Copyright © 2008 Todd Alan Benkert All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. A BIBLICAL ANALYSIS OF DONALD A. MCGAVRAN'S HARVEST THEOLOGY PRINCIPLE A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Todd Alan Benkert October 2008 UMI Number: 3357125 Copyright 2008 by Benkert, Todd Alan All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3357125 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 APPROVAL SHEET A BIBLICAL ANALYSIS OF DONALD A. MCGAVRAN'S HARVEST THEOLOGY PRINCIPLE Todd Alan Benkert Read and Approved by: Thomas R. Schreiner Date /</ JZ-CfV? / To Heidi, my best friend and partner in life and ministry TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii PREFACE xii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 3 Background 4 Personal Interest 4 Literature Review 8 Methodology 13 Research Methods 13 Definitions 15 Limitations and Delimitations 15 Conclusion 17 2. HARVEST THEOLOGY 18 Introduction 18 The Will and Activity of God: Themes That Contribute to Harvest Theology 19 God Wills Church Growth 19 God Has Made Peoples Receptive to the Gospel 21 McGavran's Harvest Theology 24 The Role of Missions: Harvest Ripe Fields 24 The Means of Missions: Right Strategy and Effective Methods 29 iv Chapter Page The Result of Missions: Numerical Church Growth 36 Summary 40 3. THE ROLE ASSIGNED TO HUMAN AGENTS OF THE GOSPEL 41 The Role of Human Agents in the Gospels 41 The Call of the Disciples 42 The Sending of the Twelve and Seventy-Two Disciples 45 Instructions about the Harvest 47 The Commissioning of the Disciples 52 Summary 61 The Role of Human Agents in the Book of Acts 62 The Commission of the Disciples in Acts 63 Descriptions of Witnessing Activity in Acts 67 The Self-Understanding of the Apostles Concerning Their Roles.... 70 The Self-Understanding of Paul Concerning His Role 74 Summary 77 The Role of Human Agents in the Pauline Epistles 79 Paul and the "Obedience of Faith" 79 Paul as a "Minister of Christ" 83 Paul and Apollos as "Servants" in God's Harvest 85 Paul and His Purpose "to Win" and "to Save" 90 Paul and His Band as "Ambassadors" of Christ 95 Paul and His "Stewardship from God" 98 Summary 100 Preliminary Conclusions 102 4. THE STRATEGY AND METHODS OF GOSPEL AGENTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT 105 The Strategy and Method of the Twelve in the Gospels 106 v Chapter Page The Scope of the Mission 107 The Response to Rejection 108 Summary 110 The Strategy and Method of the Twelve in Acts 110 Were the Twelve Obedient to the Great Commission? 112 The Universal Strategy of the Twelve 117 A Local Strategy 118 Summary 121 Mission Strategy of Paul 122 The Question of a Pauline Strategy 122 Elements of Paul's Overall Strategy 127 Elements of Paul's Local Strategy 133 Elements of Paul's Evangelistic Method 137 Paul's Attitude toward Rhetoric 139 Paul' s Removal of Barriers to the Gospel 144 Summary 152 Preliminary Conclusions 153 5. THE BIBLICAL ATTITUDE TOWARD RESULTS 155 Results in the Gospels 155 Results of the Ministry of Jesus 155 Results in the Parables of Jesus 159 Teachings of Jesus about the Number of the Redeemed 169 Warnings of Jesus Concerning Rejection 173 Summary 174 Results in the Book of Acts 175 Response to the Gospel in Acts 177 vi Chapter Page Theological Significance 181 Summary 183 Results in the Pauline Epistles 184 Paul's Attitude toward Numerical Growth 184 Paul's Success and Numerical Growth 188 Summary 193 Preliminary Conclusions 193 6. ANALYSIS OF MCGAVRAN'S HARVEST THEOLOGY 196 Biblical Analysis of Harvest Theology 196 Harvest Theology and the Role of Mission Agents 196 Harvest Theology and the Means of Mission Agents 199 Harvest Theology and the Results of Mission Efforts 204 Toward a Biblical Theology of Faithfulness and Results 206 Divine Sovereignty and Results 207 Human Responsibility for Results 208 Implications for Ministry 212 Further Research 215 Conclusion 216 BIBLIOGRAPHY 217 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary AGJU Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament BAGD Bauer, W., W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker,. Greek- English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979. BDAG Bauer, W., F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. BibSac Bibliotheca Sacra BST The Bible Speaks Today CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CGB Church Growth Bulletin CGTC Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary ChrCent Christian Century CTJ Calvin Theological Journal CTR Criswell Theological Review CurTM Currents in Theology and Mission DJG Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels DLNT Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters viii EBC The Expositor's Bible Commentary EDBT Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology EDNT Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament EDWM Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions EKK Evangelische-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament EMQ Evangelical Missions Quarterly EQ Evangelical Quarterly ERT Evangelical Review of Theology ExpTim Expository Times GOTR Greek Orthodox Theological Review HNTC Harper's New Testament Commentaries HTR Harvard Theological Review HTCNT Herder's Theological Commentary on the New Testament HTKNT Herders Theologischer Kommantar zum Neuen Testament HUT Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie IBMR International Bulletin of Missionary Research ICC International Critical Commentary IRM International Review of Mission JASCG Journal of the American Society for Church Growth JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JEM Journal of Evangelism and Missions JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series JTS Journal of Theological Studies KEK Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar iiber das Neue Testament LNTS Library of New Testament Studies NAC New American Commentary NCB New Century Bible NCBC New Century Bible Commentary NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NIBC New International Bible Commentary NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NIVAC NIV Application Commentary NovT Novum Testamentum NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum NSBT New Studies in Biblical Theology NTS New Testament Studies OTL Old Testament Library PBTM Paternoster Biblical and Theological Monographs PBM Paternoster Biblical Monographs PNTC The Pillar New Testament Commentary PSB Princeton Seminary Bulletin RB Revue Biblique ResQ Restoration Quarterly RevExp Review and Expositor RHPR Revue D 'Historie et de Philosophie Religieuses SBL Society of Biblical Literature SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SBLSP Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers SBT Studies in Biblical Theology SP Sacra Pagina STR-B Strack, H. L., and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrash. 6 vols. Minich, 1922-1962 SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series SwJT Southwestern Journal of Theology TD Theology Digest TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament TDOT Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentaries TS Theological Studies TynBul Tyndale Bulletin USQR Union Seminary Quarterly Review VT Vetus Testamentum WBC Word Biblical Commentary WLQ Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly WTJ Westminster Theological Journal WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament xi PREFACE Much more goes into the preparation and writing of a doctoral dissertation than one man sitting in an office in a library. I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people who made this journey possible. I am grateful for Dr. George Martin, who served not only as my doctoral supervisor, but also as teacher, boss, counselor, and friend. Above all, Dr. Martin has given me, as he does all his students, a love for missions. The other members of my doctoral committee, Dr. David Sills and Dr. Thomas Schreiner, have provided both instruction and encouragement throughout my doctoral studies. I appreciate the guidance of Dr. Mark Terry, who instilled in me a passion for church planting and helped me become a better writer. Marsha Omanson has been a gracious and tremendously helpful guide in producing this manuscript. I am grateful for my dean, Dr. Chuck Lawless, who through his counsel and example has helped me become a better Christian, and my pastors, Chris Bonts and Chris Gustafson, whose friendship and encouragement have helped me press on toward the mark. My church families at Irvington Baptist Church and Eastern Heights Baptist Church have provided encouragement and prayer support throughout the writing stage. My close friend and brother, Tom Bohnert, has been my sharpening iron and partner in the gospel from the first day until now. A special thanks goes to Dr. Bryan Galloway, who has devoted much of the past year to being my cheerleader.