From crisis to creation
Subtitle: Lesslie Newbigin and the reinvention of Christian mission
By: Mark T.B. Laing ; foreword by Andrew F. Walls
Publisher: Pickwick Publications
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Eugene, Or
Language: eng
Number of pages: 289
ISBN-13: 9781610974240
Subjects: World Council of Churches; Theory; Ecumenical movement; International Missionary Council; History; Missions
Description: Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) was one of the seminal theologians of mission in the twentieth century, and perhaps the most important in the English-speaking world. His thinking was anchored in the practice of mission: he was a missionary in India, a bishop of the Indian church, and a leader in emerging international mission structures. In his late years, he pioneered research on how the gospel could engage with Western culture. For many he is the founding father of the missional church movement. This book is the first to address the crucial role Newbigin played in shaping ecumenical thinking on mission during the twentieth century, filling an important gap in our knowledge of the development of twentieth-century missional theology. It does so by seeking to answer a central question in Newbigin's thinking: How does "mission" relate to "church"? Taking the integration of the International Missionary Council with the World Council of Churches as its central focus, this book provides a unique history of crucial events in the ecumenical movement. But more importantly, through a study of Newbigin's role in the theological debate, this book demonstrates how missional theology evolved during the postwar period when there was a "sea change" in understandings both of mission and church.
Notes: Revision of author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Edinburgh, 2010.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-285) and index.
Table of contents: title: The making of an IMC general secretary; title: The path towards integration; title: Rolle and Willingen: a theological foundation for integration (and mission); title: The IMC at Ghana: debating integration and calling Newbigin; title: Newbigin's tenure as general secretary of the International Missionary Council; title: Mission and service: the relationship between the IMC and the Division of Inter-Church Aid; title: Newbigin's theology of integration; title: Integration and secularization: the quest for missionary structures; title: Secularization and the missionary structure of the church; title: Conclusion: the outcome of integration; title: Appendix 1. A chronology of Newbigin's life with other key events; title: Appendix 2. Methodology; title: Appendix 3. Interviews.