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The Colouring of Grey Literature
A review of “JVT quotes” and “Answers on a 
Postcard” 

“JVT quotes,” a resource by Jonny 
Baker (https://jonnybaker.blogs.com/)

“Answers on a postcard” a resource 
by Rev. Jon Marlow (https://www.
marlow.me.uk/) 

Reviewed by Steve Taylor
Te Ara Poutama Tuatahi Co-designer, AngelWings Ltd; Senior Lecturer, Flinders 
University; Honorary Lecturer, Aberdeen University 
kiwidrsteve@gmail.com

Grey literature is a technical term used to describe materials 
from organisations where publishing is not the producing body’s 



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166

primary activity (Schöpfel and Farace, 2010). It commonly in-
cludes reports, working papers, government documents, white 
papers and evaluations. Turning to ecclesially-grounded mission, 
examples could include Lenten Bible studies, video resources like 
Fresh Expressions DVDs, produced in the UK by the Church of 
England, or position papers on the funding of mission or strategic 
reviews. 

While the academy produces books, the grey literature pro-
duced by ecclesial organisations equally articulates a missiology. 
Hence, they invite review concerning their missiological strengths 
and weaknesses. In this review, I consider two “visual mission 
resources” as potential examples of grey literature. Attractively 
presented, seeking to shape ecclesial futures, both invite reflection 
on the possibilities and limits of the visual in ecclesially-grounded 
missiology. 

“JVT quotes” are a visual mission resource produced by Jon-
ny Baker and distributed through Out of the Box Cards (www.out-
ofthebox.cards). The resource involves thirty printed cards, each 6 
cm by 9 cm. On one side are the words “JVT quotes,” white letters 
on a black background. On the other side is a quote taken from 
mission leader John V. Taylor (hence JVT quotes), positioned cre-
atively in relation to a photograph taken by Jonny Baker. The thirty 
cards are attractively presented in a folded cardboard box, which 
provides further detail—“JVT. A Selection of quotes from Imagin-
ing Mission with John V Taylor, Jonny Baker and Cathy Ross.”  

John V. Taylor (1914–2001) was an English Christian leader. 
Ordained by the Church of England as a priest in 1938, he spent 
nine years serving as a missionary in theological education. He 
later became General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society 
in 1963, then Bishop of Winchester from 1974 to 1984.

Recently, Dr Cathy Ross, CMS Director of Pioneer Mission 
Leadership Training Centre, gained access to Taylor’s travel diaries 
while General Secretary of CMS. This pointed her to another “grey 
literature” source, the  CMS Newsletters, a personal communica-
tion from the General Secretary to CMS members. Cathy read 
124 of the CMS Newsletters written by John V. Taylor and found 



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herself marvelling “at the contemporary and challenging nature 
of Taylor’s writings” (Baker and Ross, 2020: x). With Jonny Baker 
she wrote  Imagining Mission with John V. Taylor. In promoting 
the book, key quotes were linked with visuals, resulting in “JVT 
quotes” as a visual resource.

“JVT quotes” offer a missiology made accessible. The visual 
format provokes curiosity, while the quotes show the value of a 
well-turned phrase. Quotes like “look to the fringes,” “dangerous 
openness,” and “the magnetism of Jesus Christ,” are poetic in qual-
ity, opening up new imaginative space. “JVT quotes” succeed in 
presenting the insights of a fine mission mind afresh.  

However, the use of contemporary photographs forcibly 
frames John V. Taylor into our contemporary world, at times in 
ways that jar. The quote “guardians of universality” is positioned on 
a photograph of a person wearing a hazmat suit. The photograph, 
in a time of COVID, suggests a very different sort of guardian than 
that imagined by John V. Taylor. Another jar is the appearance of 
gender-exclusive language, evident in John V. Taylor’s definition of 
mission—“seeing what God is doing in a situation and trying to do 
it with him.” The gendered language used of the Divine is rendered 
more strange by the contemporary nature of the photographs, par-
ticularly of modern architecture and graffiti. 

The priority of visual is a reminder that colours speak, con-
veying mood and emotion. Ten of the thirty cards work primarily 
in black and white. The overall sense evoked by the palette is thus 
of a sombre missiology, a contrast to colours often associated with 
imagination and creativity. 

How might “JVT quotes” be used? Personally, I have used 
them during Lent, randomly choosing a card each day as an en-
couragement to think missiologically on the Easter journey. Edu-
cationally, they could serve as conversation starters, shuffled, then 
handed to groups. Even gendered language invites rich conversa-
tion about the images of God needed to sustain contemporary 
mission. 
A second visual resource from the English Anglican stable is “An-
swers on a Postcard.” This ecclesially-focused mission resource 



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was developed by Rev. Jon Marlow, who at the time was Mission 
Community Development Team Leader for the Diocese of Ex-
eter. “Answers on a Postcard” is an image-based exercise, shaped 
by Marlows doctoral work in different ‘ways of seeing’ and the 
implications for contemporary mission. His work in Exeter in-
volved helping Deaneries and Mission Communities to develop 
strategic Mission Action Plans. He created his own postcards 
to facilitate this work, printing a range of colourful images onto 
cards (see  http://www.marlow.me.uk/index.php/answers-on-a-
postcard/). The brightly coloured images were used as prompts to 
clarify values and capture dreams into how they see God at work 
now and in the future. 

The conversations that developed were then analysed the-
matically, enabling clarity in planning both locally and across the 
Diocese. As a result, over 1000 people across his Diocese engaged 
in significant conversations about future mission. 
Again, as with “JVT quotes,” we note the power of the visual. Invit-
ing people to think visually opens up different sorts of conversa-
tions and other ways of thinking. Accessibility is possible for those 
without formal theological training. The visual creates curiosity. 
With every picture worth a thousand words, rich conversations are 
possible. Both resources point to the power of the visual in shaping 
ecclesial imaginations. Both visual resources are a contemporary 
expression of a rich seam of mission activity that in times past in-
cluded newsletters, mission photography, even slide shows. 

While Christianity is often perceived as a book-based cul-
ture, the visual is an essential way to explore discipleship. A feature 
of the calls to follow Jesus in John 1 are the priority on seeing. 
Looking and seeing are affirmed six times (1.36; 38; 39; 42; 46; 48) 
as essential in the calling of Andrew, Simon Peter and Nathanael. 
Hence both “JVT quotes” and “Answers on a Postcard” meet the 
definition of “grey literature.” They articulate a missiology in 
which colour and image are integrated into God’s mission. Each 
demonstrate concrete ways that ecclesial organisations can use the 
visual in shaping ecclesial imaginations. 



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At the same time, these resources point to an irony in the 
term “grey literature.” The use of visuals suggests a more accurate 
description could be “colourful literature” instead of “grey litera-
ture.” Changes in technology, including photo editing and print on 
demand, along with cameras on cell phones, make all of us poten-
tial providers of “colourful literature.” “JVT quotes” and “Answers 
on a Postcard” act as inspiring examples of ways to add colour to 
the greyness of local denominational mission literature. 

Bibliography

Baker, J. and Ross, C. Imagining Mission with John V. Taylor. London: SCM, 
2020.

Schöpfel, J. and Farace, D. J. 2010. “Grey Literature.” In Bates, M. J. and M. 
N. Maack (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Library and Information Sciences. Boca 
Raton: CRC, 3rd ed., 2010.




