Author J. TODD BILLINGS
Publisher BAKER ACADEMIC
ISBN 978-1-4412-3454-4
“Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church” is the subtitle for this book written, as one would expect bearing in mind that the publisher is Baker Academic, by a lecturer at a North American Christian College. The idea of ‘reframing’ both theology and ministry for the church might seem a little presumptuous as the though the church has got it wrong through the centuries but that would be an uncharitable and incorrect assessment of the contents of these chapters. They actually focus on what Billings refers to as a ‘theology of retrieval’ where he is delving back into the Christian writers of the past in order to focus on their emphasis on the subject of union with Christ. Because this author is an unabashed Reformed man and thoroughly Calvinistic, his theology of retrieval concentrates on men like Calvin and Augustine and his conversation partners do not extend to men like Wesley. One wonders if the book and its rich themes might have been enhanced even further had he let the more ‘Arminian’ writers have their space. Let no one think this book is dry theology, it most certainly is not, although, for some readers it may be stretching to the mind its purpose is very much twenty-first century. Billings points out that as a general rule, the ‘Christian’ teenagers of today, gathering in the churches and those a little older too can be described as MTD’s, Moralistic, Therapeutic Deists. Those three words will strike a chord with any one who is engaged in the Christian ministry in our day. In these chapters this weak and watery doctrine is challenged as to what it means to be truly adopted as sons in the Son by the Father through Union with Christ, how human freedom is linked inextricably with the bondage of the will to sin and whether, in the Christian ministry ideas of seeker friendly, missional or incarnational models are in fact reflecting or detracting from the truth that the church is to be a participator through union with Christ in the ministry of God the Father by the Spirit. How does union the Christ link in with the Word of God and the Spirit, is union with Him the heart of everything? This is certainly a book filled with research, not only from earlier writers but also from the formulations of some of the older confessions as well as documents related to the emergence of apartheid in South Africa. There are some rich veins explored in these pages, they open up some fresh lines of thought and all is confirmatory as to what truly constitutes the gospel. Lest any should think that Billings is an ‘ivory tower’ writer, in fact his back ground not only spans academia but also a period of service in Africa and ministering in street ministry in Boston. So, plenty of food for thought here written by a younger man who is evidently in touch with the post modern church scene and has been endeavoring to plumb some of the depths of the gospel of Christ. He shows how unchangeable are the ‘ancient paths’ from which we wander at our peril.
