Come and See: A History and Theology of Mission is different from other mission books. As the name suggests, it aims to blend both mission history (from ancient times to modern), and theology (about God’s being and character).
But it’s not just a different approach; the book has a marvellous goal applicable for believers today:
Above all, I want this book to reverberate with rejoicing in the love and goodness of God. If we miss this, we miss the best reason for mission … It will be knowing and enjoying him that will cause us to both understand and embrace his heart for the lost, his heart for mission. (4-5)
There is huge potential for these truths to strengthen believers as they jump on the bus and head into ordinary days of work or school.
So, does it succeed?
Come and See: A History and Theology of Mission
Glen Scrivener and Justin Schell
Come and See: A History and Theology of Mission
Glen Scrivener and Justin Schell
God’s mission in creation and redemption is to bring men and women into the fellowship that the Father, Son, and Spirit have always shared. Come and See is an invitation to understand that mission. Exploring how God’s nature informs mission and surveying the missional narrative of Scripture, Come and See lays a theological and biblical foundation for Christian mission, inviting you to savor and participate in the grand story of God’s mission that begins in Genesis and continues today.
A Book For Our Time?
A few weeks ago, we had a party at my place: ten or eleven teenage boys running through the house (they always seem to run), drinking litres of soft drink with shouting as the main form of communication. We played some games and tried not to break too many windows. I remember being that age and a lot hasn’t changed. But there’s plenty of differences between my teenage years and theirs.
Although Glen Scrivener and Justin Schell aren’t particularly writing for today’s teenagers, I couldn’t help but feel excited for what could be. A book on mission with the added context and perspective of history could show the joy, beauty and goodness of a task that is as hard, and as important, as it’s ever been. And not just for the young; many of us approaching middle-age (still) have questions about the why and how of sharing our faith in 2024. Could this book be what we need?
We recently benefited from Sam Chan’s How Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy). Aside from the awkward title (sorry ladies!), it was a very practical, step-by-step ‘manual’. Before that we had the stimulating and (I’d say) liberating Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission by John Dickson. Going back further still was J.I. Packer’s important Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. But are we due for a new work to help us today?
Started Well
Co-author Glenn Scrivener is an evangelist best known for The Air We Breathe, which he wrote after reading Tom Holland’s Dominion. Scrivener wanted to make the historian’s ideas more accessible for people like his father-in-law. Scrivener is keen for others to see that so many of our society’s values and loves are thoroughly Christian—it’s in “the air we breathe”.
So when I picked up Come and See I hoped this approach would flavour the book. And I must admit, the opening chapters do. Love comes from God. God’s love is for this world (Jn 17:24; Eph 1:3-10). As we appreciate his being and character, we are naturally drawn into God’s plan to see his love made known.
So too relationships come from God. Community comes from God. God’s plan is to draw men and women, boys and girls into community with himself and each other. That’s beautiful. So the book starts well.
As we appreciate his being and character, we are naturally drawn into God’s plan to see his love made known.
Left Disappointed
As we move through the chapters, however, they become a bit more run-of-the-mill. Rather than integrate history and mission, Scrivener and Schell tend to deal with them separately. The gospel themes and values we hold so dear aren’t anywhere near as present in the rest of the book. This is especially so in the history sections, where the emphasis is instead on how God preserves the gospel through his church and mission as a global activity rather than a western colonial enterprise (69-70). It would have been brilliant to also find out how the believers of history were themselves motivated and informed by “the best reason for mission” (4).
This lack is a shame because, as Tom Holland shows in Dominion, for all its warts Christian history has given much to our contemporary world, primarily due to its foundation in God’s goodness and love seen in Jesus Christ.
Even though Scrivener and Schell give numerous historical examples, I would have loved to read more about the motivation of missionaries who were sent out by God’s overflowing love for the world, or who translated the Bible, or who saved the lives of many by social reform and deeds done in Jesus’ name.
Even the chapter on the Reformation comes up short. The authors do a great job of briefly explaining the theology, but again neglect to show “the best reason for mission” in the momentous events of that era. Instead, they focus on the consequent spread around Europe without drawing it closely to the rationale of believers who’ve caught a vision of a God of love and justice.
Missed a Trick
It’s true that Come and See succinctly outlines big questions and issues in mission (for example, there are two chapters on social action and the gospel, and a whole chapter on how Jesus is the only way). The main issue I have is that the authors didn’t continue to stress the amazing love of God for the world in all these ages and stages and topics. They didn’t consistently show the overflowing goodness of God which stands behind the deeds believers do in his name.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid book. I like the answers the authors provide to the questions they ask. But I can’t help thinking they missed an opportunity. I’d love a book that shows those loud, drink-crushing, window-breaking teenage boys that not only are things like love, compassion, forgiveness, truth, and justice from God, but they are his glorious reasons for mission… and ours!
