Mission, By Charmaine Warford

Western Christians in global missions by Paul Borthwick is about the interdependence and unity of the global Church. The book starts at the conclusion of an era of missions where North America has taken the helm. As the global missions community changes, North America needs to reassess its role. There are 4 main integrated points that Borthwick makes that should change the perspective of the white American middle class missionary.

Jesus was the perfect missionary. Jesus went to different places and taught the word of God. Jesus drew people unto him. Jesus told his disciples, that if they follow him, he would make them fishermen of men. Jesus taught anywhere. Jesus delivered the word so profoundly.

My personal view of mission revolves around Servant Leadership or what can be better called “Incarnational leadership”. This is rooted in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as “He took a towel” (John 13:2-5) and washed Peter’s feet. He was efficient with people, had goals in sight, but was also relational over being task-driven. This kind of leadership produces new churches filled with real purpose and motivation as people are called, appreciated, loved, encouraged, discipled, involved by mentoring and discipleship before they are deployed in ministry (Prov. 27:23; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:26; John 13:2-17; 1 Cor. 3- 4; Eph. 4:1-16; Col. 3:13; 1 Thess. 5:13-14; 1 Peter 3:8;

Stephen Seamands proffers a Trinitarian description of Christian Ministry as the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son, to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the church and the world. The author seems to presume that many in the Christian faith have not adequately observed or applied the doctrine of the Trinity significantly in the vocation of ministry. It is with this perception that he postulates a Trinitarian approach of ministry that emphasizes communion with God shaping our language about God to shape our heart so we might share in the life of God. In arriving at his conclusions, Seamands uses well-grounded Scriptural foundations, along with a descriptive of the Icon of the Holy Trinity painted in 1425 by a Russian Monk, Andrei Rublev, including the historical significance that is traced back to the Enlightenment, and the findings of renowned theologians beginning with Karl Barth. The preponderance of evidence provided supports the author’s contention that the grammar of the Christian faith and life is rooted in the doctrine of the Trinity having created the current Trinitarian renaissance.

Paul’s mission’s on reaching the people of God and spreading the word of Christ is driven by the bold spirit imparted to and the rest of the Apostles conducting Christ’s mission. The Holy Spirit speaks to directly to believers guiding them on how to conduct their missions as well as manifesting through speaking in tongues of

In the first chapter of “Christianity Rediscovered” by Vincent J. Donovan he is introducing us to the idea that missionaries now have a poor reputation due to their history. He says “History has offered the opportunity to deflect and distort the meaning of missionary work in every age”. For a long time a missionary was a person spreading the word of God and after years of doing so we have diminished many different beliefs, practices, cultures and history. At the time it was thought to be the right thing, to spread out and share the gospel to help people find meaning and acceptance. In today’s age a missionary is a lot of different things, in many cases it is more focused on the health and physical wellbeing of the people. Many people still share the gospel through missionary work, but in other cases it is more of a material aid. Donovan introduces the book as a voyage of discovery he wants us to put our normal beliefs aside to see his perspective of living a missionaries life and struggling with the fact of if you are helping or hurting.

In the book Let the Nations be Glad, Piper Explains the close relationship missions and worship share. Missions exist because of worship, and worship is a result of our Love of Christ in our hearts that drives us to glorify him, and naturally do missions. The nations are the focus of mission, and Piper explains why he believes that the Biblical mission includes evangelism with the nations in sight instead of only individuals. Piper systematically outlines the evidence that hell exists and what it is, he also outlines the reason that knowing Christ is the only way to be saved by trusting in him as your savior.

During my visit at the Art Institute of Chicago this quarter, a popular and interesting piece of artwork that spoke to me in ways that no other artwork did was the, “Tarquin and Lucretia” by Tintoretto or the artist known as Jacopo Robusti. Tintoretto is also known as the one of the most well-known Italian Renaissance artists and became interested in painting at a very young age. This specific piece of artwork was originally created by Tintoretto during 1578 through 1580 and is an oil painting on a canvas. It has approximate size measurements of 68’ 7/8” by 59’ 5/8” and is classified as an Italian work of art. This painting takes place in ancient Roman times where the figure that is somewhat laying down represents Lucretia, who is the wife of an honest man named Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus (“Stories and Histories - The Rape of Lucretia”, 2016). The other figure that is directly behind Lucretia is Sextus Tarquinius or Tarquin, who is her rapist and the son of a dictatorial Roman king named Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Subsequently after her rape, Lucretia tells her husband and father about the incident. In order to save herself from the guilt and misrepresentation of her reputation, she stabs herself to death (“Stories and Histories - The Rape of Lucretia”, 2016). In the article titled, “Illicit Arousal: The Erotic Subtext of Tintoretto 's Tarquin and Lucretia” within The Journal of the History of Art by Sabrina DeTurk, it is stated that Lucretia is seen to be “a moral

Mission was very important in the development of the early church. The goal during this time was to spread the Christian Faith and to help those in need, just as Jesus did. The people that undertook this mission were sent out by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God.

The overall purpose of the Roland Allen’s book is to convey the dramatic differences between the methods of modern day missionary organizations

Barth’s work is a testimony of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that will enlighten

First of all, any missional mental model should be derived from missio Dei itself, which is "the mission of God to bring about redemption of the world" (Sunquist 2013, 7). When we carry this mission out in suffering for God’s eternal glory, we need to imagine how in the future his goodness, his beauty, and his harmony will cover the entire creation. I think it’s necessary for us to have this vision of his glory and be aware that whatever we do is not our own ministry. The idea of us joining the ministry of Jesus Christ is

In God’s grand scheme, each one of us has been chosen to become a disciple and a disciple-maker. Every man is born into a life of sin. The very nature of Adam and Eve’s sin attacks all of mankind. God’s love was so great that he robed himself in flesh and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I could experience his forgiveness. John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The Lord’s desire is to give us life. He does not stop there. He desires to give us life more abundantly. Abundant life happens as we move into his will and capture the essence of what he would like to accomplish. We experience abundant life as we become disciples and ultimately disciple-makers.

Regarded as one of the most influential theological thinkers of the twentieth century, Karl Barth spent a lifetime on taking a closer look at the values of the Christian Church and rewriting, quite literally, the flaws that he found. Karl Barth, a Protestant theologian, was born on May 10, 1886 in Basel, Switzerland. Notably, his father Fritz Barth was a New Testament and early church history professor at the university in Bern, which shows that he had an early exposure and close connection with religious studies. Barth was educated at “universities of Bern, Berlin, Tubingen, and Marburg.” (Torrance). His start in theology was sparked by liberal theologian Adolf von Harnack, whom he attended a seminar for. Others who inspired Barth include Wilhelm Herrmann and Friedrich Schleiermacher. After going through his education, he spent 10 years (Torrance) as “a Swiss Reformed pastor in the town of Safenwil” (Crownfield 29).

No matter what path God calls a missionary to, the initial goals are the same. These goals are: 1) Build and edify the church, 2) Meeting needs, and 3) Spread the Gospel. The task of utmost importance is that of building the church, a community of believers. It is through evangelizing that men come to hear, know, and accept the redemptive plan of God through Jesus Christ. This is done by preaching and teaching this message when opportunity arises. It is also done by living out your faith in the day to day of mission life. We are to make the book of Acts our living example in growing and edifying a body of believers (Warren 26-31) (Hodges 61-62)