Missions by the Book contains a light critique of CPM/DMM but is probably a response to it. Rather than a critique, it is written from a positive stance advocating a biblical basis of missions (and thus the book’s title). One of the main points is that the Bible gives us a method for missions, and we are not to depart from that method. (They acknowledge this will be hard for some readers to accept.) It strongly emphasizes the proclamational model and has a message similar to that of Matt Rhodes’ No Shortcut to Success. In fact, Rhodes asked Vegas to “[look] over the manuscript for theological and scriptural soundness” (Acknowledgements, para. 2). The authors also cover numerous other topics, including the role of the Holy Spirit in missions, the theology of the church in missions, missionary suffering, the scope of the missions (the “nations”), the motivation for missions, and the exclusivism of Christ—among others.
If you’re wanting a stronger and more direct critique of CPM by these authors, you’d be better off reading this article by Chad Vegas or these articles by Alex Kocman.
Buy it here (Amazon).
Citations:
Rhodes, Matt. No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.
Vegas, Chad, and Alex Kocman. Missions by the Book: How Theology and Missions Walk Together. Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2021.
