Listed below are descriptions of four helpful books in this series.  This review was prepared by Dr. Inagrace Dietterich, Director of Theological Research for the Center.

The incarnation of God in Jesus is offered as the foundational model for the mission of the church in the world today.  By incarnational mission is meant the understanding and practice of Christian witness that is rooted in and shaped by the life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As the Word became Flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, so the message must be embodied in the life of the called community.  The lived-out testimony of the church is to become a witness, visible and audible, given in and to the world, so that the good news of God's redemptive love will spread throughout God's world.

In contrast to the self-indulgent popular culture of "Our City" that virtually all human beings now inhabit, the author calls upon the church to remember that it is "Another City."  As God's faithful servant, the church is not to compromise itself by giving allegiance to any political entity that belongs to this world.  Yet the mission of the church is not simply to care for its own well being, or simply to survive in a sometimes hostile world, but 'to seek the welfare of that city" (Jer. 29:7) to which God has sent it.

The author sets forth a model that suggests that the church's role in contemporary society is to serve as a "contrast-society," animated by a different spirit than that which animates "the world."  As "salt" and "light" (cf. Matt. 5) the church is to be a contrast for the sake of others and on behalf of others.  Thus the church serves the world when it offers the world an alternative way of life -- a way of life that God desires for all people. Rather than being "sectarian," representing a withdrawal from or lack of concern for the world, this model has tremendous missional promise in that the church's embodied life in the world is its witness to the world."

In this book, the author argues that our cultural context is one of fragmentation rather than a pluralistic world of competing outlooks that are coherent and clearly defined.  Shaped more by the culture than the gospel, the church also lives "among the fragments," characterized by confusion, anxiety, and lack of purpose.  for the sake of a lost and dying world, the church is called to give a wholistic account of the purpose of human life as revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Reviewed by Steve Wright from Ladera Ranch, CA

Finally, a resource to clarify "missional" ideas in a way that helps ordinary people grasp the significance of the storm we are in. The authors do an excellent job of charting a course that is faithful to God and inviting to all who want to participate in the grand mission of God. As the pastor of a new church in a new community, I continue to wrestle with the implications of this book: "The church is a witness to the world, in the world, of God's coming reign in Christ over the powers of the world" (91). The book is a valuable resource for all who are tired of "paint-by-numbers" approaches to the church. "Stormfront" is a book for all who long to discover God's alternative to consumer-driven models of ministry. Buy it. Read it. Share it with your friends. Discuss it. Live it, believe it and so be a participant in the "Missio Dei."