Upon receiving
this book, I knew it would be a textbook and had the potential for being dry.
As a seminary student, this book should have been an easy read and more so
easier to understand. However, since my degree focus isn’t missions, I was not
sure exactly what contextualization was. This being said, within the first 32
pages, Moreau does tell us what contextualization is. Thus the book became
easier to understand.
If you
are looking for a text book that will show you the “map” of how to
contextualize the gospel, then this book is for you. It’s definitely written
for the graduate student in mind, so if you want a book that is entertaining or
more “laid back” then I can’t recommend this book. One would almost have to be
a scholar to understand the book.
Truthfully,
the book remains dry throughout the first part. When you get to Part 2 of the
book; and you begin to look at the Initiator (missionary) as a Facilitator,
Guide, Herald, Pathfinder, Prophet and finally a Restorer then you really start
to understand how the Gospel is contextualized around the world. Just as
everyone who is in Christ has a specific gift the missionary also has a special
gift and it may not be to go out and plant churches. Rather this gift may be
one of the many previously named gifts.
So if
you are a missions student that would like a deeper understanding of
contextualization within World missions, then this book is definitely for you.
However, if you are the lay member of your church, while this book may be
beneficial to you, make sure that you definitely study missions deeper for a
greater understanding held in this book.
**The author of this review received a copy of the book from
Kregel Publishers in exchage for a completely objective review.**
No comments:
Post a Comment