The Incarnation and the Church's Witness

For several years, argues Guder, contemporary Christian churches have often thought of their mission efforts as simply one more program of the church. In addition, outsiders have rightly criticized Christian mission efforts as exercises in cultural imperialism. In this provocative book, Guder argues that the incarnation of God in Jesus provides the foundational model for the practice of Christian missions in the world today. The incarnation is the culmination of God's activity and presence in the world, says Guder, for in this event God initiates the healing of a broken world. Using literary, historical, and social approaches to scripture, Guder claims the contemporary church should return to an ""incarnational mission"" in which the practice of Christian witness is ""shaped by the life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus."" Darrell L. Guder is the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of 'Be My Witness: The Church's Mission, Message, and Messengers'.