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The late Lesslie Newbigin coined the term “missional”, \u00a0a word now used by nearly every evangelical church attempting to renew or establish a vision for their Church’s mission in the world. \u00a0We are told we are not “going to church” but rather “we are the church” sent out on mission. \u00a0This revitalized and welcomed emphasis on mission comes from a fresh understanding that our God is a “missionary God” who from the first planned and then became involved Himself in a rescue mission from heaven to redeem and restore His broken creation.<\/p>\n
Dr. Timothy Keller who founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church NYC, in addition to his gospel-soaking in the teachings of Jack Miller of New Life Church Philadelphia, was influenced heavily by Bishop Newbigin. \u00a0If Newbigin coined the word, Keller\u00a0was\u00a0a primary promoter and distributor of it\u00a0among the American evangelical church.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society<\/em>, a foundational handbook for the missional movement, Newbigin lays out the rationale for the Church to be on mission. \u00a0He argues that rather than our salvation being about a personal election to heaven it is a calling out and rescue of \u00a0a people in “exile” in order to extend the same release from captivity to the world:<\/p>\n “God’s electing grace calls into being a people charged with the responsibility of being the bearers of His universal salvation…To be chosen, to be elect, therefore does not mean that the elect are the saved and the rest are the lost. \u00a0To be the elect in Christ Jesus, and there is no other election, means to be incorporated into His mission to the world, to be the bearer of God’s saving purpose for His whole world, to be the sign and the agent and the firstfruit of His blessed kingdom which is for all.”<\/p>\n Lesslie Newbigin,\u00a0The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society<\/em>\u00a0(“The Logic of Election” pgs 86-87)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We are not elected to the position of “the redeemed” just to sing about our own personal redemption but to be ourselves redeemers who have been given the “message of reconciliation” by our Redeemer for the world. \u00a0An election assumes an office. \u00a0An office assumes a responsibility, a job; a calling to fulfill.<\/p>\n Newbigin did not believe our election was to proclaim the gospel message to an indeterminate audience called the “elect” but rather to the others God is determined<\/em> to save through us, the rest of the world. \u00a0We are blessed to be a blessing; we are saved from the world\u00a0for the world<\/em>. \u00a0We are even at times\u00a0against<\/em>\u00a0the world in order to be\u00a0for<\/em>\u00a0it and save it.<\/p>\n It is ironic that the very creator of our new buzzword “missional” established the word on the assumption that it encompassed a global rescue that starts with us, the “elect”, while his protegees never unpack or apply the full intention of his word.<\/p>\n For an outstanding<\/strong> treatment of Newbigin’s missional understanding of election as more holistic and global as opposed to the individualistic interpretation of the neo-Calvinists such as John Piper visit J. R. Woodard’s site. Read his excellent article on Newbigin’s doctrine of election:<\/p>\n http:\/\/jrwoodward.net\/2011\/06\/a-missional-view-of-the-doctrine-of-election-the-series\/<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The late Lesslie Newbigin coined the term “missional”, \u00a0a word now used by nearly every evangelical church attempting to renew or establish a vision for their Church’s mission in…<\/p>\n