Message, Mission, and Unity of the Church
by Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, ed., Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2013.
This book comprises the second volume of a three-volume series, Studies in Adventist Ecclesiology, produced by the Biblical Research Institute (BRI) of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This ecclesiological study is the result of the work of many well-recognized and highly respected Adventist scholars in various countries. This present volume concentrates on the nature of the church, its message, mission, authority, and unity, while the prior volume in the series, entitled Toward a Theology of the Remnant: An Adventist Ecclesiological Perspective, deals with the very identity of the Adventist Church as the remnant, which occasionally needs to be examined and reaffirmed.
The first three chapters are devoted to studies on the nature of the church: “The People of God in the Old Testament,” “The Universality of the Church in the New Testament,” and “Biblical Metaphors for the Church: Building Blocks for Ecclesiology.”
Chapters 4 through 7 excavate the mission concept in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the book of Daniel, and the book of Revelation. Chapters 8 through 10, as historical studies, try to provide historical background for the better understanding of the mission, message, and unity of the church in general as well as in particular. In this section, chapters 8 and 9 trace the understanding of the mission and the nature of the church in the post-apostolic church and the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation.
Chapter 10 explores the history of Adventist ecclesiology. Chapters 11 through 15 and 17 concentrate on the message, mission, authority, and unity of the church from the perspective of the Adventist Church: the elements that contribute to the global unity of the church, the message and the mission of the church, the nature and the role of the Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the close relationship between the church and the Holy Spirit, the role of the church in the interpretation of the Bible, and the mission of the Adventist Church among world religions. After providing the ecclesiological role of Ellen G. White in the Adventist Church (chapter 16), chapters 18 through 21 include discussion on the relationship between Israel and the church, a study of world religions and salvation, and a personal reflection on Adventist mission today. The appendix, titled “Roadmap for Mission,” is the document voted during the 2009 General Conference Annual Council and published in the General Conference Working Policy 2011–2012.
There is no doubt that this work will contribute to a new appreciation of the Adventist Church acting as the remnant in the contemporary world. This book will clearly show how Adventist ecclesiology intersects conclusively with modern concerns. This volume will also advance the reader’s understanding on the nature, message, mission, authority, and unity of the church, particularly the Adventist Church.
However, there are three points of inconvenience of the book. First, considering that this volume provides wider biblical, historical, theological, and missiological background of the church than the prior volume does, it would have been better if this volume had been published prior to the first volume that specifically deals with a serious theological reflection and a clearer expression of the identity of the Adventist Church as a community of spiritual remnant. Second, this volume contains the nature, message, mission, and unity of the Christian church in general at the same time as the Adventist Church in particular. Consequently, this volume is inclusive in nature, so the readers can become a little confused in understanding the nature, message, mission, and unity of the Adventist Church in particular. Third, this volume covers such a multitude of critical issues that it is hard to deal with them thoroughly, and it includes multiple questions that cannot be answered completely.
I strongly recommend this volume for not only theological scholars and present Adventist pastors, but also theology students and seminarians, as well as lay leaders of the church who want a better understanding of the nature of the church, its message, mission, authority, and unity. The studies in the volume will “contribute to build up the faith and commitment” (xii) of the readers. The volume would enhance the readers’ understanding of the church and the ground used for establishing its mission. The readers will experience the renewal of their passion for the mission of the church.
—Reviewed by Sang-Hoon Jee, PhD, assistant professor, faculty of Religious Studies at Asia-Pacific International University, Muak Lek, Saraburi, Thailand.
