Roots and Fruit

Scotland has played a major role in the worldwide movement of Christian mission. Equally, the missionary movement has played a big part in Scotland's story. There have been many studies of particular people, places and periods which feature in this story. The distinctive contribution of this book is its attempt to offer a comprehensive and synchronic assessment of the movement as a whole. It examines the development of Scottish mission theory and practice from the formation of the Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge in 1709 until the present day. It explores some of the leading features of the movement through original analysis from leading scholars in the field. The essays it contains increase understanding of a dimension of Scotland's story that is often overlooked or forgotten. They also contribute to our understanding of the modern missionary movement and suggest lessons that can be learned by those taking fresh mission initiatives in many different contexts today. The photograph on the front cover shows Rev Dr J.W. Arthur (1881-1952) receiving new communicants into church membership in Kenya during the 1920s. It is reproduced here by kind permission of the Church of Scotland World Mission Council and with sincere thanks to the National Library of Scotland. ...a seminal text that celebrates and critiques three hundred years of Scottish mission history. Professor Roderick R. Hewitt, Academic Leader - Theology and Ethics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa If reading means nodding and sighing, it is especially true for this sophisticated but enjoyable mission history. Rev. Professor Kyo Seong Ahn, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, Seoul, Korea This book... clearly opens up lessons that can be applied to the development of mission thinking and practice in different contexts, specifically the contemporary heartlands of the Christian Church in Africa and Asia. Professor Cephas N. Omenyo, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana Kenneth R. Ross, parish minister at Netherlorn in Argyll and Hon Fellow at the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity, has had a life-long involvement with the Scottish missionary movement. He has served as Professor of Theology at the University of Malawi and General Secretary of the Church of Scotland Board of World Mission. His recent publications include the Atlas of Global Christianity (2009), Mission Spirituality and Authentic Discipleship (2013) and Malawi and Scotland: Together in the Talking Place since 1859 (2013).