The DNA of the Church

On the right hand of this blog page I have a quote by David Bosch which states “It has become impossible to talk about the church without at the same time talking about mission. One can no longer talk about church and mission, only about the mission of the church…A church without mission or a mission without church are both contradictions.”

This quote is at the heart of the missional church conversation. This is a radical statement that goes far beyond churches that say “we are mission minded” or churches that talk about an active involvement in the program(s) of missions. Being missional goes far beyond doing compassionate ministries projects. If mission were a program of the church, it would be easy to decide to cut mission giving or mission type activity when finances are stretched. If, however, mission is the very nature of God or to put it another way, in the DNA of God, that is passed to His church, then it is impossible to separate mission and church. The church doesn’t just DO mission, the church IS mission. It’s in our DNA.
One implication of this is that any church in any place of the globe is intended to not only receive the Gospel, but also to take the Gospel. “Everything needed to develop mission sending capacity is already written into the DNA of any people group around the world. Likewise, there is no people group anywhere in the world that does not have the capacity to become a missionary sending force.”[i]

This is huge! This means that mission does not depend on the financial stability of a country; neither does it depend on the official sanction of the denomination. To be the Church is to be a church in mission, otherwise it is, at best, severely handicapped. Collectively, we become the people of God who participate in His mission to all people. When a church in Bolivia, Nigeria, Mongolia or any other part of the globe participates in mission, they are participating in their true nature.

This is at the heart of any real movement of God. A movement of God does not happen because of right strategy or sufficient funding. A movement of God happens when “ we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…” It is when we reflect the nature of God and become mission in our very nature.

[i] From a newsletter of SIM, emerging missions #34 written by Howard Brant

NAVIGATORS, NOT MAP READERS

by David Wesley

I recently read a blog by Len Hjalmarson in which he quotes Eddie Gibbs who states, “The Church needs navigators tuned to the voice of God, not map-readers. Navigational skills have to be learned on the high seas and in the midst of varying conditions produced by the wind, waves, currents, fogbanks, darkness, storm clouds and perilous rocks.” (Leadership Next, 66).This is a significant insight. While we have generally located ourselves on maps based on a predictable rate of change to the surrounding landscape, we are now in a time where the pace of change outstrips our ability to locate ourselves. Moreover, the increasing fragmentation of western culture makes context king - adaptive responses must be local and not something that is developed in the U.S. and passed on to other cultures. (Perhaps this was already true twenty years ago and the universalizing tendency of modernity simply made us blind to the fact.)
Navigation is a significantly different skill than map reading. The points on a map are fixed, and so when one wants to locate a point in the real world one simply locates oneself by known geography or artifacts, and then proceeds step by step methodically to the next point. If you have a compass, this is really, really easy.

But navigation requires no fixed planetary points and requires no compass. Instead, one learns to read the sky - the stars, really. Map reading is a skill that can be learned on a table top in any school room. Any ten year old can master it. And with a compass, any ten year old can go out and use that knowledge with a high degree of confidence. This skill is only useful, however, when the landscape is not changing.

Navigation, on the other hand, is a skill that does not ask for a predictable landscape. And it is learned in the wilderness or on the ocean. It requires courage and the ability to withstand harsh conditions. And it requires something that is never required of map readers: faith and a fundamental inner restfulness. When there are no physical points to locate ourselves, we rely on an imaginal map - an internal compass. That internal compass is tuned not to earthly points, but to a fixed purpose and an external reference point - the North star.

In times of global instability such as these, our true source of direction must be in something beyond finances, politics, or stability.

Short Term Missions Research Project

by David Wesley

I have recently begun a research project which explores the changing trends in how local churches participate in missions. The slideshow on this blog is the first case study that I did at Olathe College Church of the Nazarene.

It is natural that Christians would have a desire to be a part of God’s redemptive activity in the world and it is a sign of good health when a church is finding ways to use a variety of resources to the glory of God in the nations. This study seeks to explore three ways that people use resources in order to participate in missions[1] and it also seeks to explore the relation that new forms of giving may have on traditional giving of money. In many ways, people in churches today are very interested in giving to help others. Giving, however, is not limited to putting money in an offering for others to administer.
Patterns of giving amongst church members are often consistent with giving patterns outside of the church. In recent years, great media attention has been given to individuals who are donating large sums of their wealth to address global humanitarian issues. In the year 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has been reported to be the largest private funded foundation in the world was established with $126 million endowed by Bill Gates. In 2006, Warren Buffet “announced that he would donate thirty-one billion dollars over a period of years, to a foundation named not for himself but for two other major donors – Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda.”[2] According to the foundation’s website, “Since the Foundation was created, the Gates, who are considered to be the world´s biggest philanthropists, have donated over 10.5 billion dollars towards global development and the fight against diseases such as malaria and AIDS, which are devastating the most deprived areas of the world.”[3] This movement toward global aid has grown as highly visible individuals such as Bono, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolene have donated large sums of money to global, humanitarian projects.
The same trend of wealthy individuals giving to specific causes (and especially humanitarian causes) is evident in church and mission organizations as well. In the particular denomination of which I am a member (The Church of the Nazarene) two organizations have been formed in the past ten years to focus specifically on this type of giving. One organization is known as “Jesus Film Harvest Partners” which works with donors who focus their giving on “The Jesus Film Partnership” which provides equipment such as Jesus Film equipment, and other items which can be utilized for evangelism[4]. According to the 2007 published report of this organization, the income for that year was $2.9 million, most of which came from donations[5]. The second organization is the Nazarene Foundation which explicitly was created with the objective to connect giving in the Church of the Nazarene with ministry opportunities through donations of cash contributions, as well as non cash assets contributions of real estate, bonds, stocks and life insurance. This organization works with people who wish to prepare wills and long term financial planning.[6] The focus of the Nazarene Foundation is not toward a specific ministry such as the Jesus Film Harvest Partners, but rather towards people who wish to specify giving to any ministry, including humanitarian efforts administrated by the Church of the Nazarene. People who have large investments to make, often prefer to channel donations to organizations like these instead of the local church.
These sources of giving to Christian and secular related organizations are impressive. To date, within the Church of the Nazarene there has not been any substantial research which would indicate if this type of focused giving has adversely affected traditional giving to the local church as well as denomination, non specified giving. If we were to use the giving to the World Evangelism Fund –WEF[7] (which is the general fund for supporting the World Mission Department as well as the International offices) as a measure, the total amount that comes into that giving has not substantially increased or decreased in recent years. There is, however, concern within the denomination that trends toward greater designated giving and greater giving towards local compassionate ministries will affect “WEF” giving that supports the infrastructure of the denomination. According to an unpublished report prepared by a commission in the denomination to study the relationship between designated giving and “WEF” support[8], there has been growing discontent in local churches toward the budget formula. The report points out “a new type of philanthropy that is being introduced by a new generation of donors.” The report also points out that the Church of the Nazarene since its beginning has worked to find a balance between unified giving and designated giving. The conclusion of the report was that the church should continue with a combination of unified and designated giving, thus giving multiple giving tracks across socio-economical lines. This report does not take into account the growing capital found in volunteerism. Additional research would benefit the denomination in understanding the real impact that focused volunteer giving could have to specific ministry needs.
Besides the impact of designated giving of finances, the impact of volunteer efforts on traditional giving and the impact that volunteerism does or does not have on the mission of the church is also a factor for the church. Although it can only be assumed that trends in society as a whole will also be seen in the church community, it would be a safe assumption to make. According to the Department of Labor, the greatest growth in giving may not be measured in cash and may not come from foundations or individuals such as Bill Gates. The greatest giving in the U.S., however, may come from middle class individuals who serve as volunteers.
The U.S. Department of Labor released a report in February, 2008 based on a sampling of 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau of Labor Statistics which estimated that 60.8 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2006 and September 2007[9]. The proportion of the population who volunteered was 26.2 percent. The median for this time period (September 2006- September 2007) was 52 hours that ranged from a high of 96 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to a low of 36 hours for those 25 to 34 years old. At the minimum wage during this time period of $5.85 for an average of 52 hours of volunteer work per year, that represents $18.4 billion dollars in labor donated to institutions and causes.
The qualitative affect of volunteerism on organizations as well as individuals is a primordial aspect of these trends. Whether this growing volunteer resource is being used to further the objectives of the organization or it is what some have called a form of voluntourism which unites motives of tourism with a desire to contribute or gain social capital is debatable. For any organization that utilizes volunteers, it would be of great benefit to exegete the context of volunteerism as a form of capital that if used correctly could result in a positive situation for the volunteer, the organization as well as the recipients of the service. For the mission agency, theological as well as missiological issues which deal with life transformation and culture are crucial. These aspects are not easily measured, but they have long term implications that make good stewardship of human resources all the more imperative.
What is the profile of those who volunteer? For those who work with donors, it is critical to know them well. It is just as important to know those who give their time.
A few observations from the report of the U.S. Department of Labor:
* Volunteering was more prevalent among women (29.3 percent) than among men (22.9 percent), a relationship that held across age groups, education levels, and other major characteristics.
* Interestingly, persons age 35 to 54 continued to be the most likely to volunteer (30.3 percent), while 26.6 were teenagers, possibly reflecting volunteer activities in schools and churches. Young workers in their early twenties and persons 65 years or older had the lowest rates of volunteerism.
* Parents with children under age 18 were substantially more likely to volunteer (33.7 percent) for organizations focused on children than were persons without children of that age (23.2 percent). People without children were more likely to volunteer for organizations related to community service, hospitals, or social organizations. Volunteer rates were higher among married persons (31.9 percent) than among those who had never married (20.9 percent).
Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment volunteered at higher rates than did those with less education. Among persons age 25 and over, more than 4 in 10 college graduates volunteered compared with fewer than 2 in 10 high school graduates and almost 1 in 10 of those with less than a high school diploma.
A growing number of people are donating significant time and resources each year. In relation to mission organizations and especially related to Short Term Missions it is interesting that most volunteers give their time through an established organization or two. The main organization—the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year was most frequently religious (35.6 percent of all volunteers), followed by educational/youth service related (26.2 percent). Another 13.1 percent of volunteers performed activities mainly for social or community service organizations.
If we were to use the Church of the Nazarene as a case study for comparison, we find some interesting parallels. According to the 2007 database for Nazarene Volunteer Ministries which works with volunteers who channel their volunteer activities through the denominational headquarters[10], a total of 11,359 people participated as volunteers for 21-90 days. With a total church membership of 642,523 U.S. members, this represents 1.7% of the church involved in denominational volunteer ministry. Even with the fact that people volunteer outside of the denominational structure, a substantial percentage of volunteer donation is made to efforts within the denomination which can be traced in these statistics.
The labor hours represented by these volunteers represents a total of 702,290 labor hours that were donated. At the minimum wage rate of $5.85 an hour, that would total $4.1 million dollars. The amount of money that came through the Nazarene World Mission headquarters for Work and Witness[11] alone, which is one part of short term mission in the Church of the Nazarene for travel and building supplies of these teams during the same time period, was $7,215,998. That indicates that a conservative estimate is that donations through volunteer efforts in the Church of the Nazarene in 2007 were at least $11.3 million dollars. The total amount of money that was raised through offering in local churches for the World Evangelism Fund was $46,146,000 during the same time period.Considering these trends in the society as well as trends within the church, it may be surprising to find that College Church of the Nazarene’s giving patterns are atypical to these studies, and may lean toward the profile of a local church which is unchanged by the moving giving trends of similar size churches, and U.S. society. The volunteer efforts at OCCN, perhaps, are also elusive and efforts outside of STM specific efforts were not measured in this survey. The growing juxtaposition, however, of two dynamics of traditional giving and giving which is designated to specific projects and volunteerism can be seen in the case study research of College Church of the Nazarene. The system of giving to a unified denominational system through cash offering and a trend toward younger members to have a lesser value of that system can be seen in the research. The original intent of this case study was to explore the extent to which changing giving patterns; especially through volunteer efforts in Short Term Mission may have on a local church. The findings in some ways were quite distinct from my original expectations. The finding that short term missions, for example, had such a low profile in the church was quite surprising. The creative tension between general cash giving towards missions, giving to designated missions projects and volunteerism, however, are central to understanding the future of missions support in this church as well as any local church.

FINDINGS

In this brief research project of Olathe, College Church of the Nazarene, I found that the leadership of the Church as well as a large percentage of the membership of the church is highly committed to the support of the denomination of efforts of the Church of the Nazarene including its missions program. There is not, however, homogeneity in the church related to perceptions of missions or money. I found a dissimilarity in perceptions which was clearly defined by age group more than participation in short-term missions or other mission activities. In one interview with the High School pastor, it was stated that there is intentional connection in the High School programs between personal faith and the missional aspect of the church. The students understand their role as Christians to be a part of God’s mission. The traditional programs and structure of international missions in the church, however, are “invisible” to students.[1]
The following is an overview of the primary findings of the surveys and interviews of my research:
1) One of my primary objectives at the beginning of this project was to explore the interrelatedness between short term mission participation and the awareness of long term missions that may lead to giving to mission agencies through denominational faith promise giving. In this particular study I found that there is no explicit connection that can be made between short term mission participation and missions giving. People tend to give the same whether they go on STM trips or not. This finding may be disturbing to some people since it is contrary to anecdotal belief in the Church of the Nazarene as well as other churches that short term missions results in people having a greater appreciation of the missions effort of the denomination which will result in greater understanding and support of long term missions. I cross referenced various parts of the survey to arrive at this conclusion:
a. The control group for this survey was people who had not gone on any short-term mission trips. When asked if long term career missionaries are crucial to the mission of the church and should be generously supported, there was a very slight variation between those who had gone on more than four short-term mission trips and those who had not gone on mission trips. 88.9% of those who went on more than four STM trips agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. 90% of those who had never gone on a trip agreed with this statement.
b. When asked how their personal giving to Faith Promise had changed in the past five years, 33.3% of those who had gone on more than four STM trips had increased their giving compared to five years ago. 41% those who had not gone on any STM trip had increased their giving.
c. When cross referencing the number of STM trips people had taken with whether they were currently participating in Faith Promise, 51% of those who had not gone on a STM trip participated in Faith Promise. The following graph gives the full result of this comparison, with a breakdown of the number of short term trips people had taken. The total number of people who responded that they currently participate in Faith Promise giving was 113 people. 58 of the 113 who participate in Faith Promise giving had not gone on any short term mission trip. 55 of the 113 who participate in Faith Promise giving had gone on at least one STM trip.

d. Amongst those who answered that they did not currently participate in Faith Promise giving, 42 of the 77 people who do not participate in Faith Promise giving had not gone on any STM trip. 35 of the 77 had gone on a STM trip and do not currently participate in Faith Promise giving.
2) Although there is an atypically low emphasis in short a term mission at CCN, there is a very high desire to be involved in missions through participating in giving offerings, praying, and financially supporting short term missions as well as full time missionaries.
a. When asked if “the local church should give priority to Faith Promise giving, even in the face of financial crisis”, 74% of the 190 people surveyed, responded that they agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.
b. When asked, “If I had funds for giving to just one mission project, I would…”, 51% said they would invest in Faith Promise. 34% said they would invest in compassionate ministries. Only 15% said they would invest in Short Term Missions. Although Faith Promise at CCN includes a large percentage to compassionate ministries, people responded strongly to supporting just compassionate ministries as opposed to “block giving” that included compassionate ministries as well as traditional, global missions.
c. An interesting finding was that although as many as 74% of those interviewed stated that Faith Promise should be supported, even in times of financial crisis, only 59% self reported that they currently participate in Faith Promise giving. 27% percent of those surveyed, self reported that they did not participate in giving to Faith Promise or STM.
3) Age was the greatest indicator of missions giving and participation.
a. There was a balanced representation of age groups surveyed which allowed for a good comparison of tendencies according to age. The following graph shows the breakdown of the 190 people who were surveyed according to age:
b. 100% of those surveyed over the age of 66 self reported that they currently participate in Faith Promise giving. In contrast 23.4% of those between 18 and 23 self reported that they currently participate in Faith Promise giving. In the 24-35 age range, 45% of those surveyed self reported that they currently participate in Faith Promise giving, in the 36-50 age range, 93% participate and in the 51-65 age range, 81%.
c. When asked, “If I had funds for giving to just one mission project…” 57% of those in the 66+ age group answered that they would invest in Faith Promise, 28% of this age group said that they would invest in STM and 14% said compassionate ministries. The following chart shows the results of this questions, cross referenced with age group: (CM represents Compassionate ministries, STM is short term missions and FT is Faith Promise.)
Athough this chart does not represent actual giving, it does represent perceived values that people have regarding mission giving. Further research which followed these values to real giving would be helpful.
4) The survey indicated that when it comes to global ministry, there is a greater value for participating in giving of finances more than personal involvement through STM. This survey measured primarily mission activity outside of the U.S. The survey did take into account that some people would include giving to compassionate ministries through volunteering time as well as resources to be interpreted as local involvement in mission. The survey, however, did not take into account the very large participation of members of CCN in local outreach ministries. Through the interviews with the pastors as well as an overview of investments that CCN has made in ministries in their own community and throughout the U.S., it is evident that this local church is highly invested in many ministries which were beyond the scope of this study.
5) Although there continues to be a strong tie to denominational missions, I found in the leadership interviews signs of the church considering having additional ministries which partner with specific international congregations and non-Nazarene ministries. These partnerships and ties to other ministries do not seem to have an adverse affect on denominational giving, but they do indicate a tendency that is found in other large, Nazarene churches to have a greater role in their missions giving and be to move to collaboration in the greater evangelical, Christian community.

Conclusion and Suggestions

Overall, this case study research indicated a local church with a love for missions and a willingness to invest itself in others. The pastors of the church were open and anxious to participate in a study which would lead them to make decisions based on research. The findings and conclusions of this brief study come out of respect and admiration for a church that has a history of investing in long term missions efforts which have in turn impacted many lives.
1) One could conclude that this case study and this particular local church are unique in showing that STM did not result in increased support of missions. In a more comprehensive research project, it would have been beneficial to develop research tools which measured the affect of STM on the participant before as well as after the trip. It would also have strengthened the study to measure giving beyond Faith Promise and STM. A further element to strengthen this research would be to follow up on the survey in order to clarify various findings. The findings in this study, however, are consistent with findings of several qualitative studies related to STM which have been conducted in the past ten years and which utilized various research tools that I did not include in this brief study which give validity to their findings. Kurt Ver Beek, conducted a qualitative case study research of nearly 200 North Americans who went to Honduras after Hurricane Mitch to build houses. Ver Beek found that these STMs trips had resulted in very little lasting positive change in either the lives of the North American or the Hondurans[2]. Within Ver Beeks report he cross references his work with various other STM research projects and notes that of the 44 quantitative studies he reviewed, 13 followed research procedures that included “a pre and post-test of standardized questions, a post-test with a control group, or triangulation of the respondent’s answers with secondary data sources”. In 11 of these 13 studies, Ver Beek found “little or no change in short term mission participants.” This is not to say that all findings are that STM makes no impact whatsoever on participants or “recipients”. Undoubtedly there are many anecdotal examples of lives transformed and great impact being made. The findings of the Ver Beek research project was that greater impact was made when there were longer periods of time that there were joint work projects. For the purposes of this study, however, the findings were that 73% of the people at OCCN who participated in STM trips had been on trips of two weeks or less and that these experiences did not lead to measurable change in financial support of missions.
The unique aspect of this case study is that OCCN has very little emphasis on STM. In a comparison with a survey conducted by Robert Priest related to Mega Churches and missions[3], OCCN is consistent with the average of other mega churches in giving to global missions. The projected spending to global efforts through OCCN for 2009 is $485,400[4] which is within the median range for annual expenditure to ministries abroad in Priest’s survey. The per capita giving of membership to missions for OCCN is $150.88 which is also consistent with the median of mega churches researched by Priest. The comparison of OCCN and the mega churches researched by Priest are parallel at nearly every point, with the exception of short-term mission involvement. In the study that Priest conducted of 1230 mega churches, the average church had more than 100 people each year that went on international short term mission trips through the local church. In this survey, 18 of the 190 people surveyed had been on a STM trip in the past 12 months. The growing trend outside church work for individuals to be involved in volunteerism may be consistent with the involvement of members of OCCN in local ministries, although this study did not research that aspect. Every indication, however, would be that the low participation in STM through OCCN is atypical and that there may be reasons within the leadership of STM efforts at OCCN that diminish the scope that volunteer efforts through international STM has and the number of people who choose to be involved in these efforts.
2) The findings of age being an indicator of mission giving and participation is somewhat difficult to measure at OCCN. Since the church is located on the campus of Mid America Nazarene University, many of the people interviewed who were 18-23 may have been college students who came from a variety of churches and were not consistent members of OCCN. The results of their responses, however, are not completely consistent with what would be expected from a university which has a very large emphasis in short-term missions. Although one could argue that giving correlates with expendable income, it would be helpful to conduct follow up interviews with those in the 18-23 age range as well as those in the 66+ age range to find why there is such a difference in mission giving as well as attitudes toward global missions.
3) The profile of the volunteer at OCCN is somewhat elusive since many of them take in on their own initiative to find avenues to minister. This is a healthy sign that attendees of OCCN have desire to live their faith in their community. One suggestion, however, would be to form a stronger emphasis on intentional volunteer efforts (especially for short-term mission efforts) which flow from the central mission of the congregation instead of a marginal emphasis that is dependent on personalities of individuals in the church.
4) The finding of OCCN even considering congregation to congregation partnerships with international congregations and youth projects which work with Christian organizations beyond the Church of the Nazarene is significant. This may indicate a larger tendency within other Nazarene Churches to work more collaboratively with the greater evangelical community, and a tendency for large congregations to have a more active role in missions in ways that have until now been considered the role of Nazarene World Mission. The impact of this on the local church as well as the denomination which has historically tied WEF giving with missions giving should be explored.

Notes:

[1] Resources include financial resources which are focused on traditional faith promise giving, designated giving to specific ministries, and volunteer resources which are primarily donated through short-term missions.
[2] Fleishman, Joel L. The Foundation: A Great American Secret. New York, Public Affairs, 2007
[3] http://www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/ing/04/premiados/trayectorias/trayectoria807.html (accessed July, 2008).
[4] See http://www.jfhp.org/ which is the official website for this organization which states that for every $3 donated, will result in a person making a faith commitment.
[5] http://www.jfhp.org/pdf/2007_Annual_Report.pdf (accessed September 2008)
[6] This information comes from the 2007 report which in a video format and which does not provide specific income and expense reporting. See http://www.nazarenefoundation.org/annualReport2007.php
[7] WEF is the World Evangelism Fund to which Nazarene Churches contribute voluntarily. This fund is primarily understood to support the World Mission Division of the Church of the Nazarene, but it also funds the international administrative infrastructure of the Church including the international headquarters and higher education. The primary means of collecting WEF funds is through Faith Promise giving.
[8] Unpublished document prepared by a committee of the General Board of the church of the Nazarene to study how the church can most effectively respond to the growth of the designated giving in our church. This committee was formed by the action of the 78th General Assembly of the General Board, February 2001.
[9] http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf (accessed September 2008)
[10] Note that these statistics do not include those who volunteer through their local church, independent organizations or through a University unless those activities are channeled through the Church of the Nazarene International Headquarters..
[11] Work and Witness is a short-term mission program in the Church of the Nazarene which began in the mid 1970’s which focuses primarily on construction project.
[1] From an interview with Brian Wardlaw, the High School Pastor on December 3rd.
[2] See http://www.calvin.edu/academic/sociology/staff/kurt.htm “Lessons from the Sapling” in which Ver Beek gives an overview of his research. Downloaded November 24, 2008.
[3] Unpublished report of research conducted by Robert Priest in 2008 which surveyed Responses of 395 Megachurches defined as Averaging 2000 or More for Weekend Worship.
[4] Information taken from brochure used to promote Faith Promise giving printed by the church. This amount includes $365,000 toward Nazarene World Evangelism Fund, $30,000 to two Jesus Film teams, $15,000 towards initiating new work in Sierra Leone, $18,000 to global hunger relief, and various other designated projects.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

During this Thanksgiving season, I would like to offer the following prayer written by Shane Clairborne:


God of love, grace, and hope…


Thank you for creating a perfect world.

Forgive us for the mess we have made of it.

Thank you for creating Jubilee, gleaning, and Sabbath as patterns toensure that the poor are cared for, the earth rests, and inequality isdismantled.

Forgive us for choosing the patterns of empire.

Thank you for using the weak things to shame the strong and the
foolish things to confound the wise.

Protect us from becoming too strong or too wise.

Protect us from ourselves.

Forgive us…for the groaning of creation for the millions who die of hunger and curable diseases

for warehousing people in prisons and using them for labor

for the scandal of billions wasted in war for worrying about tomorrow and storing up more than this day our daily bread

for an economy that mirrors the seven deadly sins

for our Caesars and our Herods

for the violence and greed in our own hearts

Save us from ourselves.

Deliver us…from the arrogance of power

from the myth of redemptive violence

from the tyranny of greed

from the ugliness of racism from false hope and counterfeit change

from the cancer of hatred from the seduction of wealth

from the idolatry of nationalism

from the paralysis of cynicism

from the ghettoes of poverty

from the ghettoes of wealth

from the blood-stained pages of history

and from the legacy of slavery.

Deliver us oh God.

Give us the courage…to bless the poor in a world that blesses the middle class.

to bless the meek in a world that admires aggression.

to bless the hungry in a world that feeds the already fed.

to bless the merciful in a world that shows no mercy on evildoers.to bless the pure in heart in a world of clutter and noise.

to bless the peacemakers in a world that baptizes bombs.

Give us imagination…that we might not conform to the patterns of this world.

that we might shatter indifference and interrupt injustice with grace

that we might choose the cross over the sword

that we might be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves that we might consider the lillies and sparrows as they shame WallStreet’s splendor

that we might choose the dream of God over the dreams of nations

that we might cling to the God that so loved the world, not just America

that we might allow our Jesus to change America rather than America to change our Jesus.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tis a Gift to be Simple

In the past few days, many of us have been bombarded by the news of failed economy and the endless searching for someone to blame. Some of the more interesting observations have been made by Suze Orman (the loud lady with white teeth). She says (and I am paraphrasing) that all of us who have been greedy and have been driven by a panic to have more than we could afford have fed the financial crisis in which we now find ourselves. I heard Anderson Cooper of CNN say that it is the American Dream that has gotten us to this crisis.

In such an environment, I could not think of a more timely book to read than Richard Foster's Freedom of Simplicity . Although it the book was originally written in 1981, it is more applicable to us than any of the financial help books that are currently on the market. Foster's basis for "finding harmony in a complex world" go far beyond finances to the very heart of what life in Christ was meant to be. As I read the following quotes from Freedom of Simplicity, I am struck by the need for "real" Christianity to offer an alternative to madness in our confused world:

“Contemporary culture is plagued by the passion to posses. The unreasoned boast abounds that the good life is found in accumulation that “more is better.”

“Indeed, we often accept this notion without question, with the result that the list for affluence in contemporary society has become psychotic: it has completely lost touch with reality.”

“Christian simplicity frees us from this modern mania. It allows us to see material things for what they are – goods to enhance life, not to oppress life.”

“Simplicity is a grace, but is also a discipline.”

I find myself in strong agreement with all of this, but at the same time, I find myself caught up in the same whirlpool of greed and the false assumption that possessions will in some way make life more complete. Foster's words are needed medicine for all of us who claim Christianity, but how do we go beyond saying "yes that is good", to a transformation of life?

Perhaps confession is the best option, and perhaps a reminder that both holiness as well as missional should make our lives focused on something other than piling up stuff and adding franticness to my life. I welcome your comments, suggestions, disagreements, etc.

Christian Mission in a Post-American World

By David Wesley

I enjoy receiving and collecting newsletters sent out by missionaries. These letters as well as missionary blog sites lead me to pray for those who are serving Christ in exciting ways. I recently received a bulk email which was sent to a large number of people from a missionary who told an incredible story of missionaries being sent from Latin America. The letter told of a young woman preparing to go from Latin America to Europe. That in itself is an amazing, and historical story. The missionary’s letter told how the young woman had been preparing to leave her home country by training for her new cross cultural experience and also by raising support for two years in Europe. Raising this much money in her home country is enormous, and even though churches had been generous in their offerings, she was still lacking funds. The missionary’s letter went on to tell how a 15 year old boy in her Central American country heard about this, and made the decision to give a computer which he had at home to support this young woman. The boy’s parents were proud that their son had given in this way, even though this computer represented a great sacrifice that his father had made to save money from his small salary.
The missionary told how he went to this family’s humble home to pick up the computer. He also mentioned that he would be looking for someone to purchase the computer so that the money could be passed on to the work of the young woman going as a missionary to Europe. As I read this story, I thought, this is a great story of how missionaries had worked alongside people with whom they were serving in order to carry out the mission of God. The missionary assumed that the people in the country where he was serving could be missionaries just as he was a missionary; he also assumed that people could participate in sending missionaries. What an incredible story of God’s work which does not have political or economic boundaries.
For those of us, for whom a computer does not represent the equivalent of income for one year, we struggle with stories like these. We ask ourselves, “What is my offering in comparison to one like this?” or we come to the conclusion that this family’s willingness to give is great, but that we should step in and find a way to give the computer back.
In the global society in which we live, we find many complex situations like this. For those of us who live in North America, we cannot ignore the fact that even those who live at a basic level are still at the top 5% of the world’s most wealthy. What do we do with that?

Historically, the church in parts of the world with greater amounts of financial capital has struggled with developing good practices for using money in mission work to impoverished parts of society. There was a time in history when Europeans and North Americans understood mission activity to include not only spreading the Gospel, but also spreading the culture and the wealth of their nations to parts of the world that were perceived as being impoverished in the areas of Christianity, economics and advanced areas of culture. Several authors[i] in the past ten years have noted the incredible growth[ii] of Christianity in areas which historically have been recipients of missionaries from North America and Europe. At the same time, authors such as Lesslie Newbigin have noted the waning spiritual vitality, primarily in Europe. Without doubt, the center for “spiritual capital” is not one specific nation which has the responsibility to tell its story to the other nations. In the words of Peruvian missiologist, Samuel Escobar, mission’s is not an endeavor of “the west to the rest[iii].” God’s mission moves from any place where there are people whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel. It is only natural, therefore, that brothers and sisters in parts of the world who begun a journey of faith with Christ would desire to participate in God’s Mission to the nations. It is also only natural that thousands of people in local churches have a desire to participate in hands on missions through short term mission activities. Missions are not limited to “professionals”, it is not limited to those who live in wealthy countries, and it is not limited by our resources. If we truly believe that it is God’s mission that we are involved in (and I do) instead of missions being just another activity of the church which can be controlled in a mechanical manner, or just by those with resources to purchase international airplane tickets. We would also believe that God will work through brothers and sisters who are of many different cultural backgrounds and who participate in missions in ways that we never imagined. The task of missions “is being carried out by the missionaries of poorer churches who demonstrate in their own lives the truth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for the poor, the destitute and the hopeless –and not just for the rich…these missionaries are on the cutting edge of the expansion of the Kingdom today.”[iv]
In the face of these realities, some have asked, “why then do we send missionaries from North America?” or “what is a healthy way to use resources in a world with enormous disparity between those who have resources and those who do not have resources?”
In Fareed Zakaria’s recent book titled “The Post-American World”[v]. The very first phrase of the book is, “This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.” Although this is primarily a book about global economies, the very same words could be said in relation to Christianity and particularly the Church of the Nazarene. The church is not so much declining[vi] in America, but it is growing at an unprecedented rate everywhere else. What does it mean for North American Nazarene’s to participate in God’s Mission to the nations in a “Post-American” World in which Westerner’s are still a vital part of the mission, but equally a part are brothers and sisters from every part of the globe?

Although we don’t always get it right, I do believe that within the DNA of those called Nazarene’s is a deep desire to give sacrificially and to be actively involved in God’s Mission to their fellow Christians, to their community and to “the nations”. Before his untimely ‘home going’ a couple of years ago, I often had the honor of interpreting for Dr. Bruno Radi in mission services and rally’s in the U.S. With tears of gratitude, he would often make it a point to thank those in the U.S. for giving sacrificially to send missionaries through which his life and his family’s life were changed for eternity. This very same spirit of giving can be seen in the new generation of Nazarene’s in Central America, and in many other parts of the globe today where the Gospel is spreading, not because of money or technique, but rather because people are absolutely desperate for God.

The following are a few steps toward “good practices” in mission giving for consciences Christians who want to participate in God’s Mission:

1) Work with missionaries and others who understand the mission context as well as the donor’s context.
- Long term missionaries who live with the people you wish to serve, learning the language and culture are vital. From outside, one may think they understand the needs, and the best ways to use funds toward those needs, but many times my perception of the need or the solution is not correct. Long term, career missionaries who can serve as links between two cultures, matching real needs with the available funds are the first step in wise mission giving.
2) Connect giving with ‘Kingdom objectives’.
- Since buildings and projects are easy to measure and count, we often say that our goal is to “build a church”, or “show a film”. These are both excellent activities, but they are not our goal. If our ‘mission work’ does not somehow connect to the ultimate goals of the Kingdom of God, we can easily get lost in activity with no direction. Our giving should connect to long term objectives which flow out God’s Mission. This not always easy to measure or count.
3) Build integrity by working with reputable institutions rather than individuals.
- Working with a reputable institution builds integrity from the beginning. Partnership in our world is a given. In the past, dependency was seen as negative. We, however, live in an interdependent world. It is non-sense to say, “Don’t put money in a specific world area so they don’t become dependent”- you should put money into key projects that accomplish key objectives. A partnership makes both sides responsible, resulting in healthy use of available resources which reduces the risk of unhealthy dependency from person to person giving.
4) Treat people who receive as adults who are equally accountable.
- Although there may be culturally distinct values related to money, how it is to be used and accounted for, both the donor as well as the recipient or administrator of any funds must be mutually accountable and mutually respected. This implies open book accountability on all sides. Those who give should never think that their giving places them in a place of authority over those who receive.
5) Appreciate ‘spiritual capital’ as well as ‘financial capital.’
- Donors must realize that although they may have “financial capital”, the people to whom they go may have incredible “spiritual capital” and other resources which cannot be measured in Dollars and cents. Instead of assuming that you are just going to complete a project, teach other people, or build a building. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from those in other cultures who have learned to be Christian in a context that most of us struggle to live in as visitors for two weeks. It is nothing more than arrogance to assume that we cannot learn from those on the cutting edge of the Church.
6) Value giving that is two directional.
- Don’t assume that giving is one directional. The offering of the boy from Central America has value in the Kingdom of God, just as much as the wealthy person who can give large sums of money. It is exciting to see Nazarene missionaries who raise their support from churches who never thought of themselves as capable of sending missionaries. If we are to be a truly missional church which is driven by God’s Mission, this will increasingly be seen as a normal activity of the church.
7) See individual projects within the greater overall mission of the church.
- Many projects are short lived or have limited impact. The reason for this is not because they are bad projects, but rather because they are not within the vision of the area where they are implemented. The result is that there is limited follow through, or support to continue the project is not available.

There is an Umbuto, Zulu proverb which says, “A person is a person through other persons”. A similar African proverb is: “Without you there is no me.” Within the global Church, there are incredible spiritual, financial, and other resources available to edify one another and to participate in what God is doing to bring justice and reconciliation to the world. Christianity was meant to be lived as a community endeavor. Independence or Dependence are not options that we have, interdependence, however, is a real option with real possibilities for participating in God’s Global Mission.



[i] See Andrew Walls and Philip Jenkins in particular.
[ii] This is primarily spiritual vitality and passion which has resulted in numeric growth.
[iii] See Samuel Escobar’s, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from everywhere to everyone.
[iv] See Jonathan Bonk, Missions and Money
[v] Zakaria, Fareed. The Post American World
[vi] I use the word “decline” not simply in relation to statistics and church growth, but rather in a holistic manner that refers to the Church as a whole.

Money and Missions

I enjoy receiving and collecting newsletters sent out by missionaries. These letters as well as blog sites lead me to pray for those who are serving Christ in exciting ways. I recently received a bulk email which was sent to a large number of people from a missionary who told an incredible story of missionaries being sent from Latin America. The letter told of a young woman preparing to go from Latin America to Europe. That in itself is an amazing, and historical story in itself. The missionary’s letter told how the young woman had been preparing to leave her home country by training for her new cross cultural experience and also by raising support for two years in Europe. Raising this much money in her home country is enormous, and even though churches had been generous in their offerings, she was still lacking funds. The missionary’s letter went on to tell how a 15 year old boy heard about this, and made the decision to give a computer which he had at home to support this young woman. The boy’s parents were proud that their son had given in this way, even though this computer represented a great sacrifice that his father had made to save money from his small salary to buy it. The missionary told how he went to the house which was a very humble home to pick up this computer. He also mentioned that he would be looking for someone to purchase the computer so that the money could be passed on to the work of the young woman going as a missionary to Europe. As I read this story, I thought, this is a great story of how missionaries had worked alongside people to carry out the mission of God. The missionary assumed that the people in the country where he was serving could be missionaries just as he was a missionary; he also assumed that people could participate in sending missionaries. What an incredible story of God’s work which does not have political or economic boundaries.
As many bulk emails, people began to respond to this incredible story. Some responses were that North Americans should raise money to buy the computer and thus provide funds to support the young missionary woman. Other responses were that North Americans should give money so that the computer could be paid for and then given back to the boy who gave it.

What are the issues involved?
I open this blog for your thoughts:

DAD

This past week, my father, who has struggled with a form of cancer known as Multiple Myeloma for the past three years made the decision to discontinue treatments and to go home with hospice care. I made a quick trip to Oklahoma to be with my dad and mom for the weekend and to spend some time talking to my dad while he is still lucid. At moments such as this it is interesting how conversations become more focused on what is important. I know that we took every opportunity possible to let each other know how much we cared for them.

An Umbuto, Zulu proverb says, “A person is a person through other persons”. When the moments of life are measured we realize how much our lives are formed by the relationships we have with others. In the case of my father, I took time to tell him how much his life has influenced my life and how much I thank the Lord for an amazing father, through whom I can easily understand get a glimpse of what a heavenly Father must be like.

I trust that you will take time this Christmas season to focus on important things in life. And by the way, if I haven’t said it before, I thank the Lord for your life and for the opportunity to journey together with you during this time that we have the tremendous gift of life.

The following is a reading from George Carlin that he wrote just after the death of his wife:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space.
We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Saint Sabina

This past Sunday I was in Chicago and attended the Saint Sabina Church located in South Chicago. St. Sabina is a Catholic, African American congregation. When I arrived at the St. Sabina church, at approximately 11:20 am, I parked one block from the Sanctuary on the opposite side of the main entrance. I parked in front of a bar, and within one block walked past a store front African American churches which was in session and the preaching could be heard from the street as we walked by. As we approached the church, I first noticed a large lighted sign with the words: “Stop the violence, our children are dying”. Walking closer, I noticed a playground at the front of the church which had 31 wooden, mock coffins, each with a wooden cross and plastic flowers on top, which surrounded the playground. After the service, I noticed a woman standing and looking at the coffins. I asked her why there were 31? She told me that when they put the display up a few weeks earlier, “31 of our innocent children have been killed by guns this year”. I asked her, “31 from your church or from your community?” She said, “31 from the community, but since the display had been put up, 3 or 4 more children have been killed as well”. She said that just last week a young boy was sitting on his porch when he was hit by a bullet.
As I approached the main entrance I noticed a line of youth waiting to enter the sanctuary. Each were wearing a red T-Shirt which said, “Young Warriors for Christ” in the middle of the shirt, just under the word “warriors” was a crusader shield. As I entered the sanctuary, which was quickly filling to capacity (I would estimate 500-700 people were in the service) the service was already started. I first noticed several TV cameras along the sides, and also that Jessie Jackson was speaking from the front with the priest and a couple of other people at his side. Jackson told about the experience of him and the priest being arrested the day before as a result of a boycott of “Chucks Gun Store” . "Jobs are going out, guns are coming in." was a theme which Jackson had the congregation repeat with him. Jackson tied his comments to a history of African Americans who have had to fight to gain victory over slavery and in battles. As Jessie Jackson left the sanctuary, he shook hands with people, and held up a small boy.
The 3and half hour service which started when Jackson left, was an experience easier experienced than described. The mixture of Catholic and African heritage was quite unique and blended together in a very natural way.
The mission of the church is making disciples of the believers. The whole thrust of the service had a tone of moving the church outside of its walls and making an impact on a destructive society. In every sense, I would call St. Sabina a missional church. Their primary focus is not being relevant in order to get people to come into their church, but rather mobilizing the believers in the church to go out and change the world. I would encourage you to look up the website for St. Sabina, and get an idea of what a missional and yet contextualized church looks like. While you are on the site, listen to some of the sermons of father Pfleger. http://www.saintsabina.org/index2.htm (if you would like a complete ten page description of my visit along with cultural observations, let me know and I will e-mail you a copy)

Dr. Paul Hiebert

During the past two years I have had the privilege to get to know an incredible person. On several trips to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School I struggled to find economic housing in the area. Dr. Paul Hiebert, generously opened his home to me and several others as well. In the evenings we would share a meal together, and then return to work. At about 9:00pm we would gather in the living room for ice cream and for a time to talk about anthropology. To have the opportunity to sit down and talk about current trends in anthropology with Paul Hiebert is about as good as it gets for a missiologist. I would compare it to sitting down to talk with the apostle Paul about the New Testament.

The last time I stayed with Dr. Hiebert was in October. At that time he knew that his cancer was progressive and that he might not survive it. After teaching PhD courses all day, he worked until 9:00pm each evening in order to complete two new books. He completed these books during the last two months of his life and they will probably be published later this year. During the last two months of his life, he also completed a graduation address which I have copied below from the Trinity web page. http://www.tiu.edu/tiu/newshiebertcommencementaddress
Dr. Paul Hiebert's Final Message to Students Read at Commencement
The late Dr. Paul Hiebert, a renown missiologist, missionary to India, and distinguished TEDS professor of mission and anthropology, was invited to deliver the Commencement address for Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Trinity Graduate School on May 12, 2007. Dr. Hiebert died of cancer on Sunday, March 11, 2007, but his message was read at Commencement by his close friend and colleague, TEDS Academic Dean Dr. Tite Tienou.


TEDS Academic Dean Dr. Tite Tienou reading Dr. Paul Hiebert's Commencement address on May 12, 2007.
A Rapidly Changing World
The world in which you minister is radically different from the one Frances and I entered in 1960. Then it took us three months by ship to reach India; three weeks for mail to go and return, and three days to book an underseas cable to phone the U.S. People returned once every seven years on furlough. Today transcultural flights and instant communication have become routine.
Every few centuries, we seem to pass through an "Alice in Wonderland's mirror" and enter a world radically different from the one we left. In the past we adjusted old theories and methods of ministry to a changing world. Today we do not need old theories and methods. We need new kinds of ministers and missionaries who learn to think in new ways, to exegete their social and cultural contexts as well as others, and faithfully communicate the Gospel to our new world. Most of us leave seminary with a deep understanding of the Gospel, but with few ways to exegete humans. The message we preach often touches the surface of people's lives but does not transform them deeply. We must develop more effective methods of understanding and go deeper to understand the central questions people are facing. We need to show them that the Gospel provides definitive answers to their felt needs and their deep theological needs. In other words, we need theologians and missionaries who do both theological and anthropological reflections on the human scene more deeply and who learn how to incarnate faithfully the Gospel in contemporary human contexts.
Our Unchanging Lord
In our fractured, changing world, the great news is that Jesus Christ, the lord of all history, and the commander in world mission is the same today as he was with Adam, Moses and David. He is the Lord who took on human flesh to bring us salvation, and a new creation.
We who have walked before, commend you into God's hand. We have lived in changing worlds, and have experienced our Lord's faithfulness and constancy throughout our lives. If you asked us: if we had the chance would we live differently, I know most of us would say no, not at the deepest levels of our lives. As we grow old, we can look back at the story, "the plot" of our lives, and see that God has been writing a drama in our years of living. When we were young we sometimes saw our life stories as detective stories, as mysteries, as tragedies, possibly as comedies, but in looking back we realize that these are great Love Stories. He who created us is coming back to bring us home as his bride.
Our Challenge to You
We who have gone before today charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus: be ready to minister in season and out of season; reproving, rebuking and exhorting with complete patience and teaching. Like Paul we encourage you to share the Gospel you have heard among us… with the world. YOU are already the leaders of the world church in the 21st century. Remember, central to your task is to train leaders who will, in turn, train leaders—not followers. Remember that God is writing a story in your lives as you minister in his kingdom, but your story takes on meaning because it is part of an eternal story. Paul received that Gospel and passed it on to Timothy, who passed it on to those who followed . That Gospel has come down through the centuries through our spiritual genealogy, and we must pass it on to those who follow us. When Christ returns, he will continue establishing his eternal reign of peace, justice and love over the universe.

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.

Should We Continue to Send Missionaries From The U.S.?

David Wesley
Nazarene Theological Seminary


In a last minute effort to put together a workshop for the M7 conference, I am wrestling with the theme which has been given to me. The theme comes from a common question in the U.S. “If the need is so great at ‘home’, why do we send missionaries?” For my own purposes, I have reduced the title to just “Why Send North American Missionaries?”

In my grandparents, or parent’s generation, this question would not have even been asked. The question, more, likely would have more to do with sending people who are not North Americans.

The map of global Christianity that my grandparents knew, however, has been turned upside down. At the start of the 20th century, only ten percent of the world’s Christians lived in the continents of the south and east. Ninety percent lived in North America and Europe, along with Australia and New Zealand. But at the start of the 21st century, at least 70 percent of the world’s Christians live in the non-Western world—more appropriately called the majority world. Just to give an idea:

- There are more members of the Anglican churches in Nigeria than all of the Episcipal and Anglican churches in Britain, Europe and North America combined.
- There are more Baptists in Congo than in Britain.
- Ten times more Assemblies of God members in Latin America than in the U.S.
- From the Nazarene World Mission Website: “Statistics indicate that World Mission can anticipate church membership in excess of 1 million members in World Region areas by September 2007” (there are currently 640,000 Nazarenes in North America).
- The growth rate of the Church of the Nazarene in the U.S. last year was 0.59%, in world areas it was 5.58%.

What used to be the peripheries of the Church is now the center. The old center of the church is quickly becoming the periphery.

Philip Jenkins book, The Next Christendom which describes the realities of a southward movement of Christianity, has brought this reality to popular attention in the past few years.

While many would argue that “Christendom” in reality does not exist, and the “Majority world church” is not clamoring for some kind of political or church power (on the contrary, many desire to help the U.S. in the struggle to shift from survival mode to mission mode) the reality of an enormous shift in Christianity is, in fact a reality. This is partly because of the incredible success of the mission movement of the past 100 years.

With enormous sacrifice on the missionaries’ part as well as the sending churches part, the church has been established throughout the world. While it is popular to evaluate and critique the mistakes of colonialistic missionaries (and there were many mistakes that we can learn from), the missionary movement of the 20th century was an enormous success. It was such a success that today there are more Nazarenes outside the U.S. than within the U.S.

This brings us around to the question, “so what?” What does all of this mean for mission?

In such a changing and unstable global environment, there are a few ‘indicators’ which serve to guide us.

1) Our mission and our mission strategies (including where we send missionaries from) must be addressed from a theological and scriptural reference point.

Jurgen Moltman said: “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church” (1977:64)

There are various implications of this statement. One of these is that the church does not organize itself and it’s strategies in order for God to move in our world (that is magic). Instead, we ask; “what is God doing in our world?” and “how can we open our church structure to participate with God in His activity in the world” (that is true worship)?

We often ask, “Where does God fit into the story of my life?” when the real question is, “Where does my little life fit into the great story of God’s mission?”

In all of our discussions of the “emergent church” we wrestle to “make the gospel relevant to the world.” But God is about the mission of transforming the world to fit the shape of the gospel.

Lesslie Newbigin has prophetic words for the church in this regard:

We are being called to reclaim the church for its missionary purposes…there is a fatal dichotomy that marks Christendom ecclesiology: church and mission. Mission is often treated as a stepchild or, even worse, in some cases an orphan. That is to say, traditional ecclesiology has no place for mission. Yet the church was instituted by Jesus Christ to be a sign of God’s reign and the means of witnessing to that reign throughout the world. The church that refuses to accept its missionary purpose is a deformed church.

Paul Orjala definitely had it right when he said, “God’s Mission is my mission”. Mission is the nature of God, and the church reflects the nature of God as it participates in His mission.

2) We will increasingly need to realize that Christianity does not have a territorial or national center. Our center is God, and His passion for a lost world.

Mission begins anywhere there are believers who follow the passion of Christ, who reach out to areas where people do not know Christ.

The church has always been multidirectional in its mission. We often use Acts 1:8 as an argument for concentric circle type of mission, but if we look at Acts closer, we notice that Jerusalem was just one of the sending points for the church.

- Peter goes from Jerusalem to Samaria, to Gaza, to Azotos, and to Ceasaria (Acts 8).
- Believers from Cyprus go to Antioch and initiate a multiethnic church there (Acts 11:19-21).
- Barnabus goes from Antioch to Tarsus to get Saul (Acts 11:22-26).
- Priscilla and Aquilla come from Italy and end up in Corinth (Acts 18)
- Apollos comes from Alexandria to Ephesus, then ends up in Corinth (Acts 18-19)

What held this early, multidirectional church together is found in 3 John where you will notice the use of letters of recommendation and the exhortations to treat traveling church planters and teachers “in a manner worthy of God”. In this we see a sense of cohesiveness in which the church is not separated independent sending nations, neither is it a church dependent on the church in Jerusalem. It is, however, an interdependent network which is centered in Jesus Christ.

The real mission boundary is not between “Christian countries” and “the mission field,” but between faith and unbelief, and that is a boundary, according to Christopher Wright, “that runs through every land and, indeed, through every local street.”

What does this mean?

Since M7 is primarily comprised of people from the U.S., I will frame the questions in relation to that perspective:

- Is there no longer a need for the U.S. to send missionaries? (Is the task done?)
- Should we focus on sending missionaries from other countries to the U.S.?

If we looked at the church as a business that was ours to control and run like machinery, one could possibly say it would be more practical to declare a moratorium on U.S. missionaries. There are many denominations that have been doing just that over the past 15-20 years. The interesting phenomenan is that these denominations have consistently decreased in the U.S. as they brought missionaries home. One of these mainline denominations had a goal of have a decrease of only 5% in the U.S. last year.

Why??

I believe that is because of the fact that mission is God’s nature. God is a mission God, and if the church is focused on itself and not outwardly toward the lost that God is seeking to redeem, it no longer functions as the healthy body of Christ.

Are ‘missional’ churches the answer?

I have found, as I have come back to the U.S. after 14 years that the word “missional” is in vogue. At first, I thought this meant that the church was actively focused on God’s mission. I have found, however, that:

- We often use the term “missional”, but that usually means that we are about relevant communication.
- “Missional” language is used to infer that we are all about living incarnationally, which means having real conversations with people that are similar in a postmodern, secular society. That is relevance, and is a need in our world today.
- This is not, however, taking the kingdom of God across cultural boundaries, or going to people who are nearby, but who are culturally or socially different and who are separated from God.

Although cultural relevance is necessary, the key which will awaken the Church in the U.S. or in any other part of the globe is to seek God’s holiness. I am not, in anyway, trying to use that phrase as a cliché or “Nazareney” term. What I am saying is that the life of the church can only be found in being in the likeness of God. This means that we reflect “His glory” and “His passion”.

So to finally answer the question: NO!! In no way can we afford to stop sending missionaries from the U.S. or from any point where the body of Christ find’s itself. There are many motives for which people become missionaries, but it has become increasingly evident that we do not go because of nationality; we do not go because we are more intelligent or resourceful. We go because we are called of God to participate in His mission, His salvage operation to restore broken and lost people.

"A Salute to All Nations....but Mostly America"

David Wesley, Nazarene Theological Seminary


In an article posted on January 22, 2007 in Christianity Today, Christopher J.H. Wright has a fascinating article which he titles “An upside-Down World”. His primary argument is that Christianity has always been polycentric, and gives examples of that from the New Testament. A great quote in the article, although it is not cited is from Andrew Walls:
“The emergence of genuine world Christianity and the ending of Western assumptions of heartland hegemony simply marks a return to normal Christianity, which looks much more like the New Testament than Christianity ever did.”

Wright says that “the language of home and mission field is still used by many churches and agencies, but it fundamentally misrepresents reality”. This is not a new concept and in my opinion is in line with the whole tone of scripture which emphasizes mission as God’s nature and God’s activity in which the Church is called to be “co-workers with God.”

While the article represents the heart of missional thinking, there are some pragmatic issues which are difficult for our post modern ears. In a time when being “purpose driven” is the norm, Wright states, “we want to be driven by a purpose tailored for our individual lives, when we should be seeing the purpose of all life, including our own, wrapped up in the great mission of God for the whole creation.” Issues of contextualization and “user friendliness” are also difficult to synchronize with Wrights statement, “we wrestle to ‘make the gospel relevant to the world.’ But God is about the mission of transforming the world to fit the shape of the gospel.”

Without doubt, mission never has never had a territorial center, and it was never meant to be a gospel from the “west to the rest”. Colonialism and nation pride, sadly to say, many times overshadow the mission of God. I am reminded of the American eagle of the muppets who is quoted to say, “a salute to all nations of the world…but mostly America”. We want to be inclusive, but we end up with “mostly America”. When we sing “we’ve a story to tell to the nations”, we often think that it is “mostly America” who has a story to tell to the nations. We put together mission statements which state that our mission is to make disciples of all or in all nations, and yet we often mean that it is “mostly Americans” who are to make disciples of all other nations.

To quote Wright (again), “the real mission boundary is not between ‘Christian countries’ and the ‘mission field,’ but between faith and unbelief, and that is a boundary that runs through every land and, indeed, through every local street.”

I welcome your comments about Wrights article as well as my thoughts. Wright's article can be located at http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2007/01/an_upsidedown_world.html