A theology of missio Dei

Abstract

In the popular usage, the primary definition of missio Dei is that mission is not something the church does, but God does. John Flett follows this with two further affirmations: as God is missionary, so the community which worships Him is missionary; and secondly that mission is set within an eschatological perspective and becomes the determining factor ‘between the times’. This article aims to correct the popular definition of the term by drawing on the work of Karl Barth, arguing that reconciliation across boundaries lies at the heart of the missio Dei.