The Mission of the Triune God

Lesslie Newbigin was arguably the greatest missionary thinker of the twentieth century. After a successful missionary career in south India, Newbigin pioneered missionary engagement with the secular West and resurgent Islam. He also led the way in arguing that the Church's mission can only be understood in light of the doctrine of the Trinity. Over fifty years ago, Newbigin called for the further development of missionary thinking grounded in the Triune being of God. This work is in response to that call. Adam Dodds provides the first in-depth study of Newbigin's trinitarian theology of mission. Dodds constructs a systematic account of the central features of the mission of the Triune God: the Triune being of God, the mission of the Son, the mission of the Holy Spirit, and the mission of the church. This book contributes to our understanding of the work of Lesslie Newbigin, offers a systematic theological account of the mission of the Triune God, and contributes to the retrieval of Christian mission from the theological margins back to a place of central importance to Christian theology. ""This book is a wonderful gift to serious theological thinking on the mission of the Christian church. Elegantly written and sparkling with insight into Newbigin's seminal contributions, Dodds's study unfolds why the church's mission must be anchored in the mission of the Trinity. All those interested in missiological questions will be immensely blessed by this work."" –Christopher Holmes, Department of Theology and Religion, University of Otago, New Zealand ""This is a very useful book for Newbigin supporters, but especially for theological and mission-minded scholars and practitioners. The subject is comprehensively explored with a full bibliography supporting the research, which affirms Newbigin as being one of the greatest missiologists of the twentieth century. However, what Adam Dodds does particularly well is to not only build on Newbigin's claim that the Trinity is at the heart of evangelism, but also to prove it beyond all doubt, with all its implications for mission.R03;"" –Keith Warrington, Reader in Pentecostal Studies, Regents Theological College Adam Dodds is Senior Pastor of Elim Church in Dunedin, New Zealand. He studied at the University of St. Andrews (UK) and Princeton Theological Seminary (USA), before completing his PhD at the University of Otago (New Zealand). He has lectured in Christian theology and ethics at the University of Otago and Elim Leadership College, and has published in the areas of theology and missiology.