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The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone (Christian Doctrine in Global Perspective)

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Samuel Escobar elucidates his point of contemporary Christian mission having less and less of a geographical center, illustrating from his rich and quite varied personal experience as a Christ-follower and missiologist, perhaps most notably with the Lausanne Covenant. The book contains an essential message to the Western Church today: that we can not afford to presume that we are the leaders of the world Christian movement and thusly divorce ourselves from a global perspective of what and how God is working in the world today. I found this book a bit more accessible to the layperson than Philip Jenkins' topically similar work, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity.

Dr. Samuel Escobar's book The New Global Mission is a good introduction to the history of missions from a global context, as well as a looking glass focused on the challenges of the near future in global missions. His experiences as a missionary and as an educator provide strong credentials to back up the ideas he presents within this book. Coming from the South America, his perspectives on the effects of prior missionary movements on native populations and their cultures is lent additional weight.

After a chapter of introduction to his plan for the book, Escobar quickly gives a survey of the historical trends and methodologies the Church used in order to spread the gospel starting with the example of Jesus, and finishing with the modern business like methodologies used today. Within this context, Escobar focuses on the organizational directives and structures used by the Church throughout time. This is not a journalistic approach to history; in fact Escobar is at times very critical of different mission philosophies and methodologies. While presenting an overview of the structures and movements behind the missionary movements of history, he also includes the human component, connecting each wave of missionary advancement to the lives of the missionaries and those ministered to. In fact his contention is that all good missions follow the example of Jesus, who was right there getting down into the mud of peoples lives.

Escobar's next topic is really the focal point for the whole book. Due to globalization, missionary influence and the ease of communications and global travel, the global church no longer reflects the Christianity of the western world. He then establishes that the western church is in recession and that the "Third World" or southern church is in ascendancy. Furthermore, the western or northern church needs to adapt to the reality that while they may control most of the resources of the world, as well as most of the resources of the church, that the Holy Spirit and Christ have always worked through people, and more commonly through the poorest people. The implications of this reality, will also affect more than just the balance of power in relation to geographic location. Traditional understandings of the interpretation of scripture do not always equate to the interpretations of the third church.

He then finishes the book by discussing models for missions in a post-christianity west, where the whole world contributes to sending missionaries from the whole world to the whole world. He also argues that we need to re-evaluate our structures for organizing missions to be more centered on the will of the Holy Spirit. Modeling after the book of Acts, we should first discern what the spirit would have us do, before attempting to save the world. This is not to mean that we wait, suffering social injustice or other sinful things, but that we must understand the spirits purpose and direction before undertaking major missions.

I found this book very enjoyable. While not highly theoretical, I did find it intellectually stimulating. While some of the scriptural references were a little on the "proof-text" side, I couldn't complain about most. One reference did bother me though. On page 144, he references the story in Mark 5:1-20 of Jesus driving the evil spirits (called Legion) into a herd of 2000 pigs which then proceeded to run off and drown. He then says, "Consequently the people in that region ask Jesus to leave--a herd of pigs is more valuable than a restored human life." This implies that the reason they wanted Jesus to leave was a fear of fiscal consequences to his continued presence. While that may make sense in a contemporary setting, I find it difficult to believe. While it is a plausible reason, and probably partially to blame, this would demand that this area be inhabited by gentiles, and not good Jews. Unfortunately, I can't come up with any other rational explanation as to why they would ask him to leave. The text implies that the populace was in awe of Jesus, and not afraid, but they didn't crowd around asking for more miracles. Obviously I need to spend more time wrestling with this portion of text.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and found it insightful. I now have a greater appreciation for the challenges and opportunities the church faces in the upcoming decades when it comes to missions. I can see that many of our American churches need a new revival. I can only hope that the southern church helps restore us.

Summary of Samuel Escobar's Main Arguments

Samuel Escobar begins in chapter one, of The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone, by illustrating a new picture of global mission in the 21st century. He says, "Christian mission in the 21st century has become the responsibility of a global church (p. 12)." Gone are the days where just North Americans are primary senders of missionaries to the rest of the world. Now people from all over the world are being sent to the entire world. The Gospel speaks to people of every culture and is translatable to every culture (p. 12).

Escobar says that "The heart of "mission" is the drive to share the good news with all, to cross every boarder with the gospel (p. 13)." We live in a multicultural world where western Christianity is being confronted by the Christianity of the southern hemisphere, which is "marked by a culture of poverty, an oral liturgy, narrative preaching, uninhibited emotionalism, maximum participation in prayer and worship, dreams and visions, faith healing, and an intense search for community and belonging (p. 15)."

A shift has occurred in Christianity in the global south where Christianity is flourishing. The gospel is being preached by people with few financial, material, or technical resources, rather than by people with power and privilege [I would add, like those of us in the US] (p. 19). In other words missions is happening more from the "global south" and from other parts of the globe than it is solely from North America. Missionaries are being sent from "all nations" to "all people." We are moving to an imperial missiology, to an incarnational and truly international missiology (p. 26).

In Chapter two Escobar begins his brief summary of Christian Missions by pointing out that both the divine and the human dimensions of missions should be considered. He also suggests that passion and commitment to Christ must be looked at when looking at missionaries along with "the good the bad and the ugly" concerning missions. Escobar gives us a two thousand year history of missions in chapter two which includes "the good the bad and the ugly" and ends with missions as it relates to all nations. Escobar notes that in our current point in time in history the church is most like the early church than ever before. We have gone back to smaller groups of Christians all around the world, and now there are now smaller communities of persecuted Christians all around the world as well.

In chapter three Escobar describes the current context of global missions noting, like Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat, that the world is indeed basically flat and that we live in a global economy and a "global village," if you will. While the times are exciting and the potential is endless concerning missions, there are both good and bad sides to this "globalization of missions." Economic potentials become factors in people's worth and values and the current technological trends and advances can rob people of true biblical fellowship and incarnational ministry. Escobar says we should be mindful of the cultural context of missions work, and not be "just harbingers of the new globalization process (p. 63)."

Increasing poverty is also problematic in our current globalized community. On one hand some mission work is geared toward helping the poor and alleviating poverty and on the other hand the poor themselves are a missionary force to be reckoned with (p. 65). One outcome of this dynamic is the cooperative model of missions in which "churches from rich nations add their material resources to the human resources of poor nations in order to work in a third area (p. 67). Migrants are also acting as cross-cultural missionaries.

In chapter four, Samuel Escobar addresses the postmodern trends in western cultures. Post-modernity is characterized by critiques of Christian values, the glorification of the body, and an acute interest in consumption and materialism (p. 75, 76). Post-modernity characterizes western culture and should be evaluated on the basis of scripture and addressed as any other culture (p. 72). There have been some changes within the church that reflect the shift toward post-modernity in the church, notes Escobar (p. 80). Another reaction within the church to post-modernism and the rise of Islam is fundamentalism which leads to a militaristic and nationalistic approach to missions which should be avoided (p. 82).

In chapter five Samuel Escobar describes our God as a missionary God who "is active in the world, active in human history through the people He calls and sends, [and] is at the heart of mission (p. 86). God chooses people and then sends them out as missionaries while weaving a web of human relationships based on His love of human kind. Escobar maps out how God sends His Apostles throughout the Old and New Testaments. Throughout the history of the church the churches history of response to God's call has varied between obedience and disobedience (p. 90-92). Escobar notes that missions should always be marked by our dependence on God and not our own strength (p. 94).

Chapter six outlines how Christ is God's best missionary. Escobar states that "one might summarize the history of Christian mission as the way in which people in thousands of cultures and languages have come to know Jesus, the way in which the name of Jesus has been proclaimed and honored from country to country, from culture to culture, from language to language, from century to century (p. 98)."

Jesus continues to inspire people to give their lives in service to Him today, notes Escobar. He goes on to talk of how Jesus was sent by his father and how Jesus sends his disciples. This is noted in John 17 in Jesus' prayer to His Father, and as the Apostle Paul states, this occurred at just the right time in history (p. 98, 99). Escobar also says that Christ is our pattern for mission and that "If Christ is at the center of the gospel and of missionary activity, His way of being God's missionary also becomes a pattern for life and mission (p. 106)." Escobar then goes on in chapter six to describe how we are to be imitators of Christ in mission through compassion, serving, confronting, and being incarnational (p. 107-110).

Chapter seven of The New Global Mission is probably my favorite. It addresses the Holy Spirit in Christian Mission. Escobar begins this chapter noting from Bishop John V. Taylor, and I would add and from scripture, that "The chief actor in the historic mission of the Christian church is the Holy Spirit. He is the director of the whole enterprise (p. 112)." We must not underestimate the Holy Spirit in missions. Missions is not something that we do in our own power, it is what God does in His power through us.

While I was less interested in the history of the Pentecostal movement, the history of the Holy Spirit at work in mission, the spread of the gospel, and the growth of the church is essential and of extreme importance to all of us. Escobar ends this chapter strongly with some major premises of The Holy Spirit and mission. One, "the word of promise becomes a reality by the work of the spirit (p. 120)." Two, "the ministry of Jesus is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit (p. 121)." Three, "God uses people filled with the power of the Holy Spirit (p. 122)." Four, "Jesus teaches about the work of the Holy Spirit in Missions (p. 123)." And finally in his fifth point or premise, Escobar says, "the growth of the church in numbers and depth is the work of the Holy Spirit (p. 124)."

Chapter eight, Text and Context: The Word Through New Eyes, focuses on the importance of scripture and context in mission. The protestant reformation, notes Escobar, was an intense time of translating and distributing the Bible, which in turn contributed to mission and the growth of the church (p. 129). "Scripture was a fundamental component" of missionary methodology and still is (p. 129). Escobar makes a point that I think is key to this chapter, "The concern to put the Bible into people's hands, in their own language, was related to the conviction that God speaks through His Word and by His Spirit in a way that the average Christian can understand (p. 131)." God's desire is to communicate to His people. Scripture is Missional and is essential for mission.

In chapter nine, Mission as Transforming Service, Escobar points out that mission occurs in transforming service. This Biblical pattern of service encompasses Christian mission in human and social transformation (p. 146). John Stott, a consulting editor in this work, also wrote extensively about this type of holistic mission, that many evangelicals are leaning toward, in his work Christian Mission in the Modern World.

Escobar points out Matthew 9:36-38 and how "Jesus immersed among the people, ministering to their needs, and points clearly to the deep compassion that moved Him to action (p. 143)." The people we are ministering to should not be faceless projects but should be seen as "sheep without a shepherd." Jesus' mission was holistic and met all of people's needs and our mission should be the same as we model what Jesus does (p. 146). Escobar ends this chapter emphasizing that "word and deed go hand in hand" when it comes to mission (p. 152-154). "Today mission should consist of service-service both of the spiritual in proclaiming the word and in the physical in meeting human needs, according to Jesus' model and in His name (p. 154)."

Finally, in chapter ten, Escobar emphasizes a "New Way of Looking at Our World" when it comes to mission. The people of this world are people looking for meaning and purpose. "If the sick person is to be made whole, we must involve in the restoration process the center of personality where the quest for meaning and purpose exist (Fountain, p. 155)." We must transition to looking at the world through a kingdom lens so we regard no one according to this world or its point of view (p. 156). We must be on guard in missions not to depersonalize others (p. 156).

The theology of the early church changed the way other people were viewed and advanced the growth of the early church and advanced missions. This also provoked tensions in the early church, but it was necessary (p. 158). We must move from our secular world and world views and move toward a kingdom and biblical world view (p. 159). We must look at our western culture and societies as the mission fields that they are, and begin to re-evangelize the west (p. 162).

The shift is clear. People are being sent to share the gospel from everywhere to everyone. We must rethink mission and look to how missions are changing and we must look to send from everywhere to everyone, and even to our own back yards. The church is global and she is sending from everywhere to everyone and we must be a part of that. We also must look very differently at missions and look very differently at our world.

Evaluation: Assessing the Theological and Practical Relevance of The New Global Mission

The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone, by Samuel Escobar, is a very practical and relevant, theologically sound, and helpful piece of work for us to consider in reflecting on, thinking about, and embarking on missions today. It is extremely important for us to look differently at mission and to look at our world in a new way and through a different mission world-view. A new century is dawning in missions. "Christian mission in the 21st century has become the responsibility of a global church (p. 12)."

May we be sending the Gospel from everywhere to everyone! May we be missional!


Robbie Pruitt

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Bibliography

Escobar, Samuel. The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone. Intervarsity Press. Downers Grove, IL. © 2003

Samuel Escobar's book, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone, covers an overview of the global conversation going on in missions. Escobar expands on the shift away from a Western dominated view of missions and Western theology's part in the dialogue. Escobar writes with the Western Church and theology in mind, he does consider the West and its influence on missions as no longer the center or focal point of dialogue in missions.
Escobar emphasizes four areas of interest in his book. The Western influence on missions and how imperialistic Christianity has dominated most of the world. How Western Christianity has been in power for so long but is now confronting not only a post-Christian society but also a postmodern society. Escobar calls for Non-Western Christianity to begin to interpret and create theologies based on their own current locations and cultures. There is also a theological piece of the book calling for Christians to become Trinitarian in their views on missions; God is a missionary God, a Christological pattern for missions which includes the Holy Spirit and marking a church as being reliant and dependent on the Spirit.
One of my favorite reads and a great introduction to the dialogue going on in the world of missions and theology. I greatly appreciated Samuel Escobar's thoughts and insights into the non-Western view on missions and the non-Westerner's importance to add to the dialogue.

This was an assigned text for my Theology of Missions class at TEDS and it was well worth the read. Samuel Escobar, a missiologist from Peru, is simple, biblical and practical in his assessment of Christian missions.

This book brings awareness for some that there has been a shift in intercultural ministry that has been happening (and is continuing to happen) globally. As other reviewers have noted, this book is accessible and carries an appropriate excitement in describing what God is doing on a global scale. Escobar provides an introductory glimpse at the biblical basis for missions and practical implications.

Having been published in 2003, some of the information is starting to show its age. I hope there will be a revision in light of the sixth Lausanne Conference that happened last year in 2011, reflecting more current global missions.

The author is well knowledgeable about this topic and adds his own perspective into the writing quite a bit. It is good for not only missionaries, but also for Christians to read for them to know and understand what is going on in the world due to Christian World Missions. This book is very helpful for one to understand what is going on and maybe even what the next step would be for Christian Missions.

Escobar's book gives views which allows for being aware of what people think, believe and understand.