Newbigin, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995. $24.99. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission: Newbigin, Lesslie: 9780802808295: Amazon.com: Books
In Leslie Newbigin’s book The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, Newbigin challenges the Christian church’s conceptualization and history of mission. Newbigin seeks to reform the postmodern mission through reassessment and renewal. The Open Secret shares in the announcement of the “good news” that “the reign of God has drawn near.” It is a secret entrusted to few but open in that it is to be proclaimed to all. Open in that it is available through the individual proclamation and the words and works of Jesus but secret as much of it is revealed in parable and symbolism.[1]
The Open Secret confronts the hypocrisy of the church which often lives in denial of its sin. The church is not the holder of the truth but the witness to it. The church is not to bear witness unto itself but to the world. Lesslie views the church not as a building but as a global fellowship of continuously developing relationships.[2] “The Christ who is presented in scripture for our believing is Lord over all cultures, and his purpose is to unite all of every culture to himself in a unity that transcends, without negating, the diversities of culture.[3]” This challenges the church to learn and engage as they bear witness to the goal of unification, not acculturation.
Newbigin’s book discusses the morally unacceptable and unsustainable concept of colonialization as it relates to mission. “It is by no means self-evident that the rest of the world will or should develop the kind of society that has been developed in Europe and North America during the past two hundred years.”[4] This is not a new topic but has been gaining momentum for Methodists since the 2024 United Methodist General Conference preliminarily approved regionalization.[5] Newbigin stresses that mission churches should not be founded in the culture of the missionaries but in the environment which they are established providing liberation with the proclamation of the word.[6]
The Open Secret is written in a format that can be easily understood by both a casual, secular audience and religious bodies. Newbigin’s extensive professional influence and research on the topic is evident the clarity of his writing. The book is well organized. It outlines the basic fundamental beliefs of the majority of Christian denominations and presents clear arguments for a missional foundation for the church within that belief system. It stresses the importance of community and engagement with the culture of all peoples.
“Although we frequently say “The church has a mission,” according to missional theology a more correct statement would be “the mission has a church.”[7] Hirsh’s words meld with Newbigin’s assessment of Christian mission through the Trinitarian God. Newbigin identifies the that purpose of mission is to proclaim the kingdom of the Father, share the life of the Son and bear the witness of the Spirit.[8] I would highly recommend to anyone seeking to understand the relationship between the church and mission work especially clergy struggling with getting their congregations to reach outside of the walls of their buildings. Newbigin does an excellent job of arguing from both a biblical and theoretical standpoint that the church does not exist without the mission.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hahn, Heather. “Regionalization plan heads to General Conference.” UM News. Aug. 21, 2023. Accessed on September 17, 2024. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/regionalization-plan-heads-to-general-conference.
Hirsch, Alan. 2008. “Defining Missional: The Word Is Everywhere, but Where Did It Come from and What Does It Really Mean?” Leadership 29 (4): 20–22. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001686755&site=ehost-live.
Kim, Kirsteen. 2010. “Mission Theology of the Church.” International Review of Mission 99 (1): 39–55. doi:10.1111/j.1758-6631.2010.00035.x.
Newbigin, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.
[1]. Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 37.
[2]. Newbigin, 150.
[3]. Newbigin, 149.
[4]. Newbigin, 93.
[5]. Heather Hahn, “Regionalization plan heads to General Conference,” UM News, Aug. 21, 2023. Accessed on September 17, 2024. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/regionalization-plan-heads-to-general-conference.
[7]. Alan Hirsch, 2008, “Defining Missional: The Word Is Everywhere, but Where Did It Come from and What Does It Really Mean?” Leadership 29 (4): 22. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001686755&site=ehost-live.
[8]. Newbigin, 29.
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