Abstract
Called to Witness is a collection of Darrel Guder’s essays connected to the theme of “missional theology.” The essays trace the progress of missional theology that started with theology of missions as a subset of practical theology to the current discussion on missional theology that calls for all theology to be missional. The essays are grounded on the premise that the church today in the West is faced with the end of Christendom and has to respond appropriately.
Central to Guder’s premise is the mission Dei and the sent nature of the church. One sentence summarizes his thought well: “God’s Spirit calls people to become Christians, followers of Christ in order to become Christ’s witnesses as part of the called and sent community” (101–102). Missional theology flows from this, reflecting the missionary nature of the church as seen throughout the Bible and particularly in the life of Jesus Christ. The nature and practice of the local church as community, church leadership, and the Christian life are all to be understood on the basis of this framework as a sent witness to a world that is not favorable to the church’s message.
Guder recognizes that even though Christendom did not have a missional theology, the global church is where it is today because of the work of missions done during the Christendom era. He is calling the church, particularly in the USA, to accept its missional nature and leave its focus on institutional existence. He shares a similar critique for individual Christians, to recognize that we are not saved for ourselves, but for God’s mission. The book in its entirety is a call to missional theology that “seeks to think the faith in terms of its practice, and to practice the faith in terms of its meaning and purpose” (176).
While the book does not read as a continuous whole—due to the essays having been written over a number of years—the missional theme is consistent and clear. The downside of this format is that there is some repetition. The other bump for some readers is that he frequently refers to the Presbyterian Church and Reformed tradition, which leaves readers thinking about how to apply the ideas to their own context. Nevertheless, the book presents a clear call to doing missional theology and offers the reader a lot to think on and put into practice.