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

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

The Church's Potential

Winter makes the point that “the most exciting reality in missions today is the gradual discovery of the vast
unrealized potential of our precious sister churches as the source of new missionaries to go further out.” If existing western missionaries in these emerging and younger movements can play a strategic role in training pioneer missionaries, then it is the role of these churches to come full cycle and begin to send their own laborers to the unreached. Frontier mission thinking provides a framework for embracing and directing the work of the non-western missionary force by highlighting the urgency of cross-cultural evangelism among the
unreached. In this way, while recognizing the sovereignty of the Spirit of harvest in calling laborers to various fields, whether among the so called reached or unreached, there is a natural and strategic connection for non-western laborers to start in new ground among those who have had the least access to the Gospel.

Each particular Church is likewise called to missionary conversion. It is the primary subject of evangelization, since it is the concrete manifestation of the one Church in one specific place, and in it “the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative”. It is the Church incarnate in a certain place, equipped with all the means of salvation bestowed by Christ, but with local features. Its joy in communicating Jesus Christ is expressed both by a concern to preach Him to areas in greater need and in constantly going forth to the outskirts of its own territory or towards new sociocultural settings. Wherever the need for the light and the life of the Risen Christ is greatest, it will want to be there. To make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous and fruitful, encourage each particular Church to undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform.

We have never seen times where “church” is done so many different ways and pastors can get easily confused in the middle of it all. Core issues should never be compromised but every pastor and church is different and distinct as are the communities they are called to. We can all learn from what other churches are doing but when we try to copy it is where we make a mistake. Pastors err in trying to follow what is working for other churches rather than becoming crystal clear on what God has called their church to be. Style changes are one thing but watering things down are another, each pastor had better be clear on the course they need to take and get busy with what makes their church unique.

Our commitment does not consist exclusively in activities or programs of promotion and assistance; what the Holy Spirit mobilizes is not an unruly activism, but above all an attentiveness which considers the other “in a certain sense as one with ourselves”. This loving attentiveness is the beginning of a true concern for their person which inspires me effectively to seek their good. This entails appreciating the poor in their goodness, in their experience of life, in their culture, and in their ways of living the faith. True love is always contemplative, and permits us to serve the other not out of necessity or vanity, but rather because he or she is beautiful above and beyond mere appearances: “The love by which we find the other pleasing leads us to offer him something freely”. The poor person, when loved, “is esteemed as of great value”, and this is what makes the authentic option for the poor differ from any other ideology, from any attempt to exploit the poor for one’s own personal or political interest.Only on the basis of this real and sincere closeness can we properly accompany the poor on their path of liberation. Only this will ensure that “in every Christian community the poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the greatest and most effective presentation of the good news of the kingdom?” Without the preferential option for the poor, “the proclamation of the Gospel, which is itself the prime form of charity, risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today’s society of mass communications”.

Unlocking the Church’s Potential

Unlocking The Church's Potential

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).

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

Our own conflicts in identity

In practical terms, how do we seek God’s righteousness and justice? We treat all people with respect and dignity, even and especially those who are most helpless and defenseless. We make sure our practices and policies reflect God’s revealed values, even when we operate in “the world.” We use the power and opportunity given to us to be people of biblical justice. We don’t turn the other way when we see injustice, but invest our energies so that God’s justice and righteousness might take form in and ultimately transform our world.

Christians have often (but not always) perceived Islam as a political, economic and theological threat, and have painted Islam in negative hue, in contrast to their own positive self-image. Many Muslims, likewise, have been inclined to regard Christianity and Christendom - often identified with each other and with the West - as engaged in an ongoing crusade against the Muslim world. The mass media continue with few exceptions, to perpetuate such images.

C.S. Lewis’ view of paganism and Christianity is much less dualistic in its perspective than that of the majority of mainstream Christianity. While Lewis had certain misgivings and concerns about paganism, he saw it as essentially related to Christianity at its most fundamental level. It was this relatedness that gave Lewis the passion to articulate a dynamic dialogue in his fiction and non-fiction alike between paganism and Christianity. The question before us, then, is: what conclusions and implications does this leave us as Christians? Many object to the idea that paganism and Christianity are related and view Lewis’ conceptions as radical, if not dangerous or heretical. Is Lewis alone in his assertions? Anglican theologian and priest A.G. Hebert writes --

Yet many of the early Fathers, and the best Christian theologians generally, have been ready to allow a measure of truth in pagan religions. More than this, we have before our eyes the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel, which was almost certainly written in Ephesus, in the midst of the splendour [sic] of Greek civilization, and speaks of the Divine Word as the source of all that was good and true in the pagan world.

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.

Christward movement

A Church-Planting Movement (CPM) is in many ways actually a church leadership multiplication and development movement. The difference between planting churches and seeing sustained movements is usually linked to leadership development. No matter how many churches are planted, unless the cultural insiders become leaders, the churches will remain foreign and either reproduce slowly or reach a plateau when the initial leader(s) become overloaded.

Can we as outsiders recognize or create a truly indigenous church? First we need a working definition of an indigenous church. A community of believers who worship Christ according to their cultural norms. The structure and methods of the community are created through the host culture seeking God in Scripture. To help us separate our conception of church with seats and western music and logical/academic sermons I’ll use the term Christward movement to describe what may be called an indigenous church.

While local church engagement seems to be normative in Scripture and church history, Christ's parables about the Kingdom suggest other interesting possibilities. The kingdom, we're told, is small (a mustard seed), almost imperceptible, and spreads in surprising ways. It's a vision that seems spiritually compatible with the "weakness" and incarnational nature of insider movements. In Luke 13, the kingdom is like a "little bit of yeast," that when tossed into the dough, leavens the whole loaf. It's like the "smallest of seeds," that when it is grown, will host the birds of the air. In Matthew 13, it's a treasure hidden in a field.

The Bridges of God

Christward Movements in Contemporary India

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.

 

Insider movement

Insiders are said to remain within their former religion for the purpose of witnessing to family and
neighbors. Is Baptism discouraged (or delayed) among insiders for fear that the baptized in another
culture will suffer economic difficulties, family divisions, or deadly persecution? These are things
that Western Christians generally have not had to face. Do we hesitate to ask others to suffer what we
have not? That call to discipleship is neither ours to make nor ours to brush aside. The Lord of the
Church Himself has already called: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take
up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for my sake will save it" (Luke 9:23-25; see also Luke I8:28-30).

Piper Responds to the Insider Movement

Unheralded

The Hidden History of Insider Movements

Piper Responds to the Insider Movement

John Nevin, Insider Movements and other forms of churchless Christianity

Insider Movements

High Stakes: Insider Movement Hermeneutics and the Gospel

Insider Movements - Gutting the Bible

What is the insider movement?

Graveyard of Missions and Contextualization

Some of the places that have been called graveyards of missionaries in this sense are: Burma; the West Indies; Sierra Leone; Mosul; Suriname; Africa; Liberia; western Africa.

"1872 Baptist Missionary Mag. 52/6 o.s. (2/6 n.s.) (Jun.) 189 : Even in Arracan, the disappointer of hopes and the graveyard of missionaries, there was light. Mr. Ingalls went there in 1846. Soon there was one conversion. Then, one night in an inquiry meeting ten presented themselves for prayer—a rare thing indeed for Burmans. 1880 The Christian Treasury 441 : Fourteen brethren and four sisters had arrived to found a missionary colony at St. Croix, an island which Dober knew to be fatally unhealthy, and nothing but a rank wilderness. He looke dupon the colony as doomed to failure. A few months proved his fears to have been correct, as no less than ten of the settlers fell victims to the pestilential climate, and the rest had to take temporary refuge on other islands. It was many years before this “Graveyard of missionaries,” as Zinzendorff called it, became habitable, though now among the most flourishing and healthy of the missions in the West Indies."

The Church serves the kingdom by her intercession, since the kingdom by its very nature is God's gift and work, as we are reminded by the gospel parables and by the prayer which Jesus taught us. We must ask for the kingdom, welcome it and make it grow within us; but we must also work together so that it will be welcomed and will grow among all people, until the time when Christ "delivers the kingdom to God the Father" and "God will be everything to everyone" (cf. 1 Cor 15:24, 28).

In planting new simple churches it is important to follow Jesus strategy of looking for a “child of peace” or a “house of peace”. When found one, you can start a new simple church among their web of relationships.

The presence of God’s people in a given location will affect daily life as individuals experience a renewal of traditional social patterns. This renewal, however, will substantially be a renewal of the existing patterns. For this reason, planters must quickly learn the real life issues associated with the people among whom they intend to plant a church. What does it look like for people in this community to celebrate, mourn, confess and repent, encourage each other, and show love? Where do people go to have fun, relax, worship, grow, shop, and eat? These questions address issues of social-relational contextualization that are integral to reaching people from a culture that differs from one’s own culture. Understanding transition rituals, crisis rituals, and other types of rituals provides helpful insight for the church planter attempting to understand local life expressions, but may also provide an entry point for the pastor to minister in the midst of these crucial community and family processes.

In addition to right preaching, those early believers had right life-style. They actually practised what they
preached, and Acts 2.42-47 gives us a glimpse of that. Before we start to think that the early church was just a wonderful community centre looking after people’s social needs, let’s just look at v42 to see their priorities, … : God’s Word, holy communion, prayer. And because they were Bible-based,
prayerful people, the Spirit was doing great things among them, v43… They had an expectation that God could and would do miraculous things in their lives. Do you? I know lots of churches which have great social programs, but the Word of God is not central, nor is prayer. I also know churches where gospel preaching and prayer are at the heart, but there’s little social concern. Acts 2 shews we need both. Doesn't 3 James in his letter famously teach us that ‘faith without works is dead, being alone’ (ie useless)?

You will never build the walls of your life until you have first become greatly concerned about the ruins. Have you ever taken a good look at the ruins in your own life? Have you ever stopped long enough to assess what you could be under God, and compared that with what you are? Have you looked at the possibilities that God gave you in your life, and seen how far you have deviated from that potential? Like Nehemiah, you have received word, in some form or other, of the desolation and ruin there. When Nehemiah hears this report about Jerusalem, he weeps and prays for days, showing his intense concern. You will never rebuild the walls of your life until you first weep over the ruins.

Today, as in the past, that mission is difficult and complex, and demands the courage and light of the Spirit. We often experience the dramatic situation of the first Christian community which witnessed unbelieving and hostile forces "gathered together against the Lord and His Anointed" (Acts 4:26). Now, as then, we must pray that God will grant us boldness in preaching the Gospel; we must ponder the mysterious ways of the Spirit and allow ourselves to be led by Him into all the truth (cf. Jn 16:13).

The Cross in the Nuclear Age

Contextualizing the Power and the Glory

The Insider Movement in Missions

MISSION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION

from Graveyard to Vineyard

 Contextualization Revisited

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?

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?

Holy Spirit giving rapid increase moving through the peoples of the earth

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2 changed the church and they changed the world. The same has happened since the renewal of Pentecostal experience 100 years ago. 614 million people or over 30% of all adherents to Christianity are now Spirit Empowered (Charismatic/Pentecostal) according to the most recent Pew Forum survey. Growth rates in this Empowered movement between 1910 and 2010 were nearly four times the growth rate of Christianity and the world’s population. Harvey Cox, a Harvard University professor, says of Spirit Empowered Christianity that it is “the fastest growing Christian movement on earth.”

The rapid increase in urbanization and the socio-political oppression of Black South Africans between 1960 and 1990 may be one reason for the remarkable growth of Pentecostalism during this time. The insecurities inherent in rapid urbanization provide strong incentives for people separated from their roots to seek new, culturally and socially meaningful religious expressions, especially in a society where there was no access to the instruments of social and political power. The increasing disillusionment experienced by Black people in South Africa's political matrix resulted in a rejection of European values and religious expressions such as those found in ‘mainline’ churches. As Jean Comaroff has demonstrated, the Zionist churches were ‘a more radical expression of cultural resistance’ for those dispossessed by colonialism than that of the more orthodox Protestant churches. She sees the symbols of Zionist ritual as an enduring form of resistance to White hegemony, ‘returning to the displaced a tangible identity and the power to impose coherence upon a disarticulated world’. Comaroff’s study suggests that the forms of socio-political protest exhibited by this ‘cultural resistance’ are implicit rather than explicit, but are nevertheless all-pervasive. This is true of all kinds of African Pentecostalism, which have not yet adjusted to the new political freedom, but this preoccupation with ‘cultural resistance’ may be one of the reasons why the ZCC could not contribute much more than to protest about violence to the TRC. The prolongation of this ‘cultural resistance’ mindset, although not as escapist as the ‘evil forces’ mindset of the White Pentecostals, nevertheless may be out of touch with the new political realities.

Practically speaking, the peoples of the earth are a reality that we dare not ignore, even if we want to. They are a God-created reality that will be with us until the end. Every ministry, strategy, or methodology that ignores the reality of people group dynamics and the need for an indigenous church- planting movement within each people will do so at the cost of wasted time, money and manpower.

The equipment of small native congregations of Christians with full power and authority as local Churches would remove most, if not all, of the present causes of trouble. We should cease to talk of a native church as something to be attained after long years, or generations of probation. There would be native Churches at once which all men would recognize as native. There would be ample opportunity for the ablest and strongest native minds to exercise all their powers in the direction and advancement of the churches. Without further words we should have proved to all men that we do not preach Christ in order to extend our dominion as our enemies assert: we should have proved that we really mean the words which we now too often use without any demonstration that we really know their meaning--that we desire to be helpers, not lords over other men's souls.

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.

Who Is the Holy Spirit and Why Did He Come?

THE HOLY SPIRIT

GREAT HEALING REVIVALISTS - 

HOW GOD'S POWER CAME