The Dialectics of Mission: Between Vanhoozer and Kärkkäinen (original) (raw)
Related papers
Brill
Features of the "missional" conversation revolve around discussions of the ecclesial and divine mission. Largely an intra-Evangelical debate, with relevance to other traditions, this conversation has lacked representation from systematic theology. This article argues that the aim for diversity and listening to other voices that missiology excels at often stops short of seeing things as systematic theology might render them. The integrity of systematic theology's voice as an exposition of the church's confession renders structures that mark the manner of how gospel-exposition and mission really work insofar as the gospel defines things as they really are. As Christian theology claims Jesus' lordship over all created realities, then, it functions to co-labor with the God of the Bible who is missionary and brings his people to participate in his action. Systematic theology then is missional in form, content, and aim, suggesting that mission is entirely what systematic theology is about.
Bringing Clarity to Missional Theology
Fort Worth, TX myarnell@swbts.edu I have been asked to discuss, from a global perspective, our theological choices in fulfilling the Lord's commission during the twenty-first century. It is incumbent upon a theologian to discern the current state of a conversation as he enters it, identifying its tenor, parties, definitions, etc. A reading of recent contributions to theological missiology, or missional theology, engenders immense respect for the various participants, along with a desire to encourage clarity in the concepts being utilized. This essay engages with that conversation from a taxonomical perspective, dwelling especially upon the role of the recent concept of "culture" and its related terminology. With a genuine appreciation for the current and coming contributions of the new global churches and their theologians, it argues from the perspective that the existing free churches present a finer model for their continuing development than any other extant paradigm. Like the free churches of more recent centuries, the new churches on our globe would do well to discern the Spirit within the voices of other Christians, while avoiding their errors in departing from the Word.
Missional Hermeneutics as Theological Interpretation
Journal of Theological Interpretation, 2017
Recently, scholars suggest that the emerging practice of missional hermeneutics is a form of theological interpretation. This essay develops that notion by arguing that (1) the church's participation in God's mission is constitutive of Christian theology and (2) theological interpretation should be reoriented accordingly. The readerly formation of the church and the interpretive function of the Rule of Faith serve as examples of what this reorientation might entail. When the embodied faith commitments of theological interpretation are understood as the church's practices of participation in the missio Dei, mission becomes the locus theologicus from which a theological reading emerges. If theological interpretation embraces the ancient way of faith seeking understanding, missional hermeneutics clarifies this as works seeking understanding—a praxeological hermeneutic in which participation in God's mission is an epistemological precondition of faithful interpretation.
Mission Theology of the Church
International Review of Mission, 2010
This article on the mission theology of the church, a personal perspective by the vice-moderator of CWME, draws on documentation produced by the commission and also responds to the Faith and Order document, The Nature and Mission of the Church. It is based on the trinitarian paradigm of mission referred to as missio Dei, which emphasizes the priority of God's sending activity in the world, by the Son and the Spirit, and the contingency of the church and its mission activities upon that. Therefore, it is concerned with the participation of the church in God's mission to and in the world, and from this perspective, has a particular interest with the actual, empirical church rather than the ideal church, recognizing that the church exists in many different forms in particular social, cultural, economic and political contexts. The article argues that the church is “missionary by its very nature”. Both theologically and empirically, it is impossible to separate the church from mission. Indeed mission is the very life of the church and the church is missionary by its very nature the Spirit of Christ breathed into the disciples at the same time as he sent them into the world. The mission theology of the church as it has developed in ecumenical discussion over the 20th and early 21st centuries is discussed in terms of the relationship of the church to the three persons of the Trinity: as foretaste of the kingdom of God; as the body of Christ; and as a movement of the Spirit. The article shows that being in mission is to cross the usual boundaries and bring new perspectives from outside to bear, and this is a never-ending, enriching process.
As I have reflected on the contours of my own personal theology of mission I have realized how infrequently I think about such things in those terms -yet I am well aware that in the rough and tumble of daily life, whether overseas or on the home front, we all develop some sort of functional theology of mission; a rarely tidy (and seldom articulated per se) set of understandings and principles about God and mission. I realize I could have expressed this as "God and his mission" or "God and the mission he has called us to." If I am honest, for many years I would have expressed it as the latter. Looking back to my early years on the field, I can see a number of clear influences that shaped who I have become.
The Asbury Journal, 2019
With the expansion of Christianity comes different ways of expressing the Christian faith. When new ways of conceiving Christian faith are presented, old models are challenged. Sometimes, tensions arise. During such transition, our epistemological convictions play an important role in the decision we make. J. Andrew Kirk and John Hick's positions are two examples. While both care deeply about Christianity and peoples of other faiths, the conclusions that they reach from their different epistemological stances are telling in their differences, indicating the crucial role that epistemology plays in mission. As representatives of a broader group, their positions remind us of the importance of assessing our epistemic positions in relation to mission, especially in thinking about our theology of mission. This article presents and evaluates their epistemological positions and uses them as catalysts for conversations in exploring the theology of mission. The aim of this article is to illustrate the need for critically assessing the epistemological assumptions behind our theological positions so that we can effectively navigate the terrain of shifting theological paradigms in mission.