Author Martin Goldsmith brings to this book his considerable experience as a Jewish Christian, an interpreter, a missionary to the Muslim world, and a lecturer at All Nations Christian College. Readers will find a mixture of highly flavoured anecdote and deeply thought out theology. The tone ranges from missionary travelogue to theological analysis and exhortation, and even discussion material.
Those who feel that the ‘world is different and we must change’ path has been too well trodden should read these pages before they judge. In them they will find a beguiling mixture of personal testimony, social comment and utterly orthodox theology. Goldsmith points out that although the world has changed, this creates both new challenges and new opportunities. Thoughtful Christians should recognise that God is on the move in new places, embrace the possibility of new technologies, seek out the mission field in the great cities and the overseas student population – and then proclaim Christ as the way to salvation. Although we read here an incisive analysis of the post-modern world, and plenty of suggestions about how to engage with it, the Gospel is still the same. “A true holistic approach to mission will refuse any easy-going rejection of the notion of sin and its fearful consequences”.
The book is at its most interesting when it explores the possibilities of a post-modern, globalised, shrunken world for innovative mission. We are asked to think about sending missionaries to the ‘a-national’ globalised society which exists in some of the world’s great cities, for instance. Alternatively, how about receiving a missionary from a cash-poor and spiritually rich church into one of our cash-rich and spiritually poor churches in this country? We are warned of the dangers of “musical imperialism” and asked to ensure that our mission work not only avoids sexism and racism, but also speciesism! With his vast experience, his varied background and his keen understanding of belief systems, Goldsmith is able to release some distinctly mischievous cats amongst the ecclesiastical pigeons!
This book will intrigue the advocates of evangelical authenticity and the post-modern theological commentators in equal measure. Both are liable to find their convictions challenged and their imaginations fired. Furthermore, the inclusion of provocative questions at the end of each chapter means that the book readily lends itself to learning in the context of a local church or an organisation. If used well, this book could deepen our understanding not only of how we share our faith, but how thoughtfully we hold it in the first place.
