The Gospel and Western Culture: Revisiting the Missiology of Lesslie Newbigin
January 22, 2026 Speaker: Bob Thune Series: Quarterly Gatherings
Topic: Leadership
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In 1984, Bishop Lesslie Newbigin delivered the Warfield Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary. Two years later, those lectures were published under the title Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture.
More than forty years on, Newbigin’s reflections continue to resound with remarkable freshness and insight. In the decades since, the church has witnessed the rise and fall of the church growth movement, the emergent-church conversation, and the ex-vangelical exodus—each failing to answer Newbigin’s central question: what would it look like for the church to have a missionary encounter with modern Western culture?
At this TGC Nebraska gathering, we revisited that question together. As those committed to a missionary encounter with the world around us, we reflected on our shared desire to see non-Christians become Christians, churches grow by conversion, and society transformed by the gospel—and on the reality that these outcomes require more than good intentions.
Drawing from Newbigin’s own missionary experience in India, as well as his deep engagement with philosophy and theology, Bob led us in a conversation exploring Newbigin’s critique of the Enlightenment, his diagnosis of Western secularism, and the enduring relevance of his proposals for gospel ministry today.
Though Foolishness to the Greeks turns forty in 2026, its wisdom remains ever-new. This conversation asked: What did Newbigin see about our culture that we often miss? What did he propose that we have yet to implement? And how might returning to his insights help us move forward in faithful gospel mission?
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