Table Of ContentHow did Christian mission happen in the early church from AD 100 to 750? M
Beginning with a brief look at the social, political, cultural, and religious IS
S
contexts, Mission in the Early Church tells the story of early Christian I
O
missionaries, their methods, and their missiology. Edward L. Smither explores N
I
some of the most prominent themes of mission in early Christianity, including N
T
suffering, evangelism, Bible translation, contextualization, ministry in Word H
E
and deed, and the church. Based on this survey, modern readers are invited E MISSION IN THE EARLY CHURCH
to a conversation that considers how early Christian mission might inform A
R
global mission thought and practice today. L
Y
C
H
Too many Christians suppose evangelism began when modern Westerners
U
decided to bring the gospel to the ignorant masses of the world’s darkest R Themes and Reflections
C
H
continents. As both a missiologist and ancient church scholar, Edward L.
MsSSieS ntammmu ritdlsiiihistttieihehheoss neeetN rrr cib’ senetiy ensiw tn lthlp sussTeuie r garEerih evfsfaesettocar.sy rWlt miyiglnny oCegrPt tniop htrtt eoiotut nhnhfsraegiec nethss iwdtsw ovhoo iinanratrbyyhe sero d vatftefih hne altTrletasoe ythswd m-trne ohteaoooicpnosl -oosp lCrieivgmeeo ehcdaynrph,rd iMeout scpxhrtrlriptceoaaaaha roncntin dtwtr tisdyu ycgha it eansaBoh n pgmu iod bt lifhd odnla euba n tm htirhI leiinieminsxzst sBgpseotie! diserrattsri yuhrfictoolatae’ysennrl , mc smm cILh halbiiulisssuietrtnssrgfceiicoiooharnhiynnn’ss,,. E
has profound implications for us today. The sheer variety of how this D
W
mighty stream of lay witnesses bore witness to Christ is nothing short of
A
breathtaking! It’s an enjoyable and informative journey — I recommend it. R
D
Timothy C. Tennent, L
.
Professor of World Christianity, Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky S
M
I
T
Edward L. Smither is Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at Columbia H
International University, South Carolina. He is the author of Brazilian E
R
Evangelical Missions in the Arab World (2012) and Rethinking Constantine
(James Clarke & Co, 2014).
James Clarke & Co
P.O. Box 60
Cambridge
CB1 2NT
Edward L. Smither
www.jamesclarke.co
[email protected]
Cover illustration: La conversion de Saint Augustin (1835) by Fra Angelico.
C C
Cover design: Kristen Brack.
Mission in the Early Church
James Clarke & Co
and
The Lutterworth Press
Click on the links above to see our full
catalogue for more excellent titles in
Hardback, Paperback, PDF and Epub!
Mission in the Early Church
ISBN: 9780227902950
C L
Would you like to join our Mailing List?
Click here!
Mission in the Early Church
Themes and Reflections
Edward L. Smither
C
James Clarke & Co
For my students
James Clarke & Co
P.O. Box 60
Cambridge
CB1 2NT
United Kingdom
www.jamesclarke.co
[email protected]
ISBN: 978 0 227 17485 2
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A record is available from the British Library
First published by James Clarke & Co, 2014
Copyright © Edward L. Smither, 2014
Published by arrangement
with Cascade Books
All rights reserved. No part of this edition may be reproduced, stored
electronically or in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without prior written permission from the
Publisher ([email protected]).
Contents
List of Illustrations vi
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
1 Backgrounds 7
2 Who Were the Missionaries? 29
3 Suffering 49
4 Evangelism 74
5 Scripture 91
6 Contextualization 109
7 Word and Deed 127
8 Church 148
Epilogue 165
Bibliography 167
List of Illustrations
Figures
1 Mosaic floor of Sufetula (Sbeitla, Tunisia) baptistery
showing the post-Consantinian chi–rho symbol
(copyright © Marcus Brooks; used with permission) 21
2 Baptistery in the church at Hippo Regius
(Annaba, Algeria) 33
3 Mosaic depicting Daniel in the lions’ den, an inspiration
to suffering North African Christians 52
4 Carthage ampitheatre where Felicitas and Perpetua
and others were put to death 65
5 Chapel where Columba is believed to be buried at Iona 84
6 Facsimile of the Book of Kells at Iona 97
7 St. Martin’s cross at Iona 120
8 Book of Kells page showing Christ
(Wikimedia Commons) 123
9 Basilica of Peace at Hippo where Augustine preached 134
10 Mosaic of North African converted house 152
11 Sufetula (Sbeitla, Tunisia) baptistery
(copyright © Marcus Brooks; used with permission) 157
Table
1 Early Christian Missionaries 35
vi
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is never a one-person show and so there are many
people to thank. As much of the thought for this book has emerged
from classroom discussions over the last several years, I would first like
to thank my students in church history and history of missions classes in
Lynchburg and Columbia who have helped me to clarify my thoughts on
early Christian mission. Further arguments from this work have been field
tested and ironed out through papers given at the Evangelical Missiologi-
cal Society, the Evangelical Theological Society Patristics group, and even
at one conference at the University of Leuven (Belgium); so I am grate-
ful for the feedback of colleagues present at those meetings. Speaking of
colleagues, I wish to thank my teammates at Columbia International Uni-
versity, especially Mike Barnett, David Cashin, and Chris Little, who have
been good sounding boards for parts of this work. I wish to also thank
Marcus Brooks for allowing me to use his excellent photos from Sbeitla,
Tunisia. I must also express a debt of gratitude to a number of scholars of
missions history who have been an inspiration and model to me through
their work. These include Dana Robert, Andrea Sterk, Samuel Moffet, Mi-
chael Green, Alan Kreider, Lamin Sanneh, Kenneth Scott Latourette, and
especially Andrew Walls. Finally, I would like to thank my family—my wife
Shawn and children Brennan, Emma, and Eve—for being the joy of my life
and friendly reminders of when it’s time to stop working and play some.
vii
Abbreviations
ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers
ESV English Standard Version
FC Fathers of the Church
NASB New American Standard Bible
NPNF Nicene Post-Nicene Fathers
WSA Works of Saint Augustine
viii
Introduction
My aim in this book is to begin a discussion about early Christian mis-
sion that will impact how we think about and approach mission today. By
offering a faithful historical narrative and highlighting the innovative work
of intercultural workers, I want to tell some of the story of early Christian
mission from around AD 100 to 750—also known as the patristic period.
The goal of this exercise is to offer meaningful reflection for the modern
global evangelical church as it presses forward in mission.
Studies in the history of Christianity often focus on the development
of Christian thought, key personalities, important events, and movements
within the church. While these are worthy areas of emphasis, I prefer Justo
Gonzalez’s take on Christian history—that “the history of the church is
the history of its mission.”1 Indeed, each Gospel writer (including Luke
in Acts) remembered the following commands and promises as the last
words spoken by the Lord to his disciples: “Make disciples of all the nations
. . . Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation . . . As the
Father has sent Me, I also send you . . . Repentance for forgiveness of sins
would be proclaimed in His [Jesus’] name to all the nations . . . You will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to
the remotest part of the earth.”2 This mandate was to proclaim Christ—his
person and his work (especially his death, burial, and resurrection)—and
to persuade the nations to follow his life, example, and teachings.3 More
1. Cited in Escobar, Changing Tides, 4.
2. Matt 28:19; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8 (NASB); also Irvin and
Sunquist, History of the World Christian Movement, 25; Marshall, “Who Were the Evan-
gelists?,” 256.
3. I am working from the broad definition that evangelism is proclaiming the person
and work of Christ. For more on the essence of the message (kerygma) proclaimed by the
apostles, see Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching; and Green, Evangelism in the Early Church,
76–115.
1
