About this item
Highlights
- Is the language of mission clearly evident across the broad reaches of time?
- About the Author: Michael W. Stroope (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian missions and the M.C. Shook Chair of Missions at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University.
- 477 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Christian Ministry
Description
About the Book
Is the language of mission clearly evident across the broad reaches of time? Or has the modern missionary enterprise distorted our view of the past? Michael Stroope investigates how the modern church has come to understand, speak of, and engage in the global expansion of Christianity, offering a hopeful way forward in this pressing conversation.
Book Synopsis
Is the language of mission clearly evident across the broad reaches of time? Or has the modern missionary enterprise distorted our view of the past? Michael Stroope investigates how the modern church has come to understand, speak of, and engage in the global expansion of Christianity, offering a hopeful way forward in this pressing conversation.
Review Quotes
"Transcending Mission is an extremely helpful guide to separating the Christian witness from the baggage accumulated by the modern missions movement."
"All the main churches of the UK have 'mission' high on their list of priorities at the moment-mostly in the sense of 'missional church' or 'evangelization.' So Michael W. Stroope's findings that 'mission' is a late usage-unsupported by the Bible and premodern Christian literature-will certainly provoke. Nevertheless, when so much is invested in mission, this in-depth and insightful interrogation of the discourse and rhetoric is essential reading for scholars and practitioners alike."
"In conference after conference, in conversation after conversation, the question inevitably surfaces: Should we abandon the word mission? This is the question that Michael Stroope asks in this volume. His answer is affirmative. Perhaps the word mission has run its course, and in its place we should substitute the phrase 'pilgrim witness to the kingdom.' Not everyone will agree, and not everyone will fully accept the new language that he proposes. Nevertheless, Michael Stroope has taken the risk of a frank discussion and a fresh proposal. This work should provoke a lively and creative debate, one that will no doubt transcend the present impasse."
"Stroopes' work is in many ways a tour de force. . . . There is plenty to consider in how the church has understood mission. Hopefully, the 'missionary industrial complex' (if there is such a thing) will take time to digest what Stroope is advocating, thereby finding the language to share the glad tidings of salvation. Persons who have read Wright, Bevans, Schroeder, Bosch, and others need now to listen to another voice and contend."
About the Author
Michael W. Stroope (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian missions and the M.C. Shook Chair of Missions at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University. Stroope worked with the International Mission Board, SBC, for twenty years and has served in Sri Lanka, England, Germany, and Hong Kong. He also taught as an adjunct professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.