Series Page


Title Page
Introduction


Part 1 Context, Text, and Pre-texts


1

Context: The World of Religion Today

2

Text: What the Bible Says

3

Pre-texts: Theology and Personality


Part 2 Practices: Beyond Competition and Cooperation


4

Universality: Reaching Out to All, Including Christians

5

Fellowship: Belonging Precedes Believing

6

Localization: Focusing on Questions and Concerns of the Local
Community

7

Commitment: Holding Ideas with Conviction; Acting Decisively on
Those Ideas; Not Letting Those Ideas Be Divisive

8

Freedom: Honoring the Principle of Religious Choice

9

Effectiveness: Allowing the Context to Determine the Form of
Witness

10

Consistency: Striving for Consistency between Methods and Goals

11

Variety: Communicating the Gospel in Many Forms

12

Respect: Not Disparaging Others in Order to Champion Your
Own; Not Disparaging Your Own in Order to Respect Others

13

Charity: Loving Those to Whom We Witness

14

Missional Ecumenicity: Practicing Mission as the Joint Project of
the Church

15

Jesus, Mission Innovator: Jesus’s Model of Giftive Mission


Part 3 Method: How Do We Do It?


16

The Spiral of Knowledge Acquisition: Learning about New Cultures
and New Religions

17

Experiencing: The Influence of Our Personal Histories

18

Bracketing: Putting Convictions on Hold

19

Encountering: Learning from a New Culture and Religion

20

Evaluating: Appraising the New Culture and Religion from a
Christian Viewpoint

21

Integrating: Reshaping Our Own Views and Mission Practices


Part 4 Giftive Mission


22

Metaphors for Mission
Contents
23
The Four Gifts

24

Giftive Mission


Appendix: Biblical Interreligious Encounters



Bibliography


Index

The current religious climate poses unique challenges to those engaged in mission. Thus the authors of this book propose a new, yet very biblical, model for interacting with people of other faiths. They term this model giftive mission, as it is based on the metaphor of free gift. We bear the greatest gift possiblethe gospel message. Adopting this perspective not only has the potential for greater missionary success but also enables us to more closely imitate God's gracious activity in the world. The core of the book explores eleven practices that characterize giftive mission. Each practice is illustrated through the story of a figure from mission history who embodied that practice. Further discussion shows how to incorporate these practices in specific mission settings.