A Word in Season: Perspectives on Christian World Missions - Paperback

by Lesslie Newbigin (Author)

This collection of seventeen previously unpublished essays, sermons, and addresses by Lesslie Newbigin puts forth his developing view of the agenda for Christian missions. Considered "the quintessence of Newbigin's thought" by editor Eleanor Jackson, these papers record the dynamics of Newbigin's ideas about mission as he confronted new issues in the church and society from 1960 to 1992.

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This collection of seventeen never-before-published essays, sermons, and addresses by Lesslie Newbigin, one of the premier missiologists of the twentieth century, puts forth his developing view of the agenda for Christian mission from 1960 to 1992. Considered "the quintessence of Newbigin's thought" by editor Eleanor Jackson, these papers record the dynamics of Newbigin's ideas about mission as he confronted new issues in the church and society. Newbigin's sermon at Riverside Church in New York City in 1960 opens discussion on the themes of unity in mission, changes in the missionary enterprise, and developments in the theology of mission. A second group of articles addresses specific "frontline" situations: mission in the modern city, the pastor's role in the inner city, and the future of the parish church. Newbigin then moves to frontier concerns: the resistance of modern society to the gospel, the cultural captivity of the church, and the consequences of witness in a world of religious and ideological pluralism - themes central to many of his full-length books. Finally, Newbigin sets the agenda for mission as the church approaches a new millennium. Spanning three significant decades in the history of church outreach, A Word in Season offers an important perspective on the course of Christian mission and provides valuable instruction to those who struggle with the missionary task today.

Author Biography

(1909-1998) Lesslie Newbigin was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, U.K., in 1909. He completed his undergraduate studies in Cambridge and then served as Staff Secretary of the Student Christian Movement in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied theology at Westminster College at Cambridge and was ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, Church of Scotland in 1936. That same year Newbigin married Helen Henderson and the two of them left for India where he was to be missionary of the Church of Scotland.

In 1947 Reverend Newbigin was consecrated Bishop in the Church of South India, formed by the union of Anglican, Methodist, and Reformed churches. He also served on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the main theme of the Second Assembly. Other members of the committee included famous theologians such as Barth, Brunner, and Niebuhr.

In 1959 Newbigin was called to be General Secretary of the International Missionary Council with offices in London and New York. He was responsible for carrying through final negotiations for the merger with the World Council of Churches. In 1962 he became the first director of the Division of World Mission and Evangelism, and Associate General Secretary of the World Council of Churches with headquarters in Geneva.

In 1965 he was recalled by the Church of South India as Bishop in Madras and remained there until his retirement in 1974. He lived in London, England, until his death in 1998.