History is not the story of those who “sense” there is a problem. We all sense that there are problems in governments, societies, and churches. Everyone knows it and everyone complains about it. History is marked by those who have the clarity to see when it is time to act, those who understand why we must act, and those who can then communicate how to act.
Very few Presbyterians are pleased with our denomination’s involvement in global mission at present. Very few people are pleased to know that at one time we had more than 2,000 full-time missionaries serving in the world (1959) and now we have fewer than 240. This is not a matter of theology or ideology. This is a general frustration with the present missional and cultural context in which we find our churches and ourselves. The world’s needs and the Gospel imperative both point to the obligation to move forward with greater innovation, participation, and creativity. This is not the time for a single prophetic leader to come forward and say, “This is the way.” This is the time when all men and women of goodwill, committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, hold hands and say, “Come, let’s all move forward together. Step in the river and let’s go to the promised land of mission.”
The promised land of mission is a place where Chinese, Koreans, Brazilians, Costa Ricans, Nigerians, and Kenyans are already there to greet us and welcome us. Our future in mission is led by our past faithfulness in mission. Mission today is messy, unorganized, and powerful. It is like the Holy Spirit of the living God: unpredictable, but powerful and transformative. In the words of New York Times reporter and commentator, Thomas Friedman, the missional world is “flat.” All people now have access to participation and innovation in mission. It is not just the number of adherents who are now heavily weighted to the South–thank you, Mr. Philip Jenkins–it is Christian mission that is basically a non-western enterprise with greater participation and access by second- and third-world Christians.
For example, thousands of Chinese are moving out to Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to plant churches in some of the most difficult missional areas of the world. I heard at the New Wilmington Missionary Conference that our Presbyterian college students were working with Russian Baptists, evangelizing unreached people groups in Siberia. I took a group of students to Myanmar where we worked with Baptists and independent Pentecostals. None of our students said, “Where are the Presbyterians?” The Pentecostals have planted more than 186 churches in Myanmar and China in the past 15 years. In all of these examples, we are following, supporting, and aiding work that is already being done, “in each context.” It is all rather messy, exciting, and amazing. As Harold Kurtz has reminded us, “The Gospel is out of control.”
The issue is not the continual decline in funding, which tracks along with the loss of hope for recovery of Presbyterian mission. The issue is simply, are we going to receive the new context God has given us, or are we going to fight against it? Can we break out of old worn patterns (many of which had been very good in the past) and follow the work of God in these new patterns? To get the conversation going I offer two clarifying lenses: two resources to guide us in future missional involvement. The resources are Philippians 4:4-8 and Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat: The Globalized World in the 21st Century.
Philippians 4: 4-8
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a model of letters we need to write to each other today. Recognizing the terrible times and suffering of the Christian in the world, Paul writes a letter of forgiveness, joy, perspective, and partnership. The amazing section in the first chapter about evangelistic charlatans focuses on forgiveness. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. … But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Paul is not jealous, nor does he cry for “justice.” He forgives them and expresses Christian appreciation that “Christ is preached.”
Secondly, it is a letter of joy. Written surrounded with all the grim realities of a prisoner, it is the ultimate letter of joy. Stop and rejoice, nay, go and rejoice. In all we do, in all of our trials, and in all of our frustrations we need to rejoice because (and this is my third point), “the Lord is near.” This type of joy comes from a converted mind that can let go of all the oppressions, pressures, and powers that we cannot control. This type of joy is rooted in the grateful realization that God is in control–really, finally, and fully. Paul’s little three-word statement, (O kurios eggus) seems to be stuck in the middle of a whole bunch of imperatives (“rejoice,” “be gentle,” “don’t be anxious,” “pray,” “think about such things”). I believe, therefore, that the reason for the commands, or better yet, the context for the imperatives, is the descriptive: The Lord is near. This is the context for our lives, our attitudes and our witness. Jesus Christ is right here now, so be gentle, rejoice, don’t be so anxious.
My fourth point: Here is a matter of spirituality, a spirituality that will feed and frame our missional participation. I pray for all of us in missional involvement, that we would be gentle, we would let go of our anxieties, we would ask God (with thanksgiving) for requests; that our hearts and minds would be guarded and shaped by the “peace of God” (God’s Shalom). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our thoughts centered on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. When I think of what is praiseworthy, for example, I can’t help but to think of Jesus Christ and the joy he has brought to so many Christians and friends in Asia. When I think of what is admirable, I cannot help but think of the faithful witness of Christians in Myanmar and Indonesia, being faithful in the midst of persecution, tsunamis, oppressions, and economic decline. Such spirituality–a spirituality that living in the world, rises above the human struggles–this is what draws others to Christ, brings answers to the Lord’s prayer (“thy Kingdom come …”) and makes partnership in mission both possible and inviting. Christian conduct communicates Christ to others. Mission is really about Christian spirituality.
Mission in a flat world
The second resource I have found helpful in thinking about the future of Presbyterian mission comes from an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, Thomas Friedman. Friedman is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and an astute observer of the global situation. His book, The World is Flat: The Globalized World in the 21st Century (2005) was revised in 2006. Friedman is a modern social historian. He is not a prophet or he would have written this book 30 years ago. Neither is he a Christian nor a missiologist. Nonetheless, just as Plato was used by the early church, just as Aristotle brought religious renewal in the high middle ages, just as a rediscovery of Paul and Patristics helped to fire the Reformation (with the help of an early world flattener: moveable type), so we need to pay attention to the wisdom of commentators such as Friedman. The new global world is much “flatter” than when any of us began our missional journey.
Friedman describes ten world flatteners; I will focus on four of them. I will then raise some points for discussion, show some examples from other churches, and raise some questions for all Presbyterians concerned about God’s mission.
The flat world he describes is not contrasted with the round world, but with the modern, enlightenment hierarchical world. The main thesis of Friedman’s book is that “the old hierarchies are being flattened; that the playing field is being leveled and that people who understand this transformation can wield more power than ever” (p.47). Let me translate this to missiological language:
The old-line churches are being flattened and the global church is now the church of the poor and of the non-western world. This is where the power and creativity in mission is to be found. People and institutions that understand this can provide even more leadership than ever!
We will explore this further in the next installment.
Scott W. Sunquist is the W. Don McClure Associate Professor of World Mission and Evangelism at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. From 1987-1995 he taught Asian Church History at Trinity Theological College in Singapore, as a missionary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
