The Mission and Ministry of the Church in England - by Michael Nazir-Ali (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Prominent evangelical churchman Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali examines the complex reality of English Christianity from its origins to the present"--

Book Synopsis

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali draws on the rich history of Ecclesia Anglicana, the complex reality that has been the English church from the beginning - he discusses its glories, achievements, vicissitudes and failures; as well as the expansion and adaptation of this 'Anglican' heritage to different parts of the world and many cultures.

Nazir-Ali starts with the different ways in which England was first evangelized and how, in turn, the Church of (or in) England (Ecclesia Anglicana) was able to send missionaries to continental Europe for primary evangelism and church planting. He examines the more recent past with the evangelical and Catholic revivals in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and their significance for mission both at home and abroad. The formation of mission agencies gave a new impetus to mission, challenging people to give, to pray, and to go. He then considers what we can learn from mission today in different parts of the world; providing specific examples of such missionary activity of the churches in Nigeria and Kenya, as well as the churches in South East Asia.

The book examines how the gospel connects with culture, what we need to learn from the global Church about mission and ministry, the different models for mission and ministry, ranging from the incarnational to the itinerant, from inculturation to social and political activism and from embassy to hospitality.

Review Quotes

"Michael Nazir-Ali draws on his own experience as a bishop in Pakistan and the UK, as Head of a major mission society, and as a theologian of immense experience of dialogue with other traditions and faiths. In so doing, he reflects on what is and has been characteristic of the English church tradition. The result is a wide canvas indeed in which insights and examples drawn from missiology, ethics, church history and inter-faith dialogue, liturgical development and sacramental theology, constitutional theory and cultural understanding all find a place." - Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter 2000-2013, UK

"Father Michael writes as a member of the Ordinariate in the Catholic Church. His lived experience of Islam, as well as his familiarity with the situation of the English Churches in a rapidly secularising culture makes it possible for him to offer an authentic Catholic commentary that is both prescient and challenging. This volume reflects these qualities." - Father Alexander Sherbrooke, St Patrick's Catholic Church, UK

"Michael Nazir-Ali, one of 21st-century Christianity's noble spirits, makes the terms "evangelization" and "inculturation" come alive in this insightful study of the history of Christian England, which teaches valuable lessons about being a Church permanently in mission -- a Church in which everyone accepts the responsibilities of a missionary vocation and everywhere is mission territory." - George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center, USA

"As always, Michael Nazir-Ali writes clearly and engagingly. He has a gift for illustrating a big picture with detailed examples. He combines a passion for mission with concern for faith and order and for the moral/social implications of Christian discipleship - all within a realistic view of history and a hope that lies beyond history. The story of Ecclesia Anglicana is long and clearly unfinished; one pressing question for all who value the elusive concept of "Anglican patrimony" is how that patrimony can best be cherished and developed for future generations. In the light of the current fragmentation of the Anglican Communion, impaired communion within the Church of England itself and the innovation of the Ordinariates perhaps we might hope for a second edition in a few years' time." - John Hind, Bishop emeritus of Chichester, UK

About the Author

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali is the director of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue, Oxford, UK.