Amazon.com: What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission (9781433526909): Kevin DeYoung, Greg Gilbert: Books

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In what appears to be a growing tension over what the mission of the church encompasses, DeYoung and Gilbert bring a remarkably balanced book that can correct, restore, and help regardless of which way you lean or land on all things missional. I found the chapters on social justice and our motivation in good works to be especially helpful. Whether you are actively engaging the people around you with the gospel and serving the least of these or you are hesitant of anything missional, this book will help you rest in God s plan to reconcile all things to himself in Christ. Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church, Highland Village, Texas; author, The Explicit Gospel (Crossway, 2012) Christ is the greatest message in the world, and delivering it is the greatest mission. But are we losing our focus? Are we being distracted, sometimes even by good things? Zealous Christians disagree sharply today over the church s proper ministry and mission. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert bring us back to first things in an age of mission creep and distraction. Offering balanced wisdom, this book will give us not only encouragement but discomfort exactly where we all need it. It s the kind of biblical sanity we need at this moment. Michael S. Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California Among the many books that have recently appeared on mission, this is the best one if you are looking for sensible definitions, clear thinking, readable writing, and the ability to handle the Bible in more than proof-texting ways. I pray that God will use it to bring many to a renewed grasp of what the gospel is and how that gospel relates, on the one hand, to biblical theology and, on the other, to what we are called to do. D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School DeYoung and Gilbert have put us in their debt with their clear, biblical, theological, and pastoral exposition of the mission of God s people. That mission, which they rightly understand within the story line of the whole Bible, is summarized in the Great Commission and involves gospel proclamation and disciple making. This superb book will encourage its readers to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus s commands now and in eternity, to the glory of God the Father. --Peter T. O'Brien, Senior Research Fellow in New Testament, Moore Theological College, Australia

A very timely and eminently engaging book for all those who care deeply about the church s mission in our day. Again and again, I found myself nodding in agreement as the authors made a key point from Scripture or noted the missional relevance of a given biblical passage. I highly recommend this book, not just as food for thought, but more importantly, as a call to obedient, biblically informed action. Andreas J. Kostenberger, Senior Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Director of Ph.D. Studies, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have written an important book on an important topic. Fair, keenly observant, startlingly honest, this book is replete with careful exegetical work. Verses are not merely cited; they are considered in context. The length of an idea is considered, all the way from its expression in the local church back to its source in Scripture. The result is a book that is nuanced and clear, useful and enjoyable to read, and that is no small gift from two young pastor-theologians who have already become reliable voices. Open this book and you ll want to open your Bible and open your mind on everything from justice to capitalism, from mercy to love. Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC; President, 9Marks DeYoung and Gilbert clear the fog that has settled over the nature of the church s mission. Their tone is gracious, the style is accessible, but most importantly this book is marked by fidelity to biblical revelation and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The authors have succeeded in what they exhort us to do: they have kept the main thing as the main thing. Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary DeYoung and Gilbert provide clarity to some of the most complex contemporary issues facing the church. Focusing us squarely on the redemptive nature of the gospel, they ultimately point us not only to the church s mission, but to practical ways to understand and live it. The result is a book that will be of great help to pastors, missiologists, theologians, and practitioners. M. David Sills, Faye Stone Professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology, Director of the Doctor of Missiology Program and Great Commission Ministries, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Every generation is tempted to augment or diminish, even nuance or redefine the mission of the church. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have provided a biblical corrective and protection for our generation in What is the Mission of the Church? With a gracious and kind spirit, this book reclaims the ecclesiastical concepts of mission, purpose, social justice, and the Great Commission from those who have redefined these words with a dictionary other than Scripture. Pastors should read this book with their elders, deacons, and leadership teams to wrestle with answers to the most pressing questions about the church in our day. --Rick Holland, Executive Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California; Director, Resolved Conference --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

“In what appears to be a growing tension over what the mission of the church encompasses, DeYoung and Gilbert bring a remarkably balanced book that can correct, restore, and help regardless of which way you lean or land on all things ‘missional.’ I found the chapters on social justice and our motivation in good works to be especially helpful. Whether you are actively engaging the people around you with the gospel and serving the least of these or you are hesitant of anything ‘missional,’ this book will help you rest in God’s plan to reconcile all things to himself in Christ.”
—Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church, Highland Village, Texas; author, The Explicit Gospel

“Christ is the greatest message in the world, and delivering it is the greatest mission. But are we losing our focus? Are we being distracted, sometimes even by good things? Zealous Christians disagree sharply today over the church’s proper ministry and mission. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert bring us back to first things in an age of mission creep and distraction. Offering balanced wisdom, this book will give us not only encouragement but discomfort exactly where we all need it. It’s the kind of biblical sanity we need at this moment.”
—Michael S. Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

“Among the many books that have recently appeared on mission, this is the best one if you are looking for sensible definitions, clear thinking, readable writing, and the ability to handle the Bible in more than proof-texting ways. I pray that God will use it to bring many to a renewed grasp of what the gospel is and how that gospel relates, on the one hand, to biblical theology and, on the other, to what we are called to do.”
—D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“DeYoung and Gilbert have put us in their debt with their clear, biblical, theological, and pastoral exposition of the mission of God’s people. That mission, which they rightly understand within the story line of the whole Bible, is summarized in the Great Commission and involves gospel proclamation and disciple making. This superb book will encourage its readers ‘to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus’s commands now and in eternity, to the glory of God the Father.’”
—Peter T. O'Brien, Senior Research Fellow in New Testament, Moore Theological College, Australia

“A very timely and eminently engaging book for all those who care deeply about the church’s mission in our day. Again and again, I found myself nodding in agreement as the authors made a key point from Scripture or noted the missional relevance of a given biblical passage. I highly recommend this book, not just as food for thought, but more importantly, as a call to obedient, biblically informed action.”
—Andreas J. Kostenberger, Senior Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Director of Ph.D. Studies, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have written an important book on an important topic. Fair, keenly observant, startlingly honest, this book is replete with careful exegetical work. Verses are not merely cited; they are considered in context. The length of an idea is considered, all the way from its expression in the local church back to its source in Scripture. The result is a book that is nuanced and clear, useful and enjoyable to read, and that is no small gift from two young pastor-theologians who have already become reliable voices. Open this book and you’ll want to open your Bible and open your mind on everything from justice to capitalism, from mercy to love.”
—Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC; President, 9Marks

“DeYoung and Gilbert clear the fog that has settled over the nature of the church’s mission. Their tone is gracious, the style is accessible, but most importantly this book is marked by fidelity to biblical revelation and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The authors have succeeded in what they exhort us to do: they have kept the main thing as the main thing.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“DeYoung and Gilbert provide clarity to some of the most complex contemporary issues facing the church. Focusing us squarely on the redemptive nature of the gospel, they ultimately point us not only to the church’s mission, but to practical ways to understand and live it. The result is a book that will be of great help to pastors, missiologists, theologians, and practitioners.”
—M. David Sills, Faye Stone Professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology, Director of the Doctor of Missiology Program and Great Commission Ministries, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Every generation is tempted to augment or diminish, even nuance or redefine the mission of the church. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have provided a biblical corrective and protection for our generation in What is the Mission of the Church? With a gracious and kind spirit, this book reclaims the ecclesiastical concepts of mission, purpose, social justice, and the Great Commission from those who have redefined these words with a dictionary other than Scripture. Pastors should read this book with their elders, deacons, and leadership teams to wrestle with answers to the most pressing questions about the church in our day.”
—Rick Holland, Senior Pastor, Mission Road Bible Church, Prairie Village, Kansas

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

Balanced and Biblical View of the Missional Church September 20, 2011

By David P. Craig TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a pastor for over twenty years you see a lot of fads come and go in the way churches seek to make an impact in our communities and culture. I have never met a pastor (worth his salt) who didn't want to be pleasing to God and make a difference for the sake of Christ in his community and culture. However, I have become more and more concerned as I see pastors watering down the message of the gospel; focusing more on programs than on the message of the gospel; and being influenced more by the culture, than influencing culture with the message of the Bible. Therefore, I wholeheartedly endorse and applaud this latest offering on the "mission" of the church because I think it is an excellent treatment of the relevant biblical passages and how they bear on the issues we are facing in the 21st century on what the mission/purpose of the church should be. It is missional and Biblical; truthful and loving without compromise; theologically profound and culturally relevant.

Without giving away the mission of the church as defined and defended in this book, I can say that DeYoung and Gilbert do a fantastic job of discussing issues like helping the poor, economics and social justice, the Kingdom, the gospel, and how a church can make an impact on the world without sacrificing the truth and absolutes.

The strengths of this book lie in its simplicity and clarity, exposition and insightful interpretation of the Scriptures, and it's very clear explanation and application of the gospel as revealed in the 66 books of the Bible. I recommend this book especially for pastor's young and old, leadership teams of churches, missionaries, and Christians who want to know how they can be purposefully a part of the only organization of which the "gates of hell will not prevail."

At the end of the day - this book is highly recommended because the author's build a great case for how to be biblically focused, God-centered, and culturally penetrating without sacrificing the most important truths and main story line of the Bible - the centrality of Jesus Christ as Lord and King to whom is all praise, glory and honor forever.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

Biblical, Pastoral, Clear, Interesting, Relevant September 22, 2011

By H. Liu

Format:Paperback

DeYoung and Gilbert have given us a biblically sound, clearly presented, well researched, and relevantly desired book on the "Mission of the Church." There are three particular strengths that set this book apart from other books on this very topic of the Church's relation to mission, culture, and the world.

First, the points made in this book are built on Scripture explanation and Scripture application. The authors aim to clarify the misunderstanding and misapplication of various Scripture passages. For example, take the topic of Social Justice and the Poor; the authors aren't merely citing various passages of Scripture to make their point. Instead, they carefully take every commonly used passage of Scripture concerning Social Justice and the Poor, and proceed to explain each individual passage in its own context. At the conclusion of each chapter, the reader walks away with a better understanding of God's Word, rather than a fistful of arguments.

Second, this book is well researched. If you desire to read one book on the mission of the church, then DeYoung and Gilbert have read and consulted most if not all of the classic and recent books on this topic. Earlier this year I read a handful of books on the topic of Church and Culture. A few of the more helpful reads were: Tim Keller's Generous Justice, David VanDrunen's Living in God's Two Kingdoms, and James Davison Hunter's To Change the World. In this book, DeYoung and Gilbert pull from some of the key points made by Keller, VanDrunen, Hunter, as well as other authors. Therefore, if time is of essence, I would recommend reading just this one.

Thirdly, DeYoung and Gilbert wrote with a pastoral approach. This book did not read like an academic monograph. Nor did it sound like two angry men attacking hotbed issues. This book was clearly written with the Church in mind and they managed to address controversial issues with a great deal of humility.

**Spoiler Alert** Beyond this point is my attempt to summarize the broad strokes of the central argument of the book without ruining it for you.

As stated in the subtitle of the book, the authors seek to make sense of social justice, shalom, and the Great Commission. They rightly define the mission of the church as the Great Commission to make disciples by declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus Christ now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father - "to win people to Christ and build them up in Christ" (63). The authors carefully explain the fine line that often gets blurred between the responsibilities given to the Church and the responsibilities reserved for God alone. In other words, what was the mission Jesus gave to His church, verses the work that God alone can accomplish such as: building the kingdom, renewing the world, making atonement for our sins, eliminating injustice, and establishing a righteous rule over society. The authors do not discourage or deny the importance of practicing good deeds, caring for the poor, engaging the culture, or visiting orphans and widows. Instead they rightly explain these endeavors as the fruit or blessings of the Gospel, not the Gospel itself. The broader blessings of the Gospel are attained only by means of forgiveness through the cross... (109). It was extremely helpful to see the Scriptural argument for why the Church must uphold the proclamation of Christ as her central mission.

In regards to social justice and shalom, the authors would agree with James Davison Hunter (To Change the World), that the Church can't and shouldn't endeavor to change or fix the social, cultural, or biological problems that plague the world. God created this world, cursed it, is renewing it through Christ. He alone will usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Instead, the Church is called to be a "faithful presence" in this fallen and corrupt world - salt and light to our communities. The Church's good deeds are a mere foretaste of heaven, not heaven itself.

I echo one of the previous reviewers that the epilogue is well worth the purchase of this book. It contains a fictitious story of a conversation between a young, motivated, missional church planter and an older seasoned pastor. The conversation displays the type of discipleship relationship that is desperately needed among church leaders today. There is much wisdom to be found in this conversation for both old and young. I highly recommend this book.

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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Is Great Commission our Only mission? November 18, 2011

By Taylor J

In WITMOTC Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have put forth their corrective to the current understanding of the concept of mission as it relates to the church. They are discussing the church as an institution as opposed to the church as the sum total of those in Christ. Their thesis is that proclamation is the entire mission of the church institutional. Deeds, they suggest, are either for individual believers to pursue on their own or for the church to take advantage of simply to adorn the gospel message.

I had a lot of minor disagreements with various areas of the book, but any serious reader will probably have minor disagreements with almost anything they read. The book fails because it doesn't offer a convincing argument to those who emphasize evangelism as most urgent but not at the expense of caring for physical needs. The New Testament seems to be in conflict with their argument. The church as an institution should(and did) not only make disciples; they should be(and were) disciples as well. For those inclined to write off my review, read John Stott's Christian Mission in the Modern World (IVP Classics); he focuses on salvation, but still puts forth a more honest theology of social action.

(side note - Making Sense of Social Justice, the exposition chapter, made some significant assumptions about the inherent benefits of capitalism that had more to do with conservative economic theory than biblical exposition, justice, or historical realities of the pitfalls of capitalism and industrialization. They were beneath the argument that the rest of the book put forth.)

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