Becoming a Missionary Church: Lesslie Newbigin and Contemporary Church Movements

Lesslie Newbigin's influence on the ecclesiological landscape in North America is unmistakable. His ideas have been developed and contextualized, but some insights have been lost.

In Becoming a Missionary Church, Michael Goheen and Timothy Sheridan explore the depth and breadth of Newbigin's thought, offering an analysis of three popular contemporary church movements: missional, emergent, and center church. The authors provide a historical assessment and balanced critique of these contemporary church movements, especially in light of Newbigin's missional ecclesiology. They explain that some of his insights have been neglected and need to be retrieved for the present day. This book calls for the recovery of the missionary nature of the church and commends church practices applicable to any congregation. The authors' substantive assessment is written in an accessible style, making it suitable for seminarians and pastors.