In this comprehensive history of American foreign-mission thought from the colonial period to the current era, William R. Hutchinson analyzes the varied and changing expressions of an American "sense of mission" that was more than religious in its implications. His account illuminates the dilemmas intrinsic to any venture in which one culture attempts to apply its ideals and technology to the supposed benefit of another.

After 57 years of service involving Asia, Africa and Latin America, a veteran missionary is calling for a reformation in the way foreign missionary work is done. Bob Finley advocates the withdrawal of all American missionaries from foreign countries, and recommends supporting indigenous missions instead. He contends that there is no precedent formodern missions in the New Testament, no mention of apostles going to work in foreign countries, or anyone else being sent to serve where he did not know the local language.This book is a must read for pastors,missions committee members, professors of missions, and all other Christians who are interested in foreign missionary activities of American evangelicals.

Inside a U.S. Embassy is widely recognized as the essential guide to the Foreign Service. This all-new third edition takes readers to more than fifty U.S. missions around the world, introducing Foreign Service professionals and providing detailed descriptions of their jobs and firsthand accounts of diplomacy in action. In addition to profiles of diplomats and specialists around the world-from the ambassador to the consular officer, the public diplomacy officer to the security specialist-is a selection from more than twenty countries of day-in-the-life accounts, each describing an actual day on.

The year 1810 marks the start of the North American foreign missions movement -- a movement begun with typical American enthusiasm and vigor but in need of practical grounding. This volume explores important facets of the development of North American foreign missions, paying particular attention to the role agencies like the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) played in shaping the theology, theory, and policy of evangelistic activities overseas. Written by leading experts on missions and religious history, this volume is distinguished by its focus on key events taking place at the home base rather than on happenings in the foreign mission field. In doing so, these insightful studies shed light on important yet neglected topics, including the impact of debates about slavery on foreign missions, the emergence of distinctive mission strategies for women, the role of the social gospel as a missionary ideology, and the contribution of foreign missions to the creation of a global evangelical network. Contributors: Alvyn AustinRuth Compton Brouwer, Wendy J. Diechmann Edwards, Janet F. Fishburn, Paul Harris, David W. Kling, Charles A. Maxfield III, Susan Wilds McArver, John F. Piper Jr., Dana L. Robert, Richard Lee Rogers, Wilbert R. Shenk, Carol Ann Vaughn. bThis excellent volume will command widespread attention not only for its display of scholarly expertise but for the fresh and revealing light it throws on the principal landmarks and major themes in the history of missionary expansion overseas.b -- Andrew Porter Kingbs College London