An Unclear Mission

The Jesus Mission by Steven K. Scott

Despite the warning that we should not judge a book by its cover, in the case of The Jesus Mission we are left with few other options. The title insinuates that the four missions that Christ assigns to you and me will be outlined such that we can take them up. Unfortunately, when the reader turns the pages of the Steven Scott’s book, the premise fails to materialize. The author relates story after miraculous story in the lives of people that the author knows but never comes to a point in the poorly organized text.

Author Scott is a rags-to-riches promoter who claims more than once that his monetary and business success is a result of reading the book of Proverbs. In the introductory pages, Scott points out that we as Christians can partner with Christ to pursue four lifelong missions, answering the question “what does God want from me.” The four missions are to become more intimate with God, accelerate your personal growth, empower other believers to better follow Christ and to impact the lives of nonbelievers. The pages devoted to these missions amounts to a scant 22 percent of the entire book, causing Scott to delve into myriad other areas in order to fill out the book.

Digging further into book, the reader is left to wonder who the target audience is. Part three, for example, is entitled What You Never Knew About Jesus That Will Change Your Life. Turning the page to the chapters that follow once again finds the author floundering in fulfillment of his premise. There is nothing in the pages that is wrong, but there is also nothing that growing Christians do not already know. Was this section of the book intended to underpin the ‘missions’ section? If so, the reader would have been better served to have this supporting material interspersed throughout the missions and task lists giving encouragement and edification.

Discovering one’s calling in Christ requires prayer, study and meditation on the scriptures. You can begin by turning to Matthew 28:18-20, committing your life to the words of the Savior therein and then allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your steps going forward. Simple. Sadly, the complexity and organization The Jesus Mission is anything but.

I am grateful to Waterbrook Press who provided this copy for review.