The mission movement

The Book of Acts records or reports that there was a special event that took place at Pentecost, which would have been the next pilgrimage festival after the Passover at which Jesus died. And at that time the disciples of Jesus were gathered together in Jerusalem unsure of what their future would be, when all of a sudden the spirit took hold of them and enabled them to speak in tongues, and that speaking of tongues is understood by the author of the Book of Acts to mean speaking in all of the languages of the world. So with the power of the spirit behind them, the disciples of Jesus immediately began a missionary campaign and started bringing people into the fold, converting them to belief in Christ. And from that time forward the mission moved ahead in the rather smooth way, directed by the spirit and by all of the apostles who acted in concert with one another and agreement with one another. That's the picture that we get in Acts.

In Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's Redemptoris missio, he says the following --

'Within the church, there are various types of services, functions, ministries and ways of promoting the Christian life. I call to mind, as a new development occurring in many churches in recent times, the rapid growth of "ecclesial movements" filled with missionary dynamism. When these movements humbly seek to become part of the life of local churches and are welcomed by bishops and priests within diocesan and parish structures, they represent a true gift of God both for new evangelization and for missionary activity properly so-called. I therefore recommend that they be spread and that they be used to give fresh energy, especially among young people, to the Christian life and to evangelization, within a pluralistic view of the ways in which Christians can associate and express themselves'.

In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary disciples”. If we are not convinced, let us look at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: “We have found the Messiah!” (Jn 1:41). The Samaritan woman became a missionary immediately after speaking with Jesus and many Samaritans come to believe in him “because of the woman’s testimony” (Jn 4:39). So too, Paul, after his encounter with Jesus Christ, “immediately proclaimed Jesus” (Acts 9:20; cf. 22:6-21). So what are we waiting for?

This mission is one and undivided, having one origin and one final purpose; but within it, there are different tasks and kinds of activity. First, there is the missionary activity which we call mission ad gentes, in reference to the opening words of the Council's decree on this subject. This is one of the Church's fundamental activities: it is essential and never-ending. The Church, in fact, "cannot withdraw from her permanent mission of bringing the Gospel to the multitudes the millions and millions of men and women-who as yet do not know Christ the Redeemer of humanity. In a specific way this is the missionary work which Jesus entrusted and still entrusts each day to his Church."

Key Men in Missions Movements

Vocation and promise

The special vocation of missionaries "for life" retains all its validity: it is the model of the Church's missionary commitment, which always stands in need of radical and total self-giving, of new and bold endeavors. Therefore the men and women missionaries who have devoted their whole lives to bearing witness to the risen Lord among the nations must not allow themselves to be daunted by doubts, misunderstanding, rejection or persecution. They should revive the grace of their specific charism and courageously press on, preferring - in a spirit of faith, obedience and communion with their pastors - to seek the lowliest and most demanding places.

God’s promise to bless all the “families of the earth,” first given to Abraham 4,000 years ago, is becoming a reality at a pace “you would not believe.” Although some may dispute some of the details, the overall trend is indisputable. Biblical faith is growing and spreading to the ends of the earth as never before in history.

Days of Prophecy, Promise and Hope: The 2014 Canadian Vocation Conference

Charting our journey

God is at work around the world fulfilling His Mission. Charting your journey means that you are intentional in joining the Triune, sending God. It means taking time to pray and listen and plan how you are going to get actively involved. It means taking intentional moves forward rather than being shoved around sideways by the pressures of peers, culture and career.

It is within this overall perspective that the reality of the kingdom is understood. Certainly, the kingdom demands the promotion of human values, as well as those which can properly be called "evangelical," since they are intimately bound up with the "Good News." But this sort of promotion, which is at the heart of the Church, must not be detached from or opposed to other fundamental tasks, such as proclaiming Christ and His Gospel, and establishing and building up communities which make present and active within people the living image of the kingdom. One need not fear falling thereby into a form of "ecclesiocentrism." Pope Paul VI, who affirmed the existence of "a profound link between Christ, the Church and evangelization," also said that the Church "is not an end unto herself, but rather is fervently concerned to be completely of Christ, in Christ and for Christ, as well as completely of people, among people and for people."


a nifty chart for the journey: stages in our life of faith


Roadmap for the Journey: Charting your course, getting your bearings  

Willing to give all

What’s the difference between a good idea and a God idea? A good idea will work some of the time; a God idea will work all the time. Scripture warns us not to lean on our own understanding but to trust God wholeheartedly (Proverbs 3:5). When we’re not willing to submit to God’s leadership and authority in our lives, God will let us follow our own devices. In following them, we will never experience what God is waiting and wanting to do in us and through us.

In the book of Job, this man with incredible trials in his life, says the simple but profound statement, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return.” The same is true of all of us. We came into the world with empty hands, and when we die, we take nothing with us. When you understand this basic truth, then you understand that everything that passes through your control and possession in this life is not about ownership, but about “stewardship”. Picture in your mind the following: your house, your bank account, your cars, your family, your friends, your talents and skills, the months of your life. You’ll notice everything is temporary, everything is limited and everything stays here.

Church planters, whether full-time or bi-vocational, no matter what strategy or model they have chosen, are always in need of financial support for their church’s general budget and material support towards their outreach endeavors. Direct financial support may seem to be the least connected way of encouraging a church planter, but in many ways it is the most important. Often the level of financial support a church planter receives directly effects if they are able to stay on that field or take the next step in their strategy. In center-city or urban centers the living expenses can be astronomical. Bi-vocational work is usually not enough to meet the needs of their families and can be very difficult to secure in this economy. However God calls you to be involved in church planting, we pray that He leads you to directly invest financially in church plants as an offering to Him above your tithes to your local church. Please also consider discussing the possibility of direct financial assistance with your church’s missions committee. Often it is difficult for churches to imagine the need for missions giving beyond their denominational projects or people who have been sent out from their local congregation.

The strength of Christ is found in grace. More grace is released to us when we press in and actually boast how in our infirmities (how powerless we are within our own power – our own abilities, in other words), rather than complain or remain frustrated in them. God says there is sufficient power available for all our trials when we are able to fully surrender in our human weakness to the sufficiency of God’s grace for each particular situation.

KELLY WILLARD Willing Heart PSALM 51 10 12 With Lyrics

A BOY WHO GAVE LIFE

Befriend, serve and convey the gospel

Typical believers spend far more of their "spare" time watching T.V. & videos, and reading magazines & books than they do serving Jesus.  Their struggles with personal sin are the primary focus of their thought life, and their conversation reflects what is in their hearts...themselves!  Just listen to the average believer talk; his/her favorite word is almost always, "I" or "Me".  Satan has effectively crippled their ability to step outside of themselves to reach out to the lost and the hurting.  They are so busy worrying about themselves they excuse their deception saying, "When I get my life together, or when I know the Bible better, then I can help others."  Excuses abound, and they are embarrassed to even share their life or their faith with a stranger.  It's easier for Christians to sit around like a bunch of old hens and talk about how bad the world is getting, and how evil different segments of society are.  God forbid that they should ever get off their rear ends and do something to help those people they so dearly love to judge and criticize!

Three ministers help evangelization center find creative ways to convey the Gospel

Barriers and Bridges to Befriending Muslims

Succeeding

Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.

In the Jewish-Christian tradition, care of the powerless is central to the lifestyle of the people of God. The Law by which they were meant to implement God's covenant protects human rights, especially those of the most vulnerable.

Sacrificial giving is the kind that is done at great personal cost to the giver. But a wealthy person, by definition, is someone who has so much money that he can weather losses with ease. The very function of wealth is to shield its owner so that it is hard for him to do anything at great personal cost. Indeed, for this very reason Jesus says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24). It is not that the poor are more righteous in God’s sight than the rich; no, we are all equally hopeless (Romans 3:10). It is just that the rich are more likely to try to get along without God’s help. The upshot is that a wealthy person, in order to reach the point of sacrifice, must give a much larger amount than a poor person would. Christian generosity is certainly more complex than any particular dollar amount or percentage rate. But practically speaking, if a wealthy Christian wants to begin giving sacrificially, he must sit down and calculate a number large enough that it will cut noticeably (even painfully) into his standard of living, and start giving at that level. For those who need help determining that number, missiologist Ralph Winter offers this suggestion: “Deliberately and decisively adopt a missionary support level as [your] standard of living and [your] basis of lifestyle regardless of income.” If this “wartime lifestyle” seems hopelessly out of reach, consider what Jesus says to the rich: “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

Intentionality

The cross was carried by Christ, before it was carried by Simon. The arrangement might have been different: he might have borne the burden the first part of the way, and then it might have been laid on the Master. But our comfort is, that the cross which we must carry has been already carried by Christ, and therefore, like the grave which He entered, been stripped of its hatefulness. It might almost be said to have changed its nature through being laid on the Son of God: it left behind it its terribleness, its oppressiveness: and now, as transferred to the carrier, it is indeed a cross, but a cross which it is a privilege to bear, a cross which God never fails to give strength to bear, a cross which, as leading to a crown, may justly be prized, so that we would not have it off our shoulders, till the diadem is on our brow. It is one of Christ's last and most impressive sermons. He would not leave the world without furnishing a standing memorial, that His disciples must bear the same cross as Himself, inasmuch as, like Himself, they must endure the world's hatred as champions and examples of truth. And together with this memorial He would show, by a powerful instance, that, in religion, a temporizing policy is sure to defeat itself, so that to fly from the cross is commonly to meet it, dilated in size, and heavier in material. But He had one more truth to represent at the same time — the beautiful, comforting truth, that He has borne what His followers have to bear, and thereby so lightened it, that, as with death, which He made sleep to the believer, the burden but quickens the step towards the "exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And that He might effect and convey all this through one great significant action, it was ordered, we may believe, that, as they led away Jesus, carrying like Isaac the wood for the burnt-offering, the soldiers laid hold on one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and him they compelled to bear His cross.

Where does this leave the church? Church gatherings represent one of just a handful of remaining opportunities available to people to have regular face-to-face contact with people, other than family, who share their interests and background. Realize, too, that growing numbers of people now judge the validity and relevance of a church by the church’s use of technology. Their perception is that if a church is intimately connected to the new digital world, it is more likely to understand their pressures and challenges, and is therefore more likely to offer relevant commentary and solutions.

On the other hand, the boundaries between pastoral care of the faithful, new evangelization and specific missionary activity are not clearly definable, and it is unthinkable to create barriers between them or to put them into watertight compartments. Nevertheless, there must be no lessening of the impetus to preach the Gospel and to establish new churches among peoples or communities where they do not yet exist, for this is the first task of the Church, which has been sent forth to all peoples and to the very ends of the earth. Without the mission ad gentes, the Church's very missionary dimension would be deprived of its essential meaning and of the very activity that exemplifies it.

Though it is true that this mission demands great generosity on our part, it would be wrong to see it as a heroic individual undertaking, for it is first and foremost the Lord’s work, surpassing anything which we can see and understand. Jesus is “the first and greatest evangelizer”. In every activity of evangelization, the primacy always belongs to God, who has called us to cooperate with Him and who leads us on by the power of His Spirit. The real newness is the newness which God Himself mysteriously brings about and inspires, provokes, guides and accompanies in a thousand ways. The life of the Church should always reveal clearly that God takes the initiative, that “He has loved us first” (1 Jn 4:19) and that He alone “gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). This conviction enables us to maintain a spirit of joy in the midst of a task so demanding and challenging that it engages our entire life. God asks everything of us, yet at the same time He offers everything to us.

INTENTIONALITY: A Minute With John Maxwell, Free Coaching 

Intentionality

Christ's global cause

The story of Adam and Even grips our hearts because it is not simply an ancient account of two people and their tragic mistake. It is our story as well. It is our personal tragedy. We share in this story both because Adam and Eve are our spiritual ancestors and because we mirror their behaviour in our own lives. Like the first humans, we have rebelled against God. Thus we live outside of God’s paradise. We yearn for the peace for which we were created, but never experience that peace, except in bits and pieces. Though we were meant to live in peace with God, our neighbours, our world, and even ourselves, we experience brokenness in all of these relationships.

For instance, we often assume that money exists for our own benefit, rather than for God or others. Pastor Andy Stanley tells a story about a little boy who was scolded by his mother because he refused to share his lunch with a classmate who had brought no lunch to school that day. The ironic point, Stanley says, is that we expect our children to know that possessions are for sharing, yet when it comes to our own affairs, we act as if possessions are for keeping. But why else, according to the Bible, should we give? First, we should give because it is a reasonable response to all God has done. Because God has shown such great mercy to His people by sending Christ to suffer in our place, it is fitting that we should offer ourselves as sacrifices to Him (Romans 12:1) and specifically in part by giving our money (2 Corinthians 8:8-9). Generous giving is an act of Christian worship. Second, we should give to show the genuineness of our Christian confession. Many people say they know Jesus, but those who really know Him show it by their lives, especially by their generosity (Matthew 25:31-46). When we give to the Lord, we put our money where our mouth is, so to speak. Third, we should give because the Lord Jesus (Luke 12:33) and His apostles (2 Corinthians 8:7) command us to give. Christian giving is certainly much more than a duty, but the biblical commands are unavoidable. Fourth, if specific instruction from the Scriptures were not enough, we should give because God promises to reward us for doing so (Luke 12:33). As it turns out, to give is not to throw money away, but rather to invest it for a staggering return. The Bible is certainly not lacking for reasons that we should give. Why would we not give?

We also remember Ecclesiastes 12 verse 14, which promises, "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" as well as Romans 2 verses 5 and 6, where Paul speaks of the day of God's wrath "when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done". It is a fearful thing even to imagine standing before God "from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away", and have nothing but our own wicked works to show for the time on earth the Almighty had given us. On that day the words of Paul the apostle will come true: "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God". (Rom 3 verse 19) The final word, of course, will be God's.

Recently, mega-church pastor Rick Warren found another way to describe what it means to live as a World Christian with the helpful phrase “the purpose-driven life”. The idea of being impelled and focused on God’s global concerns has encouraged many. But in the long run, to flourish in a purpose-driven life, we need to know first what it means to live a Person-driven life. For all of our activities and general support for Kingdom work, many may not be, in fact, the Person-driven people we thought we were.

To avoid any spirit of trivial “triumphalism”, however, let’s be clear on one thing: Christ’s missionary story not only initiates harvest fields, it also instigates battlefields — just as the children experience in Narnia at the climax of Aslan’s return. Any war is costly, sometimes bloody. Skirmishes are lost and won. Not every moment in the service of Jesus’ Kingdom offers visible, unalloyed advances in His mission. There are Forces of Darkness opposed to God’s promises, ready to fight them, and us, to the death. This, too, is part of the narrative of Christ’s global cause in which we each play our part.

What it means to be a World Christian

Catch The Vision! My World-Sized Part With Christ

God accomplishing His purposes

There was a time not too long ago when people thought the oceans extended without end and the world was flat. Now we know the exact extent of the surface of the oceans, and it is still magnificent to us in it’s scope. But it is limited. The oceans have shores, and those shores were created by our God. God has measured out not only the waters of the earth, but His entire creation.

God measures our gifts with a measure different from that of the world. He is not impressed with large numbers. Rather, He measures according to (1) the giver’s capacity (because He knows what we possess) and (2) the giver’s attitude (because He knows the state of our hearts). Jesus spoke to this question directly when He compared the temple gifts of the rich men with the gift of the poor widow (Luke 21:1-4). By Jesus’ reckoning, the widow gave more than the others because she gave all she had to live on. Her capacity was prohibitively little, but her attitude was extravagant. The rich, on the other hand, had so much wealth that even large gifts required little devotion of them. Biblical generosity is not any given dollar amount. Nor it is even just a given percentage rate (although percentage of assets is an important indicator of attitude, which is of great importance to God.) To be biblically generous is to recognize God’s infinite beneficence toward us in Christ, and to give extravagantly in worship to Him, relative to what one has. To put it differently, biblical generosity is best gauged by asking not, “How much am I giving to God?” but, “How much am I keeping for myself?”

The world is growing at an extremely rapid pace, and we are charged with preaching the gospel to the whole world. When a missionary goes into a new region, their primary goal is to develop their converts to become effective ministers to their own people, who know the culture, the language and pathways to the heart of people in their own culture, things that would take many years to teach an outsider. Western youth culture needs young men and women who understand the cultural language through a Biblical perspective and can effectively speak enticingly to that culture about the impact of the gospel.

Evangelism, of course, is a legitimate name and a legitimate endeavor. It is the work of the Church to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to bring souls into the Kingdom of God. True evangelism follows the spreading of the pure Gospel with the planting churches and the discipling of believers that will guard the biblical truths and practices vital to sustaining a viable relationship between individual believers and the Lord Jesus Christ.

"The Bible gives us plenty of proof that God uses all types of personalities. Peter was a sanguine. Paul was a choleric. Jeremiah was a melancholy. When you look at the personality differences in the twelve disciples, it is easy to see why they sometimes had interpersonal conflict. There is no 'right’ or 'wrong’ temperament for ministry" (The Purpose Driven Life p. 245).

Statement of Faith

The God Who Accomplishes His Purposes

Basic principles of unity

We need to emphasize the unity and basic Biblical principles we share as believers in Christ.

“Denomination” takes on a less-than-ideal sense when one considers its popular use in the lexicon of “Christendom.” “Christendom” is a term that embraces the entire religious terrain that professes any identification – however remote the connection may be – with Jesus Christ. This would include every kind of organism, from the Unitarian Universalist Church, to the various cults that allege an association with Christ (e.g., Christian Science, the Watchtower movement, etc.).

The study of sacred liturgy is to be ranked among the compulsory and major courses in seminaries and religious houses of studies; in theological faculties it is to rank among the principal courses. It is to be taught under its theological, historical, spiritual, pastoral, and juridical aspects. Moreover, other professors, while striving to expound the mystery of Christ and the history of salvation from the angle proper to each of their own subjects, must nevertheless do so in a way which will clearly bring out the connection between their subjects and the liturgy, as also the unity which underlies all priestly training. This consideration is especially important for professors of dogmatic, spiritual, and pastoral theology and for those of holy scripture.

Sunday school is more content-centered and less experience-centered. Evening youth groups are more experience-centered than content-centered. Because our understanding of education in general is so content-centered, we sometimes forget about the power of learning that comes through fellowship and shared experiences. Sunday evening youth groups often exert as much, or more, impact on the spiritual development of youth than does content-centered learning by itself.

Examining the New Testament, Newbigin simply did not find there the same concern for results or anxiety about numbers that characterizes Church Growth thought. Paul, he pointed out, never agonizes about results. Instead, in one of his most profoundly missiological passages, he speaks of salvation in eschatological terms and suggests that no one is perfect until the end. God “has consigned all people to disobedience in order that he may have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:32-36). It is then, says Newbigin, that “the fathomless depths of God’s wisdom and grace will be revealed.” Meanwhile, “creation groans in travail.” (Romans 8:22). Thus, Christians should be neither anxious about their failure or boast about their success, but should faithfully witness “to the one in whom the whole purpose of God for cosmic history has been revealed.” Newbigin preferred to speak of the “logic of mission,” predicated on the truthfulness of the message as one that cannot but be proclaimed. We do not control the result. This is the Holy Spirit’s task. Some people may join the church, others may respond in ways that are invisible to us.

Reaching India

Post-liberalized India has grown richer, but the gap between the rich and the poor also seems to be widening. For instance, while Mumbai boasts of the world’s most expensive home ($2 billion) built by one of India’s foremost industrialist, it is also host to Asia’s largest slum in Dharavi. Amartya Sen, Indian economist and Nobel laureate, writes that the 20-year span (1991-2011) of economic liberalization and globalization has seen the GDP grow, but many of the benefits have not reached the poor. While the number of billionaires has dramatically increased, there is also the tragic fact that in the last 15 years, 250,000 farmers have committed suicide in India, due to various reasons. This has also facilitated the rise of violent Maoists movements. The Church needs to courageously and compassionately stand in this gap.

They teach from the ancient Vedas that there is a spark of divinity in man, and hence to call a man a sinner is blasphemous; there is, then, no need for a saviour.

Persian Christian

In the last ten years a new term has become widespread throughout Iran, which can be literally translated “Persian-Christian,” or as they would conceptually translate it “Muslim-Christian” (farsimasihi). For centuries, it was assumed that if you were a Christian, you were Armenian. If someone saw you wearing a cross they might ask, “Are you Armenian?” or “Have you become Armenian?” But today the question has changed.

This new identity is highly significant, testifying to the presence of a truly indigenous, self-reproducing movement. It has long been believed that a breakthrough among Persians could have significant impact on surrounding peoples in Central Asia and the Middle East. This has certainly proved to be the case in Iran itself. Persian missionaries are now being sent to nearby minority peoples, such as the Azeri, Luri and Kurds, with funding coming directly from the Persian believers themselves.

C-5 Contextualization

For several decades some missionaries from organizations like Frontiers, Wycliffe, SIL, YWAM, and others have adopted a form of contextualization known as C-5 contextualization (or “Insider Movements”). These missionaries believe that followers of Christ should remain in the religion of their birth i.e. a Muslim should remain a Muslim, a Hindu should remain a Hindu, etc… Many of these missionaries suggest that asking someone to convert to Christianity is wrong. In Muslim contexts, “C-5 believers” frequently hold views about Christ that mirror the beliefs of the general Muslim population. They may continue to identify themselves as Muslims, continue to affirm Mohammad as God’s prophet, continue to affirm the Qu’ran as God’s word, and reject a belief in the divinity of Christ. Western missionary organizations promoting C-5 contextualization have produced new translations of the bible that harmonize the place and people names with those used in the Qu’ran and replace terms like Father, Son, Baptism, etc.. with alternative language that Muslim audiences find “less offensive.”

Among the reasons for which the Holy Scripture is so worthy of commendation - in addition to its own excellence and to the homage which we owe to God's Word - the chief of all is, the innumerable benefits of which it is the source; according to the infallible testimony of the Holy Ghost Himself, who says: "All Scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, that the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work." That such was the purpose of God in giving the Scripture to people is shown by the example of Christ our Lord and of His Apostles. For He Himself Who "obtained authority by miracles, merited belief by authority, and by belief drew to Himself the multitude" was accustomed in the exercise of His Divine Mission, to appeal to the Scriptures. He uses them at times to prove that He is sent by God, and is God Himself. From them He cites instructions for His disciples and confirmation of His doctrine. He vindicates them from the calumnies of objectors; He quotes them against Sadducees and Pharisees, and retorts from them upon Satan himself when he dares to tempt Him. At the close of His life His utterances are from Holy Scripture, and it is the Scripture that He expounds to His disciples after His resurrection, until He ascends to the glory of His Father. Faithful to His precepts, the Apostles, although He Himself granted "signs and wonders to be done by their hands" nevertheless used with the greatest effect the sacred writings, in order to persuade the nations everywhere of the wisdom of Christianity, to conquer the obstinacy of the Jews, and to suppress the outbreak of heresy. This is plainly seen in their discourses, especially in those of Peter: these were often little less than a series of citations from the Old Testament supporting in the strongest manner the new dispensation. We find the same thing in the Gospels of Matthew and John and in the Epistles; and most remarkably of all in the words of him who "boasts that he learned the law at the feet of Gamaliel, in order that, being armed with spiritual weapons, he might afterwards say with confidence, `The arms of our warfare are not carnal but mighty unto God.' " Let all, therefore, especially the novices of the ecclesiastical army, understand how deeply the sacred Books should be esteemed, and with what eagerness and reverence they should approach this great arsenal of heavenly arms. For those whose duty it is to handle doctrine before the learned or the unlearned will nowhere find more ample matter or more abundant exhortation, whether on the subject of God, the supreme Good and the all-perfect Being, or of the works which display His Glory and His love. Nowhere is there anything more full or more express on the subject of the Saviour of the world than is to be found in the whole range of the Bible. As St. Jerome says, "To be ignorant of the Scripture is not to know Christ." In its pages His Image stands out, living and breathing; diffusing everywhere around consolation in trouble, encouragement to virtue and attraction to the love of God. And as to the Church, her institutions, her nature, her office, and her gifts, we find in Holy Scripture so many references and so many ready and convincing arguments, that as St. Jerome again most truly says: "A man who is well grounded in the testimonies of the Scripture is the bulwark of the Church." And if we come to morality and discipline, an apostolic man finds in the sacred writings abundant and excellent assistance; most holy precepts, gentle and strong exhortation, splendid examples of every virtue, and finally the promise of eternal reward and the threat of eternal punishment, uttered in terms of solemn import, in God's name and in God's own words.

If you believe obedience is not essential to salvation, then according to Jesus' word you fail to understand what it means to accept Him. As in Matthew 7:21-27, He will say, "Depart from me..." [James 1:21-25; John 15:14; Phil 2:12f; Acts 2:40; 1 Tim. 4:16; 2 Pet. 2:20-22]

In both Insider Movements and the C-scale identity matters, there is some overlap. However identity is a subset of either community or form/style. The primary factors that describe the two terms must be teased apart for there to be an intellectual conversation about the issues at hand. It also seems that the primary controversy surrounds this misunderstanding dealt with today.

What terminology (or terms of identity) of the surrounding culture is so closely tied to the predominant non-Christian religion that, if the new believer were to continue using them, would cause the non-Christian community to believe that the so-called new believer still adheres to the non-Christian religion?

The special vocation of missionaries "for life" retains all its validity: it is the model of the Church's missionary commitment, which always stands in need of radical and total self-giving, of new and bold endeavors. Therefore the men and women missionaries who have devoted their whole lives to bearing witness to the risen Lord among the nations must not allow themselves to be daunted by doubts, misunderstanding, rejection or persecution. They should revive the grace of their specific charism and courageously press on, preferring - in a spirit of faith, obedience and communion with their pastors - to seek the lowliest and most demanding places.

The so-called “Insider Movement(s)” is an important discussion taking place among those attempting to take the gospel globally. On the table is what level of separation from former pagan religions is required of those who would be disciples of Christ? Can a Buddhist who has professed belief in Jesus Christ retain certain features of Buddhism? If so, which features and how much? Can he still chant at the Buddhist temples? Can he still reference Buddhist teachings? Can he continue to believe in pantheism or the Noble Eightfold Plan? Most Christians would recognize that there is a cut-off point at which a former Buddhist, now professing Christ, must separate himself from his former religion, but just where is that point? In other words, how far “inside” Buddhism can an individual be and yet still claim to be a Christian?

Muslim Followers of Isa?

BASIC ELEMENTS OF C5 CONTEXTUALIZATION

John Piper’s Church Takes a Stand on Contextualization

Contextualization Among Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists

CONTEXTUALIZATION

The C1 to C6 Spectrum: A Practical Tool for Defining Six Types of ‘Christ-centered Communities’ (‘C’) Found in the Muslim Context

A BIBLICAL CRITIQUE TO C5 STRATEGIES AMONG MUSLIMS

Insider Movement vs C5: Is there a difference?

Missions and Muslims: “C-5,” “Insider movements,” and Hyper-Contextualization

Contextualization and Syncretism

Missionaries constantly face the edges of contextualization. Incarnation requires that she constantly ask herself: “What should I do to minimize the difference between myself and those to whom I want to minister?” Every cultural difference hinders the communication of the message, and serves to emphasize the “foreign-ness” of the faith.

Of course, contextualization means looking for ways to say and to show, “I’m like you, but different.” I’m like you— in that I’m human, sinful, and in need of a savior, but I’m different— in that I’m in Christ and therefore have purpose, hope, peace, and salvation.

Anthropology has been long interested in change or alteration in cultural and religious practices often caused by close and constant contact between different groups (ethnic or others). These changes have been often explained in terms of acculturation or syncretism. Today, various effects of globalization and modernization, which stimulate to intensify contact with different people from different cultures and different ideas without necessarily entailing direct contact with them, can sometimes lead to more complex situations than before. While religious fundamentalist movements in different regions have been making news in the world for several decades, the process of change or alteration in religious practices is often proceeding at local level sometimes in more unnoticeable way. Carefully considering the process makes the existing religious category difficult to adopt to fully understand the situations, and this inspires us to search for alternative theoretical frameworks.

Spiritual formation in Christ is the way of rest for the weary and over-loaded, of the easy yoke and the light burden (Matt. 11:28-30), of cleaning the inside of the cup and the dish (Matt. 23:26), of the good tree that cannot bear bad fruit (Luke 6:43). It is the path along which God’s commandments are found not to be "heavy." (1 John 5:3)

In tune with the objective demands of faith and its mission to evangelize, the Church takes account of the essential fact that the meeting of faith and culture is a meeting of things which are not of the same order. The inculturation of faith and the evangelization of culture go together as an inseparable pair, in which there is no hint of syncretism: this is the genuine meaning of inculturation. "In the face of all the different and at times contrasting cultures present in the various parts of the world, inculturation seeks to obey Christ's command to preach the Gospel to all nations even unto the ends of the earth. Such obedience does not signify either syncretism or a simple adaptation of the announcement of the Gospel, but rather the fact the Gospel penetrates the very life of cultures, becomes incarnate in them, overcoming those cultural elements that are incompatible with the faith and Christian living and raising their values to the mystery of salvation which comes from Christ".

Fitch on Contextual Theology and Why We Need To Learn It

Contextualization: Building Bridges to the Muslim Community

Contextualization vs. Syncretism

Contextualization and Syncretism

CONTEXTUALIZATION & SYNCRETISM

THE GOSPEL COALITION, CONTEXTUALIZATION, AND SYNCRETISM

Syncretism vs. Contextualization

 

The problem with following Jesus

Some Muslims will say they "follow Jesus." They follow His way, or His teachings or His path. There are ample scriptures in the Quran about "the straight path" and if followed carefully it's notable that they often refer to the way of Jesus of Nazareth.

The believing community needs to be a context for social and spiritual development. As converts are marginalized from their normal social contexts, or even persecuted, the biblical community needs to be able to meet basic physical and social needs. As the early church flourished in a spiritually hostile climate, so too, perhaps, will the church among the Muslims emerge. A strong ethic of suffering will need to continue, where courage and risk-taking are highly valued. The love of the body of Christ is essential to strengthen converts' resolve to continue on in faith in Christ while facing likely hostile reaction. In addition, the biblical community must be strongly truth-focused, offering educational alternatives to the mosque. Church leaders need to direct themselves to the long-term viability of the community by prioritizing biblical teaching and theology. This requires high standards of training in biblical orthodoxy and apologetics among emerging indigenous leaders.

All such renewal should be understood as part of the Spirit’s work of inner transformation of character (reflected in the ‘fruits’ of the Spirit) and empowering of ministry (reflected in the fruit of active and ongoing missional life). We have discovered in our own movement’s history how pervasive our dysfunctional tendency is to substitute the priority of seeking lasting God-oriented fruit with simply personal experience. While the presence of God is always transforming at some level, we do well to ask what difference God is ultimately trying to make in our lives that will last and bear fruit.

C3 contextualization accommodates non-religious aspects of the indigenous culture. At the same time, there is a conscious attempt to break from all visible elements of Islam-such as observing Ramadan, dietary laws, association with the mosque and so forth. This moderately contextualized model assumes that Islamic cultural forms can not be purged of their religious meaning, and should be abandoned to avoid fostering syncretism. C3 is a form of contextualization that most Westerners are comfortable supporting because it sharply contrasts Islam and Christianity. Conversion means parting from Islamic identity and coming into a new one. However, the problem is that to the eyes of the Muslim world, there is little real difference between C3 and C2, with the consequence that C3 amounts to an "extraction" strategy. In some contexts C3 strategy may directly subvert the goal of birthing an indigenous people movement because, each convert extracted from his own cultural situation reinforces in the minds of Hindus and Muslims the misunderstanding that Christians are opposed to their cultural traditions. In this sense, one could defend the thesis that each convert won from these faiths at present actually represents a setback to winning large numbers from these communities.

"For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus ... Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 4:2, 8

Street preaching was a regular evangelistic activity for Newbigin during his missionary days in India. This attempt at cross-cultural communication enabled Newbigin to formulate two problems. The first is concerned with the gospel and culture (singular): here the question is how can one avoid the twin problems of syncretism and irrelevance? The evangelist must use the language of the hearers. Yet that language uses terms that reflect the worldview by which the hearers make sense of their world. The Tamil language, for example, is a shared way of understanding the world that reflects Hindu faith commitments. As such it expresses commitments that are irreconcilable with the gospel. Therefore, there will be a clash of ultimate commitments between the gospel and Hindu culture. Thus cross-cultural communication of the gospel will call into question the underlying worldview implicit in that language. The problem is how to use the language and yet call into question the worldview that shapes that language.

 

Christians have favour

Muslim opinion on most issues is not monolithic, and there are some apparent anomalies in Muslims’ views of the West and its people. While large percentages in nearly every Muslim country attribute several negative traits to Westerners – including violence, immorality and selfishness – solid majorities in Indonesia, Jordan and Nigeria express favorable opinions of Christians.

Still, the work needs to be done in wisdom - 

“It was a joyful occasion for each one of us to get together in a small room and worship the Lord.  In the beginning we were instructed by the pastor to sing and speak in a low voice.  We sang a few choruses and songs in low voices.  Mrs. M shared about The Tide’s ministry, Bhutanese Dzongkha radio program,  and  and the need to have a Follow-up Office in Bhutan.  She encouraged the group that our acts of faith, large or small make a big difference.  May we lift our eyes to see the needy souls around us and have passion for the lost.”

  

 

Why did Constantine favour the Christian Church?

Decisions

Rasheed* shares the story of how God used Southern Baptist missionaries John and Mary Harper* — and a vision of Jesus in a dream — to lead him to faith in Christ. “I would still be in darkness,” Rasheed says, if God hadn’t brought the Harpers into his life. “I always thank God because there are people like John among our people.”

In a society already open to new ideas, responsive to the technological, cultural and religious influence of the outside world, first Islam and then Christianity made an impact on Uganda in the second half of the 19th Century. But if the Buganda were so receptive to the message of a "world-religion," why did they not simply remain with Islam? How could Christianity not only mount an effective challenge to Islam but eventually become the dominant dini of Buganda, forcing Islam into the position of a small (but tenacious) minority?

Some missionaries who begin to seriously study Church Planting Movements occasionally find that they are simply off-track and wonder if it is possible to begin again. Of course it’s impossible to actually begin again, but it is possible to correct earlier mistakes and tip the scales of a movement in the right direction. Because Church Planting Movements aren't just sequential, step-by-step programs, they can be facilitated
whenever we stop doing those things that impede them and begin doing more of those things that seem to support them. This should be an encouragement to anyone who hopes to see a CPM unfold among a people group.

It is therefore of the highest importance that the faithful should easily understand the sacramental signs, and should frequent with great eagerness those sacraments which were instituted to nourish the Christian life.

Plant for the unchurched

In the last eighteen years of the twentieth century, the goal of Christian mission should be to preach the Gospel and, by God's grace, to plant in every unchurched segment of mankind--what shall we say-- "a church" or "a cluster of growing churches"?

In the latter half of the twentieth century one of the most influential areas of research from a theoretical and methodological foundation has been that of the church growth movement. Church growth can be defined as:

Church growth is that discipline which investigates the nature, expansion,
planting, multiplication, function and health of Christian churches as they relate to
the effective implementation of God’s commission to “make disciples of all
peoples.” (Mt 28:18-20) Students of church growth strive to integrate the eternal
theological principles of God’s word concerning the expansion of the church with
the best insights of contemporary social and behavioral sciences, employing as the
initial frame of reference the foundational work done by Donald McGavran.

In 2005 one of the visions put forward by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) was that evangelical churches would aim to have an evangelical church per 2,000 people in an given geographical area (they point out, however, that an area is “generally viewed to be reached when there exists one evangelistic congregation for each 1,000 persons”)

According to Hawthorne missionaries should aim to draw converts from one segment of society. While a church movement should aim to grow a cluster of congregations generally to aim for a single sociopeople.  It's very important that people feel a sense of belonging in a church movement and this is best achieved through a single cultural identity of a single people group. Often a missionary will try to start a church and people from various social groups will join and it'll start up as a sort of segmented social unit that is all it's own. Unfortunately this approach is not effective because people leave their sociopeoples to join the new hybrid social unit and the rest of the people in those sociopeople groups consider the converts traitors.  Church movements grow very slowly when done this way. The approach of pulling people from various people groups to a single church movement is effective in countries where Christianity is loved and considered a good thing. It is a much wiser approach to concentrate all efforts on a single people group instead of attempting multiple people groups at the same time.

Encourage converts to remain thoroughly one with their own people in most matters. They should continue to eat what their people eat. They should not say, "My people are vegetarians but, now that I have become a Christian, I'm going to eat meat." After they become Christians they should be more rigidly vegetarian than they were before. In the matter of clothing, they should continue to look precisely like their kinfolk. In the matter of marriage, most people are endogamous, they insist that "our people marry only our people." They look with great disfavor on our marrying other people. And yet when Christians come in one-by-one, they cannot marry their own people. None of them have become Christian. Where only a few of a given people become Christians, when it comes time for them or their children to marry, they have to take husbands or wives from other segments of the population. So their own kin look at them and say, "Yes, become a Christian and mongrelize your children. You have left us and have joined them."

Today more than ever we need men and women who, on the basis of their experience of accompanying others, are familiar with processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit, so that they can protect the sheep from wolves who would scatter the flock. We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing. Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders. Only through such respectful and compassionate listening can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal: the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what he has sown in our lives. But this always demands the patience of one who knows full well what Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us: that anyone can have grace and charity, and yet falter in the exercise of the virtues because of persistent “contrary inclinations”. In other words, the organic unity of the virtues always and necessarily exists in habitu, even though forms of conditioning can hinder the operations of those virtuous habits. Hence the need for “a pedagogy which will introduce people step by step to the full appropriation of the mystery”. Reaching a level of maturity where individuals can make truly free and responsible decisions calls for much time and patience.

Reached or Unreached

What about the billions of people around the world that do not fall into the 10/40 window? There are many countries in the world that are considered "reached". But, many of these countries have such a low population of believers of Christ that they are really no different than some unreached countries. In many of these countries that have been reached, generations have since passed and now we have a new segment of society of either unreached people groups or devout atheists. For example, in the country of Albania, it is considered a "reached" country. But, the percentage of born-again, truly transformed believers of Christ is nearly infinitesimal (less than 1%). Right out the front door there are hundreds of people in the neighborhood who have never heard the Gospel before. But many of their parents or other family members have seen the Jesus Film many years ago. When Communism fell in 1992, missionaries from the West flocked to Albania eager to introduce millions of Albanians to the Gospel of Christ for the first time. This, after being closed off to the West for 40+ years. Every village in Albania had been essentially reached. There was even an influx of thousands of newly professed believers of Christ. And, Albania was figuratively checked off the "unreached" list by many missions sending agencies. As a result, many of these missionaries left, with little or no follow up. Many churches that were planted early on have since died out. And now we are once ­­again back to square one, a country with a very small population of believers and with a large segment of society whose generation today have never heard the Gospel.

“Church planters are renegades at heart, they are the pioneers that very few leaders truly understand. Getting together with a network of church planters is very similar to an AA meeting. We all have a lot in common, and we all need each other’s strength for the season ahead.”

At a recent seminar based on research methods on how funding of STM relates to the funding of career missions, a seminar participant shared news he had received the night before. Mark, after seminary and church planting in the US, had been sent and supported by his congregation as a career missionary to Japan, where he developed extraordinary linguistic fluency, and was an unusually successful church-planter. In our class Mark announced that his return to Japan was being jeopardized because this key supporting church that he had helped to plant years before had decided to drop his $15,000 a year support. It seems the chair of the missions committee had taken a short-term trip to Latin America, where his team reportedly
planted a church in one week, and subsequently convinced the congregation to redirect their mission resources to their own members on short-term mission trips to Latin America and the Caribbean. Mark, a paradigmatic career missionary, a gifted polyglot (fluent in Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and increasingly Korean), church planter and missiological strategist, came very close to not being able to return to the field for purely financial reasons.

 

Theological Education

Theological Education has for millennia played a leading role in shaping the Church. It has, through various eras and methods, served to inform the mind of leaders, guide the behavior of ministry, and ultimately shape the nature and direction of the Church. The precise nature of its role has varied from time to time based on the particular ecclesiastical tradition in which it is functioning, the prevailing culture and, more significantly, by the condition of the Church at the time. Each of these three influences that shape the nature of theological education are in a significant state of flux within the North American context in these days. While it may seem to be more dramatic than at any other time in history, it may be so only because we personally experience the nuances, influences, and full extent of the dynamic condition around us. Yet the moment remains significant and requires careful, prayerful engagement in seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in shaping the future of this vital task.

What we find it difficult to believe is that others can receive Christ and find salvation in Him unless they know, or at least in speech employ, our familiar doctrinal expressions. We know, of course, in some sort, that people whose intellectual understanding of doctrinal expressions is very weak, or immature, or even false, do draw near to Christ and receive His grace. We can see in the Gospel story and in the history of the Church, and in our own experience in our own day that ignorance of doctrine does not prevent men from being lovers of Christ, and being saved by Him from vice and sin, and danger and fear. It seems indeed almost ridiculous and profane to think that Christ does not save those who call upon Him, because they have not the power to grasp an intellectual doctrine about Him. We know that the doctrine of the Atonement has been expressed in different ages in very different forms, some of which seem to us untrue and evil; but we know that in all ages men have found atonement in Christ. Nevertheless our doctrine so dominates our minds that we can scarcely believe that men can love Christ and be saved by Him unless they know and use our doctrinal expressions.

Jesus told us how to make disciples by training them to obey His commands (His Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20). I teach in a seminary and find few students, even on the graduate level, who can list Jesus’ commands. They say ‘love,’ then bring up things like Sunday School, choir, youth work, none of which are in the New Testament. They cannot make disciples the way Jesus commands. Books on discipleship that I have read are doctrinal studies: Christ-centered, biblical and edifying, but overlooking Jesus’ instructions for making disciples.

Re-Imagining Theological Education

Theological education – why bother?