Of all the Christian-related books I sold, there are still a few left on my shelf.
This is one of them.
Christian Mission in the Modern World
by
John Stott
I figure John Stott will have something intelligent to say about Christian Mission.
I just read the Foreword and I think I already enjoy what I will be diving into….
I was twenty six years old when this book was first published. I belonged to that group of people who would beg,borrow, steal or starve in order to get the latest book by John Stott. But this one was extra special. The evangelical movement was coming of age. We were entering a “postwar” era when some of the great battles that raged about the mission of the church were being resolved as the church begin to look at mission by studying the whole Bible. For example, we were beginning to believe that evangelism and social concern were both vital aspects of the Christian mission and that dialogue – done biblically – was not an enemy of evangelism.
…
…I had a sense that my life’s work was going to be with the poor and needy. I knew this call would influence my lifestyle choices. I knew that if I was to identify with the poor, I would have to live simply and be involved in bringing material, educational and social develop to the lives of the people I was going to serve. I was a student in the United States, and I began to sense it would be best for me not to risk taking an American wife to a life with the poor – not an easy thing for a young person longing for marriage and living at that time in a dating culture! I needed a base of convictions that would help me in preparing for and executing the ministry I hoped to have in Sri Lanka.
