Reading the Bible Missionally

Over the past half century, it has become clear that mission is a central theme in the Bible's narrative and, moreover, is central to the very identity of the church. A volume from the Gospel and Our Culture series, Reading the Bible Missionally significantly widens and deepens the emerging conversation on missional hermeneutics. Edited by Michael Goheen and offering insights from top biblical and missiological scholars—including Richard Bauckham, Craig Bartholomew, Joel Green, Darrell Guder, N.T. Wright, and more—this volume probes a reading of the Scriptures using mission as a key interpretive lens.

Five introductory chapters probe various elements of a missional hermeneutic, followed by sections on the Old and New Testaments that include chapters on two books from each to illustrate what a missional reading of them looks like. Essays in two concluding sections draw out the implications of a missional reading of Scripture for preaching and for theological education.

Reading the Bible Missionally not only demonstrates the importance and fruitfulness of encountering the text this way, but also stimulates a missional reading of Scripture for the sake of the church, and, through the church, for the sake of the world.