Deep Dive into Q&A by Brooks Buser, Chad Vegas, Jonathan Master

The concept of "missio Dei," or the mission of God, has become a significant problem in contemporary missions because its interpretation has strayed from its historical and biblical roots, primarily by separating it from the specific missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Historically, missio Dei referred to the Father sending the Son to redeem humanity, and the Father and Son sending the Holy Spirit to apply that redemption. The church's mission was understood as being "caught up in those two missions". However, in some modern missional theology circles, the term has been interpreted so broadly that "everything is a part of mission" if it "in any way shape or form reconciles things".

This expansive view leads to problematic ideas, such as digging a well for people, or even engaging in environmental work like "growing crops sustainably," being labeled as "missions" and part of the missio Dei. Critically, this perspective can even suggest that a non-Christian who "hates Jesus" could be "completing the missio Dei" by performing such good works.

The core issue is that this overly expansive and often humanistic interpretation dilutes the church's true, core mission, which is defined as the "proclamation of the person and work of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit through his word". While this includes church planting, the broad missio Dei concept has been "turned into all sorts of things," creating "a real mess" by obscuring the specific, Christ-centered, and Spirit-empowered task of gospel proclamation.

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