What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics is a great 2008 book by Roger P. Schroeder. What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics will appeal primarily to Catholics, though it is sweeping, short (159 pages), and readable. There is confusion about the Catholic Church and its role in social justice and political issues that it does not seem like more discussion is going to help resolve the tension. Nevertheless, Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert usefully contribute with What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics. Would you find an analysis of the mission of the Catholic Church useful?
Summary of What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics
What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics was controversial because there is a difference between the work of God and the work of the Church. The work of “salvation, restoration and re-creation” is the work of God alone—they are “divine gifts to which we bear witness, rather than works in which we collaborate” (page 42). As the author writes, “The story [of Scripture] is not about us working with God to make the world right again. It’s about God’s work to make us right so we can live with Him again” (page 89).
Over and over again, the distinction appears and informs everything else in the book. God’s people are not called to bring a broken planet back to its created glory. But we are to call broken people back to their Creator. This distinction leads to another necessary one, this time between individual Christians and the local church.
Because there is a difference between individual Christians and the local church, one cannot simply “say that whatever we see commanded of the individual Christian is also commanded of the local church” (page 233). The mission of the church is far narrower than that of the individual believer (although, again, there is crossover).
Context Prevents Pretext
Where What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics really shines is in its treatment of the Bible. The author handles the Scriptures with aplomb, and he provides in-depth analysis. One example comes from their explanation of the Greek word used in Luke 4:18 for “poor.” This word, they explain, almost certainly has reference to material poverty, but “has broader connotations and significance” (p. 38).
If “the poor” in Luke 4:18 “are literally the financially poor, then ‘the captives,’ ‘the blind,’ and ‘the oppressed’ should be taken literally as well. And yet there is no instance in the Gospels of Jesus setting a literal prisoner free. . . . Quite naturally, we understand captivity and oppression to include spiritual bondage. It is not inappropriate, then, to see a fundamental spiritual aspect to ‘the poor’ in Luke 4” (p. 39).
If this is the case, then it means we must be very careful how we use passages like Luke 4, and Isaiah 61. In focusing people on altruistic behavior, we have to examine the context; we need to take into account the truth that even when the Bible does speak of material need, it is not divorced from the spiritual realities that surround it.
Caveating the Book
One of the greatest strengths of What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics is also its greatest weakness. Because the author is striving to be very cautious and careful in addressing some of the more creative approaches to the Church’s mission that have cropped up in recent years, there is a great deal of caveating. Nowhere in What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics does the author advocate a view that suggests that it is okay for Christians to be indifferent to the suffering around them. And yet this desire at times risks getting lost because of the repeated refrain of “here’s what we don’t mean.”
3 Important Documents
These documents are from the last 50 years, or so. There are important signposts to determine what is the mission of the Catholic Church. The documents are Ad Gentus (Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church), from the Second Vatican Council. The second document is Evangelii Nuntaidi (On Evangelization in the Modern World) written by Pope John Paul II. The third and final important document is Redemptoris Missio (On the Permanent Validity of the Church), an encyclical letter from Pope John Paul II.
Conclusion
There is great work done in What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics. Schroder works hard to faithfully examine both the Scriptures and the Bible. He concludes that we do not rely on triumphalism, but the hope about the new creation. It was encouraging to find the author’s work to be a compliment many things. Finally, this book can be recommended to people who are biblically faithful. What is the Mission of the Church? A Guide for Catholics is readable and useful.
