Mission Between the Times

Book excerpt: One of the premier representatives of orthodox evangelicalism in Latin America, C. Rene Padilla here offers a Latin American perspective on the different aspects of the mission of the church. All mission must proceed from the context of the principles of the whole of the Kingdom of God, says Padilla, and that entails an evangelism fully integrated with a concern for social responsibility. While Padilla shares many of the concerns voice by liberation theologians, he nevertheless rejects liberation theology on the grounds that it has become a secular ideology that is distant from the true gospel imperative. Heartfelt and incisive, this book will be valuable to anyone interested in missiology, the church Latin America, or an evangelical perspective on the issues that have given rise to liberation theology. C. Rene Padilla is president of the Kairos Foundation and publication secretary of the Latin American Theological Fraternity. Mission between the times is a major contribution to evangelical and ecumenical missiology form one of the most important Third World voices in the contemporary international theological dialogue. - Gerald H.Anderson, a founder and president of the American Society of Missiology and editor of the Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions (Eerdmans). These essays are rich and persuasive reminders of where all theology should begin - at the cutting edge of the world, and of how theology should proceed - in a missionary spirit of crossing boundaries. - Harvie M. Conn, emeritus professor of missions at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before his death in 1999.