Missio Dei - in the crisis of Christianity (Paperback)

~ Fred Peatross (Author)
Key Phrases: missio dei, restoration movement, peat ross, Costa Rica (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Articulating the contours of the church that will thrive in the 21st century with lucidity and simplicity would be a very difficult assignment, but to enounce it with the clarity that assures every reader an accurate understanding takes a rare talent. Fred Peatross does just that. Many writers resort to simply rehashing outmoded and outworn paradigms. Fred proves to be a trustworthy guide laying out a clear and practical framework around which to contrast (or reconstruct) an authentically missional church. In doing so he manages to be both fresh and inventive. This work is a welcome contribution to the literature exploring practical approaches to missional church. -Alan Hirsch is founding director of the innovative Forge Mission Training Network. He is also the author of The Forgotten Ways and co-author (with Mike Frost) of The Shaping of Things to Come

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Cold Tree Press (June 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583851852
• ISBN-13: 978-1583851852
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,248,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars clear, concise, encouraging, November 12, 2007

By	Makeesha C. Fisher (Fort Collins, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If the missional movement were to have a clear, concise and fresh handbook, this book would surely be it. Fred Peatross is a practitioner, and it is clear from page one that this is the case. There is no pretension or pipe dreams in this little book, no pie in the sky theories that could never sustain in the real world. Adding to its readability is its size - it's a small book - but do not be deceived, Peatross uses his words carefully to pack in great substance between the covers.

Peatross has given the emerging-missional movement a gift of generous, gracious and clear communication of the mission. This is a worthy read.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Missional Church, July 17, 2007

By	Mac "nucmanchh" (USA) - See all my reviews

"The best handbook on missional church on the market" -Jim Henderson; Innovator at Off The Map

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not clear at all!, February 25, 2008

By	Prodigal Knot (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

I am very surprised at the slight popularity of Mr.Peatross. If this book is any indication of his communication skills, I think I'll pass on his other work. I really didn't expect to find anything but theological issues to contemplate, but the book is so vacuous it deserves a kick on a literary basis alone.

On page 9 the author talks about "looking for those Jesus misses the most." What on earth does that convey? It sounds like Jesus once had them as friends and wishes they come visit Him again. Or, that He somehow missed a turn somewhere. Then he refers to Jesus' portability?? Is that good English? Jesus isn't a thing, He's a person. And it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ we're trying to spread; not a portable Jesus we can set up for a short "show and go".

Then we have the term "centripetal ministry". For some reason the author seems to think that being centered on Christ, who IS the head of the church, is somehow the wrong idea. Being focused on Christ is GOOD, not bad!
On page 22 Peatross says "The church is not focused on its facility but is focused on living and representing the One he follows as he walks alongside the people Jesus misses. Missional churches are indigenous. They have taken root in the soil and reflect, to some degree, the culture of their community."

Here we go again with people Jesus "misses"! What does this mean? This is simply bad grammar if what the author intends to say isn't inferring Jesus was driving so fast that He missed some stops! And how does a missional church become "rooted in the culture"? Wouldn't that mean they've stopped moving and have even picked a place to worship in? Horrors! How UN-missional! But, actually, it's simply more poor metaphor.

Another quote from the same page: "We would expect and rejoice at an African church worshiping to African music, in African dress, with African enthusiasm." What would we expect....? I'm guessing a half-baked sentence. And isn't the author church of Christ? So what's with the music?

Throughout the rest of the book we see pictures stretched across half a small page and the use of giant type quotes which work well to help fill pages with only one short paragraph of original(?) thought.

On page 39 we are confronted with the blurb "Pay attention! We could be watching a number of concurrent events converging!" (Huh???) Not to mention the babel-speak preceding this where a proposal to create a Missional/Emergent magazine is being studied. One of the remarkable goals is "Bring together the communication that has taken place in books, gatherings, and blogging, into a largely unused media." Uh....isn't there any consideration of just WHY that media is so underused? The second goal: "Provide editorial scrutiny from peers before publication..." would be a great idea IF the peers have a better ability to convey thoughts succintly and understandably than in this example.

On page 47 we read "Only fluid churches that ride out the rough waters ..." Excuse me? Wouldn't that be resilient churches, that perhaps are founded on the Rock and won't be moved from the truth? Fluids on stormy waters become part of and look just like the waters they are fluid with. Wouldn';t that mean they were affected by change rather than making it? Compare this thought to a lighthouse that braves the waves to a jelly fish. One can count on the lighthouse being a landmark or a point of bearing, but who knows where the jellyfish is going to end up?

On page 49 he asks if Sunday School is still relevant. He reminds us that Sunday School was introduced as a way to teach Biblical doctrine to children of the poor and uneducated as a means of evangelizing neighborhoods. Is Sunday School still relevant? Absolutely! In today's world, where many parents have failed to bring children up with even a semblance of biblical background at all, the concept of Sunday School is even MORE relevant.

He also bemoans the fact that Church no longer has a strong moral voice? Perhaps that's because the church has become so "relevant" to the world, that the world can't tell who we are?

All in all, this is a small tome of mostly unoriginal thought, very poorly edited, and sometimes non-sensical content. I was actually wondering if there was any real insight to be gained, but this short treatise would hardly merit a commendation from anyone wanting some meat with their potatoes.