Book Review of Great Commission, Great Compassion by Paul Borthwick

Great Commission, Great Compassion: Following Jesus and Loving the World
by Paul Borthwick
ISBN 978-0-8308-4437-1
IVP Books
Reviewed by Clint Walker

I have read several books on united God's command to be compassionate through acts of mercy and justice with the command to make disciples and evangelize. I applaud them all, although after reading many of these kinds of books, I have become overly familiar with the material they share. Great Commission, Great Compassion, however, is different.

One thing that I noticed about this book is that its target is more formational that informational. While sharing the biblical foundation for both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, Paul Borthwick also give word pictures and numerically organized practices to form his readers heart to live out the call to share the gospel in word and deed.

Then, after communicating need and forming the hearts of its readers Great Commission, Great Compassion moves its readers toward an concrete action plan. This action plan, called "lifestyle imperatives" combines spiritual disciplines of folks that are truly mission minded with concrete lifestyle changes that allow persons to engage in mission. Starting with simply being teachable and looking at the world differently, Borthwick moves people toward hospitality, generosity, advocacy and action.

This would be a great resource to teach from. Points of the book can be easily committed to memory, and the processes here are helpful in developing a step by step plan of growth in a "whole gospel" Christian. Great Commission, Great Compassion deserves a wide readership.