The Message of Mission

This may seem a title with a little less controversy than the previous titles mentioned. However, careful reading may lead to some heated discussion and hopefully lead to some effective mission!

Both authors are well qualified to write on the subject, being good scholars who can also communicate well apart from being practitioners of mission. Vinoth, from Sri Lanka, is Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement [Asia] for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. [The British UCCF is part of this fellowship - Headline Editor and Don English both served UCCF well in the past!]. Howard is currently Vice-Principal of Trinity College, Bristol but formally taught in Singapore and was Director of Research at Overseas Missionary Fellowship International.

In similar vein they expound passages of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The book is not a mission strategy but Bible exposition applied to our needy world. They adopt the helpful but challenging term 'integral mission' to encapsulate how their understanding of mission has developed through attending to scripture. We do well to let scripture direct us in our mission understanding and strategies too. Let the authors speak for themselves: 'We have interpreted the term ‘mission’ widely, more widely than some mission and evangelistic agencies may find comfortable. We have been driven to this width of interpretation by loyal reflection on the Bible passages themselves'.

Here we have Christ-centred mission explored in a way that engages with the world Jesus came to save. I was challenged again by the Word of God as I read. The journey from Bible to our contemporary world is made very clear and pointed. This is another book worthy of thoughtful discussion and study. As usual there are study guides at the end of the book.