The relevance of Christopher Joseph Herbert Wright’s concept of Missio Dei to Christian mission in Burkina Faso

Abstract

The research demonstrates that many Catholic and Protestant theologians or missiologists have produced useful works on the concept missio Dei. Different approaches can be found according to each scholar and school of thought. Since the appearance of the concept in the Middle Ages, Christian movements (Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, etc.) continue to discuss it to the present. The concept missio Dei is an important tool in missiology. The researcher considers that nowadays, the concept missio Dei has a primordial place in the understanding of the Church mission. Hence, the concept needs a deeper analysis for a dynamic Christian mission in the evangelical context. It has been observed that evangelical churches are not actively engaged in the discussion around this crucial topic in missiology (Wiher 2014:12). However, Wright’s (2006) observed that the debate on the concept remains open. Based on Wright’s Biblical approach, my reflection and focus were on how missio Dei is seen by different scholars’ and church leaders with emphasis on the new theory developed by Wright. In fact, the concept missio Dei emerged around the discussion on the origin of the mission and the missions (Zorn 2004:7), as the principal problem in the early theological debate on the concept. Its concern is whether mission belongs to the Church or to God. Another concern is to know if all the Scriptures talk about mission or only some references in the Bible do so, which constitute the foundation of mission. Consequently, the researcher points out the theological implications of Wright’s thought for evangelical Christian mission in Burkina Faso. Additionally, it also seeks to contribute to the reflection for the development of Missiology as a discipline. Then, the thesis underlines the necessity of contextualisation of Christian mission and missional theology for good accomplishment of Christian mission everywhere.