From Crisis to Creation

by Laing, Mark T. B.; Walls, Andrew F.

• ISBN13: 9781610974240
• ISBN10: 1610974247
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-05
• Publisher: Pickwick Pubns

Summary

Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) was one of the seminal theologians of mission in the twentieth century, and perhaps the most important in the English-speaking world. His thinking was anchored in the practice of mission: he was a missionary in India, a bishop of the Indian church, and a leader in emerging international mission structures. In his late years, he pioneered research on how the gospel could engage with Western culture. For many he is the founding father of the missional church movement. This book is the first to address the crucial role Newbigin played in shaping ecumenical thinking on mission during the twentieth century, filling an important gap in our knowledge of the development of twentieth-century missional theology. It does so by seeking to answer a central question in Newbigin's thinking: How does mission relate to church? Taking the integration of the International Missionary Council with the World Council of Churches as its central focus, this book provides a unique history of crucial events in the ecumenical movement. But more importantly, through a study of Newbigin's role in the theological debate, this book demonstrates how missional theology evolved during the postwar period when there was a sea change in understandings both of mission and church.

Author Biography

Mark T. B. Laing taught missiology at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India, for several years, where he also coordinated the Centre for Mission Studies. This book is a revised form of his PhD thesis, which he recently completed at the University of Edinburgh.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Abbreviations	p. xxiii
The Making of an IMC General Secretary	p. 1
The Path Towards Integration	p. 32
Rolle and Willingen: A Theological Foundation for Integration (and Mission)	p. 61
The IMC at Ghana: Debating Integration and Calling Newbigin	p. 87
Newbigin's Tenure as General Secretary of the International Missionary Council	p. 110
Mission and Service: The Relationship between the IMC and the Division of Inter-Church Aid	p. 138
Newbigin's Theology of Integration	p. 167
Integration and Secularization: The Quest for Missionary Structures	p. 191
Secularization and the Missionary Structure of the Church	p. 218
Conclusion: The Outcome of Integration	p. 244
A Chronology of Newbigin's Life with Other Key Events	p. 259
Methodology	p. 261
Interviews	p. 270
Bibliography	p. 271
Index	p. 287
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