paul and his missionary work."

--Robert L. Plummer, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, September 2009

"The reader will find much solid information in this substantial work."

--Donald Senior, C.P., The Bible Today, July 2009

"This information-filled book draws richly on the author's exhaustive (nearly 2,000-page!) prior study of early Christian missions. Writing as a mature biblical scholar and former OMF missionary in the Philippines, Schnabel honestly acknowledges the complexity of the hermeneutical and pragmatic task facing the contemporary practitioner. Perhaps that is why his concluding chapter contains so many judicious and valuable insights."

--Richard Schultz, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, July 2009

About the Author

Eckhard J. Schnabel is professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and author of Early Christian Mission (2 volumes), Der erste Brief des Paulus an die Korinther and numerous articles.