Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader

I read the original edition which was a 700 page tome which is a collections of articles which examine Christianity and missions through the lens of Biblical theology, history, culture, and strategic analysis. The combination of this book and the class that used it as a textbook changed not only my views on Christian missions, but changed the way I engage life. For example, the section on culture helped me understand how I valued my culture above others and that was a form of bigotry. I was challenged to learn more about other cultures and find value in the differences from my own. I learned that communication is rooted in ones world view, and to bridge that gap one needed to understand the context of the people you are communicating show more with and actively bridge that gap. I learned to appreciate how organizational structures are more (or less) appropriate for different tasks... that one size doesn't fit all. Finally, I learned that God was concerned for the whole world, the whole man, and that the history of missions doesn't have a good track record doing either of these things. I learned how thru history there have been awful things, and great things, done in the name of missions which gave me an appreciation for the need to critically examine projects I might be involved with... and of course, that just sitting back wasn't an option. show less

It's always a joy to finish a textbook. No matter how interesting the topic, reading a textbook is an effort and I'm very glad to see the last page. Perspectives is a course on cross cultural mission work that friends have been recommending for years. As interesting as it sounds, I've never taken it--a 15 week course is a time commitment I don't think I can afford at this stage in life. A couple of years ago, however, I happened to see an earlier edition of the textbook at a used book sale. After a few months of letting sit on my shelf, I finally cracked it open and have spent quite some time slowly making my way through the biblical, historical, cultural and strategic perspectives of Christianity. It's been a fascinating and thought show more provoking ride. I feel vindicated in not trying to squeeze the course into my daily life. But it also pushes me to question my priorities and wonder how I might be a better servant of Jesus here in my own corner of the world. Read this book at your own risk.
--J. show less

Good book - I actually liked the older versions of this book better. For those who want to learn about missions, this is a good primer.

A big ol' nasty resource of stories, perspectives on missions, and culture. The pages are bible-thin, I think it would take a long time to read every page. Great resource.

A very long book. There are stories from every corner of the world. It is a great resource, if you can wade through all the information.

Goodwill

This books has impacted my life more than any other excepting the Bible! Read this book! Better yet, take the class that it is the text for: www.perspectives.org