Mission Between the Times: Essays on the Kingdom

by C. René Padilla

Rene Padilla is one of the premier representatives of orthodox evangelicalism in Latin America. He has consistently championed integral mission, a holistic understanding of Christian mission in which there is no artificial barrier between evangelisation and social responsibility. Biblical, faithful to Scripture, contemporary and inspirational, the core message of this updated classic remains just as urgent as when it was first published twenty-five years ago (Eerdmans, 1985). This revised version includes a new essay on the contemporary history of integral mission, a history that began with the Latin American Theological Fellowship, progressed within the Lausanne Movement, is bearing fruit globally through the Micah Network, and challenges evangelicals to address the major issues of our day."

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1985

About the author

René Padilla was born in Quito, Ecuador, and reared and Bogotá, Colombia. He has been living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since 1967. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Theology from Wheaton College Graduate School, and a PhD in New Testament from the University of Manchester, England. In 1992 he was granted an honorary D.D. by Wheaton College. He is a founding member of the Latin American Theological Fellowship (FTL, its acronym in Spanish) and of the Kairos Foundation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For twelve years, until recently, he was the International President of Tearfund - U.K. and Ireland. He is presently the President of the Micah Network and Executive Director of Ediciones Kairos, the publishing arm of the Kairos Foundation. He has lectured in many countries around the world and has written or edited several books in English and Spanish. His works have been published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, German and Korean.

Reviews

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays by Ecuadorian theologian and missiologist C. René Padilla. Since it’s a collection of essays, it is a bit of a disjointed book, but once you accept the structure there is so much good stuff in here. The book is older (this is a 2013 edition of the originally published work from 1985), but still so relevant to many of the issues facing the Church today. It felt like a privilege learning from one of the Latin American theologians who brought issues of social justice, liberation and integral mission to the forefront of Western Evangelicals’ minds in the 1970s during the 1974 Lausanne conference. It’s really a tragedy that we haven’t listened as well as we should and that Padilla’s ideas still seem radical nearly 50 years later.

My main takeaways:
- The gospel is something that affects the whole of life—spiritual, personal, social, political, physical. Any gospel preached that is only one-dimensional (i.e. only personal/private) is not enough to have the transformational effects it’s supposed to have.
- Capitalism, materialism and consumerism are oppressive, colonial systems that stand in direct opposition to the gospel and the kingdom of God. That is why the Church should be concerned with decolonization, simplicity and the restructuring of oppressive economic systems.
- Christianity must be contextualized in culture—when it is, we get a fuller, more diverse view of the gospel. At the same time, we must guard against “culture Christianity” like that of the West which has conflated Western values with Christianity all over the world and led to a one-dimensional gospel.
- Jesus’ call to simplicity is more radical than we think and way too convicting for those of us in the affluent West.
- Combatting paternalism, which is rooted in colonialism, will be harder than we think.
- Unity is of chief importance to the witness of the Church—but it is not to be confused with imperialistic uniformity.
- The distinction between evangelism and social action is a myth.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most essay collections, this is a mixed bag. Some essays are excellent, such as The Unity of the Church and the Homogeneous Unit Principle which persuasively argued against the homogeneous multiplication of churches that Donald McGavran put forth. Several others feel dated, and I was already familiar with most of the concepts and ideas René Padilla articulates in those essays. The overall collection was also lacking in scriptural engagement with the Old Testament, though that might be because of the collection of essays given. Still, I found the lack of engagement with the OT disappointing. All of those elements add up to an ok read. It wasn't bad, but I was hoping to get more out of it than I did.

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a treasure of essays!

Padilla is balanced. He stands between liberation theologians and those who would have nothing to do with the social dimensions of the gospel and points them to Jesus.

…” the kingdom of God is neither ‘the progressive social improvement of mankind whereby the task of the church is to transform earth like unto heaven and do it now’ nor ‘the present inner rule of God in the moral and spiritual dispositions of the soul with its seat in the heart.’ Rather it is God’s redemptive power released in history, bringing good news to the poor, freedom to prisoners, sight to the blind, and liberation to the oppressed” (197).


“Salvation is man's return to God, but at the same time is man's return to his neighbor” (20).

[Corey Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong intro, centred on the historical development of the Lausanne movement, followed by Padilla's contributions. I definitely don't agree with every detail, but I definitely recommend this book, particularly to conservative evangelicals.

[Jack Kooyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best I've read from a third world (?) perspective dealing with the meaning and implication of God's mission in our times. I strongly recommend it to anyone who has not read any missiological or theological material from a non-Western perspective. Very refreshing and insightful!

[Megan Doddridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Padilla’s essay collection is a wealth of Biblical interpretation and essential to the church in understanding her mission. It’s a very academic and scriptural heavy text, as is made clear from the onset and stated intention of the introduction. Though the essays were first published as long as 50 years ago, the timeless truths are as pertinent today as always.

[Marty Duren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish every American pastor would read this book.

[Brian Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Because the chapters are a series of essays, some are better than others. Also, because these were mostly written over 20 years ago some are a bit dated. This is why I've given it four stars. Overall, though, this is a thought-provoking and helpful analysis of mission especially within the Latin American context. Chapters 4, 5, and 9 were worth the price of the whole book.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the lord bless Rene Padilla. The guy is a genius. This book is missional brilliance.