Craig Van Gelder and Dwight J. Zscheile, The Missional Church In Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (Allelon Missional Series). Baker Academic, 2011.
Referenced in: Missional Philosophy
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is a thorough review of the missional movement from its inception until now. Better than any book before, it explains the common terms, the philosophy, the theology, and all the various trajectories of the missional conversation. Part One overviews the history and development of the missional conversation. Part Two offers perspectives to deepen missional theology, improve missional engagement of culture, and engage the practices of church life and leadership more missionally.
No other resource explains the missional conversation so thoroughly. Academics may be drawn to the helpful definitions and distinctions in Part One. Reflective types will appreciate the theological clarifications. Practical types will be drawn to the last chapter which applies missional philosophy to dwelling in the Word, discernment, worship, daily life, participatory leadership, church organization, connecting and mobilizing members, church planting, and church renewal.
This book is more conceptual than practical, and it is fairly technical. The primary appeal is for those who already follow the missional conversation and would benefit from a “here’s where we’ve been and here’s where we’re going” resources. Those who want a less technical introduction that balances theology and practice should go to Roxburgh and Boren’s Introducing the Missional Church.
From the Publisher
In this book, two leading ministry experts place the missional church conversation in historical perspective and offer fresh insights for its further development. They begin by providing a helpful review of the genesis of the missional church and offering an insightful critique of the Gospel and Our Culture Network’s seminal book Missional Church, which set the conversation in motion. They map the diverse paths this discussion has taken over the past decade, identifying four primary branches and ten sub-branches of the conversation and placing over one hundred published titles and websites into this framework. The authors then utilize recent developments in biblical and theological perspectives to strengthen and extend the conversation about missional theology, the church’s interaction with culture and cultures, and church organization and leadership in relation to the formation of believers as disciples. Professors, students, and church leaders will value this comprehensive overview of the missional movement. It includes a foreword by Alan J. Roxburgh.
About the Author
Craig Van Gelder (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and University of Texas at Arlington) is professor of congregational mission at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author or editor of a number of books, including The Essence of the Church, The Ministry of the Missional Church, A Field Guide for the Missional Congregation, and The Church between Gospel and Culture.
Dwight J. Zscheile (PhD, Luther Seminary) is assistant professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary and serves as associate rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***
Missional Perspectives:
- Missional Perspectives 01, Introduction
- Missional Perspectives 02, Emergent
- Missional Perspectives 03, Missio Dei Definitions and Contributions
- Missional Perspectives 04, Missio Dei Guiding Observations
- Missional Perspectives 05, Missio Dei Guiding Observations (Continued)
- Missional Perspectives 06, Other Missionally Responsive Trajectories
- Missional Perspectives 07, Must We Respond to Postmodernism?
- Missional Perspectives 08, Evangelism
Related Ministry Resource Guides:
- Missional Church Resources, Introduction and Index
- Missional Philosophy
- Theology of Mission
- Missional Communities
- Missional Leadership / Missional Strategies
- Missional Lifestyle, Discipleship, Spirituality
- Church Leadership and Renewal, Index to Resources
- Ecclesiology
- Evangelism
See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Ministry Leadership: