JACKSON, Tenn. — May 3, 2021 — Scripture must be the standard for how evangelicals understand and undertake missions, Zane Pratt said at 51社区 April 29.
Pratt, vice president for assessment/deployment and training for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, delivered the inaugural W.D. Powell Missions Lecture on the topic 鈥淭he Mission of the Church and Missiological Method: How Do We Know What God Wants Us to Do?鈥�
鈥淭he foundation for evangelical missiology is a robust doctrine of Scripture interpreted correctly according to grammatical-historical methods of biblical hermeneutics, considered both through time as biblical theology and through subjects of the Bible in systematic theology,鈥� Pratt said.
Pratt began his lecture by establishing the importance of knowing how to answer critical questions concerning missiology by using the right sources correctly.
鈥淢issiology is applied theology, and theology is applied hermeneutics,鈥� he said. 鈥淪cripture alone is our authority, and everything that we do is derived from Scripture itself. The starting point, then, of our missiology is our entire theology of Scripture. That includes both the purposes and the attributes of Scripture and our convictions about and approach to hermeneutics, how we interpret Scripture.鈥�
Pratt discussed the implications of the Bible being the true, authoritative, clear and sufficient word of God. He said that good missiology requires interpretation of the Bible in its grammatical, historical and textual contexts and an understanding of it as a single grand narrative. He also discussed the dangers of relying on the reader鈥檚 perspective rather than authorial intent in interpreting the Bible and noted that while different people groups may notice or grasp different aspects of the Bible鈥檚 meaning, that meaning is fixed.
鈥淲hen the teaching of the Bible contradicts the constantly changing standards of contemporary knowledge, conventional wisdom or current social standards, the Bible is right, and everything that disagrees with it is wrong,鈥� Pratt said. 鈥淲e can trust everything the Bible teaches us whether the world agrees or not.鈥�
Pratt classified the grand narrative of the Bible in four plot movements: creation, fall, redemption and restoration.
鈥淓verything that our mission is involved in is good because God made it,鈥� Pratt said. 鈥淪o there鈥檚 a very real sense in which even as we construct our missiology, beginning from this understanding from the narrative of Scripture, from creation, we recognize that we have the home court advantage even in the midst of a rebellious world.鈥�
Pratt said that understanding the severity of the consequences of rebellion against God is key.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have that perspective, which reading through the Bible chronologically gives you, then you don鈥檛 understand the issue that missions must address,鈥� Pratt said.
Pratt also discussed the importance of systematic theology to the foundations of missiology, saying that the central themes of the Bible should also be central to theology. Theology should also address urgent issues in cultural settings.
One of these central themes is the biblical summons to sinners to repent and turn to Christ.
鈥淪in is the root issue behind every issue facing the human race, and sin is the issue which the gospel answers,鈥� Pratt said. 鈥淚f we do not address the root cause, which is our sinful rebellion against God, we have not fulfilled our biblical mission. 鈥� We will never do missionary work correctly if we fail to grasp the seriousness of sin.鈥�
Pratt concluded his lecture by discussing the implications of these themes.
鈥淟et Scripture define the nature of our mission,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et Scripture define the outcomes we are seeking. Let Scripture define the methods that we use. Let鈥檚 treat missiology as applied theology.鈥�
Pratt鈥檚 entire lecture is .