Images of the Church in Mission

Rating:
Summary: A Prophetic Wake-up Call
Review: This wonderful volume is a jewel waiting to be discovered. I am amazed that so few people in my academic circles have heard of it, let alone read it. During our era of fascination with successful mega-churches, Driver sounds a prophetic call to the church to return to its authentic biblical identity as a people in mission. Driver's passion is shaped by his anabaptist roots and forty-five years of missionary ministry in Latin America. After tracing some of the ways the church has deviated from a biblical self-understanding throughout the course of history, Driver explores the images of Pilgrimage, New-Order, Peoplehood and Transformation. The primary unifying theme that emerges in all of his discussions is that of the church set up as "a contrast-society in the midst of the nations." Driver offers little hope for the reformation of society as a whole and downplays the social responsiblity of the church to the world. At the same time he calls the church to be a church of the poor, decidely rejecting violence and the pursuit of wealth. His extensive documentation of Scripture makes this not only a valuable text for a Bible study group but an excellent text for a course on Theology of the Church.