Overview
The current religious climate poses unique challenges to those engaged in mission. Thus the authors of this book propose a new, yet very biblical, model for interacting with people of other faiths. They term this model giftive mission, as it is based on the metaphor of free gift. We bear the greatest gift possible--the gospel message. Adopting this perspective not only has the potential for greater missionary success but also enables us to more closely imitate God's gracious activity in the world. The core of the book explores eleven practices that characterize giftive mission. Each practice is illustrated through the story of a figure from mission history who embodied that practice. Further discussion shows how to incorporate these practices in specific mission settings.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: Context, Text, and Pre-Texts
1. The Context of World Religion Today
2. Text: What the Bible Says
3. Pre-Texts: Theology and Personality
Part 2: Practices: Beyond Competition and Cooperation
4. Universality: Reaching Out to All, Including Christians
5. Fellowship: Belonging Precedes Believing
6. Localization: Focusing on Questions and Concerns of the Local Community
7. Commitment: Holding Ideas with Conviction; Acting Decisively on Those Ideas; Not Letting Those Ideas Be Divisive
8. Freedom: Honoring the Principle of Religious Choice as Free and Uncoerced
9. Effectiveness: Allowing the Context to Determine the Form of Witness
10. Consistency: Striving for Consistency between Methods and Goals
11. Variety: Communicating the Gospel in Many Forms, Verbal and Nonverbal
12. Respect: Not Disparaging Others in Order to Champion Your Own; Not Disparaging Your Own in Order to Respect Others
13. Charity: Loving Those to Whom We Witness
14. Missional Ecumenicity: Practicing Mission as the Joint Project of the Church, Not an Occasion for Competition
15. Jesus, Mission Innovator: Jesus' Model of Giftive Mission
Part 3: Method: How Do We Do It?
16. The Spiral of Knowledge Acquisition: Learning about New Cultures and New Religions
17. Experiencing: The Influence of Our Personal Histories
18. Bracketing: Putting Convictions on Hold
19. Encountering: Learning from a New Culture and Religion
20. Evaluating: Appraising the New Culture and Religion from Our Christian Point of View
21. Integrating: Reshaping Our Own Views and Mission Practices Part 4: Giftive Mission
22. Metaphors for Mission
23. The Four Gifts
24. Giftive Mission
Appendix A: Biblical Inter-Religious Encounters
Appendix B: Inter-Religious Encounter Mode Instrument
Reference List
Scripture Index
Subject Index
Part 1: Context, Text, and Pre-Texts
1. The Context of World Religion Today
2. Text: What the Bible Says
3. Pre-Texts: Theology and Personality
Part 2: Practices: Beyond Competition and Cooperation
4. Universality: Reaching Out to All, Including Christians
5. Fellowship: Belonging Precedes Believing
6. Localization: Focusing on Questions and Concerns of the Local Community
7. Commitment: Holding Ideas with Conviction; Acting Decisively on Those Ideas; Not Letting Those Ideas Be Divisive
8. Freedom: Honoring the Principle of Religious Choice as Free and Uncoerced
9. Effectiveness: Allowing the Context to Determine the Form of Witness
10. Consistency: Striving for Consistency between Methods and Goals
11. Variety: Communicating the Gospel in Many Forms, Verbal and Nonverbal
12. Respect: Not Disparaging Others in Order to Champion Your Own; Not Disparaging Your Own in Order to Respect Others
13. Charity: Loving Those to Whom We Witness
14. Missional Ecumenicity: Practicing Mission as the Joint Project of the Church, Not an Occasion for Competition
15. Jesus, Mission Innovator: Jesus' Model of Giftive Mission
Part 3: Method: How Do We Do It?
16. The Spiral of Knowledge Acquisition: Learning about New Cultures and New Religions
17. Experiencing: The Influence of Our Personal Histories
18. Bracketing: Putting Convictions on Hold
19. Encountering: Learning from a New Culture and Religion
20. Evaluating: Appraising the New Culture and Religion from Our Christian Point of View
21. Integrating: Reshaping Our Own Views and Mission Practices Part 4: Giftive Mission
22. Metaphors for Mission
23. The Four Gifts
24. Giftive Mission
Appendix A: Biblical Inter-Religious Encounters
Appendix B: Inter-Religious Encounter Mode Instrument
Reference List
Scripture Index
Subject Index
Authors
Terry C. Muck
Terry C. Muck (PhD, Northwestern University) has been a religious studies scholar for more than thirty-five years. Prior to his retirement, he served as executive director of the Louisville Institute after teaching for many years at Austin Presbyterian Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary. Muck has authored or edited numerous books, including Christianity Encountering World Religions, Handbook of Religion, and Ministry and Theology in Global Perspective: Contemporary Challenges for the Church. He is cofounder and president of the Society for Buddhist Christian Studies and has been the lead writer for three Christian interfaith statements.
Frances S. Adeney
Frances S. Adeney (PhD, Graduate Theological Union) is William A. Benfield Jr. Professor of Evangelism and Global Mission Emerita at Louisville Seminary. She has authored and contributed to many books, including Christianity Encountering World Religions, Christianity and Human Rights, and Christian Women in Indonesia: A Narrative Study of Gender and Religion.