Book Review “Make Disciples of All Nations: A History of Southern Baptist International Missions.”

The book, title above, edited by John D. Massey, Mike Morris, and W. Madison Grace II (Kregel Academic, 2021) is an important book of missions history for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and to a lesser extent the Baptist movement. Baptists, especially as it relates to the American form, developed a group identity out of mission far more than doctrine, governance, or form. As such, when studying SBC missions, one does get a goodly dose of denominational history.

The book is made up of chapters written by different authors, but the theming and style do a good job in not making the changing authors too noticeable. Generally, the structure is built around the Secretaries (or later Presidents) of the Foreign Mission Board (or later International Mission Board). However, there are times when it drifts off the structure— especially in the pre-SBC material (where there were no FMB and FMB secretaries). The book spoke of missions prior to the SBC— particularly with George Liele, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Luther Rice, and the Triennial Convention. It was especially heartening to see George Liele given proper credit for his role as a Baptist missionary pioneer. It was also good to hear a Southern Baptist historian state that the SBC formed due to its support for slavery. Often, SBC historians try to say that it was one of several factors— but this book notes that there are no real differences in doctrine or practice between the Northern and Southern Baptists except with regard to slavery.

I found the book had a lot of good information with the goal, usually, of not drawing TOO deeply into denominational politics. I could be reading into things, but it does seem like the writers tended to take a clear side when it was a topic in which all participants are dead. However, when people involved are still alive (such as the Conservative Resurgence and the controversies regarding the 2001 Baptist Faith and Mission with regards to missionaries) the writing seemed more cautious. Again, maybe that was just me.

Two things I miss are a Bibliography, and a Subject Index. Footnoting is done well throughout. However, for a history book, I feel that more should be added to aid research.

For Southern Baptist Missionaries, and more generally for Southern Baptists, I believe the book is excellent. I have often complained that Baptists (of which I am one) often don’t take their history (or anyone else’s) seriously. I do hope they will take this book seriously.

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Published on May 23, 2025 01:14
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