THEN & NOW OF CHURCH MISSION

THERE AND THEN TO THE HERE AND NOW (OCCASIONAL LECTURES ON ASPECTS OF MISSION) INTRODUCTION The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines an accidental as something which is ‘subsidiary, not essential to a conception’ and that is what these lectures have been. From time to time, we have been invited to share in established academic courses linked with mission and evangelism but our contributions have been accidental - tangential to the main course material. As such, these lectures have been designed to be as initiatory as informational, intended not merely to present facts but to ignite new ideas in the minds of those who heard them. If they did this, we are content and gladly respond to the request to present them in a less ephemeral form. A friend and colleague, Revd Philip A Clarke has helpfully suggested that: “Mission is every way in which the Kingdom of God is Demonstrated in God’s world and Evangelism is every way in which the Kingdom of God is Declared in God’s world.” We are pleased to offer these thoughts as a stimulus to both the demonstration and declaration of God’s word in God’s world. David Dunn-Wilson & Richard Jackson January 2015