The Congregation as Hermeneutic of the Gospel

“For many of us missiologists, Lesslie Newbigin serves as one of our heroes. While scholars have mined his writings for years, few have unpacked the significance of his argument that the ‘local congregation is the hermeneutic of the gospel.’ Shawn Behan fills this lacuna in a meaningful way. I can think of few topics more important in our contemporary society. We desperately need local congregations that embody the gospel in word and action.”


—Gregg A. Okesson, Ira Gallaway and D.M. Beeson Chair of Leadership Development, Mission, and Evangelism, Asbury Theological Seminary





“Shawn Behan provides a fresh and nuanced discussion of Lesslie Newbigins’s complex concept of the congregation as a hermeneutic of the gospel. His exploration of Newbigin’s corpus of writing provides a robust understanding of the missionary nature of the church, which he argues is central to the purpose and identity for the church in the world.”


—A. Sue Russell, professor of missions and contextual studies, Asbury Theological Seminary





“Shawn Behan has done a great service to all who are intrigued by Lesslie Newbigin’s sense that the local congregation is the ‘hermeneutic of the gospel’ for the people among whom it lives. Behan traces this notion and its implications throughout Newbigin’s published works to plumb its depths and nourish imagination for the formation of Christian communities that live by its wisdom. This is a book we’ve needed, by an author competent to write it.”


—George R. Hunsberger, professor emeritus of missiology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan