The Mission of God's People: A Biblical Theology of the Church's Mission (Biblical Theology for Life)

"A wonderfully kaleidoscopic biblical overview of the privileged role afforded to all of God’s people in fulfilling the Missio Dei in the world. Chris Wright demonstrates that the theme of the mission of God and his people is a prominent and unmistakable thread running through the elaborate tapestry of the whole of Scripture. In so doing, he provides a ringing affirmation that it is the responsibility of the whole church to bear witness to Christ and his kingdom in every area of the world geographically, as well as in every sphere of society."

"Following his landmark book, The Mission of God, Christopher Wright shows in The Mission of God’s People that grounding missions practice in the prior action and plan of God does not render the church static or passive. In this masterful survey, Wright demonstrates decisively what happens when the whole church starts reading the whole Bible and reflecting the full scope of God’s good news in all our life and witness in the world. This is the long-awaited road map that moves missions from the practice of a few elite professionals to the faithful witness of all of God’s children. If want to help your church become a missional church, I cannot think of a better place to begin that journey than this book. I assure you, you will discover afresh who you are in Christ and what you are here for!"

"How do we help the Christian community stand up for the faith in daily conversation and promote the gospel with the whole of life? The most popular method, though the least effective, is simply to “command” our people to speak more boldly and live more zealously. Chris Wright shows another way, and I think it’s the only way to enthuse our people to give their all to God’s mission. He tells us the story, from Genesis to Revelation, of God’s passion to fill the earth and to bless the nations, and he tells it in such a way that none of us, whether Christian leader or new believer, could fail to sense the excitement, gravity, and privilege of being involved in The Mission of God’s People."

"If Chris Wright’s Mission of God’s People is a harbinger of things to come in Zondervan’s new series, Biblical Theology for Life, we are in for a treat. As the first in this series, this volume not only serves as a delightful sequel and complement to his highly acclaimed The Mission of God, but it has also put his holistic interpretation of the Scriptures into the hands of laypeople. This is biblical theology at its best. For too long biblical scholars, theologians, and pastors have driven a wedge between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament by focusing on the discontinuities. Wright has shown us another way. Through his comprehensive reading of the whole Bible, he offers a robust portrayal of Israel’s mission and our own. Just as Israel was called and sent out into the world to give witness to the grace of “the LORD” (Yahweh), so we are “the people whom God has loved, chosen, redeemed, shaped and sent into the world in the name of Christ” (p. 433). Thank you, Chris, for showing us that God’s election is not about us; it is about the world. May this work inspire his church to greater faithfulness in giving verbal witness to God’s redemptive grace for the cosmos, but also to greater ethical faithfulness as we embody his grace in the microcosms in which we live."

"The Mission of God’s People is more than a biblical theology. It is a journey through the call God has given to his people to impact the world in the way God desires. Lausanne made famous the dictum, The whole church is to take the whole gospel to the whole world. Wright gives us the whole Bible with a whole theology for the whole task of mission tied to creation, redemption, and new creation. The point: we should know where we are going and why. This book brings us there very nicely, fully using both Testaments, and even gives us questions to reflect upon in order to move us to action. Well done."

"What a marvelous author Chris Wright is! Here you get the distilled insight of someone who knows mission and knows the Scripturesand because he is an Old Testament specialist, he gives that major part of the Scriptures the prominence it deserves, even (especially?) when we are thinking about a subject such as mission that might seem to belong to the New Testament. And he doesn’t confine himself to scriptural themes but enables us to get inside lots of particular Scriptures, all in easily manageable chunks. What do theology and mission have to do with each other? This book powerfully answers the question."

"This is the first volume in a new series on biblical theology. It is extraordinarily readable, written by a preacher who knows how to communicate simply, clearly, and fascinatingly. It is refreshingly adventurous, as it explores the theme of mission in biblical passages where you might not have expected to find it. It is excitingly controversial in discussing such matters as the relation of care for the planet to evangelism, but always in an irenic manner. It is also remarkably practical, being concerned with the theological underpinning for the church’s action in the world. It is surprisingly relevant, concerned as it is with the central story of God’s mission to the world as the template that must shape the work of the church. It is outstandingly down-to-earth in showing how our daily lives must be outworkings of our missionary calling. It is thus eminently commendable both for its own sake and also as setting a high standard for the other volumes to follow in this series."