Missions Methods and Principles
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 57, No. 1 – Fall 2014
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
By Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012. 239 pages. Paperback. $18.97.
Robinson and Wall have attempted to write a commentary on the practical theology of two of the Pastoral Epistles. The foreward suggests that the target audience is “‘main-line, progressive’ churches” (ix). The intent is to bring application to the contemporary church from books that are purported rarely to be read. To be fair, the preface to this book clearly describes one of the authors as “Wesleyan” and the other as “liberal” (xii); labels that they consistently reflect throughout the text.
The outline of the book is clear and easy to follow. The book is divided into eleven chapters and focuses on the pastoral issues the authors suggest those pericopes address. The authors have both practiced and studied pastoral ministry and attempt to merge both the academic and practical aspects of it. Most laudable is the affirmation throughout of the role of the pastor, his influence, and the importance of his ministry. Moreover, the writing style is uncomplicated. Each chapter begins with a translation of the passage under consideration, a section on engaging that pericope as Scripture, followed by instructions for today’s leaders. Though oddly, after the first chapter, the language of the final section is changed to “Congregational Leaders” in every subsequent chapter. It is not clear if any intentional distinction is being emphasized.
The book is not described as a commentary, so it would be unfair to hold it up to those academic standards. However, what does become clear from the first pages is the intent of the authors to challenge conservative interpretations of 1 and 2 Timothy. The favorite attack of the book is against the view of male pastors, repeatedly referring to the passages in 1 Timothy which suggest the delimitation of the role of the pastor to males as “texts of terror” (4, 8, 58, 127). The authors asperse the traditional view as artless, tortured, selectively applied, proof-texts of self-interest, sinful, and fracturing to the body of Christ (8-9).
In addition to male leadership, the authors question the historicity of the text (9) and seem conflicted over the role of Paul as author of the books of 1 and 2 Timothy. This may reflect different parts of the book as having been written by different authors, but at one point the book affirms Pauline authorship of the books (5), while at another point concludes that the author of 1 and 2 Timothy cannot be known (9-12) and merely consigning it to a matter of “tradition” (11). Most egregious for this reviewer was the reference to the discussion of the virgin birth as idle speculation (41).
Call for importance of missions (49), holy living (93), order in the church (107), the need for courage on the part of believers (160), enduring through suffering (173), and a core belief in the resurrection of Christ (186), stand out as strengths of the book and challenges for pastors and church leaders. Unfortunately, these are often overshadowed by the author’s campaign against inerrancy and the historicity of the text.
The research of the book is sometimes difficult to track. The book frequently refers to “most” or “some” scholars, but rarely backs up those statements with evidence (cf. pp. 16, 17, 45, 48, 52, 54, 58, 90, 93ff ). Given that the intended target audience is pastor-scholars, the selective and limited research along with the other concerns listed here make this volume difficult to recommend.
