Review of "What Is Mission?" by J. Andrew Kirk

J. Andrew Kirk, What Is Mission? Theological Explorations. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000.

In What Is Mission? J. Andrew Kirk sets out to present in one concise volume a theological exploration of the many issues which are contained in the church’s mission. These issues are presented in a way that the reader sees how the Church should carry out its multi-faceted mission in the world. Kirk demonstrates that the purposes of God are carried out by the mission of the Church. He wants to show that many issues which may not traditionally be linked to the mission are united in the purposes of God and therefore the mission of the Church. Therefore, What Is Mission? examines how the Church’s mission is not simply about sending missionaries to another culture but is rather the implementation of the missio Dei in the very life of the whole church.

The author utilizes scholarly sources from a variety of disciplines which build support for his argument. The majority of references rely on combining perspectives of contemporary theologians, anthropologists, and missiologists. In some instances, secular sources are used to provide factual information regarding the current condition of the world. Kirk is able to use this statistical information in conjunction with contemporary missiological and theological sources in order to demonstrate how the Church’s mission is to confront the current practices of the world and align it instead with God’s kingdom. An extensive bibliography is also provided for further research into the topics of this book.

Kirk begins by examining the nature of theology, and specifically the theology of mission. He determines that there can be no theology without mission, i.e. no theology which is not missionary in nature. He also clarifies the nature of mission, not as an activity of the church in sending missionaries overseas, but as the essential being of the Church. From here, Kirk develops the idea that the Church must be about mission; that mission is multi-faceted and must permeate the very life of the Church. Mission is quite simply, though profoundly, what the Christian community is sent to do.

The mission of the Church, is rooted in the mission of the Triune God, as is evidenced in the way of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. By looking to the life of Jesus to see how he was accomplishing the missio Dei, Kirk expresses that Christ’s followers are to continue that same mission in Christ’s physical absence. With this as his foundation, Kirk launches into a series of contemporary issues in missions – the roles of evangelism, other cultures, the poor, religions of the world, promoting peace, care for creation, and sharing in global partnerships. In these sections, the holistic concept of mission is illustrated as a therapeutic process in which the whole Church engages rather than it being simply a one-time decision made by individuals.

Kirk concludes his treatment on mission by returning to how the Church engages in mission as the community of believers. Mission is something in which the whole engages because individuals engage in it. Mission happens locally with a global perspective.

Kirk answers the question What Is Mission? by demonstrating how mission is much more encompassing than the traditional view which, to quote David Bosch, became a “‘department of foreign affairs,’ dealing with the exotic but at the same time peripheral.” Kirk is able to center mission not only within the missio Dei, but goes on to demonstrate how this is carried out in the way of Jesus Christ, in the mission of the Church, and therefore, in the lives of individual Christians.

The presentation of contemporary issues in mission draws upon scholarly research which demonstrates the vastness of the practical application of mission within the life of the Church. This book is useful because these contemporary issues are broken into self-supporting chapters on various issues. However, the chapters flow together in a way which unites them in the common mission rather than isolating them from one another.

As a soon-to-be missionary, I will draw heavily upon the contributions of Kirk, namely the way he calls all Christians to participate in mission. The integration of the various contemporary issues in mission is particularly helpful as I am about to enter an area where compassionate ministries have in many ways eclipsed traditional church evangelistic ministries; his analysis helps me to see their interconnectedness. His reflections on equal global partnerships as opposed to development aid will challenge me to reexamine my own motives and practices of mission so they reflect the kingdom of God at work in the world.