Chris Wright is an international theologian and author, an ordained pastor, and the Global Ambassador for the Langham Partnership. He is a much-loved speaker and preacher and author of many books, including his latest, The Great Story and the Great Commission.
Given how many Christian books are written each year, why did you write The Great Story and the Great Commission and why now?
It has been a passion of mine to help Christians get hold of the idea that the Bible is one whole narrative. Scripture takes us from creation to new creation, and our role is to live within that story according to the plans and purposes of God. I was attempting to bring those thoughts together, how we read and interpret the Bible, and how that then affects our understanding of mission.
You say mission has become a controversial word. Why?
When people use the word ‘mission’ or ‘missions’, they think only of something that the church does: mission purely in terms of evangelism and church planting. But there are those who say Scripture is much broader than that. It has to be centred on what God has done in Christ through his cross and resurrection to bring salvation to his world, but with that at the centre, there are many things God has called the church to be involved in: to be engaged in society, to be doing good works, as Paul puts it. So there are arguments as to which is more important than the other. And my argument is, that’s the wrong question. It’s a bit like asking; ‘We have to drink water and we have to breathe air: which is more important?’ If you don’t do both, you’re not going to be alive for very long. Our bodies are integrated, holistic systems in which many things operate together. The same thing is true of mission: evangelism and social action. We try to prioritise things, when God says ‘Don’t start arguing as to which is more important. Just go and do it.’
