With globalization and
urbanization as our current reality we are tempted to think that the missionary
task is becoming easier. Not so. Today, the world is more interconnected than
ever; however, these connections are often used by secularizing and
anti-Christian forces. Materialism, atheism, and extremism have all taken
advantage of globalization. Still, Christianity maintains a firm presence in
every hemisphere and Christian adherents are increasing in number, most notably,
in the global-south. However, our successes do not excuse our failing.
The
church’s assumption that the developed world will be a more Christianized world
has only partially come to fruition. In many countries, traditionally Christian
systems of education and community development have proven to be that nation's
greatest secularizing influence. The responsibility of the church to take the
gospel to every nation weighs heavy upon my generation.
It is into this milieu
that Jackson Wu’s prophetic voice is heard. One
Gospel for All Nations challenges the church to give a contextualized answer
to four important questions: Who is Christ?, What does Christ do?, Why is
Christ important?, and How should people respond?. How a community responds to these questions
determines not only their theology but their behavior towards other humans and
the environment as well. Wu’s thesis is stated in his introduction, “It is
possible to proclaim the truth and yet still be wrong.” If
contextualization were easy, One Gospel
for All Nations would be a pamphlet and not a 350-page book. Christian
missions have often spoken the truth wrongly and made the gospel out of reach
for whole populations (loc. 228).
Dr. Jackson Wu is a
missionary and missiologist who straddles several worlds. Wu was born in America
to Chinese parentage and, as a bilingual, he teaches and trains in missions/theology
in both the Chinese and English speaking worlds. He teaches primarily in Asia;
however, through his writings I, and many others, have been challenged by his
prophetic voice to step more deeply into the wounds of the
world. Personally, Wu helped me to clarify my thinking regarding, church
planting, training, and mobilization of the church for mission.
Wu’s book takes as
theological and anthropological approach in analyzing the church’s responsibility
to reach the world for Jesus. He shows that correct contextualization is the
key for making the gospel accessible to all nations. As a linguist,
I appreciate his ideas on language and contextualization.
All minds do not
think alike. The gospel is big enough to connect to different worldviews. Wu
makes use of various theories from the social sciences and interrogates them
into a missiology that any evangelical would agree with. The strength of the
book is found in his integration of old and new ideas, while maintaining a firm
foundation in Scripture.
Where Wu stands out
among other writers of missiology is in his instructive models. Wu’s models of
missions and contextualization make the book easy to understand and applicable
to any mission field. A book that could prove academically distant to some missionaries
becomes relevant through Wu’s models. The practical context for much of the book
is China. The anecdotes and personal stories keep the book from becoming dry or
uninspiring. I could not put the book down. I found it the most readable book
on contextualization that I have encountered to date.
the Text
The book is well organized and flows from one chapter
to the next, while accumulating momentum throughout the text. The book is
divided into four sections.
Section I:
These first chapters lay the premise of the book, which
centers on contextualization of the gospel message cross-culturally. Here, Wu
connects to many ideas already understood by any young missionary or seminary
student. Section I, connections the gospel to the lost world through the
ministry of missions. Wu keeps these three entities (gospel, world, & missions)
in correct relationship. While addressing the questions of how to
contextualization the gospel, Wu gives guidance on how to keep
contextualization from going wrong and veering into syncretistic beliefs and
practices.
Section II:
Section II establishes
our priorities for contextualization. Wu clarifies the nature of the gospel and
shows how the Gospel answers the questions that the non-Christian world is asking.
I found the idea of the “implicit gospel” particularly compelling. Wu
challenges missionaries to look deeply into the inconsistencies of our stated
missiology and actual practice. “It is possible that our ‘implicit gospel’ has
a greater influence on our listener than does our ‘explicit gospel’” (loc. 358).
I found this section convicting. As a missionary, I’ve had years of
explicit missiological training. However, in reading Wu I saw that there are
still ideas that I affirm to be true in my beliefs, but struggle to live out
that truth in my daily ministry.
Chapter 6 asks the
question: How do we move from biblical text to cultural context? (loc1894) Wu
follows a line of thought most closely associated with Paul Hiebert. Exegeses
must be done in both Scripture and culture in order to properly connect the two
(loc 641). I hope that I’m not reading beyond Wu’s ideas, but I found this
chapter to be a simple reproduction of some of Hiebert’s more complex
ideas.
Section III:
Wu uses his own
experiences in Asia to support his ideas.
His evidence is convincing, although anecdotal. His approach in section III is
less academic than in previous sections. Here, Wu focuses on his personal
experience in his Chinese field of service. While not empirical, the evidence’s
qualitative property supports his thesis that the gospel can be stated clearly
in one culture, but when transmuted into another, may fail to convey the
meaning of the gospel in a way that is understandable (loc. 384).
This section
would be very helpful to anyone preparing for the Chinese context. Wu’s
experience in China is obviously extensive; however, I think the specifically
Asian focus of the book was a weak point in that it is practically, singularly
focused on China. Because of this, some students may find the book misleading,
if they don’t have the research skills to separate Wu’s theory from practical
application. Potentially, one might walk away from reading the book with an
overly applied Sinocentric view of contextualization.
Section IV:
This section was helpful
and motivating to me as a seminary student and lifelong learner. I appreciate
Wu’s perspective on biblical literacy and continuing education. For some readers,
Wu’s high ideals of a missionary’s education could put them off from grasping
the sense of the section. When Wu states that Seminaries should consider making
biblical languages part of missionary training, I was taken aback.
Is this not a rather grand expectation to put upon a young missionary? I assume
there’s good reason that seminaries don’t normally include biblical languages
as core classes for Missions/Intercultural Degrees. Wu’s critique that many
missionaries are under-educated as compared to lawyers and other professionals
is well taken but possibly out of place (loc 3404). The time and intellectual
talent required to accomplish Wu’s ideal missionary education is likely outside
the capacity of many sending organizations and individuals, especially national
missionaries from the developing world. One the other hand, I found Wu’s
emphasis on teaming to be insightful and encouraging.
Conclusion:
I would highly recommend
One Gospel for All Nations to any
missionary at any point in their career. The book is insightful and clarifying.
Wu’s fidelity to scripture and the Great Commission is inspirational. He covers
a lot of material and communicates missiological insights in a well-defined and
well organized way. Wu’s academic rigor shows in his emphasis on modeling. Wu’s
graphic models of contextualization support and clarify his main ideas. In
using models, the content of the book is easier taught to others though the use
of geometric representations of Wu’s ideas. I believe these modals would be
especially useful in training non-readers.
Wu places himself in the evangelical tradition, which
is evident in his underlying theology. His approach to missions and
missionary training is not meant to be revolutionary, but firmly rooted in
traditional evangelical missiology.
Where Wu adds to the
literature, is in his integration of traditionally non-theological scholarship
and traditional missions. This is most clearly seen in Wu’s apt handling of
contextualization as a foundational element for all missionary efforts. Wu, as
a younger missiologist, has the advantage of those (Kraft, Hiebert, Hesselgrave,
etc.) who have gone before him and sought to establish the evangelical identify
of international missions. Wu doesn’t tamper with this previously established
identity but adds to this missiology a more robust interdisciplinary approach
to doing missions in a cross-cultural context.
This book will be well
received by others for three reasons. First, it is particularly well written. Wu’s
work is free from both overly academic language and folksy prose. Second, Wu defines
his work and its underlying premises in a way that is consistent with an
evangelical framework. This makes his book easy to apply within any evangelical
setting. Thirdly, Wu himself is multicultural and speaks with a unique voice.
His multicultural background shows though his writing and gives him the ability
to critique with authority from multiple positions. If the book is not well
received, it will be due to Wu’s hard-line stance on contextualization and his historical
critique of missions as a non-contextualized endeavor. Possibly, some may
object to Wu’s focus on the Asian context to the exclusion of other peoples. I
did see the Sinocentric element of the book as a weak point; however, this is
only a minor criticism and should not discourage anyone from reading and
applying the content of the book to their own contexts.
Wu’s representation of contextualization as a
foundational element of missions is motivating and shows that over the past two
generations the church has grown tremendously in its understanding of human
social and cognition systems. For this reason alone, the book is worth reading.
Where previous works on contextualization and missiology struggle to maintain
consistence in language and philosophy, Wu speaks from an established
evangelical missiological position. While Wu is not rocking the boat
missiologically, he most certainty challenges churches and missionaries to live
out the gospel explicitly and implicitly in a biblical way. Wu forces readers
to search themselves for any areas of spiritual disobedience or intellectual
laziness and place everything aside that would hinder us form making the gospel
contextually understood and accessible to all peoples. One Gospel for All Nations should be read by anyone involved in
cross-cultural ministry.
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