The May/June issue of Modern Reformation is almost here! This new issue, entitled “Embassy of Grace,” is packed with thought-provoking articles, Bible studies, and book reviews. Here’s a glimpse at what’s coming up:

Features

The Ministry of Reconciliation: Embassy of Grace: Like an embassy in a foreign country, the church is a safe haven for its citizens. From its many locations, the policies of the Great King, Jesus Christ, are announced to the world. As Christ’s ambassadors, aren’t we still called to herald this good news to the world in a ministry of reconciliation?
By Michael Horton

“And He Gave Gifts to Men”: What was once regarded as a high calling is now trivialized by the every-member-a-minister movement. When Luther and the Reformers proclaimed that the pastoral office was a necessity and of divine origin, could anyone infer from the Lutheran church’s contemporary practice that we still hold to this? If not, is there a remedy?
By Brent McGuire

Missionalism, Church Style:  If God has elected a small and elite few to be saved, what’s the point of sharing the gospel with anyone? Is being “missional” an answer? Can churches Reformed by definition be truly missional in their ministry?
By Jason J. Stellman

Missions and the Work of the Church: In 1932, Harvard professor Ernest Hocking published Re-Thinking Missions, a stunning rejection of Protestant missions as it had been conducted for almost two centuries. What was the church’s reaction then and what does it mean for us today? The author looks at various responses, notably by Pearl Buck and J. Gresham Machen.
By D. G. Hart

What Do We Do About Sunday School?: Is Sunday school primarily a moral training ground for children, from which adults eventually graduate and mature to making autonomous and acceptable moral choices based on feelings? Or is it still about the gospel and seeing Christ in all the Scriptures?
By Susan E. Erikson

The Church in a Pluralist Society: After Lesslie Newbigin returned from the mission field to his “home” in the West, what did he begin to realize about a theology of mission in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic culture?
By Shane Lems

Ad Extra: Articles Aside

Studies in Acts
Acts 3: The Ambassadors of the Kingdom By Dennis E. Johnson

Focus on Missions
A Servant’s Enduring Faith By Marie Notcheva

From the Hallway: Perspectives on Evangelical Theology
Defending Nothing, Evangelizing No One: “Oh Apologetics, Where Art Thou?” By Craig A. Parton

For a Modern Reformation
Missional & Vocational By Michael Horton

The Latest Ideas Sweeping the Land…

SimChurch:  Being the Church in the Virtual World, By Douglas Estes
Reviewed by Nick Lannon

A Dialogue: In and Out of Our Circles
Defining the Church, White Horse Inn Interview with Edmund Clowney

Lutheranism 101, Edited by Scot A. Kinnaman
Reviewed by John J. Bombaro

Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims, By Daniel R. Hyde
Reviewed by Ryan Kron

Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, By Timothy C. Tennent
Reviewed by John D. “Jady” Koch, Jr.

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, By John Piper
Reviewed by Beryl Clemens Smith

Point of Contact: Books Your Neighbors Are Reading
The Finkler Question, By Howard Jacobson
Reviewed by W. Robert Godfrey