Transcending Tradition: Challenging the Church's Mission Terminology

Reimagining Mission

Many of us in Christian ministry depend, in part, on commentaries and books by reliable scholars to help us interpret scripture aright. How many of us have thanked God for the work of Don Carson, N.T. Wright or John Stott among others?

The same is true for those of us who use the Bible to exhort Christians to take the missionary mandate of the Church seriously. When examined closely mission is a key subject extending from one end of the Bible to the other and then onwards through the history of the church.

From time to time a book comes along that makes the reader sit up and consider another angle on world mission. Such a book arrived in 2017 authored by Michael W. Stroope. The title was ‘Transcending Mission’ and it was what one might call a ‘disrupter’ that challenged the whole idea of the use of the word mission in the contemporary church. It was provocative, asking the church to abandon the word ‘mission’ and replace it with ‘pilgrim witness to the kingdom’. Many of our favourite authors were heavily critiqued along the way. One of the reviewers wrote: ‘this work should provoke a lively and creative debate, one that will no doubt transcend (sic) the present impasse’.

Well, this is just what happened. Global Connections arranged a meeting in London with Michael Stroope. He presented his material, and it was the catalyst for a robust discussion among the participants and also an ‘official’ response from David W. Smith. It was a most stimulating occasion which was followed up by Peter Rowan (OMF International) taking the subject matter further with visits to appropriate people in the USA.

In the light of this it was most encouraging to hear that Michael Stroope would soon be in Oxford working on his second book on the subject. Although only here for a few days, he has agreed to lead our Passion for Mission event at OCMS on Thursday 20th June. Titled ‘Rethinking Power, Reimagining Mission’. There is probably no more important subjects for us to discuss, regarding the future of mission, than power in all of its forms. Come and prepare to have your thinking stimulated and ideas challenged.