Christopher J. H. Wright's The Mission of God's People is book that uncovers the biblical theology of mission and its implication for all Christians. It is a book from Zondervan's Biblical Theology For Life series. The book has the stated purpose of uncovering the "so what?" question for all Christians and in Wright's terms, to answer the question, "What does the Bible as a whole in both testaments have to tell us about why the people of God exist and what it is they are supposed to be and do in the world?"1
Wright's main thrust is that God's mission has a broad redemptive agenda. The simplistic view of mission as just the proclamation of the gospel is tossed out and Wright offers a holistic understanding of the mission of God. This reviewer cannot help but sense Wright's favorable view of holism in the prioritism versus holism debate of approaches to evangelization of the world. Regardless of where we might stand in that debate, Wright's presentation of God's mission in this book deserves mention because it presents biblical evidence for a holistic approach to mission. Whether we are supporters or naysayers of a holistic approach to mission, we have the onus of examining the biblical data that Wright offers and give them due consideration in consolidating our own view of a biblical approach to mission.
In the first half of the book, from chapters 1-8, Wright wrestles with what the Bible has to say about who we as God's people and what is our purpose in life as God's people. In the second half of the book, chapters 9-15, the author spells out the terms of what we ought to be doing in light of the biblical understanding of God's mission. As God's people, Wright argues that the mission of God entrusted to us is "God's determination, through the whole biblical narrative, to bring about the redemption of his whole creation from the ravages of sin and evil."2 From this standpoint, Wright states that our understanding of mission should be informed by the whole counsel of God and we must therefore have a firm grip of the overarching Biblical Story of the Bible. Wright postulates that knowing the Biblical Story was a key impetus in motivating the early church in mobilizing for mission as they saw how they fit in God's redemptive story being rolled out in history. The author writes that we often explain the gospel as a series of propositions and focus in God's solution for dealing with an individual's problem with sin, and in doing so, we fall short of giving the full "biblical content" of the gospel. Towards that end, this reviewer agrees and has been invigorated to learn how to present the grand narrative of the Bible in a succinct and compelling manner.
Wright also makes the point that missions is pervasively inclusive, covering a broad range of activities that God may send people to do including famine relief, action for justice, preaching, evangelism, teaching, healing, and administration. For Wright, everything that we do as an individual believer or corporately as church should be in conscious participation with themission of God. This is paradigm shifting to those who contend that "if everything is mission, nothing is mission." This reviewer applauds Wright's exhortation for all to have a missional mindset but disagrees with Wright that "everything is missional". As Wright himself points out, the cross must be central in our social engagement as it is to our evangelism.3 In practice then, this reviewer believes that an activity can only be deemed as missional if it is in someway efficacious in bringing people into the kingdom of God. For instance, activities that are geared towards the nurturing and maturation of believers are not missional. They are necessary but are usually not centered on God's mission, but if rightly purposed, centers on the primacy of worship of God, whereby mission is only but important facet of that worship. As another example, an activity that is socially beneficial is not missional if proclamation of the gospel is not an integral part of the activity. Going back to Wright's book, this reviewer also feels that the author overemphasize the motif of "everything is missional" especially in his thoughts that creation care is a missional activity. Wright sees God's redemption is for his whole creation and thus concludes that ecological concerns and activities are legitimate endeavors of the mission of God's people. While this reviewer agrees with Wright that God has not rescinded his mandate for his people to care for the earth, it minimizes the costly nature of redemption, that is, Christ's life in exchange for sinners' when we include creation care as a valid thrust of the mission of God.
Wright's emphasis on the ethical dimension of mission is to be commended, and in particular, his explanation of how God presents the doctrine of election, ethics, and mission in Gen 18:19 is very insightful. Ethics and God's mission are integrally bound. Wright states that mission "is ethical at the core, for it demands lives committed to obedience to the Lord...".4 Indeed, this reviewer agrees with Wright that "the ethical quality of life of the people of God is the vital link between their calling and their mission."5 In practice then, whether we are called into full-time ministry or the marketplace, our character speaks volume to the message of the gospel that we proclaim. It is the fusion of our behavior and verbal proclamation that effectively testifies to the God to whom we proclaim.
The ethical dimension is also the integration of faith and obedience and thus includes bearing witness, proclaiming the gospel, and participation in the enterprise of sending mission workers. As we bear witness for Christ, not only are we bringing good news to the hearers, but it also reinforces the conviction of our faith (Isa 43:10). In the long and rich tradition of sending workers, we can be sending, going, and supporting mission endeavors. Wright recognizes that for the majority of his readers who are not going into the mission field, a major implication of a biblical theology of mission is to embrace a missional engagement in the marketplace by stressing the fact that work-life is also part of God's comprehensive redemption plan. This reviewer agrees that we must have a proper theology of work and demolish the false demarcation between the sacred realm of our faith and the secular realm of work. Finally, Wright also offer up a challenge to all his readers to be missional in our prayers, praise and worship. In practice then, churches that have tainted worship with consumerism must revive worship so that the mission of God is the syncopated rhythm of our prayer, praise, and worship.
1. Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God's People (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2010), 17).
2. Ibid., 240.
3. Wright, The Mission of God's People, 111.
4. Ibid., 94.
5. Ibid.
