The cultural landscape in the United States is changing rapidly—and so is the culture of the U.S. church. A new book co-authored by Luther Seminary Professor Dwight Zscheile addresses these shifts and the work of God in the church today. Out this month by Zscheile and Luther Seminary Professor Emeritus Craig Van Gelder is, “Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the Church in America.” This volume is part of “The Gospel and Our Culture Series” from Eerdmans publishing company.
“Participating in God’s Mission” begins by analyzing current challenges for the U.S. church. Zscheile and Van Gelder define for the reader why the United States needs a theological missiology and what that approach might entail. From there, the authors explore how citizens got to where they are today by looking at five eras of U.S. history from the 1600s to the early 2000s. In the last third of “Participating in God’s Mission,” the authors discuss how the church in the U.S. can engage the challenges it faces by participating in the mission of the Triune God.
The central concern of “Participating in God’s Mission” is that underlying assumptions about the U.S. church seem to be unraveling. To that end, the authors explore the question, “What might faithful and meaningful Christian witness look like within the contemporary American context amid these unravelings?” The current challenges, history of the U.S. church, and ways to engage local contexts as part of God’s mission are explored richly in this volume, making it ideal for everyone from Christian leaders to students.