David Bosch

David Jacobus Bosch (13 December 1929 – 15 April 1992) was an influential missiologist and theologian best known for his book Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission — a major work on post-colonial Christian mission. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK), also known by its English abbreviation DRC. On Freedom Day, 27 April 2013, he posthumously received the Order of the Baobab from the President of South Africa "for his selfless struggle for equality ... and his dedication to community upliftment. By doing so, he lived the values of non-racialism against the mainstream of his own culture."

In 1982 he promoted an open letter to the DRC, signed by more than 100 pastors and theologians, publicly condemning apartheid and calling on the church to unite with black churches.

Bosch also bridged evangelical and ecumenical divisions in the global church, participating in both the Lausanne Congress and World Evangelical Alliance events, while also serving the World Council of Churches. He was an active member of the International Association for Mission Studies, the key leader and inspiration of the South African Missiological Society, and founding editor of its journal, Missionalia.

He was fluent in Xhosa, Afrikaans, Dutch, German and English, and lectured widely in Europe, Britain, and North America.

Missiologist Wilbert R. Shenk, senior Professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, writes the following of Bosch in the foreword to Believing in the Future

Transforming mission Bosch wrote more than 150 journal articles and six books, including his magnum opus "Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission" (1991), which was jointly published by the American Society of Missiology and the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America's Orbis Books.

The book was praised as groundbreaking by Hans Küng who called it the first book on mission to implement paradigm theory. Lesslie Newbigin nominated it a new standard calling it "a kind of Summa Missiologica" in reference to Thomas Aquinas' foundational thirteenth-century work Summa Theologiae. It was selected as one of the "Fifteen Outstanding Books of 1991" by the International Bulletin of Missionary Research and is available in at least 13 languages.

The book surveys paradigms of mission both in the New Testament (reflecting Bosch's careful use of New Testament criticism to trace how mission dynamics shaped scriptural forms and transformations) and through Church history (highlighting that mission has always been shaped for good or ill by its context). He then explores in detail what he sees as an emerging post-modern or ecumenical missionary paradigm.

Death Bosch died in a motor accident in 1992, aged 62.

Family life Bosch was married to Annemie Bosch. She was a significant influence on his life and work, and he often acknowledged her contributions to his writing and teaching. She supported him in his work and helped to create an environment in which he could thrive as a scholar and teacher. She also played an important role in his personal life and was a source of strength and encouragement to him. She continued to be involved in promoting his legacy and the study of missiology.

He had seven children: Fritz Bosch, Dawie Bosch, Annelise Coetzee, Anton Bosch, Gregory Bosch, Pieter Bosch and Jacques Bosch.

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Works

(published by his wife after his death)