A WESLEYAN MISSION OF JUSTICE

By David Wesley
Nazarene Theological Seminary

There are very few movies which I have attended that people actually applaud as the ending credits begin. The movie, “Amazing Grace” was one of those movies.

In the early 1800's William Wilburforce was an up-and-coming member of the English Parliament, when he was converted under Wesley’s ministry. He couldn't see how he could ever remain in the parliament while being committed to Christ. His uncle, John Newton (writer of the song Amazing Grace) and others encouraged him to stay in politics and see what God might have him do. Little did he know that he would be called upon to lead the fight for the abolition of the slave trade which led to Parliament finally outlawing England's participation in the slave trade in 1807.

It is interesting that the last letter that John Wesley wrote was to William Wilberforce. The letter concerns his thoughts upon slavery and encouragement for Wilberforce to take action for change.

While this is fascinating history, I am not sure how to process it. Perhaps I have more questions than answers at this point, but in this year of the 200th anniversary since British Parliament abolished slavery, wouldn't it be ironic if Wesleyan Christians were more excited about what God did through William Wilberforce and John Wesley to fight slavery in 1807 than about what God wants to do through us to fight slavery in 2007?

There are incredible similarities in the world of Wilburforce and Wesley and contemporary global society. According to Gary Haugon, founder of International Justice Mission (IJM), “there are more slaves in the world today than were extracted from Africa during 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. More than 25 million human beings are slaves in 2007. They are not slaves in a metaphorical sense. They are held in forced servitude by other human beings”
( http://www.ijm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=178&srcid=-2) .

If we interpret our mission to actually be participation in God’s mission, we have to ask ourselves the hard question of “what is God’s mission in our world which is plagued by slavery and genocide?” and “how do we participate in what He is doing?”

I would be the first to say that I don’t have an easy answer to those questions. I do know, however, that we cannot answer with indifference. Perhaps God is calling you, or calling me to be a part of His mission and to be the voice of “Real Christianity” in a desperate world.

I invite your thoughts and reactions!

The following is from the last letter of John Wesley written to William Wilburforce:

Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be fore you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.

Global Mission Conference

On March 30th, I will be in Amsterdam for the first Global Missiology Conference that, to my knowledge, has been organized for the Church of the Nazarene. The conference was born out of some conversations that several of us were having in relation to a dream to form a network of Wesleyan Missiologists who could share resources and ideas.

Papers have been written for this conference which deal with the realities of Globalization, Global changes, Anthropology of Globalization and of a flat world which affect every aspect of the world and time in which we live. These changes whether they are just a popular trend or whether they are indicators of greater changes to come are causing many to rethink paradigms of transnational organizations including mission organizations which deal directly with people in a variety of social situations. Mission organizations are forced to address how an increasingly interdependent world is changing the dynamic of mission organizations themselves. While these dynamics do indeed have a great impact on sociological, financial and structural implications of organizations on a global scale, the anthropological issues of individuals and local culture are essential aspects which missions cannot overlook.The purpose of this conference and the papers which have been written is to address how the Mission of God is carried out by the Body of Christ in this context. Our particular focus is on the role of the Church of the Nazarene.

It will be fascinating to listen in and participate in the conversations with missiologists who teach in various educational settings around the world, with mission administrators, as well as missionaries who live in the reality of a changing world. Hopefully the diversity will bring greater depth to the conversation.

I would invite you to read the papers for yourself in order to get a good idea of the discussions. You can locate the papers at the NTS Center for Intercultural Studies Site (see link on the right side of this blog). Shortly after the conference I hope to post photos and follow up conversations about the conference on the same site. I welcome any comments that you may have about any of the papers posted for the conference.