INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
Johannes Nissen is Associate Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Aarhus, Denmark. Nissen’s areas of research emphasis and the majority of his publications focus on faith, ethics, the Bible, (the Bible and ethics, New Testament, research methods) and the Church (diaconal work, ecumenical work, liturgy, and mission).
THESIS
Contending that biblical scholars and missiologists have often ignored each other’s work when writing about the biblical foundation for mission, Nissen seeks to fuse the horizons of “text” and “context” in a conversation between biblical scholarship and missiology related to the New Testament, exploring the implications for the church today. Nissen argues, “the New Testament material points to various aspects [of mission] all of which might play a role today.” These include: mission as being sent out, mission is making disciples of all nations, Mission is deliverance and emancipatory action, Mission is witness. He contends that “choosing one biblical concept as the focus for a study on the “biblical foundations for mission” is bound to lead to distortions, since the New Testament comprises a variety of missionary theologies and approaches.” For the church to understand and participate the missio Dei, justice must be done to this plurality. His thesis is that mission today must “be seen as arising from something fundamental, from the basic movement of God’s people toward the world–more precisely, toward the numerous peoples who have not (yet) accepted God’s new covenant in Jesus Christ. This movement must be understood as a way of following God who sent and ‘gave his Son, so that everyone, who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life’ (John 3:16).”
MAJOR SECTIONS
Nissen’s exploration of mission and New Testament material includes: mission as disciple making in the Gospel of Matthew, mission and the crossing of boundaries in Mark’s Gospel, the liberating ministry of Jesus and the Acts of the Spirit: the mission perspective of Luke-Acts, mission as being sent into the world (mission and incarnation in the Fourth Gospel), Paul’s foundation and practice of mission, proclamation and confrontation (the witness to powers and authorities)—Colossians and Ephesians, hope and witness (mission in 1 Peter and the Book of Revelation) and concludes with a chapter called “mission, culture and dialogue: new Testament perspectives and present challenges.”
PERSONAL REACTION
I find Nissen’s emphasis on the plurality of mission theologies in the New Testament helpful as it informs a biblical foundation for mission that is subject to less reductionism and one that is more circumspect given the breadth of New Testament material. Additionally, I appreciate his attempt to create a conversation between the Biblical text and current context. I enjoyed his argument for “inculturation” as a kind of “ongoing incarnation” which he characterizes as “the church being borne anew in each new context and culture.” He argues effectively that this ongoing process can be seen in the early believers and the Apostle Paul in particular.
My main critique of Nissen has to do with what I perceive to be a strong bias against (if not a deep ignorance of) Pentecostal theology and experience. For example, in his treatment of the book of Acts, Nissen states: “Speaking in tongues is a phenomenon which has often been overestimated” and “Luke is obviously describing men caught up out of themselves, that is, in ecstasy” and “there is no indication that ecstasy should be constitutive for the ideal Christian community.” This position completely ignores the incredibly high value (overestimation?) the Apostle Paul places upon tongues in 1 Corinthians 14, not as an ecstatic experience but as a normal prayer practice that he wished all of the Corinthian believers engaged. Additionally, Nissan is dismissive of Luke’s record of miracles in Acts characterizing this as “a truimphalism that exists in stark contrast to other parts of the New Testament.” He suggests that the scriptures treat faith based on a miracle with “reservation and disapproval.” This contention seems to be contradicted by both Jesus (John 14:11) and the Apostle Paul (Romans 15:19).
In spite of this, I found Nissen’s defense of his thesis, especially in the book’s conclusion, to be especially strong. He concludes: “The ultimate theological foundation of mission is this movement of God toward human beings. Mission is first and foremost the God who comes. Moreover, God’s mission is the invasion of love in history. The important thing is that God finds us in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God in search of man. It is this image of the searching God—the Word became flesh and lived among us among us—which makes the decisive difference between Christianity and the other religions.”
Every year I read through the entire Bible. I encourage anyone who takes Jesus seriously to consider doing this. It literally will change your life. I’ve attached a pdf file of the Bible reading plan I follow in case others find it useful. The pages can be printed and folded into a useful bookmark. I enjoy this plan because it cover the event of the Old Testament in chronological order for the most part which help the reader gain perspective on the overall story that is being told.
