Heralds and Community: An Enquiry into Paul's Conception of Mission and Its Indebtedness to the Jesus-Tradition

by Gregor Walter-Drop

Overview

This book is part of the ongoing debate about Paul’s understanding of the relationship between his own mission and the church’s. While this study endorses some previous scholarship on Paul’s silence about the church’s proactive evangelism in his letters, it argues that explanations for such silence cannot be adequately made from exegetical conclusions on related texts alone. Rather, this study suggests that constructing a plausible conception of mission as understood by Paul, influenced by the impact of the Jesus-tradition and Jewish restoration eschatology, is essential for explaining Paul’s thinking. Dr Kang proposes that Paul’s silence regarding congregational evangelism is due to his unique two-pronged conception of mission – one being the event of eschatological heralds, the other being the event of eschatological community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783689019
Publisher:	Langham Partnership International
Publication date:	08/14/2016
Pages:	422
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

BO YOUNG KANG holds a PhD in New Testament Studies from Trinity College, Bristol, UK and is an assistant professor at Juan International University, South Korea, teaching courses on New Testament and Mission Studies. He is involved in church ministry as a cooperative pastor at a local Presbyterian church in Seoul. Bo Young is married to Kyoungmi who was formerly an art teacher, and they have two teenage children, Sungeun and Dongwoo.

Table of Contents

Abstract
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 General Introduction
Chapter 2 Silence or Non-Silence? An Exegetical Study of Pauline Texts Having Possible Relevance to the Church's Proactive Verbal Proclamationof the Gospel
Chapter 3 Heralds and Community: Paul's Conceptualization of Mission as a Bifurcated Eschatological Event
Chapter 4 Paul's Mission-Conception of the Eschatological Heralds and the Jesus-Tradition
Chapter 5 Paul's Mission-Conception of the Eschatological Community and the Jesus-Tradition
Chapter 6 Summary and Conclusions
Appendix A Paul's Conception of Universal Evangelism?
Appendix B The Origin of the Pauline (or Christian) Apostolate
Appendix C The Scope of Apostles in Paul's Thought
Bibliography
Scripture Index
Author Index

Editorial Reviews

"Christians have been commissioned by Jesus to "proclaim the good news" and to "make disciples of all nations." But does that mean that every individual Christian is called to be an evangelist? That is very often the impression given in the church, and we are pointed to various verses in the Bible that are supposed to show that. Alternatively, do some Christians have that particular gift and calling, with others of us being called more simply to be salt and light in the world, witnessing to the Lord in that way? In this careful and scholarly study the Korean scholar Dr Bo Young Kang engages carefully with relevant texts in Paul's letters, relating Paul's teaching to that of Jesus, bringing out major themes, and helping us think constructively about what is still the great commission of the Lord to his church."
David Wenham, PhD
Associate Tutor in New Testament, Trinity College, Bristol, UK

From the Publisher