Abstract:
The focus of this article is on the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh, as a way
of talking about and understanding mission and addresses at least two concerns in the
contemporary debate about the missional church. Many missionary methods and strategies
have contradicted both the teaching and actions of Jesus as he trained his disciples to continue
his ministry. The message may have been the gospel, but the way the message was made
known was often not congruent with the gospel. The attempt to interpret mission in terms of
the incarnation of Jesus suggests that the earlier forms of mission strategies should be replaced
by a theology and praxis rooted in and defined by the life and ministry of Jesus. Ephesians 4
provides the key to the theology and praxis by giving us a direct link backward into the
ministry that infused and led the early church in the life and the ministry of Jesus.
