On the Way to God'sOikumene:A Tribute to Philip Potter

Abstract

Philip Potter, who died in March, spent twenty-six years in service of World Council of Churches. He joined Council as secretary of Youth Department in 1954 at time of second assembly, having already attended founding assembly in Amsterdam as a youth delegate. During this period, first as Director of Commission on and Evangelism, 1964-1972, and later as general secretary, 1973-1984, he helped guide Council to face major changes in understanding of unity and mission of church. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mission: From domination and dependence to partnership first of major changes in notion of church encouraged by Philp concerned understanding of mission of church. Already conference of International Missionary Council in 1964 had signalled a change by speaking about Mission in Six Continents, thus correcting notion of mission as a movement from Christian West to non-Christian parts of world. Every part of world was in need of hearing gospel, not least established churches of West. Moreover, as a result of independence of many countries from colonial rule following Second World War, churches in these countries also became independent and hence responsible for mission. Partnership in Obedience was called for by world mission conference in Whitby, Canada, in 1947, but it was only at conference in Bangkok in 1972, organized under Philip Potter's leadership, that there was serious analysis of underlying reasons for domination/dependence syndrome and concrete proposals for changes in relations between churches. One report stated: The issues are not new. We are working on an old agenda about which much has been written but little has been done ... Our problem is to break free from frustrating cycle of repeated statements which are received, filed and not acted upon. 'Partnership in Mission' remains an empty slogan; even where autonomy and equal partnership have been achieved in a formal sense, are such as to perpetuate relationships of domination and dependence. (Bangkok Report, p. 104) Bangkok meeting was last conference Philip Potter attended in his capacity as director of CWME. In August 1972 he had been elected general secretary of WCC. But actual dynamics of domination and dependence between churches remained a fundamental concern. In 1975 fifth assembly of WCC mandated Commission on Inter-Church Aid and World Service to conduct a study on Ecumenical Sharing of Resources. At a consultation on this theme, Philip Potter reviewed history of this issue since it had been raised in 1957. He concluded that the problem of sharing consisted in tendency of churches and their services to regard mission as their own possession: Our church, our denomination, our confession, our mission, our money, our missionaries, our projects. …