Abstract
For the first time in its long-running series of publications the Evangelical Missiological Society has addressed the role and importance of the missionary family, especially in regards to issues of sexuality—namely, sexual abuse and sexual orientation in mission. This is a timely publication with many of these issues having come to the fore in the last ten years.
Divided into three parts, each part is prefaced by a brief introduction by one of the editors. Part I gives a general overview of the situations missionary families face on the field, such as health, risk, personal growth, the care of both missionary children and parents of missionaries, among other topics. Although some of the chapters are historical in nature, the lessons learned are still relevant for today. Of particular interest is Sunny Hong’s chapter on caring for the parents of missionaries in the Korean cultural context.
Part II narrows the discussion to the sexual abuse of missionary children on the mission field and the use of recovered memory techniques in trying to discover what abuse, if any in a particular situation, has actually happened. The editors are to be commended in assembling experts in the fields of legal issues, history, scientific research, and methods of evaluating accusations of abuse. It would have been helpful, though, if there had been more biblical and theological engagement in this part of the book.
Finally, in part III, the emphasis turns to sexual orientation in mission. A new EMS series format was used for this part—a main paper followed by a series of brief critiques from various practitioners and scholars. Sherwood Lingenfelter sets the tone of the discussion with a chapter on sexual orientation as a missiological issue followed by several evangelical scholars briefly interacting with his chapter. It’s clear from these reflections that there is a deep, wide, and informed discussion on this topic within the evangelical missions community with different emphases and approaches.
This volume joins other helpful works on the missionary family such as: Family Accountability in Missions (2013), The Family in Mission (2004), books by authors such as Kelly O’Donnell and William Taylor, and papers presented at the annual Mental Health in Missions conference. All in all this is an engaging book on some timely topics, helping to continue the missiological conversation on missionary family life. It will certainly be helpful for mission leaders both at home and on the field.