Missionary Motivations with Matt Burden

The Gospel Mobilization Podcast

What motivates today’s believers to obey the missionary call? Perhaps it’s the lostness of humankind, the glory of God, or the desire to obey Scripture. As mobilizers, it’s important for us to understand what motivates those who answer the call, so we’re blessed to hear from Mathew Burden on this episode as he gives insights as to what motivated those the early Church sent out. Matthew is a scholar of historical missiology and has authored the book, Missionary Motivations. Here’s what host, Dave Jacob asked him during the interview:

1. Tell us about the book and why you wrote it.
2. Why is it important for mobilizers to understand the missionary motivations of the early church?
3. In your book, you mention that the reign of Christ is what primarily "drove the missional expansion of the early church." What do you mean by that?
4. I was intrigued to read about Columbanas and his ministry of planting monasteries. Tell us about him and how his ministry was missional.
5. Patrick was also a prominent figure in early church missions. What makes his story so important for the church today?
6. What are some of your main conclusions in your book that you feel is important for mobilizers to understand?
7. Can you expand on this quote from pages 124-125? "Mission flowed from the grand ambition to know Jesus more and to be made like him, much as the apostle Paul expressed it in his letters. If we are to do mission in the spirit of early Christianity, then holiness of life must be among our highest goals."