Description

Synopsis:

Many programs for outreach, discipleship, and spiritual disciplines are available at any bookstore and on countless websites. We assume that we already know the nature of the Great Commission and the appropriate methods of carrying it out. But Michael Horton contends that it too often becomes our mission instead of God’s. At a time when churches are zealously engaged in writing up mission statements and strategic plans, he argues that we must ask ourselves anew whether we are ambassadors, following the script we’ve been given, or building our own kingdoms with our own blueprint. Pastors, church leaders, and readers of Horton’s Christless Christianity and The Gospel-Driven Life will value this frank and hopeful exploration of the Great Commission as a call to understanding and good practice. Now available in trade paper.

From the Back Cover:

Whose kingdom are we building? God’s? Or our own?

Many churches in America today want to be powerful, relevant, and influential in personal and social transformation. A plethora of programs for outreach, discipleship, and spiritual disciplines are available at any bookstore and on countless websites. Yet what we need most is a renewed understanding of and commitment to the Great Commission.

At a time when churches are zealously engaged in creating mission statements and strategic plans, Michael Horton argues that we must ask ourselves anew whether we are ambassadors following the script we’ve been given, or building our own kingdoms with our own blueprint.

Pastors and church leaders will value this frank and hopeful next-step exploration of the Great Commission as a call to renewed understanding and good practice.

“The best book I’ve ever read on the Great Commission. Mike demonstrates that no matter how hard we try or how ‘radical’ we get, any engine smaller than the gospel that we depend on for power to do what God has called us to do–most importantly, the Great Commission–will conk out.”–Tullian Tchividjian, senior pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; author, Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels

“Horton calls us to recover a biblical understanding of mission and restore its centrality in the life of the church. The Gospel Commission is filled with both penetrating analysis and pastoral guidance, and I recommend it enthusiastically.”–Doug Birdsall, chair, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization

Michael Horton (PhD, University of Coventry and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) is J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. He hosts the White Horse Inn radio broadcast and is editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. He is the author or editor of more than fifteen books, including Christless Christianity and The Gospel-Driven Life.