By Rolf Zwick
Globalization in economics and politics challenges us to develop appropriate concepts for mission and the Church. During the past twenty years the term “Mission as Transformation” described as holistic view of mission.
Background
In preparation for the first 1974 Lausanne Congress in Switzerland, the 1973 Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Concern was issued which called on “evangelical Christians to demonstrate repentance in a Christian discipleship that confronts the social and political injustice.” At the Lausanne Congress Dr. Rene Padila and Dr. Samuel Escobar from Latin America gave public expression to a missiological understanding that focused on the whole Gospel for the whole person, in their social, political, economic, cultural and religious contexts. The Lausanne Covenant included the emphasis on social concern as part of Christian mission in its paragraphs four and five.
Many projects in the Two-Thirds World already worked with an integrative approach of evangelism and social responsibility but without having reflected on it theologically. In a series of consultation a biblical basis and theological reflection on the relationship of evangelism and social concern took place. At the 1983 Wheaton Conference in the US a statement of transformation was issued in the track on “The Church in Response to Human Need.” It made clear that mission always expresses itself in transformation which means a “change from a condition of human existence contrary to God’s purposes to one in which people are able to enjoy fullness of life in harmony with God.” This concerns the individual as well as society.
International Fellowship of Mission Theologians
During the 1980s an international network called the International Fellowship of Mission Theologians, INFEMIT, was founded in order to coordinate the theological reflection on mission in the field of poverty and wealth, development as part of mission and contextual evangelism. The leadership of this fellowship included personalities, like Rene Padilla, Samuel Escobar, Vinay Samuel, Ronald Sider, Bishop David Gitarri, Kwame Bediako, Peter Kuzmic and Chris Sugden. The fellowship organized consultations, opened the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in 1985 in Great Britain and published numerous books and the theological magazine “Transformation.”
Toward a Trinitarian Theology
In the 1990s, the understanding of transformation was explored in the area of economics and environment. Also the dialog with the Pentecostal movement was intensified. In this process the theology was sharpened concerning God as creator and humanity as the steward of creation and concerning the role of the Holy Spirit for transformation. The former focus on Jesus Christ as basis for mission was broadened. With the view of God as Creator and the Spirit as a power for transformation the theology became more Trinitarian.
Meeting Twenty-first Century Challenges
After the end of the cold war in 1989, the establishment of only one world power, the influence of postmodern values in all areas of life, and globalization, the challenges to mission have changed again. Entering the twenty-first century the economic and political world in the West has affirmed the priority of the self in the globalization of economies, the dominance of the market and the retreat from state control of business or economic life. At the same time, the power game after September 11, 2001 has left the issue of justice behind.
A theology of transformation can be seen as an appropriate approach to the world as it is. First of all the theology of the kingdom brings us to reflect on kingdom values in times when revenge, hatred and strife for economic wealth top the agenda of politics and economics. In the field of local engagement transformation theology looks for freedom and power for the poor, reconciliation and solidarity for the weak. In this an integral relation between evangelism and social change comes to the open.
As kingdom workers we are building communities of change in a given context. To arrive there Bible study is crucial and has to be done cross-culturally. At the same time, the structure of the local congregation has to become a liberating, merciful and powerful body. In fact it is the body of Christ in the midst of this world.
Jesus, Lord over All
We want to express the Lordship of Jesus over every aspect of life, economic, religious, personal and political. It does not give priority to any area of life as an area for mission, but insists that the change of a person through the Holy Spirit is at the heart of all real change. This change will effect change in the community and environment, whenever people address issues of life, rooted in a Gospel perspective. “Mission as Transformation” will strengthen civil society so that society as a whole experiences and expresses Christian values of justice and righteousness.
The Bible in the Two-Thirds World was often seen as an instrument of white, male and wealthy cultures. But mission is determined by the incarnation of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. This contrasts all mission strategies not rooted in the context of the people they are aimed at. It also contrasts all pain-avoiding concepts of mission which speak of easy success.
Taken from the book of Transformation: A Unifying Vision of the Church’s Mission
2004 Forum for World Evangelization, Thailand – September 2004
Edited by Luis K. Bush, Foreword by Paul Cedar