Glasser, Arthur with C. Van Engen, D. Gilliland, and S. Redford, eds. Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003)
The scope and drive of Arthur Glasser’s Announcing the Kingdom is the primacy and unity of “God’s purpose and action in mission in human history” (17). Both the Old and New Testaments are pointed in the same direction of God’s rule and reign. Glasser tells the narrative of scripture through the lens of the Kingdom of God. We see that from the creation of the world, God’s covenant with Israel, Jesus’ incarnation, and the church’s continuing mission; God is at work revealing and drawing all nations to himself. Even in the dynamic story of Revelation we are aware of God’s redemptive Kingdom mission coming to its full conclusion. In this sweeping narrative of God’s reign throughout scripture we understand the God’s activity in the history of the world.
This understanding of God’s Kingdom story is essential for our study of mission. It is of utmost importance that we form our mission and ministry in the context of how God has engaged humanity throughout history. By hearing the story of God’s Kingdom through the whole sweep of scripture we begin to understand the pervasiveness and completeness of God’s mission. This is not an isolated story of merely how Middle Eastern deity dealt with an obscure group of people 2,000 years ago. God’s mission extends from the beginning of creation to the end of all things. With this appreciation for the scope of God’s Kingdom our mission is shaped and formed. This is of particular import as I work with college students in 21st century America.
I have often found in working with students living in a post-Christendom world that how the story of scripture hangs together is almost entirely lost. There may even be an appreciation for God, Jesus, or the Bible; but understanding the scope and mission is far from prevalent. Furthermore, for students who do claim a Christian walk the Old Testament seems irrelevant at best, offensive at worst. Setting the context for how both testaments hang together in the Kingdom mission is very helpful. My current ministry context is as a campus minister re-starting a ministry on at Northern Kentucky University. I many ways I feel an apostolic call as one sent from the churches in our conference to the students on campus. As such, I highly value Glasser’s quote of Kung that:
As an individual Christian, I must become a true successor of the apostles. I must bear their witness, believe their message, imitate their mission and ministry (302).
I very much see myself as a missionary sent to the people group called NKU. Understanding that mission through the lens of scripture and, specifically, the Kingdom of God is deeply formative.
