Mission as Penance
Essays on the Theology of Mission from a Canadian Context
Foreword by Allan Effa
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
Mission as Penance explores the posture of Christian mission in Canada, while also uncovering the theological roots that gave birth to the sense of cultural and religious superiority that led to profound harm to others and to God's creation. The story begins by an examination of Johan Bavinck's famous 1954 claim that "mission is thus the penance of the church which is ashamed before God and man." By drawing on his work through forty years in theological education and pastoral ministry, Fensham prescribes a pathway that liberates the church from power games, numerical growth, and preoccupation with programs and technology, to focus instead on genuine listening, solidarity, and love in action. True penance is never satisfied with passivity, nor should it result in a state of paralysis. For a posture of humble penance to be fruitful, it must lead toward concerted action toward change, advocacy for justice, compassion for the marginalized, and care for creation. If mission in Canada is engaged in this way, the Christian faith might cease to do harm and build a new life-giving community of healing.
Charles J. Fensham is professor of systematic theology at Knox College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. He is the author of Emerging from the Dark Age Ahead: The Future of the North American Church (2008); To the Nations for the Earth: A Missional Spirituality (2013); and Misguided Love: Christians and the Rupture of LGBTQI2+ People (2019).
“The collected essays by Reformed theologian Charles Fensham contribute to important conversations about public missiology. Fensham applies the lens of ‘penance’ to urgent issues such as settler colonialism and the oppression of First Nations peoples, gender identities, ecology and climate change, and the legacies of Canadian eurocentrism. Theologically astute and engaging, this thoughtful volume furthers the decolonization of North American missiology. I look forward to using it in classes on mission theology.”
—Dana L. Robert, director, Center for Global Christianity and Mission, Boston University
“If we can speak of mission as transformation, as some have done, or mission as reconciliation, as others have done, then Charles Fensham’s call for mission as penance moves us to account for the nuanced implications of both. Nourished in the Christian tradition and guided by the biblical witness to God’s ultimate purposes, he encourages (even goads!) his readers to a fresh imagination and practice of the way of penance. This book promises to renovate the character of Christian faithfulness in today’s world.”
—George R. Hunsberger, professor emeritus of missiology, Western Theological Seminary
“Charles Fensham’s Mission as Penance is a necessary addition to contemporary Christian missiology. His masterful opening sections give clarity and depth to the call for penance as central to contextual Christian witness. The closing sections then bring this perspective into dialogue with missiological discourse in the midst of social and ecological crisis. I recommend this work for both academic courses in missiology and study by anyone engaged in Christian mission.”
—Robert Hunt, professor of Christian mission and interreligious relations, SMU Perkins School of Theology
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