Beyond Snakes and Shamrocks

Somewhere in the mists of time, between history and hagiography, stands the great evangelist and missionary St. Patrick. Raised a ""cultural Christian,"" Patrick's encounter with God during captivity in Ireland transformed his life and the history of a people. Freedom from slavery, and a return home to Britain, produced the divine summons--Vox Hibernia--to return to Ireland and the place of captivity in order to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christian witness in twenty-first-century Vancouver, Seattle, or Portland is a world away from fifth-century Armagh, Slane, or Cashel. Yet, the great evangelist to pre-Christian peoples of Hibernia has much to teach us as we seek to engage our secular, post-Christian context. There is wisdom in the missional leadership of the one we call St. Patrick that goes well beyond tales of snakes and shamrocks. How might Patrick's mission experience with pre-Christian peoples direct our contemporary missional encounter with post-Christian peoples? Come explore the story of the shepherd slave turned shepherd of souls and discover that there is power still in the legacy of Patrick, when yoked with the Spirit-filled presence and purpose of the risen Christ.

""Canadian Ross Lockhart has quickly become one of our foremost interpreters of the church in mission to God's world. In this engaging, fast-paced book, Ross not only draws upon the ancient missional wisdom of missionary St. Patrick, but also gives contemporary church leaders the insights and skills we need to venture forth into God's mission today. Here is missional theology enacted and put in motion by wise, theologically informed, skilled leadership.""
--Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School

""With deft analogical imagination, Lockhart retrieves crucial insights from the missional practice of St. Patrick for twenty-first-century secular society. Finally, a treatment of missional practice willing to be at odds with our context rather than treat it as fate. This book is a treasure.""
--Richard R. Topping, Vancouver School of Theology

""There are many scholars who do history, others who do theology, others who do missions. Ross Lockhart braids these three together and the resultant chord is strong indeed. I not only learned more history and more about God, I put the book down encouraged to take part in God's mission of renewing the cosmos. A fantastic book.""
--Jason Byassee, Vancouver School of Theology

""Many people are looking back to Celtic Christianity as a guide for Christian living today. With wit, charm, and wisdom, Ross Lockhart weaves together the stories of St. Patrick and the story of Cascadia. The result is the best retrieval of Celtic Christian wisdom for transforming missional leadership . . . It will lift your spirit, deepen your convictions, and equip you to follow Jesus in the culture of Cascadia and beyond.""
--Jonathan R. Wilson, Regent College

""Here is an invitation to encounter the spiritual journey of St. Patrick as a resource for our present-day challenges. Lockhart helps us to experience this ancient father of the church as a very modern companion. Patrick's mission is an illuminating model for faithful witness in daunting contexts, both then and now.""
--Darrell Guder, from the Foreword

ROSS A. LOCKHART is Associate Professor at St. Andrew's Hall at The University of British Columbia. He is the founding Director of The Centre for Missional Leadership and author of Lessons from Laodicea: Missional Leadership in a Culture of Affluence (Cascade, 2016).