What if missions isn’t a program to launch but a natural overflow of a healthy local church? In this episode of Leader to Leader, ABWE President Paul Davis sits down with David Schrock, pastor of Occoquan Bible Church and editor-in-chief of Christ Over All, for a wide-ranging conversation on the theological foundations of missions. They discuss why ecclesiology has to come before missiology, why sound doctrine in creation and theology proper protects missionaries from drift on the field, and why the right model of sending looks more like a mature church reproducing itself than a parachurch machine pushing volunteers overseas. Along the way, Schrock draws on his book The Business of Isness to argue that recovering a biblical view of ontology, what things actually are by God’s design, is essential ground for missionary work in a confused age. He also challenges the platform-chasing instincts of celebrity culture and commends the counsel he received as a young man pursuing ministry: devour the Word, share the gospel, and embrace obscurity.
About the Guest
David S. Schrock is pastor for preaching and theology at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia, and serves as editor-in-chief of Christ Over All, a fellowship of pastor-theologians. He holds a B.A. from Albion College and an M.Div. and Ph.D. in systematic theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a founding faculty member at Indianapolis Theological Seminary, an adjunct professor at Boyce College and Southern Seminary, and the author of The Business of Isness among other works. He and his wife Wendy have four children.
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