Transforming Mission Theology

Charles Van Engen

• Publisher: William Carey Library
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781645081258
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Missiology permeated with theological reflection.This volume is the culmination of Van Engen's teachings, but takes us to an even deeper level. Since mission is first and foremost God's mission, theological reflection must be permeated by missiological understanding and our missiology must be permeated with theological reflection. Mission theology is an activity of the Church of Jesus Christ seeking to understand more deeply why, how, when, where, and wherefore the followers of Jesus may participate in God's mission, in God's world.

PART I
THE SOURCES
OF MISSION
THEOLOGY

CHAPTER 1
WHO DOES MISSION THEOLOGY?

THESIS

In this chapter I will suggest five different agents who do mission theology: the Holy Spirit, the Church of Jesus Christ, the local congregation, the sent ones who participate in God’s mission, and the recipients of the church’s mission praxis.

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, we are asking the question, who does mission theology (MT)? In the previous chapter, I characterized MT as an activity to be done, not a static set of propositions with which folks may or may not agree, nor a set of verbal affirmations that can promptly be forgotten.¹ MT is an activity of reflection and action—of praxis.² It is, therefore something the whole church does, not the domain of a single professional “missiologist.” God’s mission is too extensive, too complex, and too profound to be encompassed by the thought of one person. Rather, MT is an activity of the Church of Jesus Christ seeking to understand more deeply why, how, when, where, and wherefore the followers of Jesus may participate in God’s mission, in God’s world. Professional “missiologists” are invited and needed to stimulate, examine, summarize, draw out the assumptions, and reflect on the implications of the Church’s MT—both that which has been articulated and that which has not yet been expressed. A description of those who do MT would include at least the following five agents.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Since Jesus’ ascension, the first and primary agent of mission theology has been—and is—the Holy Spirit. Prior to his passion and resurrection, Jesus had explained this matter to his disciples. In his farewell discourse, Jesus told his followers that, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26–27; see also John 14:16–17, 26; 16:7–16).

These words of Jesus have often been understood as referring to orthodoxy, to the Holy Spirit’s illumination that would enable the disciples to understand the teachings of Jesus concerning God’s revelation in Jesus the Christ, including a new understanding of their Scriptures, the Old Testament. That is one element of what Jesus was teaching his disciples, but there is another aspect of Jesus’ teaching that we sometimes miss. Although a missiological reading of this passage is beyond the scope of this book, it is important to note that throughout Jesus’ discourse in John 14–17, the concept of sending is a dominant theme. The chapter has to do with Jesus’ mission and therefore the mission of the disciples once Jesus has “gone to the Father.” The key to the passage is the role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will teach the disciples about Jesus’ mission and empower them to “bear witness” (John 15:27), a clear reference to their mission, so I believe it was no surprise to the disciples to hear the resurrected Jesus tell them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

In Luke 24:49, Jesus tells the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Luke repeats this in Acts 1:4, where Jesus tells the disciples that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them to be witnesses of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, and Judaea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Throughout the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit’s actions and revelation provide the content for the disciples of Jesus to construct a mission theology. This is clearly seen in the way Luke tells the story about the first Jerusalem Council where the radical decision was taken by those gathered there that the gospel was for all peoples and the Gentiles did not need to become Jews in order to follow Jesus. The mission theology foundation for such an earthshaking decision? Four times (an intentional emphasis) Luke mentions the coming of the Holy Spirit to the household of Cornelius in Acts 10 as the basis—the mission theology, as it were—for the decision of the Jerusalem Council. The episode of Acts 10 is retold by Peter in Acts 11:5–17, again in Acts 15:7–11, and referenced again by James in Acts 15:13–17.

Since then, throughout the history of revivals and awakenings of the Church, one can perceive the work of the Holy Spirit not only in mobilizing and energizing the Church in mission, but also guiding, teaching, illuminating, and transforming the Church’s understanding of its mission—its mission theology. The traditional Pentecostal movement, born at the beginning of the twentieth century, had it right. The coming of the Holy Spirit is inseparably intertwined with the mission of the Triune God, and the mission of the Triune God is mobilized, expounded, and shaped by the presence and work of the Holy Spirit.

Harold Dollar said it this way.

The Holy Spirit is the missionary Spirit, sent from the Father by the exalted Jesus, empowering the church in fulfilling God’s intention that the gospel become a universal message, with Jews and Gentiles embracing the Good News. The Spirit leads the mission at every point, empowering the witnesses and directing them in preaching the gospel to those who have never heard, enabling them with signs and wonders. (Harold Dollar 2000, 451)

Another way of saying this would be as follows: the Church is the Body of Christ, the physical presence of the risen Jesus on earth (e.g., Rom 12; 1 Cor 12, Eph 4). That being the case, the mission of the Church today is to participate in Jesus’ mission, the Head of the Church. The mission does not belong to the Church. The Church participates in Jesus’ mission. Therefore, Jesus’ mission defines the motivation, message, means, agents, and goals of the Church’s mission. How does this come about? By the presence, action, illumination, and transformation of the Holy Spirit, the one sent by the Father and the Son. One way to illustrate these relationships might be to state that Jesus Christ is the head of the Body; the Church as the Body comprises the muscles, arms, legs, face, etc. that do the mission; and the Holy Spirit is the nervous system that communicates the commands of the Head to the muscles of the Body and mobilizes the Body to action. Thus, one may say that the Holy Spirit is the first and primary agent in the process of transforming mission theology. How this happens will be a matter of interest throughout the rest of this book.³

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST

Earlier we mentioned that God’s mission works primarily (though not exclusively) through the Church to the world. Beginning with God’s call to Abraham (Gen 12:1–3)⁴ through whom all the nations would be blessed, God’s mission has primarily worked through God’s people.⁵ Although Israel often missed the point and too often wanted to keep God’s grace for itself rather than be an instrument of God’s grace to the nations, yet God’s clear intention, repeated time and again from Genesis to Revelation, was that Israel was to be God’s instrument to bless all peoples.⁶

Following Augustine of Hippo, we may say that the Church of Jesus Christ is made up of everyone who everywhere, always, has believed in, and been followers of, Jesus Christ. This great company of believers, spread over the entire globe in many different cultures and contexts, has carefully and thoughtfully expanded, deepened, developed, and refined its understanding of God’s mission and mission theology over the past twenty centuries. As the Body of Christ, the Church has not only done mission activities, for better and sometimes for worse, but has also constantly reflected on that mission and sought to articulate its understanding of such over time. Today, this includes more than 1.5 billion believers who think, speak, and act with reference to mission theology in a multitude of languages, drawing from a myriad of cultures around the world. Though they read the same Bible and are illuminated and guided by the same Holy Spirit, their understanding of mission theology differs markedly, as that is influenced by their particular historical, cultural, and linguistic contexts, as well as their experiences over time, as they participate in God’s mission. Andrew Walls has been very instructive in helping us more clearly understand these developments in mission theology around the world, over time, something he called “the Ephesian Moment.”⁷ See, for example, Andrew Walls 1996, 2002.

In the twenty-first century, we seem to be tempted—on all continents—to assume that our mission theology is new and possibly superior to that which was articulated in earlier centuries. Maybe we need to reexamine that presumption and ascribe greater wisdom and importance—and listen more intently—to what we can learn from those who have gone before us. The Church of Jesus Christ has been doing mission theology for a very long time and has much to teach us. There is much for us to critique and many unbiblical, heretical, and destructive thoughts and actions that did not honor Jesus the Christ, but there were many other expressions and much praxis that did honor our Lord and can serve to guide us into the future.

THE LOCAL CONGREGATION OF FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

The Church (capital “C”) that includes everyone, everywhere and always, who have followed Jesus is a wonderful idea, but no person experiences the capital-C Church. Rather, we all experience the fellowship of the followers of Jesus in local congregations. We participate in the Church to a lesser or greater degree as and when we participate in a group of followers of Jesus. Thus, from its very birth in Jerusalem at Pentecost, the Church took concrete shape, visible form, in the local group of believers described in Acts 2:42–47. Here, amidst the faces, names, stories, experiences, and interaction of persons, the local congregation of believers developed their mission theology.⁸

Paul developed this idea further through his use of the “Body of Christ” image. In Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4, with a focus on the “gifts” (the charisms) which each member of the Body has, Paul stressed the life of the local gathering of followers of Jesus, the local congregation.⁹ Throughout his letters written to these local groups, one might generally say that Paul sought to broaden and deepen their mission theology.

Mission theology is an essential element—and should be a natural fruit—of the life of a local congregation. The members of a local church (small “c”) are called to discover, learn, and develop their mission theology as together they live out their lives, experience God’s grace, study the Bible together, reflect together on God’s mission, and discover their calling as God’s missionary people in their place and in their context.¹⁰

This congregational foundation and location of mission theology may be found throughout the history of church, including in the early years of many monastic movements. See, for example, God’s Missionary People (Van Engen 1991a) for an initial attempt in this direction.¹¹ As a group of believers lives out its faith over time, and as those followers of Jesus experience God’s grace and express their understanding of God’s mission in their context, their mission theology takes shape. We need much more careful listening to, and intentional learning from, the mission theology that emerges in and through the life of local congregations, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

THE MESSENGERS WHO DO MISSION THEOLOGY AS THEY PARTICIPATE IN GOD’S MISSION

Down through the centuries, from the earliest beginnings of the Christian Church, the Holy Spirit has called women and men from among the faithful followers of Jesus, members of local believing communities of faith, to dedicate a significant portion of their lives to specific missionary action. For example, in Acts 13 the Holy Spirit made it plain to the followers of the Way that they were to set apart Saul and Barnabas for a specific task to which the Holy Spirit was calling them. This same pattern can be seen throughout the history of the Church.¹²

THE DIACONATE AS A WINDOW TO THE MESSENGERS WHO DO MISSION THEOLOGY

One of the ways the New Testament teaches us how women and men were called and empowered to participate in God’s mission—and to do MT—is by describing them as “deacons.” Elsewhere I have discussed the fact that the primary word in the New Testament for mission is apostello (with its synonym, pempo), to send. The second most prevalent word for mission in the New Testament is diaconia, also used in the noun form as diaconos and in the verb form as diaconeo. A brief overview of the concept of the diaconate as it develops in the New Testament may serve as an example of a mission theology taking shape in the midst of the participation by specific women and men in God’s mission to the world so loved by God.

In the appendix, the reader will find a thematic concordance covering the various occurrences of the Greek words DIAKONEW, DIAKONIA, and DIAKONOS. Our English translations (as well as translations in many other languages) have not been consistent at this point, and they fail to show us the richness of the concept of the DIACONATE which covers a verb (to diaconize), a concept (as a role or function—the diaconate), and a subject (deacon). The Greek use of this concept in the New Testament is very concrete and follows a specific pattern that serves to demonstrate to us a clear picture about the Church in mission. In what follows I have sought to bring out the Greek sense of the concept by using the transliterated Greek term.

The Church is the loving communion of the disciples of Jesus. As such, it is profoundly the communion of the Crucified One. In his ministry, Jesus developed in his person and in his teaching a life of diaconal service, a ministry that he then transferred to his disciples as a commandment and a commission. So Jesus declared that, “The Son of Man did not come to be DIACONIZED, but to DIACONIZE and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45).

As an example of this truth, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet the last night before his death, and then proceeded to teach them the significance of the act: “I am among you as one who DIACONIZES” (Luke 22:27). “You call me teacher and lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example: you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:13–15). Thus, in the new kingdom which Jesus brings, authority and greatness are completely reversed so that those who would “be great among you,” Jesus says, “shall be your DEACON” (Matt 23:11). “The chief among you (shall be) like the one who DIACONIZES” (Luke 22:26–27). “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your DEACON” (Matt 20:26).

The disciples experienced this new way of life throughout their association with Jesus’ ministry. He walked with sinners, the sick, the hungry, the ones in need—and he gave them counsel, health, new sustenance, and help. It is precisely this ministry of the diaconate which Jesus took as His commission...

Table of contents

• COVER
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• CONTENTS
• LIST OF FIGURES
• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTION
• PART I THE SOURCES OF MISSION THEOLOGY
• PART II THE MEANING OF MISSION THEOLOGY
• PART III THE METHODS OF MISSION THEOLOGY
• PART IV THE GOALS OF MISSION THEOLOGY
• PART V SAMPLES OF MISSION THEOLOGY
• CONCLUSION
• APPENDIX
• BIBLIOGRAPHY