On Season 2 Episode 5, “Lesslie Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology with Michael Goheen,” we talk with professor, missiologist, and author Michael Goheen about his expansive knowledge of the life and work of Lesslie Newbigin. Goheen specifically focuses on Newbigin’s development of a missional ecclesiology for the West.

It’s a perfect time to talk about Newbigin, the “patron saint” of the missional theology world. His work will be influential at the 2019 Intersection Conference as we discuss “For the Sake of the World: An Anglican Missional Ecclesiology.”

In the first part of the podcast, our host Erik Willits asks Goheen about his Newbigin scholarship and how it’s shaped his life, as well as Goheen’s brand-new book, Church and Its Vocation: Lesslie Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology. Goheen tells us what we need to know about Lesslie Newbigin the person, and why his insights are more valuable today than ever.

You’ll learn more by studying a person and diving into his life than you’ll ever learn studying a theme.
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On the second part of the podcast, Goheen talks about the Newbigin paradigm and how it informs our work in contemporary North America. He also explains the enduring nature of Newbigin’s work through the decades.

The gospel is like a caged lion. It does not need to be defended but liberated.
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The last portion of the podcast focuses on the origins of Newbigin terms like “missionary encounter” and “resident aliens.” Goheen shares how Newbigin understood the gospel to present a vision for the whole of human life.

The gospel can only be known by how the church lives and proclaims it.
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