The argument/thesis/main idea of the book The Mission of the Church is a collection of essays exploring five differing views of the mission of the church in dialogue. By bringing together diverse perspectives, including Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, Latina evangelical and North American evangelical, the primary objective of this collection is the encapsulation of the broad dialogue that has been taking shape in the church. Of equal importance to this collection is the opportunity for each contributor to offer a response in which they enter a dialogue with their fellow contributors to express points of agreement and further their own understanding.
An evaluation of the sources used for the study This collecting brings together Stephen B. Bevans, Darrell L. Gunder, Ruth Padilla DeBorst, Edward Rommen, and Ed Stetzer, all leaders within the missional movement, to contribute voices on the mission of the church from their unique perspectives. Stephen B. Bevans, a Roman Catholic priest, is a leader in the missional movement in the Roman Catholic church having authored or co-authored several influential…show more content… The common themes that seem to rise to the surface at two-fold. First, the mission of God is rooted God’s nature, exemplified by the relational nature of the trinity, and the eschatological reality of his Kingdom. Second, this mission is expressed in the being, doing and telling of the church as a community that witness to the reality of God’s already-not-yet Kingdom. While there were disagreements between the authors as to the degree and extent by which these different aspects are balanced, each is will to acknowledge their agreements with one another while highlighting the differences in their particular approaches. This provides a fitting conclusion that brings together the approaches into a cohesive
