Lesslie Newbigin's Contribution to Mission Theology

Lesslie Newbigin (1909-98) was one of the outstanding Christian leaders of the twentieth century.' This brief essay considers Newbigin's contribution to theology from the perspective of the Christian mission. He lived a long and full life and continued to write and speak right up to the end. His writings span six decades. In this appreciation of Newbigin's oeuvre as reflected in his writings, I note the characteristics that distinguish his work and assess the impact of his thought and its continuing relevance. A fitting starting point is the formative experience he records in his autobiography.' He entered Cambridge University in 1928 an agnostic, but during his first year at university the example of an older student challenged him to consider the Christian faith. The following summer, at age nineteen, he joined a Quaker service center in South Wales that provided recreational services to unemployed miners. The coal mining industry was depressed, and the situation bleak and hopeless. One night as he lay in bed overwhelmed with concern for these men, he saw"a vision of the cross" touching, as it were, heaven and earth.' Its outstretched arms touched the whole world and the whole of life. This experience left an indelible imprint on him, furnishing the point from which Newbigin would thereafter take his bearings. The cross as clue became a central motif for his life. Furthermore, his relationship with God was intimate and vivid, nurtured by continual communion. From this time he was one of God's partisans. Newbigin was highly disciplined. He mastered the basics of whatever he was studying and prepared thoroughly for each assignment.' When he arrived in India in 1936, he immediately set out to attain proficiency in Tamil, a language nonnative speakers find difficult to master. Next he deepened his under­ standing of the culture and religion of India by spending many hours with the Ramakrishna Mission reading alternately the Svetasvara Upanishad and John's gospel in the original lan­ guages. This attitude of readiness to fearlessly confront the intellectual and theological demands of each situation continu­ ously drew him into dialogue with a range of viewpoints, regard­ less of whether or not he found them congenial. By force of personality and giftedness, Newbigin early emerged as a missionary statesman and ecumenical leader of substance. His views were never parochial, and yet he remained rooted in the local-be that the rural villages of Tamil Nadu, urban Madras, or inner city Winson Green in Birmingham. He modeled what it means to contextualize Christian witness by immersing oneself in the language and culture of a particular people. Rather than narrowing or limiting one's view, true contextualization will extend one's horizon. Lesslie Newbigin was a frontline thinker because of an uncommon ability to sense the emerging issue that must be addressed at the moment. This trait is not to be confused with the pursuit of fads. He abhorred faddishness. What captured his attention were the issues that impinged on the future of the church and its obedience in mission: the nature of the church in relation to unity and mission, the relevance of the Trinity, the