A Review of Missions by the Book: How Theology and Missions Walk Together

Missions by the Book has been one of the most helpful books on the theology and philosophy of missions that I have ever read. While I think there are some books that may do better at inspiring zealous concern for the lost (Radical by David Platt, for example), this book doesn't make it's primary concern inspiring missionaries, but informing the mission. As someone who has done a few short term missions and lived overseas doing one long-ish mission work, this book caused me to reflect on both my motivations and the methods as an ambassador for Christ.

The thrust of the authors' missional methodology is grounded in the pursuit of the glory of God, using the methods prescribed by God to win people called by God using the word of God. It applies what's commonly known as the regulative principle to missions in a simple, reasonable, biblically and historically grounded way. As one who has been in churches that take liberty with worship and preaching that are far beyond scripture, I found this liberating in its straightforwardness. The first 40% of the book is all based on this authoritative, declarative mission to witness to all ends of the earth. Those with a grounding in theology will probably find these earlier chapters easy and possibly uninspiring. The remaining chapters build a picture of the church, preaching, the qualifications of the missionary and the reward for missions.

There are a few things I think are worthy of mentioning that are, at least in my case, happily confrontational points the book brings up:

1. They're not in to "big tent evangelicalism". Vegas and Kocman make abundantly clear the hills they are going to die on and the theological camp they sit in. This is a far cry from standard evangelical missionary patterns, which require little to no training, only barely an understanding, and almost never any uniformity of doctrine or belief. They quote early on from J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism and agree the straightforward thesis that he put forward a century ago: You can have the Christ of the inspired Word, or you can have a different god. It's good to have that frankness in thinking about who your partners may be.

2. There's very little sympathy for short term missions. For me this chapter dredged up memories of my first experience on the mission field and the self-congratulatory and unintentionally destructive way I went about it. If you're one who's interested in short term missions, I'd recommend reading When Helping Hurts. I'd also recommend looking at 2 Corinthians 11:22-33. If you think mission work is just to be "fun" and "impactful" and "inspiring", see what else it can be there.

3. The work of the church is routine. Read that again. In the same way that great people are simply those who worked consistently on the same things day after day, using a consistent discipline, so is the work of one who is doing mission work. Most converts in history were not genuinely converted through some massive glorious event, but rather through the simple and unadorned preaching of the Word causing the Spirit to seal those whom the Father has drawn and given to His Son. If the routine acts of hearing the word, enjoying the (2) sacraments and being in fellowship with Christians seems dry to you, this book should help you reconsider your position. Those acts prescribed by God are simple, straightforward and powerful to bring the dead to life.

My own beliefs mirror fairly closely what Vegas and Kocman articulated in the early chapters (minus the typical Christian issue of household baptism), but I couldn't have begun to articulate the latter side of this book. It is the latter half of this book that makes it a worthy primer on missionary work for anyone aspiring to the field or wanting to pray for the missionary. While I would say the style is not the most inspired writing I've ever experienced (pun intended), the clarity, simplicity, and obvious passion these men have for the work of heralding the person and work of Christ is admirable. If you're a believer who is serious about preaching the Gospel to the lost, get this book before you buy your plane ticket. If you want to pray for missionaries, get a copy to see how you can pray. If you just want some cool cover art, it will work for that as well.