David Horner believes the church has a missions problem. His concern is that missions has become “a priority in theory but not in a practical way that makes any difference in what actually happens in the life and ministry of local churches” (12).
In other words, churches are involved in missions, but missions does not impact the church. The problem is exacerbated by denominational structures that water down the meaning of “missions” until all denominational ministry is included under this umbrella term (19).
What is the solution? First, Horner seeks to define missions over against the broader “mission” of the church and the “missional” mindset of church members. More than a plan or a posture, missions involves the nations. He defines missions as “God’s plan for reaching all nations with the good news of Jesus Christ by sending His people to tell them about and show them the gracious, redeeming love of a glorious God” (6).
Secondly, Horner seeks to recover the impact of missions on a local congregation. He writes:
“When missions shapes the mission of the church, the significance of what we are called to do transforms what could be routine and mundane into what should be profound and meaningful” (3).
When missions shapes the mission of a church, pastors are engaged leaders who reach out globally, and church members embrace the Great Commission in all its fullness, not the divided and diluted versions of the Commission we sometimes see in evangelicalism. The end of the book expresses well Horner’s vision of a missions-shaped church:
“Worship becomes richer when we treasure Christ so much that we cannot help talking to Him and about Him. Biblical instruction becomes more exciting when we see that the wonder of Christ can be viewed in each successive text. Prayer becomes more specific and strategic, more passionate and intimate, when we know that God stands ready to answer whatever we ask Him in Jesus’ name. Acts of mercy at home become a prelude to what can be done around the world. Giving becomes a delight when we see the fruit born from even the smallest gifts of those least capable of giving and long to make genuine sacrifices for the sake of the gospel. Evangelism comes alive at home once we have tasted the sweetness of it in other contexts” (236).
Horner lays out four characteristics of a missions-focused church:
- importance of the power of the Holy Spirit,
- a passion for the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ,
- a faithful, fervent dependence on prevailing prayer,
- and a growing confidence in and love for the Word of God (113).
He differentiates missions and “missional,” encouraging Christians to embrace a missionary mindset locally but to not let this rightful emphasis to detract from the breadth of the Great Commission (143). Missional is a missiological mindset, while missions points to our activity in reaching the nations.
When Missions Shapes the Mission is chock-full of insights into the necessity and implementation of missions strategy. Thankfully, Horner does not allow the book to descend into attempts to “guilt” people into mission work. He emphasizes again and again that missionary engagement is the overflow of a believer’s heart.
“Only by the overflow of hearts made full by Christ will His people maintain the intensity of devotion that will call them and keep them on mission for His name’s sake” (53).
Our ultimate desire is for Christ, not for missions. Once we know and love Jesus, a desire to engage in missions will follow. For this reason, we cannot be satisfied with missionary activities that are motivated solely by duty and not desire (58, 97, 98). On a related note, Horner believes that “compassion for the lost is a great reason to engage… but the greater glory of Jesus Christ is the reason…” (90).
In seeking to establish a biblical foundation for this call to Great Commission advance, Horner argues that the same missionary impulse we see in the New Testament is also present in the Old. He doesn’t mention Walt Kaiser by name, but he seems to follow his line of thinking regarding Old Testament mission activity (68). Other studies show a fundamental distinction between Old Testament mission (centripetal – “come and see”) and New Testament mission (centrifugal – “go and tell”). Regardless of one’s views on this aspect of mission, readers will benefit from David Horner’s passionate call to embracing missions in our local churches.
