What do you think?
Rate this book
Faith Seeking Conviviality: Reflections on Ivan Illich, Christian Mission, and the Promise of Life Together
Faith Seeking Conviviality traces the journey of a U.S. missionary into Brazil (and beyond), seeking to be faithfully present while also questioning the default settings of “good intentions.” Taking Ivan Illich as the primary theological guide on that journey, Faith Seeking Conviviality narrates the discovery of a renewed imagination for Christian mission that arises as a response to two persistent questions. First, given the colonial history of Christian missionary expansion, on what basis do we go on fulfilling the “Great Commission” (Matt 28:16–20) as Christ’s disciples? A second question, intimately related to the first, What makes it possible to embody a distinctively Christian presence that is missionary without being manipulative ?
In doing theology with and after Ivan Illich, Faith Seeking Conviviality does not offer a pull-off-the-shelf model for mission, but rather a framework for embodying the incarnational logic of mission that entails a “convivial turn”—delinking missionary discipleship from the lure of techniques and institutional dependence in order to receive and to share the peace of Christ relationally.
In doing theology with and after Ivan Illich, Faith Seeking Conviviality does not offer a pull-off-the-shelf model for mission, but rather a framework for embodying the incarnational logic of mission that entails a “convivial turn”—delinking missionary discipleship from the lure of techniques and institutional dependence in order to receive and to share the peace of Christ relationally.
328 pages, Paperback
Published December 30, 2019
3 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 4, 2020
On one level, the story of how an American missionary in Brazil gradually came to see that the conventional model of mission needed liberating in favor of a new, "convivial" approach. But there's more going on here.
For readers who don't know Ivan Illich's work, Ewell brings us along with an excellent overview which ties the latter's anti-institutional insights to his own awakening through friendship with a remarkable Brazilian mentor. A great book about theology of place, the meaning of encounter, and the wisdom of a different kind of Christian practice.
For readers who don't know Ivan Illich's work, Ewell brings us along with an excellent overview which ties the latter's anti-institutional insights to his own awakening through friendship with a remarkable Brazilian mentor. A great book about theology of place, the meaning of encounter, and the wisdom of a different kind of Christian practice.
May 22, 2020
Ewell and a cast of memorable characters walk us through his experience as a Christian missionary and reflections on Christian mission. Local people from Ewell's contexts in Brazil, and then in Birmingham, England prove worthy guides for the journey of un-schooling that Ewell narrates. Alongside the personal stories are deep dives into the work of the important, but often forgotten, priest and writer Ivan Illich. In Illich, Ewell finds and faithful guide for "prolonging the incarnation," Illich's language for naming the ongoing presence of God in the world, and the opportunity to participate in that presence.
February 13, 2020
Here's my endorsement for this truly incredible book with a life changing cast of characters - author: Sam Ewell, foreword: WillieJennings, central character: Iván Illich, living mentor: Claudio Oliver among others.
"Your Handbook for Not Giving Up! That is how I would like to subtitle this astonishing book when I hand it out to my friends and co-conspirators in the “western world”. While we are in the midst of a massive awakening to the social and ecological crisis our way of life has instigated around the globe, we struggle to find a way forward that does not perpetuate the very injustices that caused the crisis to begin with. Faith Seeking Conviviality is a stunning and prescient contribution on the life and work of Ivan Illich. But, it is much more than that. Ewell shows us how to get unstuck, how to begin from the ground up, how to “prolong the incarnation”. This is a wondrously insightful and compelling vision for faith communities seeking to be a life giving presence in their communities."
Paul Sparks
Co-Author of The New Parish
"Your Handbook for Not Giving Up! That is how I would like to subtitle this astonishing book when I hand it out to my friends and co-conspirators in the “western world”. While we are in the midst of a massive awakening to the social and ecological crisis our way of life has instigated around the globe, we struggle to find a way forward that does not perpetuate the very injustices that caused the crisis to begin with. Faith Seeking Conviviality is a stunning and prescient contribution on the life and work of Ivan Illich. But, it is much more than that. Ewell shows us how to get unstuck, how to begin from the ground up, how to “prolong the incarnation”. This is a wondrously insightful and compelling vision for faith communities seeking to be a life giving presence in their communities."
Paul Sparks
Co-Author of The New Parish
November 13, 2021
Sam Ewell asks some good questions and provides an introduction to the life and thought of Ivan Illich. I'm a huge fan of Illich, and I learned more about him through Ewell's book. I am also highly interested in the idea of a convivial church, one that is deeply interested in asking the question "What makes it possible to embody a distinctly Christian presence that is missionary without being manipulative?" Ewell tries to answer what that could look like both through Illich's thought and through his own life.
This book falls flat for two reasons however. The first is that it is a converted dissertation, and suffers as a result. The prose is unnecessarily verbose, and concepts and thinkers are introduced which, while interesting, could have been eliminated and I don't think the book would have suffered much.
A second, much more serious issue, lies in the first question Ewell asks in the book "First, given the history of Christian missionary expansion in its colonial and neocolonial forms, and the fallout of that expansion - what Eduardo Galeano poignantly termed the “open veins of Latin America” - on what basis do we go on fulfilling the “Great Commission” (Matt 28:16-20) as Christ’s disciples?" The answer I think is obvious: because we are commanded to and because in Christ alone is eternal life. The way the question is articulated brings up good and important points, but it also has a simple answer, and it is one that Ewell never provides. If I could reframe the question slightly to "how, given the history of Christian missionary expansion in its colonial and neocolonial forms, and the fallout of that expansion, should we go about fulfilling the "Great Commission?" This seems to be the question Ewell answers in the book. Perhaps he meant something slightly different, with the emphasis on Christ's disciples instead of on what basis, but either way I don't think the question was well articulated. Nor do I think our simple calling to proclaim, and not merely share the gospel was articulated.
This book falls flat for two reasons however. The first is that it is a converted dissertation, and suffers as a result. The prose is unnecessarily verbose, and concepts and thinkers are introduced which, while interesting, could have been eliminated and I don't think the book would have suffered much.
A second, much more serious issue, lies in the first question Ewell asks in the book "First, given the history of Christian missionary expansion in its colonial and neocolonial forms, and the fallout of that expansion - what Eduardo Galeano poignantly termed the “open veins of Latin America” - on what basis do we go on fulfilling the “Great Commission” (Matt 28:16-20) as Christ’s disciples?" The answer I think is obvious: because we are commanded to and because in Christ alone is eternal life. The way the question is articulated brings up good and important points, but it also has a simple answer, and it is one that Ewell never provides. If I could reframe the question slightly to "how, given the history of Christian missionary expansion in its colonial and neocolonial forms, and the fallout of that expansion, should we go about fulfilling the "Great Commission?" This seems to be the question Ewell answers in the book. Perhaps he meant something slightly different, with the emphasis on Christ's disciples instead of on what basis, but either way I don't think the question was well articulated. Nor do I think our simple calling to proclaim, and not merely share the gospel was articulated.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews