A Book Review from Books At a Glance
by Jacob C. Boyd
In God Shines Forth, Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves offer a refreshing and deeply theological meditation on the nature of God as the motivating center of Christian mission. Against the backdrop of pragmatic trends and guilt-driven appeals so often found in missional literature, this book reorients the reader toward the radiant glory of the triune God as both the source and goal of evangelism. Written as part of the Union series, the book’s core concern is not to outline methods or strategies for outreach but to recast the vision of mission as a joyful overflow of knowing and delighting in God. As the authors explain in the opening pages, “Our aim is to set before your eyes God as he truly is: God who is so full of life and goodness that he loves to be known… His mission is not to wring out the world for every last drop but to fill it with his own divine joy and beauty” (p. 17). From this theological starting point, they argue that the “wellspring of healthy, happy mission is God himself” (p. 20).
The book unfolds in six chapters, beginning with a biblical theology of God’s radiant self-giving glory. The authors draw from creation, the Psalms, and the mission of Israel to show how God’s nature is to shine forth—to make himself known not for lack but for fullness. The heart of the book lies in the second and third chapters, which explore how this radiance is revealed supremely in the person of Christ. Evangelism, then, is not a marketing of abstract benefits but the proclamation of the glorious Christ who is himself the gospel. “We may offer the world the hope of transformed lives, healed hurts, and renewed communities,” they warn, “but make Jesus the means to these things rather than the center of them all” (p. 56). The final chapters focus on the work of the Holy Spirit, the suffering and weakness of the church in mission, and the final goal of God’s glory filling the earth as the waters cover the sea.
The strengths of God Shines Forth are substantial and deserve careful commendation. First, the book’s greatest contribution is its theological depth over pragmatism. Hames and Reeves offer a needed corrective to contemporary missiology that often privileges techniques, sociological tools, or church growth metrics over the nature and character of God. Their approach resists the temptation to treat theology as background and instead insists that the doctrine of God is the fountainhead of mission. As they note, “Missiology tends to be long on pragmatics and short on theology” (p. 34), and this book offers a powerful response to that trend.
Second, the authors cast a joy-driven, worship-fueled vision of mission. Rather than motivating evangelism through guilt or duty, they frame it as the natural overflow of spiritual delight. “Our going out to the world with the gospel is not an endeavor that Christians have to hitch on to knowing God,” they write, “but rather, the heart-gladdening, feet-quickening reality of God is itself at once all the motivation, the content, and the zest of our going” (p. 83). This vision is not only theologically sound but spiritually liberating, offering encouragement to weary Christians who have grown disillusioned with formulaic approaches to outreach.
Third, the book maintains a Christ-centered clarity throughout. Hames and Reeves rightly warn against using Jesus as a means to promote secondary benefits. In a cultural moment often marked by therapeutic and utilitarian reductions of the gospel, their insistence that Christ himself is the glory of the gospel stands as a much-needed theological guardrail. This emphasis guards against the distortion of mission into a vehicle for moral reform, social improvement, or self-help spirituality.
Fourth, the book provides a robust Trinitarian foundation for mission. Drawing deeply from Scripture and classical theology, the authors show how mission is not merely an external task assigned to the church but a reflection of God’s own triune life. The Father sends the Son, and the Father and Son send the Spirit—making Christian mission a continuation of the divine sending and self-revelation. This theological framing elevates the task of evangelism while rooting it securely in God’s initiative and character.
Fifth, the book offers genuine encouragement for weary evangelists and ordinary Christians. By highlighting God’s delight in using human weakness rather than strength, the authors offer a theology of the cross that counters the “missiology of glory.” As they note, “He does not need my strengths or despise my weaknesses, and this will make me bold in a way I would not naturally be” (p. 108). This perspective offers comfort and courage to those who feel spiritually unqualified or exhausted in evangelistic work.
This view is a source of great comfort to those who sometimes feel spiritually unfit in evangelistic efforts. However, despite all its strengths, it does have some limitations. For example, its abstract and technical theological terminology can make it inaccessible for some readers. The prose is rich and beautiful, but it assumes doctrinal familiarity that would make it difficult for a new believer. Terms like “the radiant self-diffusion of divine blessedness” or “God’s own intra-trinitarian felicity” are meaningful, but are difficult to understand without prior theological knowledge. With such intentional goals about directing the reader’s gaze upon the glory of God, readers at some points may be left inspired but unsure how to apply what they have read. A few clearer bridges between doctrinal insight and pastoral application would help broaden the book’s reach.
Additionally, while the book explicitly avoids offering a missional “strategy,” some readers—especially pastors or missionaries—may find themselves wishing for more concrete application or contextual reflection. The emphasis on theological foundations is appropriate, but occasional practical implications could have strengthened the overall impact. Moreover, the global diversity of the church is not significantly addressed; the examples and theological tone remain largely Western and do not fully engage the global or intercultural dimensions of mission.
God Shines Forth is a theologically rich and devotionally refreshing vision of Christian mission rooted in the beauty of God himself. Hames and Reeves succeed in what they set out to do: to reframe evangelism not as a burdensome duty or a man-centered strategy, but as the radiant overflow of knowing and loving the triune God. While its abstract language may limit accessibility for some, this book remains a valuable contribution to both theology and missiology, especially for those eager to recover the God-centered foundation of gospel witness.
Jacob C. Boyd
Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA