New book by Michael Gorman on a missional approach to Paul’s letters

Michael Gorman has a new book out that approaches Paul’s letters from a missional perspective, Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission. It is published by Eerdmans and is part of the Gospel and Our Culture Series.

In an interview on the Eerdmans blog he is asked to describe the book in 20 words: ‘Paul calls us not only to believe the gospel but also to become the gospel and thereby to advance the gospel.’

Here is the contents and publisher description:

Invitation: Becoming the Gospel
1. Paul and the Mission of God
2. Reading Paul Missionally
3. Becoming the Gospel of Faith(fulness), Love, and Hope: 1 Thessalonians
4. Becoming and Telling the Story of Christ: Philippians
5. Becoming the Gospel of Peace (I): Overview
6. Becoming the Gospel of Peace (II): Ephesians
7. Becoming the Justice of God: 1 & 2 Corinthians
8. Becoming the Gospel of God’s Justice/Righteousness and Glory: Missional Theosis in Romans
Final Reflections: Becoming the Gospel (Reprise)

The first detailed exegetical treatment of Paul’s letters from the emerging discipline of missional hermeneutics, Michael Gorman’s Becoming the Gospel argues that Paul’s letters invite Christian communities both then and now to not merely believe the gospel but to become the gospel and, in doing so, to participate in the life and mission of God. Showing that Pauline churches were active public participants in and witnesses to the gospel, Gorman reveals the missional significance of various themes in Paul’s letters. He also identifies select contemporary examples of mission in the spirit of Paul, inviting all Christians to practice Paul-inspired imagination in their own contexts. He reveals the missional significance of faithfulness, hope and love in 1 Thessalonians; of Christlike servitude in Philippians; of peace, especially in Ephesians; of cruciform justice in the Corinthian correspondence; and of righteousness and glory in Romans. Finally, Becoming the Gospel identifies select contemporary examples of mission in the spirit of Paul, inviting all Christians to use their Paul-inspired imaginations in their own context to participate more fully in the life and mission of God.