• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In

MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission Matters
          • Members Only Feed
          • Missions Podcast DirectoryNew
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
          • UkraineNew
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Bible Certificate
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • Missions DataNew
    • Publish
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Premier Events
          • Mission Leaders Conference
          • On Mission
        • Upcoming Events

          • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
            Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
          • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
            Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
          • Innovation Leaders Discussion
            Mon Aug 8 2022, 01:00pm EDT
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missions DataNew
          • Missiographics
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
    Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
    Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Innovation Leaders Discussion
    Mon Aug 8 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Peer 2 Peer for Communications and Marketing Staff: Communications and the Mission of God: Aligning organizational communications with God's purposes
    Thu Aug 18 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Women's Development Weeks
    Thu Sep 8 2022

View all events »

Topics

author interview CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Disciple Making Discipleship Focus Future Innovation Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Member Care Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 MLC2021 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Podcast Presenter Pursuing Partnerships Series Research Risk Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached Weekly Roundup Women Women in Leadership

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Insider Jesus: Theological Reflections on New Christian Movements

Posted on July 1, 2017 by Ted EslerApril 5, 2019

by William A. Dyrness

 IVP Books, 2016

—Reviewed by Robert Covolo, Center for Reformed and Evangelical Theology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

 

 src=What are we to make of movements among people in Islam who call themselves believers in Isa al Masih (“Jesus Christ”), or Hindus and Sikhs who consider themselves Yeshu Satsangs (“Jesus devotes”)? In his new book, Insider Jesus, William Dyrness brings his wealth of experience and expertise in global missions to offer fresh theological perspective on this emerging phenomenon.

Dyrness’ discussion on insider movements unfolds in six chapters. The first chapter introduces the issue by arguing that the language of ‘contextualization’, as helpful as it is, is inadequate for addressing the dynamics sourcing insider movements—that is, the language of contextualization fails to adequately account for the ‘indigenous impulse,’ and ‘dialogical character’ of mission.  

By way of a more satisfactory understanding, the second chapter relates a theological framework of God’s creative and redemptive work to culture and religion. Chapter three further focuses on religion in the biblical narrative—presenting an account that suggests God embraces the cry of the human heart within religions, even as he resists some elements of those religions.  

This is empirically confirmed in the fourth chapter, wherein Dyrness submits various case studies displaying the renewing work of Christ emerging from within other faiths. The fifth chapter further clarifies the nature of religion, arguing for a more holistic understanding of religion as a site of personal identity, a sense of place, cultural stories, legends, aesthetic artifacts, rituals, and so on. The final chapter concludes the volume by relating insider movements to the institutional Church and the worldwide Body of Christ. 

As the above suggests, central to Dyrness’ take on insider movements is his evaluation of religion as a rich cultural force in its own right. Indeed, given the very term “religion” was developed in the West so as to make faith something that is added (and therefore can be subtracted) from one’s life, Dyrness contends that in Majority World contexts, removing oneself from religion is akin to jumping out of one’s cultural skin. Therefore, according to Dyrness, the proper way to understand insider movements is as hermeneutical spaces wherein life-giving aspects of religion and embedded cultural wisdom become the locale for Christ’s appearance in a wholly new idiom. 

While careful and nuanced, Dyrness does not seek to answer all of the questions this slim volume provokes. Undoubtedly, readers will not only be stimulated and enlightened, but also challenged. Even so, regardless of where one lands, this is certainly an important resource, calling into question a host of assumptions about missional strategy in Majority World contexts.   

Another Title:

Coleman, Doug. 2011. A Theological Analysis of the Insider Movement Paradigm from Four Perspectives: Theology of Religions, Revelation, Soteriology, and Ecclesiology, EMS Dissertation Series. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey International University Press.

EMQ, Vol. 53, No. 3. Copyright  © 2017 Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.  aAll rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMQ editors.

 

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 53 - Issue 3

Write a Comment Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Home
  • Directories
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Join

  • Join
  • Benefits
  • Learn
  • Meet
  • Engage

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

About Us

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources
Missio Nexus Logo

© Missio Nexus. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate Missio Nexus earns from qualifying purchases.


PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

Annual Sponsors

ECFA Logo Brotherhood Mutual Logo

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks