A RESPONSE TO ENGEL AND DYRNESS:
Changing the mind of missions?
By Dr. Peter Back
Church & Mission Monographs
54 pages
ISBN 0 9535 108 7 5
'Empty stomachs', so we are told, 'don't have ears'. The thinking behind this is very common in Western Christian circles and, I believe, reflects a loss of confidence in the power of the gospel for salvation. This is the seriousness of the issue that the author addresses in this monograph.
The purpose of this short monograph is to give a response to 'Changing the Mind of Missions: where have we gone wrong?' by J.F. Engel and W.A. Dyrness (InterVarsity Press). To do this Back outlines Engel and Dyrness's ideas in part one before, more briefly, presenting a nine-point corrective with an examination of two 'key' biblical passages. The final appendix helpfully clarifies what is not being advocated. It is intended as a 'robust academic workÉ suitable for readership by the leadership team of a local church'. Back gives much food for thought for his limited target readership and he grapples with the current issues such as the purpose and goals of missions, ecology and the role of the local church.
