Commission On World Mission And Evangelism Research Articles

IMC’s Development in Its Understanding of Evangelism and Chinese Christians’ Early Ministry in Self‐Propagating the Gospel

AbstractAdequate research has been done on the relationship of evangelism to non‐Christian religions, church mission, and culture. These topics have been studied and addressed when ecumenical organizations like the International Missionary Council (IMC) – now the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches – develop the theory of evangelism in their evangelizing enterprises. The China Continuation Committee was one of the founding members of the IMC in 1921, and thus proactively participated in the IMC’s mission. Chinese Christians inevitably encountered the same challenges in their early evangelizing attempts. This article examines Chinese Christians’ early efforts to self‐propagate the gospel in the social environment of the first half of the 20th century in China. Chinese Christianity has demonstrated distinctive approaches to the above three key relationships, as Chinese Christians dedicate themselves to national salvation and liberation. It can even be said that in the first half of the 1900s, Chinese churches made more progress than other churches in the ecumenical world in such respects as indigenization and self‐propagating ministry – even though some of the efforts were mingled with narrow‐minded motives of converting Chinese people. It was not until the launch of the Three‐Self Patriotic Movement that Chinese Christianity became an authentically autonomous Christian church, which has severed its ties with colonialism and started pursuing all‐round self‐reliance, including church evangelism. After analyzing the challenges that Chinese churches still face today in terms of evangelism, this article calls for Chinese Christianity to learn from IMC‐CWME’s experience of evangelism for the further contextualization of Christianity in China. This aims at making the gospel proclamation carry more Chinese characteristics and eventually form an evangelism theology of Chinese Christianity. In this way, the outcome of the early efforts can be consolidated and the gospel message will better fit today’s Chinese context.

The French Response to the Actions of the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism

AbstractSince 1822, French Protestantism has been engaged in world mission through the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (SMEP). In 1971, this mission society was succeeded by two organizations – the Community of Churches in Mission (CEVAA) and the French Evangelical Department of Apostolic Action (DEFAP), created by the French Lutheran and Reformed Churches. French delegates of SMEP or DEFAP were present at the six missionary conferences organized by the International Missionary Council (IMC) and the seven held by WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) since 1910. This article offers a short description of each conference and the French delegation, analyzes the communication around the conferences in the French Protestant press, and reflects on the influence these conferences had on the practice of SMEP and then DEFAP. The authors show that it was during the 1960s, the transition period between SMEP and CEVAA, that the work of IMC/CWME had the biggest impact on the way French churches conceived of and practised mission work. Prominent church leaders played a key role in passing missionary ideas between French Protestantism and the IMC/CWME. But the difficulty of fully integrating world mission issues into the mindset of French churches prevented a deeper reception of the main mission concepts developed by the missionary conferences, especially in the last decades, in which the very significance of the French mission service DEFAP has been questioned.

Challenges and joys in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

International Review of MissionVolume 108, Issue 2 p. 430-432 Documentation Challenges and joys in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Speech of the Rev. Dr Tapio Luoma, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, delivered in Helsinki on 20 May 2019 during the World Council of Churches’ Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on 20 May 2019. Tapio Luoma, Tapio LuomaSearch for more papers by this author Tapio Luoma, Tapio LuomaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 07 November 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/irom.12295Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume108, Issue2November 2019Pages 430-432 RelatedInformation

TheJoyof the Gospel ofLife

Abstract Together towards Life (TIE) and Evangelii Gaudium (EG) convey a renewed and fresh understanding of mission and evangelism that speaks meaningfully to contemporary context, reminds churches of their primary task of mission and evangelism, and challenges them to reflect on and practice mission and evangelism with joy and life. This essay strives to discuss three important aspects of mission and evangelism that TTL and EG share, albeit with their own distinct perspective. The inseparability of ecclesiology and missiology is one affirmation that is commonly shared by TTL and EG. Introduction The present decade has witnessed birth of a trilogy of statements on mission and evangelism that is of historic significance. The Cape Town Commitment of Lausanne Movement (2010), Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL) of World Council of Churches (2012), and apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG) of Pope Francis (2013) have already made their mark with their vast influence on theological reflections on mission and evangelism today. This article is an attempt to reflect on some of common threads that bind two of them together, namely TTL and EG. (1) Whilst there are several aspects and emphases that make each of them distinct and different, both documents share certain dimensions of mission and evangelism that are pertinent in contemporary global context. The central concept that captures spirit of EG is joy, whereas life is permeating theme of TTL. While TTL adopts a pneumatological perspective (within an overarching Trinitarian scheme), EG tends to opt for a Christo-centric approach to mission and evangelism. EG has been published in response to most recent meeting of Synod of Bishops (October 2012) and is devoted to theme of new evangelization. (2) TTL has been an attempt on part of Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of World Council of Churches (WCC) to look at mission and evangelism afresh in fast-changing global landscape, as previous official WCC statement on mission and evangelism was getting somewhat outdated. (3) The main objective of both TTL and EG is again somewhat similar. EG has been articulated so that the Church may rediscover original source of evangelization in contemporary world. (4) Likewise, aim of TTL is to seek vision, concepts and directions for a renewed understanding and practice of mission and evangelism in changing landscapes. (5) Both TTL and EG are, therefore, efforts to re- imagine missiology in contemporary global scenario. Pope Francis, a Jesuit himself, offers an Ignatian reading of global context, looking for people, world and trends where God is present. (6) The social analysis of EG is more or less akin to that of classical Latin American liberation theology (hereafter referred to as liberation theology in this essay), whereas TTL seems to go beyond and engage an indigenous/subaltern reading of signs of our times. Trends such as shift of centre of gravity of global Christianity from global North to global South and phenomenal rise of Pentecostal and Charismatic spirituality across globe have been dealt with seriously in TTL. These, however, do not merit much prominence in EG. Whilst EG devotes a great deal of focus to concerns such as inter- religious dialogue, secularization, and postmodernity, they don't seem to get adequate attention in TTL. Whereas a creation-centred perspective on missiology is apparent in TTL, tendency in EG is to take a traditional anthropocentric view on evangelization, which probably accounts for almost a complete absence of missiological reflections on environmental concerns in apostolic exhortation. Both TTL and EG seem to have put considerable emphasis, rightly so, on impact of economic globalization and dictatorship of market. Such has been impact of EG that it is being widely regarded as a remarkable and radical document, one that ranges widely and challenges complacency at every level. …

A Missiological Reflection on “Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes”

October 2014 Madge Karecki, SSJ-TOSF, is the president of St. Augustine College of South Africa, Johannesburg. —m.karecki@staugustine.ac.za T document proposed to the Tenth General Assembly of theWorld Council of Churches by its Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), “Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes” (TTL), echoes much of Catholic missiological teaching, and especially the thought of Pope John Paul II in Redemptoris missio and Pope Francis in Evangelii gaudium (EG). As a missiologist who has long had an interest in mission spirituality, I find TTL to be a multilayered tapestry woven throughout with biblical and missiological insights that reveal the challenges of what it means to participate in God’s mission in the world. It is not a document for the lukewarm and fearful among us!

Together Towards Life: Norwegian Reflections

The new Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) mission document has received widespread attention in Norway. Two mini-conferences were arranged last fall, with the CWME-secretary Jooseop Keum taking part in both. The conferences offered a platform for responses and comments from church and mission leaders. They were widely covered by the two Christian dailies in Norway (Dagen and Cart Land), which also opened their columns for the ensuing debate between ecumenicals and evangelicals. The backdrop to this debate goes back to New Delhi 1961 and the merger of the International Mission Council (IMC) with the WCC, resulting in the establishment of the CWME. The Norwegian Mission Council (NMC), as probably the only council, decided not to join the CWME. This decision has since then coloured the view of the conciliar movement among mission organizations, free churches, and evangelicals. At the same time, some of the Norwegian churches, and particularly the Church of Norway, have been active members of WCC and CWME while most of the organizations and churches have formed a Norwegian Council for Mission and Evangelism (NORME) with the Lausanne Covenant (1974) as their basis. This issue and the divergent views on the conciliar and evangelical movements have again come to the fore in the debate about the new mission document, and particularly so because Dr Keum in his lectures in Oslo and Stavanger called for a review of the 1961 decision: Dear sisters and brothers in the Norwegian Council for Mission and Evangelism, shall we journey together again? We shall in the following summarize and analyze the Norwegian reflections on Together Towards Life. Secondly, we shall look at the Norwegian context and situation in regard to engagement in the CWME. In the conclusion we shall run the risk of giving our response to Dr Keum's invitation. Even though this article aims at describing Norwegian reflections on the document, it is important to note that the authors and their views do not officially represent any of the Norwegian agencies or churches. Summary and analysis of reflections Here are some of the views expressed in the Norwegian conversation: Ecumenism and mission belong together The heartbeat of the church is mission. The church exists by mission, and if the church does not engage in mission, it ceases to be church. Mission must be ecumenical since the focus of both mission and ecumenism is to cross borders. Both of them are about meeting people with respect and tolerance. Ecumenism does not aim at making churches alike, but at making them belong together in diversity and respect. Both ecumenism and mission are about people meeting each other and about the church encountering people of different faiths, different ideologies, and different convictions. As we share the good news of Jesus Christ and invite people of other faiths to discipleship, we are challenged to learn dialogue and respect from ecumenism. Both ecumenism and mission are about listening to others and being challenged by others. The Holy Spirit and mission The emphasis on the Holy Spirit is what makes the new document exciting. This is a novel perspective among Protestants and Lutherans. But this emphasis implies by the same token a major challenge: How do we discern what the work of the Spirit is? The document says that the Spirit is at work in mysterious ways that we cannot comprehend or grasp. This opens the door for the Spirit being at work in other living faiths, in politics, and in economics; and also nature and creation, which await God's redemption and release, become arenas for the Spirit at work. What is God doing right now? Is the Spirit at work in our hospitals and our families? These questions are new in our context. Could the document play a role in two ways: first, by paving the way for impulses from charismatic congregations and Orthodox theology to churches that have an anaemic theology of the Holy Spirit; and, second, by connecting the Spirit with the wide cosmos and thus making individualism a false option. …

Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes

The product of seven years' preparation, a new statement on mission and evangelism was presented to the World Council of Churches (WCC) during its Tenth Assembly, held in Busan, Republic of Korea, October 30—November 8, 2013. We reprint here (1) the Prologue, (2) extracts from the Introduction, including affirmations and questions that frame the discussion found in the body of the statement, and (3) the Concluding Affirmations, which are printed in full. Elsewhere in this issue readers will find reflections on the Tenth Assembly itself and events leading up to it, offered by two persons who have played central roles within the WCC: S. Wesley Ariarajah, professor of ecumenical theology, Drew University School of Theology, Madison, New Jersey; and Jooseop Keum, director of the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) and editor of the International Review of Mission. Reflections by senior mission scholars on “Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes” as a missiological statement will appear in a forthcoming issue of the IBMR. The full text of this important document appears in both PDF and HTML formats in the online edition of the IBMR. Go to “Together towards Life, Full Text” (HTML) or to “Together towards Life, Full Text” (PDF). The full text is also online at www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/mission-and-evangelism/together-towards-life-mission-and-evangelism-in-changing-landscapes . The document plus auxiliary resources is available in printed form as Jooseop Keum, ed., Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes—with a Practical Guide (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2013), 92 pp. —Editors

In Gratitude for Emilio Castro's Ministry with the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME)

Thanks to God for having sent Emilio Castro to CWME as director. mourn Emilio's death but are comforted by his testimony and teaching that the kingdom of God, manifested in the crucified and resurrected Christ, will embrace all reality and realize our deepest hope that life overcomes death. three years I was privileged to work with Emilio (1) proved to be among the most influential on my own theological development. Only a few people I have known have had a really strong impact on my spirituality and vision: definitely, Emilio was one of these. I learnt from him not to divide what God unites and to hold in creative tension the most universal-the kingdom of God-and the most particular and personal. The topic of the kingdom invited us to take a look at the whole of creation, he wrote in his reflections at the end of the 1980 Melbourne conference. (2) Preaching during my ordination service in Geneva, he urged me and the congregation to consider the smallest relations in a local parish as key to God's reign: perspective of the kingdom and the concrete love for the neighbour whom God gives us-their union is necessary to make start the engine of any historical transformation. There is in the third age a power for the transformation of society that waits to be organised. In each parish event, be it a child's baptism, the announcement of the Gospel of eternal life during a funeral service, a marriage celebration, or a pastoral visit, there is always the potential, the power, to share the vision of the coming kingdom. (3) As a Methodist preacher, Emilio was able to raise enthusiasm for the gospel and speak quite convincingly--even when unprepared. There was at that time a story about him arriving on a Monday morning at the Ecumenical Centre, being met at the door by a worried colleague (the one responsible for worship that day) who said, Emilio, we have no preacher!--Give me a Bible?' was his answer. It is thanks to him that I was led to develop an appreciation of evangelism--sharing the good news and naming the Name (as he liked to say)--as a key element of global mission. Coming from the Swiss development scene, I had started my work with CWME with much scepticism as to the evangelistic task of the church--as many of my generation--and had told him this when we sat in his office reflecting about my future task. He just smiled. Emilio was a charismatic champion of the need to link evangelism and solidarity with the poor for justice and liberation. Nowhere else is this better formulated than in the 1982 ecumenical affirmation on mission and evangelism, Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation, which is one of Emilio's most important legacies to the ecumenical movement. This document owes its style and much of its content and inspiration to this exceptional mission leader. Of course, the text harvests insights of the theological debates of the 1970s, including many affirmations of Melbourne. But we must credit Emilio for formulating this in a way to distil the best of prophetic passion of liberation theology, evangelical concern for the unreached, and Roman Catholic and Orthodox missiological wisdom, and to draft quite a coherent text that was to have lasting influence. We cannot pray for the kingdom to come without announcing to the world the knowledge of the King whose kingdom we hope for ... without calling everybody, everywhere, to recognize this servant kingship of Jesus Christ. (4) That is the reason why mission in general and evangelism in particular must not fall into the trap of conquest and triumphalistic crusade, because the one to be named came to serve and give his life for all. …

An Assessment ofTogether towards Life: Korean Responses

Seven theological variables from 1982 to 2012 The new ecumenical mission affirmation of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL), deals with the changing landscape of world Christianity over the last thirty years. In this article, we will examine seven theological changes that have taken place, even though they have not all necessarily been mentioned in TTL. 1. The appearance of creation and as a theological theme Since the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Vancouver assembly in 1983 and the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Seoul Conference in 1990, of has become a major theological issue in the framework of integrity of creation. This is why the WCC Canberra assembly in 1991 chose for its theme Come, Holy Spirit--Renew the Whole Creation. The issue of life is theologically and ecologically inseparable from that of and peace. It finally appears as the theme of the Busan assembly, God of life, lead us to justice and peace. 2. Marginalization of church and theology in the globalized neo-liberal market economy Through of the neo-liberal market economy, many people have become marginalized, the gap between the rich and the poor has increased, and the natural environment has been more severely damaged. Churches and Christian theology have been pushed from the public domain into the private sphere. In the meantime, the ecumenical movement continues to respond to the challenges of the neo-liberal market economy. The documents Christian Faith and the World Economy Today: A Study Document from the World Council of Churches (1992), Mission and Evangelism in Unity Today (1998), Harare WCC Assembly Report (1998), the AGAPE Document (2006), and Mission and Evangelism in Unity Today (1) all point to globalization and post-modernism as new contexts of mission. 3. Postmodernism and multinational, multicultural, and multi-religious situations The neo-liberal economy is accelerating the global apartheid among multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multi-religious people. Since the Vancouver assembly, ecumenical theology has begun to emphasize both the importance of local cultures and the identities of people and koinonia of humankind of diverse cultural communities. The model of church as in diversity could be a good analogy for unity in multicultural societies. The report from the 1996 Salvador world mission conference (2) was an official response of the WCC mission theology for a postmodern culture. This report presented in its new ecumenical agenda one gospel and eschatological hope as the axis of unity and cultural expressions of the Christian faith as the axis of diversity. It emphasized that the gospel illuminates and transforms cultures, while cultures incarnate the gospel. 4. Global changes of Christian landscapes and the revival of Pentecostalism Pentecostal churches and charismatic forms of Christianity show their missionary enthusiasm in the global South and the East, and extend their hands to the poor. As a result, the Christian grassroots mass movement taking place has brought about a reversal of the Christian population between the northern and southern hemispheres. This can create a variety of world Christianity. 5. Theological transformation from Christology-centred universalism to trinitarian universalism The Vancouver assembly of the WCC (1983) saw a significant theological paradigm shift from Christology-centred universalism to trinitarian universalism. Since then, the concept of Trinity has provided a framework to synthesize various theologies in a variety of situations. The trinitarian concept stresses the importance of dialogue for the future oikoumene in multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-religious contexts. Traditionally, the relationship between pneumatology and Christology had been expressed through filioqui' debates, but since the 1990s this has shifted to the discourse of perichoresis The Canberra Assembly in 1991 emphasized trinitarian pneumatology. …

Moderator's Address

International Review of MissionVolume 101, Issue 2 p. 299-308 New WCC Affirmation on Mission and Evangelism Moderator's Address Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor CoorilosSearch for more papers by this author Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor CoorilosSearch for more papers by this author First published: 20 November 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.2012.00100.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume101, Issue2November 2012Pages 299-308 RelatedInformation

Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes

The Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) has, since the WCC Porto Alegre Assembly in 2006, been working toward and contributing to the construction of a new ecumenical mission affirmation. The new statement will be presented to the WCC 10th assembly at Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013. Since the integration of the International Missionary Council (IMC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New Delhi in 1961, there has been only one official WCC position statement on mission and evangelism which was approved by the central committee in 1982, Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation. This new mission affirmation was unanimously approved by the WCC central committee on 5 September 2012 at its meeting on the island of Crete, Greece. It is the aim of this new ecumenical discernment to seek vision, concepts and directions for a renewed understanding and practice of mission and evangelism in changing landscapes. It seeks a broad appeal, even wider than WCC member churches and affiliated mission bodies, so that we can commit ourselves together to fullness of life for all, led by the God of Life!

Change and Its Effect on Mission and Church Relationship

International Review of MissionVolume 101, Issue 2 p. 393-403 Wind of Change: Church on the Move Change and Its Effect on Mission and Church Relationship A Roman Catholic Perspective The Rev. Dr Richard Kuuia Baawobr M.Afr., The Rev. Dr Richard Kuuia Baawobr M.Afr.Search for more papers by this author The Rev. Dr Richard Kuuia Baawobr M.Afr., The Rev. Dr Richard Kuuia Baawobr M.Afr.Search for more papers by this author First published: 20 November 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.2012.00117.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume101, Issue2November 2012Pages 393-403 RelatedInformation

Companions in the Spirit – Companions in Mission

Companions in the Spirit – Companions in Mission

Together toward Life

The Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) has since 2006, after the WCC Porto Alegre Assembly, been working and contributing toward the construction of the new ecumenical mission affirmation. The new statement will be presented to the WCC 10th Assembly at Busan, Korea, in 2013. Since the integration of the International Missionary Council (IMC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New Delhi, 1961, there has been only one official WCC position statement on mission and evangelism, which was approved by the central committee in 1982, “Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation.” It is the aim of this ecumenical discernment to seek vision, concepts and directions for a renewed understanding and practise of mission and evangelism in changing landscapes. It seeks a broad appeal, even wider than WCC member churches and affiliated mission bodies, so that we can commit ourselves together to fullness of life for all, led by the God of Life!

Towards and Beyond Edinburgh 2010: A Historical Survey of Ecumenical Missiological Developments since 1910

AbstractThis article provides a brief history of mission theology of the global church since Edinburgh 1910, highlighting the seismological shifts and major developments in missiological thinking and praxis over the years and through various world mission conferences, specifically from the perspective of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). It argues that, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the centenary mission conference in Edinburgh in June 2010, mission theology has moved from its early stage of colonial, Eurocentric expressions to post‐colonial and polyphonic articulations of missiology. For the CWME, though, the missiological journey continues even beyond 2010. This article argues that, amongst many important missiological themes that CWME needs to address within the overarching theme of “Ecumenism in Mission”, the themes CWME has identified as its major focus for the coming years – viz. ecclesiology and mission, mission as healing, and mission as contestation – are of crucial pertinence. In the changing global Christian landscape where the centre of gravity of Christianity has moved to the global South, and in a context where new forms of being ecclesial communities are tried out, “The Nature and Mission of the Church” needs to take a “from below” approach, going beyond the traditional frameworks of mainline churches. Mission as healing would provide a comprehensive and more integral perspective to the salvific purpose of God for this world, especially as “healing” is a common strand within many religious, ecclesial and spiritual traditions, offering a dialogical perspective. Mission as contestation is equally significant in today's world where the gospel imperative of confronting satanic forces that express themselves in the form of globalization, neo‐imperialism, patriarchy, racism, casteism and eco‐violence is of cardinal importance.

PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNEQUALS—MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

Structures and theology In 1987, Eugene Stockwell, the then director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), noted that Whenever a major deliberative assembly takes place, bringing together persons deeply committed to Christian mission, it is likely that sooner or later the discussion will turn to -- and perhaps founder on -- issues of structure. (1) Clearly this has changed. The structures of mission are no longer at the top of the agenda of missiologists' or mission practitioners' meetings. There is so personal and quiet a face to Christian mission that we can be excused some impatience with talk of structures. (2) But nonetheless they remain highly relevant, since the situation that triggered these discussions from the 1950s to 1980s is still prevalent. If some kind of equality (often termed partnership) between Western and third world churches in the light of Galatians 3:28 is perceived as a major challenge for Christian mission in a world increasingly torn apart by economic, cultural, religious and other diversities, then adequate structures for interchurch relations are of utmost importance. It is relatively easy to develop new theological ideas, but their ultimate value lies in their practicality, and this is where structures must be taken into account. A church's annual budget says more (and often something very different) about its theology than its verbal declarations of faith. In the same way structures say a lot about the inherent theology of mission organizations (and churches). Structures can facilitate the overcoming of unequal (sometimes unjust) relationships, or they can make it impossible. The fundamental issue can be stated in this way: Can one speak in credible terms of partnership between the dominant and the dominated, the powerful and the powerless, the large and the small, the rich and the poor, the black and the white, and the oppressor and the oppressed? (3) The touchiest but not the only issue in this field of inequality in power is the question of money and the might that goes with it. As Konrad Raiser said: In the long run there can be no real partnership in regard of a lasting worldwide inequality in power, e.g. between rich and poor, donors and receivers. Material dependency destroys human relationships elsewhere, too, however hard one may try to achieve partnership. (4) Although noting this is not much more than a commonplace, theologians are often somewhat reluctant to reflect too much upon the role of mammon. Unfortunately this does not keep money, and its unequal distribution, from playing a major role in inter-church relations. Therefore the following reflections will concentrate on the sharing of resources, viz, money, people and ideas, even if this is not meant to say that other areas of inter-church relations (equal access to information and education, for example) are not also of great importance. It would be wrong to overlook that there have been bold attempts to draw structural consequences from missiological insights. Notably in Europe, some former mission societies have restructured over the past three decades in an attempt to create structures to enable rather than hinder equal relations between churches in North and South. (5) The prime examples are the Communaute Evagelique d'Action Apostolique (CEVAA, today Cevaa) with 47 member churches and formerly known as the Societe des Missions Evangeliques de Paris (SMEP), the Council for World Mission (CWM) with 32 members, formerly the London Missionary Society (LMS), and the United Evangelical Mission (UEM), with 32 members, and Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft and Bethel Mission (RMG), from Wuppertal. They restructured in comparable ways in 1971 (CEVAA), 1977 (CWM) and 1996 (UEM). They have become much acclaimed ecumenical partnership models, and thus a lot has been published on them, most of which does not need repeating here. …

ECUMENICAL AFFIRMATION ON MISSION AND EVANGELISM: A REVIEW*

JEAN S. STROMBERG [**] Background The 1970s produced some significant documents on mission and evangelism, such as the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975). [1] The Nairobi assembly (1975) debate on evangelism considerably heightened the need for the World Council of Churches (WCC) to articulate clearly the relationship of the traditional missionary outreach of the churches with involvement in justice issues. [2] What did the various actions for justice in which the churches engaged together through the Council have to do with the proclamation of the kingdom of God, with calling persons to a personal faith in Jesus Christ? The WCC central committee, meeting in 1976 following the Nairobi assembly, requested the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) to prepare a paper on the basic convictions and shared affirmations of the churches on the topic of mission and evangelism. My introduction to this discussion coincided with my first CWME commission meeting in Puerto Rico in 1978, as a staff member. At that meeting, commission members refused to respond to such a request. The feeling was strong among the commission members and some staff that no conceptual paper could adequately reflect the churches' experiences in mission and evangelism. Furthermore, one ought not to produce such a document for fear of codifying principles of mission that could serve as a litmus test for orthodoxy, especially in light of the Nairobi assembly discussion. How is it possible, some asked, to put into a document the richness and variety of the experience of God's mission in our world? The only possibility that the commission was willing to consider at that point was to collect and tell stories of the churches' experiences and to leave the interpretation of the richness and meaning of those experiences to others. However, the request of the central committee, the governing body of the WCC between assemblies, could not ultimately be ignored. In and around the preparation for the 1980 World Conference on Mission and Evangelism, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, the idea of the document kept reappearing. At the Melbourne conference itself, a small group of participants worked on a possible draft. That attempt failed. In the middle of a conference that saw itself as responsible for articulating important mission issues of the day, there was considerable misunderstanding about a small group writing a mission statement for approval by another body, the central committee. The suspicion that often accompanies any WCC conference report, that it is written by someone, usually staff, ahead of time, focused on this group. While that attempt was dropped, the Melbourne conference itself, as a worldwide gathering of mission reflection, stories, and experiences, was a significant influence on the document that finally resulted. Following the Melbourne conference, Emilio Castro, then director of CWME, wrote a first draft. After many months of intensive discussions within the staff, with commission members and with wide, inclusive networks of individuals [3] and groups, a document was ready for a first reading by the central committee in July 1981. After further consideration and work the document was approved in July 1982 and sent to the churches for their consideration, inspiration and implementation. [4] Reaction to the Ecumenical Affirmation on Mission and Evangelism The Ecumenical Affirmation (EA) has proved to be .a useful, if imperfect, instrument. The document has been useful in generating discussion and study among a wide spectrum of groups within the Christian family. Those with evangelical perspectives, with very few exceptions, both inside and outside the ecumenical movement, have responded with enthusiasm to the document. This has helped make possible some of the stimulating discussions that have taken place with evangelicals from the Vancouver assembly onwards. …

SAN ANTONIO AND SOME CONTINUING CONCERNS OF THE CWME

The following is a presentation by Christopher Duraisingh, the Director‐designate of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), during the final plenary session of the World Mission Conference in San Antonio. This is Dr Duraisingh's impromptu response to the conference in the light of his perception of the role of CWME in world mission; initial comments of a more personal nature have been omitted here.