BOOK OF THE MONTH: The Great Story and the Great Commission, Christopher J.H. Wright
/NOVEMBER BOOK OF THE MONTH
REVIEWER: Peter Crumpler
The Great story and the great commission
BOOK: The Great Story and the Great Commission:
AUTHOR: Christopher J.H. Wright
(Baker Academic, April 2023) 176pp, hardback
‘Mission has become a controversial word’ admits Christopher Wright, as he seeks both to describe how the whole Bible is a call to participate in God’s mission, and to explain mission’s broad scope.
Dr Wright is a former principal of All Nations Christian College and is ministry director of the Langham Partnership – founded by John Stott to strengthen the majority world church. His experience and studies give him valuable insights into this important subject, at a time when some Christians are debating the role of ‘mission’ in the life of the church.
Wright concedes that mission has ‘a lot of negative baggage from the dark side of Christian missionary efforts in later centuries,’ but describes himself as ‘an unrepentant advocate’ for the word ‘mission’ as long as its meaning is clearly explained. He portrays the Bible as ‘a declaration of the single overall mission of God’ and helpfully sets out the Scriptures as ‘a Drama in Seven Acts’ which include: Creation, Rebellion, Promise, Christ, Mission, Judgment and New Creation. Wright then aligns these with the Anglican Communion’s ‘Five Marks of Mission’. These, alongside proclaiming the gospel, nurturing new believers and loving service, place fighting injustice and safeguarding creation at the core of mission.
He then describes how the Bible demonstrates that ‘God is already at work in all these ways, and we are co-workers with him.’ The whole Bible narrative, he says, is implied in ‘the Great Commission’ from Matthew 28. Wright declares ‘every local church is a missional church, or it is not really being a church at all.’ He challenges his readers to ask themselves where they fit into the ‘great story of God’s mission’ and ‘what kind of me God wants for his mission.’
Who should read this slim – 176 pages – closely-argued book? Perhaps preachers with congregations who question what social action or creation care have got to do with God’s mission when – they would say – we should be focusing on evangelism. The book would also challenge anyone who loves to pick out isolated ‘proof verses’ from across the Scriptures without looking at the overall narrative.
It’s a fascinating, helpful read that could also form the basis for a study series around the Bible’s overall narrative and how the Scriptures speak into contemporary patterns of mission.
Reviewer: Peter Crumpler
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, and a former communications director with the CofE.
