{"id":1026,"date":"2010-02-05T03:01:37","date_gmt":"2010-02-05T03:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html"},"modified":"2010-02-05T03:01:37","modified_gmt":"2010-02-05T03:01:37","slug":"rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Rereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I finish sharing some quotations from John Stott’s classic book Christian Mission in the Modern World<\/em>. Toward the end of his chapter on mission, Stott focuses on the question of vocation or calling.
\n<\/a>I begin with vocation, by which I mean a Christian’s lifework. We often given the impression that if a young Christian man is really keen for Christ he will undoubtedly become a foreign missionary, that if he is not quite as keen as that he will stay at home and become a pastor, that if he lacks the dedication to he a pastor, he will no doubt serve as a doctor or a teacher, while those who end up in social work or the media or (worst of all) in politics are not far removed from serious backsliding! (KL 354-357)
\nThis much then is certain: if we are Christians we must spend our lives in the service of God and man. The only difference between us lies in the nature of the service we are called to render. Some are indeed called to be missionaries, evangelists or pastors, and others to the great professions of law, education, medicine and the social sciences. But others are called to commerce, to industry and farming, to accountancy and banking, to local government or parliament, and to the mass media, while there are still many women who find their vocation in homemaking and parenthood without pursuing an independent career as well. In all these spheres, and many others besides, it is possible for Christians to interpret their lifework Christianly, and to see it neither as a necessary evil (necessary, that is, for survival), nor even as a useful place in which to evangelize or make money for evangelism, but as their Christian vocation, as the way Christ has called them to spend their lives in his service. (KL 359-364)
\nCan we now liberate ourselves from the manmade bondage (for that is what it is) of supposing that every really keen Christian will devote all his spare time to some soul-winning enterprise? Surely the biblical doctrine of the body of Christ, with different members gifted to fulfill different functions, should be enough to give us this larger freedom? (KL 379-381)
\nIf we can accept this broader concept of mission as Christian service in the world comprising both evangelism and social action-a concept which is laid upon us by the model of our Savior’s mission in the world \u2013 then Christians could under God make a far greater impact on society, an impact commensurate with our numerical strength and with the radical demands of the commission of Christ. (KL 399-401)
\nFinal Comments<\/strong>
\nOf course there are ways in which Stott’s piece is dated, as you would expect. He speaks of the “modern” world without any mention of postmodernism. And his language is not inclusive with respect to gender. But, still, John Stott’s statement of Christian mission, and within that broader discussion, his notion of vocation, is absolutely right on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I finish sharing some quotations from John Stott’s classic book Christian Mission in the Modern World. Toward the end of his chapter on mission, Stott focuses on the question of vocation or calling. I begin with vocation, by which I mean a Christian’s lifework. We often given the impression that if a young Christian…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mission"],"yoast_head":"\nRereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today I finish sharing some quotations from John Stott’s classic book Christian Mission in the Modern World. Toward the end of his chapter on mission, Stott focuses on the question of vocation or calling. I begin with vocation, by which I mean a Christian’s lifework. We often given the impression that if a young Christian…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-05T03:01:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/stott-christian-mission-4.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts","og_description":"Today I finish sharing some quotations from John Stott’s classic book Christian Mission in the Modern World. Toward the end of his chapter on mission, Stott focuses on the question of vocation or calling. I begin with vocation, by which I mean a Christian’s lifework. We often given the impression that if a young Christian…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2010-02-05T03:01:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/stott-christian-mission-4.jpg"}],"author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html","name":"Rereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3 - Mark D. Roberts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/stott-christian-mission-4.jpg","datePublished":"2010-02-05T03:01:37+00:00","dateModified":"2010-02-05T03:01:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/stott-christian-mission-4.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/stott-christian-mission-4.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/rereading-a-classic-christian-mission-in-the-modern-world-by-john-stott-part-3.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rereading a Classic: Christian Mission in the Modern World by John Stott, Part 3"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}