Book reviews
Reviews of the books shaping mission thinking and practice. Page 4 of 40 · 942 in all.
Members onlyThe Journey Concept: Rethinking Organisational Strategy in the Global Context of God’s Mission
I have long been uncomfortable with the competitive military and sports imagery in mission literature and the prevalence of corporate strategic planning and evaluation models. Many practitioners feel the assumptions of these concepts do not fit well with the contemporary, complex, fluid realities of global mission…
Members onlyFaith Adrift Christianity: How Can We Avoid Drifting Away from God?
This book is the fruit of more than 20 years of research, reflection, and observation by Cecil Stalnaker, a missionary who served in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States. Stalnaker was shaken by research finding that in Sweden, for each non-religious person that starts going to church, 26 others raised in…
Members onlyFacing Danger: A Guide Through Risk
The task of reaching the least reached is increasingly accompanied by risk. Anna Hampton, drawing on her years of experience in Afghanistan, helps guide the reader through risk in the second edition of her book Facing Danger, originally published in 2016.
Members onlyChrist Among the Nations: Narratives of Transformation in Global Mission
What is the role of narrative in global mission today? Through biblical, historical, and contemporary stories, the authors of Christ Among the Nations demonstrate that narrative holds a unique power for global mission transformation.
Members onlyFrom Banned Book to Bestseller: Bible Mission in Contemporary China
The book “aims to tell the journey of the Bible in China through a range of Bible missions the Lord has miraculously performed among the registered churches” (page xv), as a reference to the Chinese Protestant Churches under the umbrella organization of the Chinese Christian Council/Three-Self Patriotic Movement.
Members onlyThe Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World
The book presents a discipleship framework that seeks to equip and empower pastors to lead, evangelize, disciple, and preach differently in today’s post-everything (post-pandemic, post-truth, post-Christian) world.
Members onlyIslamic Law Meets Christian Apologetics
Suheil Madanat’s “evidential apologetics” (17) provides an original and objective approach to persuade Muslims on the authenticity of the New Testament and its testimony of a crucified and resurrected Jesus. Madanat’s approach is unique in that it is not a conventional apologetics based on Western common law but one…
Members onlyUnlocking Creativity
I had the privilege of studying under Brian Schrag in 2008 as he developed the ideas that eventually became Creating Local Arts Together. As I prepared to write this review, I read this new second edition and stifled smile after smile. If you have ever talked with Brian, you cannot read this book and not hear his…
Members onlyThe Essence of Translation
The purpose of this volume, Islam and the Bible, is to assess the nature, impact, and value of Muslim Idiom Translations of the Bible (MITs). It is a compilation of 20 articles by 20 authors from various backgrounds, ministries, and continents.
Members onlyUnderstanding Islamic Terms and Practices
Islam is the world’s second most widely practiced religion, with “over 1.6 billion followers” (xx). Christians all over the world, in nearly every community, are forming relationships with Muslims but often do not understand the religion’s terminology and practices.
Members onlyBreaking Barriers to Evangelism
In his book Gospel Issues for the Global Church, Brent H. Burdick addresses “gospel issues,” which he identifies as concerns that pose a hindrance to “effective global evangelization today” (xi).
Members onlyFashioning Mission Frameworks
The Mission Matrix is not a theology of mission. Instead, it offers a framework for thinking theologically about mission. How are we to understand our God-assigned mission in our specific context and time? This book aims to help both students and practitioners answer that question.
Members onlyClarifying Mission’s Purpose
Despite abundant mission teaching and scholarship today, is it possible that the term “mission” has become fuzzy? What does “on mission” actually mean?
Members onlyEffective Witnesses of Christ
“Have you been born again, again?” This is the question Darrell Whiteman has asked students of missions over the years. The first experience of being born again is obviously one’s conversion, as described in John 3:1–15.
Members onlyBreaking Language Barriers
Jonathan Downie brings his experience as a professional interpreter and published researcher in interpretation studies to the service of multiethnic churches and communities.
Members onlyMission-Driven Church Planting
Church planting among every people group is at the center of God’s mission. Ken Davis’ book, Foundations for Fruitful Church Planting, connects church planting with global mission.
Members onlyUnderstanding Dechurching
In The Great Dechurching, authors Jim Davis, Michael Graham, and Ryan Burge present a thorough examination of dechurching in the United States, investigating the departure of approximately 40 million adults from regular church attendance over the past 25 years.
Members onlySolving Problems of Distrust
Our church-planting team attempted to help financially struggling new believers in our emerging church. Our results mirrored so many other stories when we first started a home construction company and later started a grocery co-op: Both times, we failed.
Members onlyDe-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next
Big churches are not the problem. Bigness is the problem. Bigness is an obsessive mindset” (page 12).
Members onlyThe Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will it Take to Bring Them Back
This book presents the results of a quantitative national U.S. study on the dechurching phenomenon (i.e., regular Christian worshipers nationwide have decided to no longer attend church at all).
Members onlyDownward Discipleship: How Amy Carmichael Gave Me Courage to Serve in a Slum
This book defines downward discipleship as a life of surrender and embodies it through the author’s weaving of her stories of service in an Indonesian slum with the quotes and stories from Amy Carmichael’s life and ministry.
Members onlyThe Age of Global Giving: A Practical Guide for Donors
This book is a 10th anniversary edition that continues to focus on the emerging trends in donor giving and behavior.
Members onlyContextual Theology Among Evangelicals
Recently at a conference, I heard a speaker remark that when the Western world writes it is called theology but when the majority world writes it is often referred to as contextual theology. This hegemony is addressed by Stephen Pardue in his book, Why Evangelical Theology Needs the Global Church, where he cogently…
Members onlyDevoted to the Call
Rachel Wightman serves as the associate director for instruction and outreach at Concordia University, St. Paul, with experience and training in library and information sciences.