Thursday, February 10, 2011

Lessons from Lesslie Newbigin

"If one looks at the world scene from a missionary point of view, surely the most striking fact is that, while in great areas of Asia and Africa the Church is growing, often growing rapidly, in the lands which were once called Christendom it is in decline.Surely there can be no more crucial question for the world mission of the Church… Can there be an effective missionary encounter with this culture – this so powerful, persuasive, and confident culture which (at least until very recently) simply regarded itself as “the coming world civilization” (Newbigin, 1985).
If you're interested in things like:
  • evangelical epistemological humility (similar to Mike and Steve)
  • the gospel not as timeless metaphysical truths but as story
  • the gospel as history
  • the expansive impact of the gospel
  • the necessary role of the church in mission
Then you should read Krish Kandiah's homage to legendary missiologist Lesslie Newbigin. It's quite an exciting read, which you'll find here.

1 comment:

Jenny said...

I always found the little I've read about and by Lesslie Newbigin very helpful but I didn't know that he had written so much. I must read more - Krish's paper certainly convinced me! Thanks for the link.