Paul the Missionary

Biblical Foundations Book Award Eckhard Schnabel's two-volume Early Christian Mission is widely recognized as the most complete and authoritative contemporary study of the first-century Christian missionary movement. Now in Paul the Missionary Schnabel condenses volume two of the set, drawing on his research to provide a manageable study for students of Paul as well as students and practitioners of Christian mission today. Schnabel first focuses the spotlight on Paul's missionary work--the realities he faced, and the strategies and methods he employed. Applying his grasp of the wide range of ancient sources and of contemporary scholarship, he clarifies our understanding, expands our knowledge and corrects our misconceptions of Paul the missionary. In a final chapter Schnabel shines the recovered light of Paul's missionary methods and practices on Christian mission today. Much like Roland Allen's classic Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? of nearly a century ago, Schnabel offers both praise and criticism. For those who take the time to immerse themselves in the world of Paul's missionary endeavor, this final chapter will be both rewarding and searching.

"Paul the Missionary is a joy: rigorous in its scholarship, clearly written, and relevant. It is a welcome antidote, first to those studies of Paul that focus exclusively on his theology while totally ignoring the fact that he was a missionary and, second, to all missiological methodology that is rooted in pragmatics rather than in theology and Scripture. Twenty-first century missionaries, students, New Testament scholars, pastors, and all thinking Christians would profit from this book."--Keith Ferdinando, Theological Book Review, 2009, "A reliable guide to students of Paul. A fresh study of Paul's mission work with the stated aim of undesrtanding the goals that the apostle had and the methods he used."--Greg Goswell, New Life, May 28, 2009, "Although Paul the Missionary is not a quick read, it is a rewarding one. New Testament scholars, missiologists and missionaries, and local pastors like me will profit from Schnabel's focused attention on Scripture. And ministers of the gospel will profit through extended reflection on the theology and praxis of Paul, whose example is well worth imitating."--George P. Wood (www.georgepwood.com), February 6, 2009, "Invaluable to pastors, teachers, students, missionaries, and missiologists that see their work as closely related to that of Paul."--Thomas M. Anderson, Religious Studies Review, March 2010, "Schnabel invites the reader to a biblical feast that is both academic and spiritually refreshing. Should prove to be influential in ongoing Pauline and mission studies."--Edward L. Smither, Criswell Theological Review, Fall 2009

Eckhard J. Schnabel is professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and author of Early Christian Mission (2 volumes), Der erste Brief des Paulus an die Korinther and numerous articles.