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tagged: church planting movements, David Rogers, David Sills, Featured, International Mission Board, Missions, TeachingA Review of Reaching and Teaching, by M. David Sills
Posted by David Rogers in Baptist Life, Church & Missions
Sills, M. David. Reaching and Teaching. Chicago: Moody, 2010.
David Sills is Professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology at Southern Seminary, and a former IMB missionary to Ecuador.
Reaching and Teaching is a missiological bombshell. However, it is not written with a view or tone meant to inflict damage on anyone. It is, rather, a gentle and irenic corrective to certain trends and ways of thinking that have caused much missionary strategy and effort to get out of whack in recent years. The central theme is how the “need for speed,” or the objective of getting a minimal gospel presence established in as many of the remaining unreached people groups around the world as possible in as short a time as possible, has, in many instances, become the dominant driving force behind missionary strategy and resource allocation. While recognizing the admirable and godly motivation behind much recent church planting movement (CPM) thinking, according to Sills, the biblical basis behind several key concepts is dubious, and many of the consequences have been ultimately counterproductive for an integral fulfillment of the Great Commission.
In an effort to accelerate the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom in the whole world, so that the end might come (Matt 24:14), according to Sills, there is a lamentable tendency in many contemporary evangelical missionary circles to deemphasize the “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19) component of the Great Commission. As a result, the objectives accomplished using CPM methodology have often lacked a solid foundation, and have opened the door for doctrinal problems, poor ecclesiology, and an overall instability among new believers and churches in many locations around the world.
The solution, according to Sills, is not to totally scrap the oftentimes legitimate observations made by CPM strategists regarding those things that get in the way of CPMs, but, rather, to balance missionary strategy and resource allocation to allow more room for a corresponding emphasis on quality theological education, in-depth discipleship, and incarnational ministry based on a good understanding of local languages and cultural differences. This implies not abandoning too soon the work in harvest fields where the spiritual maturity of the church and development of church leaders has not kept pace with the response to the initial presentation of the gospel. It also implies a greater emphasis on longer-term ministries in contrast to putting all of our eggs in the basket of short-term teams and church planter training that reduces the content to be taught to new disciples to a barebones minimum.
From Sills’ perspective, just as every missionary context is not the same, the individual calling and area of ministry expertise of individual missionaries is not the same. Those who sense a call to frontline evangelistic ministry, continually opening up new ground for the gospel, should be encouraged to carry out their calling. However, there must be a corresponding legitimization and empowerment of the ministry of those who are called to longer-term teaching and leadership development. It is crucial that this teaching be culturally appropriate, something that is usually attained only through long, careful, on-site cultural adaptation and learning. Ideally, Western missionaries, who bring with them a legacy of two millennia of Christian development and education, should partner together with indigenous believers, who naturally understand much better the bridges and barriers within their own culture for effective communication and authentic life transformation. In many places around the world, this will also involve developing special strategies for oral learners.
The “need for speed,” if allowed to become the controlling factor behind missionary strategy and on-field decisions, can lead (and, in some cases, has led) missionaries to carry out their work in ways that are not totally transparent. While not unsympathetic to the validity of creative access strategies in certain contexts, Sills warns of communicating in such a way that, when discovered, may be interpreted as deceptive and put a stumbling block in front of disillusioned evangelistic contacts and new believers. Also, while defending the need for critical cultural contextualization, he censures methods that are not totally aboveboard, and often involve compromise on gospel essentials.
Personally, I think Sills’ concerns are, for the most part, legitimate. Though there are other agencies and ministries around the world that have fallen into the same patterns decried in Reaching and Teaching, it is evident to anyone who is aware of events of recent years that the primary intended recipients of his recommendations are decision makers at the International Mission Board. In many ways, I see what has happened in IMB missions over the past 20 years or so as a pendulum swing reaction in strategy and methodology. There were some changes that needed to be made, but, in some cases, the medicine has been worse than the sickness. Missionaries who have not been fortunate enough to be in the midst of a bona fide CPM have many times felt discouraged and underappreciated. As Sills himself acknowledges, IMB leadership has recognized some of the weaknesses of an extreme approach to CPM strategy, and has already made some needed correctives.
I am hopeful that, in coming years, the pendulum will continue to move more to the middle. In the meantime, I am appreciative for Sills’ balanced and conciliatory approach to these issues. If we all follow his example, there may indeed be a constructive and fruitful way forward for all of us together as Great Commission Christians in the days ahead.
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David Hesselgrave gave an interesting quote on the first page of the book: “Some misionaries engage in ‘hit and run’ evangelism.”
Other quotes from the book:
“As it is not fair to heap blame on missionaries who fail to produce a CPM in their ministries, neither is it right to heap praise on a missionary who experiences one.” (147)
“Many missions strategists are discouraging theological education among missionaries and nationals, saying that training them will slow down the work of Matthew 24:14 and their hopes for rapid advance that utilizes methods such as CPM. They believe that worldwide CPM efforts could reach all the unreached people groups of the world in this generation, which would not merely enable but hasten the return of Christ, thereby rendering all training unnecessary—after all, we will all then be in heaven and not need training. The result is that some modern missiological methodologies so focus on short-term gains that sustained fruit of sound churches and disciples through the ages is an afterthought at best and is often considered unnecessary.” (148)
“The need for speed and priming the pump for CPMs, where the ends often seem to justify the means, was not what Jesus did nor would do.” (150)
I’m glad to see that thought is progressing re: the possible pitfalls of CPM methodology. I truly enjoyed your review and have ordered a copy of the text as I was at one time deeply involved in that missiological discussion. Since I’ve been in Japan for a while I was unaware of the continuing conversation surrounding this topic.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I also enjoyed some of your interests from your previous posts, such as gospel essentials. The outcome of that research is extremely important when developing a contextualized gospel. Finding the biblical essentials allows one to unpack the cultural baggage from the gospel and present a Truth in a cultural way. In my doctoral studies days, my drive toward that topic did serve to stir the pot a bit.
Dr. Sills quoted Dr. Lovelace in the book.
David,
I am looking forward to adding this book to my list of books I’ve read. Thanks for the review. I wonder what kind of influence this book has had or may have had on current IMB leadership.
I was somewhat surprised to learn that Dr. Sills had started a mission-sending agency (I wondered if it was for people who didn’t want to or couldn’t go with the IMB). I was equally surprised when he announced his agency would not be sending any more long-term missionaries. Any idea if there were discussions between IMB leadership and Dr. Sills regarding this?
Andrew,
I think a statement from the Reaching & Teaching International Ministries website answers your question:
“RTIM does not function as a sending agency, but rather partners with a variety of missions agencies and field personnel who share a passion to reach and teach, disciple and train. These efforts include working alongside the missionary and missions agency to develop and/or coordinate field ministries such as training programs, discipleship efforts, and church planting. Ultimately, RTIM seeks to serve the Kingdom purpose of assisting missionaries and missions agencies as they seek to faithfully obey all of the Great Commission.”
BT,
I was aware of the current strategy, I was just wondering why the change. Check out this blog post from Dr. Sills from June of last year. He specifically talks about RTIM’s first missionaries and says, “In addition to sending missionaries…” That’s where I’m coming from. It looks like there’s a story in there between the announcement in June 2010 and the announcement in February 2011 when he said, “Another change that has come about over the last six months is that while Reaching & Teaching International Ministries will continue to send short-term teams and coordinate training programs overseas, we will not be actually sending out our own missionaries.”
Any idea if the IMB or other denominational leaders felt his ministry was competing with the IMB and encouraged him to change? Has Dr. Sills’ book or person been influencing current IMB leadership?
Andrew,
You’ll have to ask Dr. Sills about those issues. I would suggest that you send him an e-mail.
Maybe I’ll get to chat in person. I’m heading down to Louisville next week.
Andrew,
Mike (BT) is more up on this than I am. I would go with his answer.
Mike,
Thanks for the original heads up on this book. It turns out I was assigned to read it for a seminar. I’m glad I did. There should be some interesting discussion this coming week, as the seminar group will actually be meeting together.
Hoyt,
Thanks for your comments. I’d love to hear any other observations you have to contribute to the discussion.
I am interested in reading the book, as what I say may end up being redundant of what Sill covered.
My thoughts and critique of the method are available in a journal article published some time back, but I could send you the expanded version of the article that explains my original thoughts. I don’t see how to post a file here, but if I can figure it out, I’ll post. I could email it to you if you would prefer…it’s about 40 pages of academic style writing.
I would love to be a fly on the wall in the seminar. Who is the professor for that seminar?
Hoyt,
Yes, the book is well worth the read.
I would love to read your article though. If you don’t mind, you could e-mail it to me at loveeachstone@gmail.com
The seminar is on Ecclesiology and Church Planting, with John Hammett and George Robinson.
David,
I’m going to have to get another copy of R&T because my original is now so marked up. I hope it gets the reading it deserves in the right quarters.
One thing I would add your review is that Sills is not calling for a reactionary response to current strategy, an abandonment of UPG methodology, a wholesale return to “harvest fields” methodology, or a return to any other old paradigms per se. He is not an opponent of contextualization, but rather advocates for appropriate contextualization (with Hiebert and others), oral strategies, etc. I only add that so your reads will know what sets Sills’ work apart from other critiques of IMB strategy that have been written in recent years.
[...] “A Review of ‘Reaching and Teaching,’ by M. David Sills, by David Rogers at the SBC Impact blog, with an appreciative book review of Sills’ book, which underscores the need for discipleship to adequately fulfill the Great Commission. [...]