The Scottish theologian John Oman (1860-1939) conceived of God in terms of a personal reality who calls forth--rather than inhibits--freedom, creativity, and responsibility. Although he never wrote a book on God as such, all Oman's thought is based on this conception of God's radically personal nature and gracious--though often challenging--dealing with humanity. This book systematizes the thoughts on God that are scattered throughout Oman's writings, and places Oman in his historical and cultural context of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A collection of essays that demonstrates that to be effective in the twenty-first century, mission must be prophetic as it encounters other cultures and religious traditions.

"When we speak as mission as dialogue, then, we are about as far away from imagining mission as 'conquering the world for Christ' and missionaries as 'marines of the Catholic Church' as we probably can get. There has indeed been a radical shift, both in the world in which the church does mission and within the church's own consciousness of the goodness and even holiness of that world." These words from one of the...

Leading Voices from across Christian Traditions Discuss the Mission of the Church

What is the mission of the church? Every seminarian and church leader must wrestle with that question. No matter what designation a church uses to describe itself, it must also think critically about why it exists and what it should be doing. In this book, five leading voices representing a range of Christian traditions engage in an enlightening conversation as they present and compare their perspectives on the mission of the church. Each contributor offers his or her view and responds to the other...