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From the Inside Out
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""For the sake of the world, we question.
For the sake of the gospel, we examine.
For the sake of the dignity of the image-bearers we serve--as well as ourselves--we inquire."" The evolution that has taken place in the world of mission over the last twenty-five years has left many Christians asking brutally honest questions about what we do and why we do it. Are we doing m
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Paperback, 210 pages
Published
May 22nd 2018
by Cascade Books
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Reading Ryan Kuja's book, From the Inside Out, was like coming home for me. It articulated so many of the questions I've been wrestling with over the years regarding my need for personal wholeness as the ground for authentic service in the world. Furthermore, his honest assessment of Western missions in general, including the way they have been historically intertwined with Western colonialism, made me want to stand up and cheer. If only more people were willing to ask the hard questions -- both
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A helpful critique of western missional philosophy and what underlies the unhealthy approach to helping the materially poor and marginalized. This is a must-read for anyone currently working or planning to work cross-culturally. Kuja offers a well-written depiction of what a better posture for western, majority world workers to take when engaging across cultures and with people on the margins.

I had never read this type of book before and I have never done his type of work. I was intrigued when I was asked to read and review Ryan’s book. Let me share 5 key points that I take away from my look at From The Inside Out.
Who Am I ?
“Was part of the reason why I was engaging in mission to fulfill my personal need for meaning and purpose?”
“I began to consider for the first time that I had a compulsive need to do mission work that was rooted in a profound sense of personal inadequacy. Mission ...more
Who Am I ?
“Was part of the reason why I was engaging in mission to fulfill my personal need for meaning and purpose?”
“I began to consider for the first time that I had a compulsive need to do mission work that was rooted in a profound sense of personal inadequacy. Mission ...more

I resonated strongly with his words on wholeness. The world is broken and we are broken. I don’t even have to look outside my own mind and heart to recognize the need for healing and restoration and that reality is amplified as soon as I lift my eyes up to the broader world. What can promote and facilitate healing? Love. Unity. Integration belief and action. Peace.

Ryan Kuja's From the Inside Out: Reimagining Mission, Recreating the World is a passionately critical exploration of much of the accepted wisdom about Christian mission.
It's a powerful criticism that shouldn't be overlooked.
First, Kuja does a masterful job of providing a concise analysis of colonialistic missions. In the first three chapters, Kuja explores how history and theology have intertwined to create problematic missional endeavors. While it is not groundbreaking or new, it's a highly rea ...more
It's a powerful criticism that shouldn't be overlooked.
First, Kuja does a masterful job of providing a concise analysis of colonialistic missions. In the first three chapters, Kuja explores how history and theology have intertwined to create problematic missional endeavors. While it is not groundbreaking or new, it's a highly rea ...more

Jun 22, 2019
Brandon Stiver
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
global-development
Really great book and an immensely important perspective on missions, development and justice issues. Kuja represents a turn in global mission that is more thoughtful and more mutual in it's application. A lot of what Kuja discussed depicted what I also experienced in my eight years serving under a non-profit in Tanzania. The ethnocentrism, white privilege, savior complex and neo-colonial attitudes that he discusses are prevalent. My hope is that this view and approach subverts the prevalent app
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This is a very important book. It presents an honest critique of Western Christian cross-cultural mission, written with a vulnerability that exemplifies Kuja's thesis. It is not an easy book to digest because it challenges so many assumptions central to the thinking of the evangelical church in the West. Take it slowly and prayerfully. Tease it out and let it work a paradigm shift. Until all who seek to 'make a difference' in the developing world are willing to acknowledge our own brokenness (cu
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Thought provoking
This book is a must read for any church, youth group, or individual considering short or long term missions trips. Each chapter includes questions for reflection. I first became aware ofthe book following the incident where the young missionary was killed by the inhabitants of a remote island off India.
The book is a challenge to recognize the impact that well intentions have on others, how colonialism still impacts Western culture and our approach to the rest of the world.
This book is a must read for any church, youth group, or individual considering short or long term missions trips. Each chapter includes questions for reflection. I first became aware ofthe book following the incident where the young missionary was killed by the inhabitants of a remote island off India.
The book is a challenge to recognize the impact that well intentions have on others, how colonialism still impacts Western culture and our approach to the rest of the world.
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