Global Christian Forum

DOCUMENTS

• Proposals for the Future of the Forum
• Discerning What God is Doing among His People Today: A Personal Journal - paper delivered by Dr Wonsuk Ma
• When East Meets West and North Meets South : The Reconciling Mission of Global Christianity – paper delivered by Dr Cheryl Johns
• Words of Encouragement – address by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
• Bible Studies
• Tribute to Dr George Vandervelde

BIBLE STUDIES

1. Learning from Paul to pray for one another (Ephesians 1: 15-23)

15 Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Study guide Ephesians 1: 15-23

Our approaches to unity, which by necessity focus on dogmatic, historical, and organizational issues, can lead us to underestimate the availability of God’s power to guide us on the path of unity, a power that is accessed through prayer. As a result, we don’t pray enough for one another’s churches and communities and allow that experience of prayer for each other to transform our attitudes and mutual relations. In this passage, Paul offers some directions for our prayer for one another’s communities.

As we know, the words "in Ephesus" are lacking in some early manuscripts, and indeed, in this passage, Paul appears to be writing to Christians who are from his own community, but whom he appears to know from the information of others. He learns two things about them that lead him to keep on thanking God for them and remembering them in his prayers. One is their faith in the Lord Jesus, and the other is the love they have for all the saints. Do our churches continue this practice of Paul? How often we thank God for the faith in Jesus Christ that we find in other Christian churches or the love for God's people that we see being lived out other Christian groups? What specifically should thank God for when we reflect on the Christian life lived by churches and communities other than our own? What aspects of their faith life and their loving diakonia are we especially grateful for?

But Paul also prays that God will bestow grace on these other communities. He asks God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they know God better. [One could also translate this "that God give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation," but it comes down to the same thing, that God send the Holy Spirit on our fellow churches to make them wise and to reveal God’s own will to them.] All of our churches need to grow continually in the knowledge of God and God’s will, but this is only possible if God grants them the wisdom "that comes from above." If we really want other Christian churches to grow in knowledge of God, we have to keep asking God to grant them wisdom. It is especially important to make this prayer when they have synods, elections, or important decisions to make, or when they are experiencing moments of crisis or confusion. Each of our churches must be able to count on the spiritual support of Christians of other churches.

Paul asks that "the eyes of their hearts" be illumined so that they know three things: 1) the common hope to which all Christians have been called, 2) the riches of the one Christian inheritance of which all are heirs, 3) the incomparable power of God at work among all, the same power that God showed in raising Christ from the dead and making him the source of all fullness and unity. Our heart - that intuitive faculty of perceiving that transcends rational thought, but by grace attains to wisdom – has eyes, but usually those eyes are so dim that they fail to recognize the bases for unity among us. With Paul, should we not be praying that God enlighten the eyes of the heart of all Christians to know that one hope to which we’ve been called, the common inheritance of Christian faith and life in which we variously share, and God’s mighty power at work to bring us into unity and fullness in Christ? Perhaps one of the reasons why we seem to make so little progress on the path toward full, visible Christian unity is that we don't have enough confidence in this "spiritual" side of ecumenism.

Discussion questions:

2.4 Divided Body in the Name of Mission II: Which Church?

Our family’s move from a small town to a nearby city was also a move from a one-church community to a many-church setting. In the new city, by my Mom’s choice, we all moved to a small Pentecostal church under a woman pastor. In Korean society this is by no means a respected congregation even among fellow Christians. This “weeping church” so aptly described, because of various emotional expressions freely displayed, was where desperate youths, mothers and families came to weep and find hope for life. Even my Christian uncles (on my mother’s side) urged us to get out of this “cultish and indecent” church, where nonsensical claims of healing and miracles were regularly made, not to mention the controversial “speaking in tongues.” But my mother weathered the years of hardship, and this time criticisms from fellow Christians were added to the struggles with non-believing in-laws and other family members. I used to think that we needed to overcome the “world,” but this time I also found out that we needed to overcome our fellow believers! With hindsight, I can see that there were doctrinal issues that divided the church. But I have also experienced enough cases to realize that small differences (often relational) or utterly “worldly” cravings for power and control have divided local congregations. From one Presbyterian church (in fact, only one “Korean Church” as early Presbyterian and Methodists decided) in Korea about 120 years ago, there are now more than 100 Presbyterian denominations, some due to “imports,” but most are due to domestic divisions. Each group’s claim for authenticity and truth, at the cost of others, is blatantly un-Christian.

My Pentecostal “table” was turned around as the Pentecostal movement spread its wings globally. By the time my wife and I were deeply involved in tribal areas in the northern Philippines, my Pentecostal denomination was the biggest and strongest, and still is the fastest growing. When we opened a church in a deep mountain village some years ago, one existing “liberal” church simply died, and we “praised” the Lord for his wonderful work. We thought that Christ’s “full gospel” had finally arrived in this place. However, I quickly realized that there were hundreds of small villages in the mountains without a single Christian family, let alone a church. As most zealous missionaries from “new” (or “southern”) churches would do, we were busy trying to evangelize everyone, including other Christians. In fact, we seem to have spent more energy in “converting” other Christians into our form of Christianity than we did non-believers. (Local) church growth was equated with the Kingdom growth, even if sheep-stealing is part of the strategy. The extremely individualistic nature of “evangelical” Christianity has spent much time and energy trying to figure out who is in and who is out. Anyone who is out should be “evangelized,” be they Catholic or otherwise.

It was only when I began to meet with brothers and sisters from other Christian churches did it become apparent that I was not only ignorant, but also arrogant. In fact, when I saw a good post-Pentecostal scholar enjoying his cigar, my confusion was at its height: how can the mouth which smokes speak “heavenly language” (or tongues)? I was genuinely worried about the Holy Spirit who might have to look for fresh air. My understanding of church (ecclesiology), the Holy Spirit (pneumatology) and mission was hopelessly shallow and narrow. Later did I also realize that the gift of the Holy Spirit in the twentieth century was intended for the whole church. Only a few courageous Pentecostals like David du Plessis understood the mind of the Holy Spirit and took this very good news to other Christian churches, while they received severe criticism from their own churches.

It is also noticeable that the ecumenical movement which has worked to bring various Christian churches together has created, ironically, an environment for some churches to find it simply impossible to approach the network. It has inadvertently formed a “game plan” to know which belong to the “in church” and which are “outside” of the circle. How the Catholic Church has defined a genuine church and a second class church is a similar practice.

My “evangelize-everyone” attitude began to change when I started meeting wonderful new friends who dress and worship differently than I do. After all, I found out that I must look quite strange to them as well. This “church unity by fellowship” (koinonia) has been something I have observed from my youth: average Christians care very little about denominations. I also noted that from diverse orientations, common experiences of the Holy Spirit bring together God’s people for celebration. This “spontaneous ecumenism” was noted from the Azusa Street Mission, the very birthplace of the modern Pentecostal movement. My own experience of working with various church traditions in mission settings suggests that common commitment to mission is another platform where church unity can be experienced. This still leaves a legitimate place for a structural effort to create church unity.

2.5 A Tale of Two Siblings

My first exposure to the Edinburgh Missionary Conference (1910) was almost by accident. I was a mission practitioner whose academic training was in Biblical study. Even the second Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism in Manila (1989) was not of interest to me, even if it did take place in the same county where I was working. Only when I was invited to participate in the preparatory conference for the Edinburgh centenary (2005), did I become aware of this historic event and its enduring effect since then. As a Pentecostal, this was a new discovery. The following is a story of the two global missionary movements of the twentieth century, the Edinburgh Conference and the Pentecostal movement, born in the same decade (1900s) and but with very little contact with each other. Yet both have exerted an enormous influence on Christianity today, like a tale of two siblings who never met each other.

The Edinburgh gathering in 1919 was the first concerted effort to bring Christian mission agencies and churches together, resolved and devised plans to finish the job in “this [their] generation.” This primarily western “mainline” Christian gathering was filled with optimism that this was at last achievable, not only because of the corporate efforts, but also through the progress of western civilization and colonial powers which controlled most of the “heathen” world. The conference adopted well-prepared documents to guide Christians to complete the Great Commission soon. As it explored critical mission themes over the first half of the last century, the two world wars shattered the optimism that prevailed at the conference. Soon after the second war ended, many “heathen” nations gained their independence, and the tradition crystallized into an ecumenical movement so giving birth to the WCC, although a mission commission, the heir of the Edinburgh Conference, joined the body a few years later. The second half of the century was a story of ecumenism but by the end of the first fifty years of its existence serious issues had surfaced. The WCC was born out of a missionary movement, which recognized that church unity is an integral part of, or prerequisite for, mission. To an outsider, it is an unfortunate development that the WCC should have been a mission body with the ecumenical unit under its wing. To be truthful to the original idea, church unity should have been explored always in the context of mission, but in reality, mission has been truncated into the discussion of church unity. Some believe that this is one reason why the traditional “mainline churches” (particularly in the West) have steadily lost its influence, membership and resources.

By contrast, the Pentecostal movement began as a marginalized fringe Christian phenomenon in the downtown of Los Angeles. Although mockery from the society was harsh, the most unbearable attacks were lodged by fellow Christians. In every aspect, they were the powerless, as the Azusa Street Mission was headed by an African-American preacher William J. Seymour. The marginalized and “poor” were attracted to the message of God’s immanent presence by manifestations such as healing, miracles, and religious ecstatic experience (or “baptism in the Holy Spirit”). With its missionary fervor instantly recognizable, the Pentecostal movement was predominantly a revival phenomenon. This “religion of the poor” survived through its endless divisions and doctrinal controversies and also never-ending external marginalization and criticisms. Thus, for the first half century of its existence it remained as a fringe movement.

However, its adherents hold a strong conviction that the “best thing” (Christ) in their life was even bettered by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and they were extremely eager to spread the good news to the fellow “poor.” This “fired-up poor” brought the movement during the second half of the last century into a global expansion in various shapes and forms. This movement of “primal spirituality” has had a particular appeal to those who are “poor” in many ways (economically, socially, politically etc.), and who live in the developing countries. Many “indigenous” types of Christianity, closely resembling the Pentecostal spirituality, but without any historic tie to the North American “springhead,” have been “discovered.” This spiritual and renewal movement, without any global structure or umbrella organization, has become a powerful missionary movement, evident in its exponential growth. In its zealousness for mission, however, church unity was completely ignored, even though the Azusa Street Mission demonstrated the powerful potential of the Spirit for church unity.

These two most powerful mission movements of the twentieth century are in good contrast in their birth stories. What is equally noticeable is their ethos of mission: the ecumenical initiative is a “gathering into” movement (centripetal), while the Pentecostal-charismatic movement is a “spreading out” movement (centrifugal). Now with a century of experience behind them, each one has begun to reflect on itself: recognizing its own strength and achievements as well as being self-critical about its weaknesses and mistakes. Understandably the WCC views one in a more organized way, while the other one is still in a “spontaneous” way. The recent general assemblies of the WCC highlighted the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and took steps to intentionally include some Pentecostal delegates. Its latest Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Athens (2005) is another case in point: its theme was “Come Holy Spirit, and Heal and Reconcile.” The presence of Pentecostal Christianity in the gathering was evident not only in the plenary speeches, but also in the workshops and worship programmes. The creation of a more neutral and new space such as the Global Christian Forum is an indication of this growing awareness.

From the Pentecostal perspective, some churches, particularly from the “southern” continents, have slowly joined various gatherings of the WCC or its national councils. Often this move comes with much criticism from their fellow Pentecostal churches, sister organizations and their own constituencies. Ecumenical dialogues are in progress with the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformed Churches, Lutherans as well as the WCC at the global level, while growing national or local dialogues take place. Unlike their dialogue partners, Pentecostal delegates are all individuals without any representing authority from their Pentecostal churches.

This self-critical reflection and growing awareness of each other through various (some times courageous) contacts has led the two siblings much closer to each other than was possible decades ago. As the Edinburgh centenary celebration is being planned, this may be a historic opportunity to bring the divided church together for its mission. Even the 2010 Edinburgh conference is correcting its mistakes by becoming as inclusive as possible, ecclesiastically (as now Catholics, evangelicals and Pentecostals are included) and geographically (with an intentional effort to reflect the current global Christian status with the “southern” majority). We have to confess that this divided history was not the Lord’s intent, but human short-sightedness and failure to recognize the divine intent. In spite of human failure, the Spirit with his creativity and graciousness brought forward God’s mission and now brings his church together for the same mission.

2.6 Huge Fringe: “Southern” Christianity

Earlier we discovered that one division among the churches was between the “mainline” and evangelical churches. The former was generally regarded as “liberal” in their attitude toward the scriptures, mission and the world (including other religions), while the latter as “conservative” in the same areas. The former is generally found in the fold of the WCC, while the latter “outside” of it. Regardless of their theological stance, however, in earlier days the western churches were the missionary-sending entity (benefactor, thus “Christian” as they were “missioning”), while the nations and states of the global south were considered the mission field (beneficiary, “heathen,” thus, “missioned”). This global divide was the setting one hundred years ago (e.g., in the time of the Edinburgh conference).

Now the rule of dividing the Christian world has changed drastically. The southward move of the centre of the global Christian gravity means there are far more (about four times more) Christians in the global south than in the north (or “west”). The rapid increase of “southern” missionaries is also a natural consequence, already outnumbering their traditional western counterparts. For example, Korea is the second largest missionary-sending nation after the United States, while the highest missionary-sending country per capita is surprisingly Mongolia. The ambitious plan (but not at all surprising considering the huge Christian population that is still growing) of the Chinese house church networks to raise 200,000 missionaries in the near future to reach “Back to Jerusalem” can be a reality. These are just numbers. However, equally significant is what is “under the hood.”

Southern Christianity has exhibited several important characteristics. The first is its holistic understanding of the Christian faith. It is not only the spiritual aspect of salvation that is important, but also the material and physical aspects as well. In a way “life before death” and “life after death” come together to form a complete spectrum of human life. In fact, a supreme God who cannot bring physical healing today, while promising an eternal life after one dies, is not convincing at all to people, who regularly expect their ancestor spirits to bring healing and good fortune. Equally holistic is the understanding of the natural and supernatural world. In the religious worldview where spirits, gods and demons are perceived to be extremely active in human affairs, it is no wonder that southern Christianity includes spiritual beings in religious life, and phenomena such as miracles and exorcism. Socially speaking, becoming Christian often comes with a high cost in many parts of the southern world, where Christianity is a minority “foreign” religion. Only with the strong conviction that the best thing in life is Christ can Christians persevere in this hostile environment. Furthermore, generally speaking, these southern Christians take the scripture at its face value, unlike western sophisticated methods of biblical interpretation with their high degree of skepticism and suspicion. Unquestionable acceptance of religious teaching is part of their culture. This explains why the same church (e.g., Anglican) demonstrates a remarkable difference between the West and the South (e.g. Uganda) over issues like human sexuality. Now the clearest divide in global Christianity is between the North and the South. This too-good-to-be-true picture is not without problems. There is a great danger for Christianity to be reduced to old religion where deities are “used” for human consumption. Nonetheless, southern Christianity has shown great potential to renew global Christianity, while deeply engaging in a completely non- or even anti-Christian society. This makes today’s Christian mission extremely viable and effective.

3. Conclusion

The last one hundred years have shown us the remarkable work of God, as global Christianity has gone through unprecedented world crises and yet faced incredible opportunities. Christian unity will continue to remain a major challenge for Christian communities. There will be more reasons why divisions will further intensify, on the one hand, and a more urgent and predominant reason why the church should work together, on the other hand. The mission of God is to bring complete restoration to his creation through the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. If mission has divided the church, it is entirely due to human fault. In fact, mission is to bring the church together.

Thus, our journey as fellow Christians has taught us that church unity is like riding a bicycle. We will fall unless we go forward. Church unity was rightly perceived within the context of mission, and this should continue. Called by one God, redeemed through the one Lord, and empowered through the presence of the one Spirit, church-together is not only a dream but also a possibility. There is a potential for spontaneous ecumenicity through loving fellowship and Spirit-led worship. Working together for the cause of God’s kingdom is another viable arena for church-together. We have sufficient experience to further pursue this aim.

Then how can organic or spontaneous ecumenism be structurally regulated so as to perpetuate it? This represents a serious challenge as the history of ecumenism in the last half a century exemplifies. For this reason, we should not overlook the role of learning and reflection: the earnest desire to learn from the scripture and from fellow Christians should lead us to develop a desire to be one. Occasions like this have the potential to foster such authentic ecumenicity by combining open koinonia, Spirit-filled worship, and diligent learning to discern what the Lord is doing in different Christian communions. It is all for God’s mission’s sake that we are called together to be in one body so that the world may know that we are the people of God (John 17:21, 23). An African saying may encourage us: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Wonsuk Ma (wma@ocms.ac.uk) served with his wife, Julie, as a Korean missionary to the Philippines since 1979, engaging primarily in tribal church planting and leadership training. He now serves as Executive Director of Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford, United Kingdom.

1 My statement of “Mission as the Restoration of God’s Creation” is found in Wonsuk Ma, “The Spirit of God in Creation: Lessons for Christian Mission,” Transformation 24:3 & 4 (July & Oct 2007), pp. 222-230, esp. p. 227.
2 Also, as I am trying to avoid excessive academic terms and expressions and maintain the oral feature of the presentation, some generalizations will be unavoidable.
3 David Aikman, Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2003), pp. 193-205; Paul Hattaway, Back to Jerusalem: Three Chinese House Church Leaders Share their Vision to Complete the Great Commission (Waynesboro, GA: Authentic Media, 2003).
4 The conference theme, “The Evangelization of the World in This Generation,” was indeed the watchword of the missionary community in the western world.
5 I have personally been impacted by a young woman single missionary Ruby Rachel Kendrick (1983-1908) who died in Korea within a short time after her arrival. His tombstone reads, “If I had a thousand lives to give, Korea should have them all.” Taek-bu Jun, Yanghwa-jin Missionary Biographies [in Korean], rev. ed. (Seoul: Hongsung, 2005) includes many of such records of early missionaries in Korea.
6 Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, “The Lausanne Covenant” (July 1974) found, among others, at http://www.lausanne.org/lausanne-1974/lausanne-covenant.html, accessed on Sept 11, 2007.
7 David du Plessis, A Man Called Mr. Pentecost: The Story of a Legendary Missionary to the Church (South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1977).
8 This term was used in describing an unexpected ecumenical phenomenon among Pentecostals and Catholic Charismatics by Koichi Kitano, “Spontaneous Ecumenicity between Catholics and Protestants in the Charismatic Movement” (PhD dissertation, Centre Escolar University, Manila, 1981).
9 Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006), p. 134 reprints such a cartoon ridiculing the Pentecostal movement.
10 Robeck, The Azusa Street Mission and Revival, esp. pp. 87-128 describes the pivotal role of Seymour in the Mission.
11For example, Allan Anderson, Spreading Fires: The Missionary Nature of Early Pentecostalism (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2007), pp. 149-190 notes that as early as 1906 (the same year when the Azusa Street Mission began), a Pentecostal missionary was present in the “Bible Lands” (p. 152-53).
12 Patrick Johnston and Jason Mandryk, Operation World, 21st century edition (Cumbria, UK: Paternoster, 2001), p. 3 predicts close to one billion Pentecostal-Charismatic believers by 2010.
13 The inter-racial and ecumenical nature of the Azusa Street Mission has been well documented. For the recovery of this tradition, specifically for Asian Pentecostals, see Robeck, Cecil M., Jr. “Pentecostal Ecumenism: An Introductory Essay for Asian Pentecostals.” Asian Journal of Penteocstal Studies 2:1 (1999), pp. 87-103
14 The most obvious is the theme of the seventh general assembly in Canberra, Australia (1991): “Come Holy Spirit, Renew They Whole Creation.” The theme of the latest ninth general assembly still maintains the emphasis, although less explicit: “God, in your grace, transform the world.”
15 “Conference on World Mission and Evangelism” (http://www.mission2005.org/, May 19, 2005), checked: Oct 25, 2007.
16 For example, “Evangelism, Proselytism and Common Witness: The Report from the Fourth Phase of the International Dialogue 1990-1997 between the Roman Catholic Church and some Classical Pentecostal Churches and Leaders,” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 2:1 (1999), pp. 105-151.
17 For example, “Word and Spirit, Church and World: The Final Report of the International Dialogue between Representatives of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and Some Classical Pentecostal Churches and Leaders 1996-2000,” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 4:1 (2001), pp. 41-72.
18 Towards 2010, “Edinburgh 2010—Mission in Humility and Hope” (http://www.towards2010.org.uk/int_June_2005_doc.htm): checked: Oct 25, 2007.
19 It could be India in the total number, which includes many cross-cultural missionaries within country. Johnston & Mandryk, Operation World, p. 6.
20 A personal account of this sort is found in Wonsuk Ma and Julie C. Ma, “Jesus Christ in Asia: Our Journey with Him as Pentecostal Believers,” International Review of Mission 94 (2005), pp. 493-94.
21 Philip Jenkins, The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).