The Church in Missions -- By: Greg Peters

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 125:497 (Jan 1968)
Article: The Church in Missions
Author: Greg Peters


The Church in Missions

George W. Peters

[Dr. George W. Peters, Department Chairman, Professor of World Missions, Dallas Theological Seminary.]

The history of missions is in the main the history of great personalities and of missionary societies. Only in exceptional cases has it been the church in missions. The present-day slogan “The church is mission” is a rather late by-product of Christian missions or a late awakening of the Christian conscience. Five reasons seemingly are responsible for this unfortunate and abnormal historic development which has produced autonomous missionless churches on the one hand and autonomous churchless missionary societies on the other hand. While the latter claim to be “servants” of the churches, they are autonomous, legislative, and administrative bodies with their independent charters and thus at least able to operate independently. What is the history back of such a phenomenon?

The Theology of the Reformation

The sixteenth century Protestant Reformation gave birth to the missionary message and released a spiritual and potential missionary dynamic which eventually resulted in a vital and vigorous missionary movement. Just how far the missionary pattern and direct missionary motivation may be attributed to the great reformers is a matter of debate. No one of them was so blind that he did not see the evangelistic implications of the Christian gospel and salvation experience. All of them, however, seem to have been so preoccupied with their immediate needs and pressures that time was not available to make a systematic and convincing presentation of the foreign missionary cause. Paradoxical statements may be discovered and implications have been deduced both positive and negative. Luther has been decried as a man of no missionary vision in whom the missionary idea was not only

totally lacking, but who explicitly denied its validity. On the other hand, he has been lauded as a man of a superlative missionary vision. Thus praise and blame have been heaped upon the leaders of the Reformation for their attitudes and statements. In recent years, serious attempts have been made to reconstruct the image of Luther and portray him as an advocate of missions. None of the presentations are really convincing if the “quotes” are viewed within their context, the purpose for which they were spoken, and the occasion which called them forth. The debate continues and should continue. The existential, causal, and occasional approach of Luther to life, ethics, and theology, however, will make it difficult to become dogmatic and conclusive in this question.

While we respect the Reformers as truly great men of God and we want to grant the...

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