Book Review: “Polycentric Missiology” by Allen Yeh
Book: “Polycentric Missiology: Twenty-First-Century Mission from Everyone to Everywhere” by Allen Yeh. InterVarsity Press, 2016.
This book I got through Kindle essentially based on the title alone. I really never do this. However, the title sounds like one that I wish I had come up with. When I opened the book I was surprised and (briefly) was disappointed at the framing of the topic. Then as I started getting into it, I found (happily) that the framing was interesting and a relevant way to bring up many topics.
The framing of the book was a look at missions through the lens of five mission conferences/congresses from 2010 to 2012. Allen Yeh is an associate professor of Intercultural Studies and Missiology at Biola University. Yeh was one of only two people— the other being Todd M. Johnson— who attended all five of these gatherings. (I saw online those who said that Yeh was the only one… but I know he said that Johnson joined all four of the 2010 conferences, and I THINK he said that Johnson joined the 2012 conference as well). Anyway, this author was well-positioned to speak of and compare all five events.
The five gatherings are:
Tokyo 2010Edinburgh 2010Cape Town 2010 (Lausanne III)2010 BostonCLADE V (Costa Rica 2012)Yeh notes that the five different conferences (I will use the term “conference” rather than “congress” for personal convenience although noting some prefer the other term) are geographically diverse. Asia/Tokyo, Europe/Edinburgh, Africa/Cape Town, North America/Boston, South America/Costa Rica. Now before anyone complains that Costa Rica is NOT part of South America, Yeh notes that people in South America do not really divide the Americas between North and South, and Central America is culturally linked to South America.
The author points out that the geographic locations reflect the globalism of Christianity. He also notes that some of the conferences were organized and/or led and/or funded primarily by majority world Christianity rather than “the West.” There is also a range of perspectives missiologically, from Tokyo 2010 that is more limited to Pioneer Missions and evangelism (despite the advertised theming of discipleship) to ones such as Capetown 2010 with broader topics and greater emphasis on integral missions, to Edinburgh 2010 with its focus on missions theology. There was range from conferences (such as Capetown 2010) that was limited only to Evangelicals, to more open groups (including those that might be thought of more as conciliar missions, 2010 Boston and Edinburgh 2010). All five of these might be described as “Protestant Christian” although some had Catholic and Orthodox participation (such as CLADE V). CLADE V was Spanish and Portuguese language-focused, while the others were English focused, although most made attempts at bridging language barriers (to varying degrees of success). Some conferences focused on mission organizations, while others were more denominational, while 2010 Boston targeted students. The variety, while far from all-encompassing, did give a flavor of what Global Christianity and Global missions includes.
Yeh also seeks to link the five conferences to historical movements in missions including the tracks of Protestant Missions, Evangelicalism and Evangelical missions, Ecumenism, and “The Great Reversal.” Always in the background are certain events. Key among these is the 1910 World Missions Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Others include the work of William Carey and his early vision for world mission conferences, and the path of conferences through the IMC, Lausanne, CLADE, and more.
The author was willing to provide various critiques to the events, and open to discussing some controversies. However, these were dealt with using a gentle touch, yet with glossing over issues. The lack of Chinese participation, the struggles of non-English speaking members, and the role of women in the conferences were recurring themes.
Now here comes a challenging question. Do I recommend this book? My quick answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. I found it to be structured, research, and presented very well. I really appreciate missions history, especially when it is clearly linked to church history and current events. The concern I have is that I know many interested in missions (and sadly a majority of Evangelicals) have little interest in the history of missions or the church. I would recommend the book even more strongly for such individuals, but I am aware that these people may have a very different experience with the book than I.
The Kindle Version I got worked for me especially while I was on a mission trip to an Internet-challenged region of the Philippines last week. But the book is available through many sources online, so I won’t recommend one to you. A websearch will give you a number of choices.
