A Far Green Country

All missiological decisions must be rooted, either implicitly or explicitly, in theology so that they mirror the purposes and mind of God. Frequently, however, missions practitioners take the theological foundation of missions for granted. Paul Hiebert writes: Too often we choose a few themes and from there build a simplistic theology rather than look at the profound theological motifs that flow through the whole of Scripture. Equally disturbing to the foundations of mission is the dangerous potential of shifting from God and his work to the emphasis of what we can do for God by our own knowledge and efforts. We become captive to a modern secular worldview in which human control and technique replace divine leading and human obedience as the basis of mission (1993, 4).

Hesselgrave confirmed this absence of theological foundations in contemporary missiology by making a thematic content analysis of book reviews and articles published in major missions journals (Missiology, International Review of Missions, and Evangelical Missions Quarter). Concluding that the social sciences and history have been given more attention in the study of missiology than has theology (1988, 139-44), he asks, “Of what lasting significance is the evangelical commitment to the authority of the Bible if biblical teachings do not explicitly inform our missiology?” (1988, 142). Without theological foundations missions quickly becomes merely another human endeavor.

- Gailyn Van Rheenen | Monthly Missiological Reflections | Aug 2001, Vol. 20