Evangelism In Changing Landscapes Research Articles

Contemporary Ecumenical Missiology and the Renewal of Christian Theology

There is a symbiotic relationship between mission and theology – they need each other. Just as the conception and practice of Christian mission have been renewed and refreshed through theological creativity, this article explores how Christian theology might be enriched by insights from contemporary ecumenical missiology. It makes particular reference to the World Council of Churches 2012 mission affirmation Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes and the Arusha Call to Discipleship issued by the 2018 WCC World Mission Conference held at Arusha, Tanzania. Drawing on these seminal texts, the article considers what it means to do theology with life itself at stake, the question of agency in theology, and the role of spirituality, discipleship and transformation in the construction of theology. It concludes by turning to the question of education and formation, proposing that in today's context, theologians need to be formed as “organic intellectuals.”

Human Agency in the Missio Dei and the Problem of Discipleship

AbstractAt the heart of this article is an inquiry into the relationship between human and divine agency in the doctrine of the missio Dei and a critique of the turn to the language of discipleship in looking to articulate this agency. Taking the World Council of Churches’ Commission of World Mission and Evangelism's two recent documents, Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL) and the “Arusha Call to Discipleship,” as a case study, this article will seek to articulate an account of human participation in the missio Dei which maintains the emphasis on spirituality in TTL. Through a close reading of TTL and the Arusha Call, the article will demonstrate that the introduction of discipleship language has not solved the issue of agency but rather has changed the account of agency and, as a result, the missiology. By turning to accounts of faithful participation from qualitative research into British Methodism, to John V. Taylor's Go‐between God, and to Pope Francis’ Evangelii gaudium, I will suggest that a better account of human agency in the missio Dei can be developed by emphasizing the pneumatology of TTL and by turning to language of attentiveness, accompaniment, and discernment.

Nordic Missiological Discourses following Together towards Life and the Arusha World Mission Conference

AbstractThe article gives an overview of recent discussions on international ecumenical missiology in a Nordic, and particularly Norwegian, context. A short background on historical disagreements between churches and mission agents gives the backdrop for more recent theological discussions following the Edinburgh 2010 anniversary. Two WCC events in particular have contributed to the discussions. First, the publishing of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism's Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes has fuelled the discussions with new insights. A pneumatological entry point into missiology prompted churches and mission agents to renew their talks about the main reasons for engaging in mission. A central part of these discussions has been the question of what “mission from the margins” may mean. Second, the Arusha World Mission Conference gave an opportunity for a broad ecumenical encounter, also from within the Nordic region. The many stories and witnesses from the margins that were presented in Arusha gave new insights into a Norwegian (and partly Nordic) understanding of who the marginalized are, also within a Nordic context. The article concludes that the Arusha conference contributed to understanding storytelling as crucial to the meaning of the term “mission from the margins.”

From Busan to Arusha, and beyond

AbstractA new World Council of Churches (WCC) mission statement was presented to the member churches of the WCC at the assembly in 2013 in Busan, South Korea. The document, Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL), was said to be pneumatological. From God’s mission, missio Dei, there was a shift toward the mission of the Spirit, missio Spiritus. The ecumenical world was introduced to a new mission concept: “mission from the margins,” according to which the Holy Spirit was empowering those in the margins.Five years later, in 2018, in Arusha, Tanzania, the WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism officially adopted a short mission document entitled “The Arusha Call to Discipleship” and another document, “The Arusha Conference Report.” The conference was said to have been influenced and inspired by TTL. However, in the conference documentation, the missio Spiritus seems to have been left aside. Thus, it would seem that in recent ecumenical missiology, there has been a shift from pneumatology toward Christology as the basis of individual and communal Christian life. In light of this, this article intends to compare the WCC mission documents of 2013 and 2018 and to show that there has been a shift toward the “Christ‐connected way of life” of the disciple and how this Christ‐connected discipleship is vulnerable and wounded, as it connects with the concept of kenosis.

“Together towards a Banquet”: The Feast as Promise and Resistance in Together Towards Life and Contemporary Theological Discourse

AbstractThis article explores the symbol of the feast, as proposed by the 2012 World Council of Churches’ affirmation Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL). The feast is introduced as an appropriate hermeneutic tool to account for the multi‐layered and dynamic reality of human life in the presence of others and in the presence of God. Interpreting the feast, together with TTL, as a symbol of the liberation and reconciliation of the whole creation and of the celebration of life in response to the outreaching love of God, the article reflects on some contemporary theological voices arguing that God’s invitation to the feast of God’s kingdom is a central element of Christian existence. Such feasting is, among other things, characterized by the dynamics of facing, the presence of the other, the awareness of human corporeality, and the particularization of the other that can overcome the idolatrous power of death. Entering this conversation, the present article will argue that the symbol of the feast can helpfully be understood in its two‐fold dynamics of promise and resistance. While giving assurance about the transformation of all reality in the coming reign of justice and peace, the symbol of the feast, with its emphasis on inclusiveness and equality, also empowers people to resist all life‐denying forces. Walking with the rest of the creation “together towards a banquet,” Christians are thus enabled, it will be asserted, to discern and actively live their vocation.

Church, Society, and Earth in The Church and Together towards Life: A Reflection from a Post‐communist Context

AbstractThis article explores the topics of church, society, and earth in two recent documents by the World Council of Churches (WCC): The Church: Towards a Common Vision and Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes. Regarding society and earth not as mere objects or “props” of the church’s mission, the article suggests that the church must be viewed as an intrinsic part of both society and earth if it is to faithfully pursue God’s mission of justice and peace toward the “kin‐dom” characterized by life in fullness for all. Mission, understood in terms of missio Dei, will therefore be recognized as encompassing all three of these categories. The contribution reflects on these issues from a post‐communist perspective, drawing insights from both historical experience and current reality.

Marginalised millennials: Conversation or conversion towards a Christian lifestyle in South Africa?

The World Council of Churches’ statement prepared by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, states that mission from the margins calls for an understanding of the complexities of power dynamics. These power dynamics include global systems and structures, as well as local and contextual realities. One of the local contextual realities of South Africa is ‘a culture of violence’ against the vulnerable. Many millennials in South Africa – which constitute the majority of the current South African population – form part of the marginalised, not only in the global systems and structures but also in the local context. TLL acknowledges that Christian mission, and by implication the Christian church, largely failed to challenge economic, cultural and political systems that have marginalised many in the South African context, including the millennials. However, this article wants to study the millennials in South Africa from a missional church perspective regarding their views on culture, gender and violence and will attend to the following two issues: firstly, the role of culture in marginalisation, and secondly, the question about a proper response by the church, namely conversation or conversion?

KuncheriaPathil. Future of the Ecumenical Movement. Delhi: ISPCK, 2017, 228 pp.

This is a thought-provoking book, and, precisely because of that, an encouraging one. Kuncheria Pathil shares insights of his own ecumenical journey that started in 1969 when he left India for studies at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Visiting the World Council of Churches (WCC) for his own research and participating in a Bossey seminar, he decided to work on a doctoral thesis on the theological methodology of the Faith and Order movement. His book on Models in Ecumenical Dialogue that was published in 1981 in Bangalore made him well known far beyond India and has been a valuable reference for many students of ecumenical theology worldwide. After he taught systematic theology for more than 30 years at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Pontifical Athenaeum, Bangalore, his knowledge and experience were recognized when he was elected president of the institution. He served for several years as president of the Indian Theological Association and as co-moderator of the Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS). He was also invited to collaborate with both the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). His more recent publications on the Theology of the Church: New Horizons (2006) and Unity in Diversity: A Guide to Ecumenism (2012) and Church on Pilgrimage: Trajectories of Intercultural Encounter (2016) prepare the ground for his new book that was published earlier this year. In the first three chapters of the book, Pathil presents a thorough historical and theological analysis of the ecumenical movement, the Catholic approach to ecumenism, and the approach of the WCC. Each of these chapters ends with conclusions that inform the reflections in chapter 4 on challenges, problems, and ambiguities in the search for the unity of the church, and in chapter 5 on emerging ecumenical trajectories. As an Asian theologian who is deeply convinced of the value of inter-cultural and inter-contextual exchange and the recognition of diversity, Pathil takes a fresh look at the achievements and difficulties of ecumenical dialogue and cooperation. He sees himself as being free to expose obstacles on the way toward unity and dead ends where nothing new is to be expected. He observes that the Roman Catholic Church has not yet found a way out of the tension between the impulses of the Second Vatican Council for collegiality and the recognition of the diversity of local churches in communion with each other, on the one hand, and its traditional exclusive claims, on the other. The WCC, for its part, keeps appearing to be blocked by the institutional and denominational identities and interests of its member churches. This undermines not only the vitality and credibility of the WCC's role in the ecumenical movement, but also its capacity to respond to the deep cultural transformations we are currently experiencing and its openness to new post-denominational and indigenous churches. In a radical way, given he is a Roman Catholic theologian, Pathil adds to these four trajectories a passionate appeal for intercommunion at the local level as a necessary step forward. The book includes a foreword by the former WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser, who has been in dialogue with Kuncheria Pathil since 1970. Raiser agrees with many of the observations shared by Pathil, but he points also to new developments in the WCC that indicate growing awareness of the changing context and can be interpreted as initial signs for reorientation. Raiser mentions the Faith and Order document on The Church – Towards a Common Vision, the unity statement of the WCC's 10th assembly in 2013 in Busan, and last but not least the mission statement Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, which offers a stronger emphasis on the Holy Spirit and interprets the changing context of mission in reflections on “mission from the margins.” The Rev. Dr Martin Robra is a staff member of the WorldCouncil of Churches.

Together towards Life in the Korean Context: Missiological Implications for the Korean Church

AbstractThis paper examines the implications of Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL) in the Korean context. TTL presents a renewed understanding of mission and challenges the mission activity of the Korean church and mission community. The paper explores some missiological implications of TTL for the once marginalized Korean church, which has become the centre of global Christianity. The world church has begun to recognize the rise of the non‐Western churches and the emerging roles of the Korean church. TTL, with a study guide, and Ecumenical Missiology should serve as helpful resources for teaching and training theology students and field missionaries.

Together towards new life for missiology? Mission and missiology in the light of the world council of churches 2013 policy statement

Any meaningful discussion of the various understandings of mission and Missiology needs to take cognizance of the important policy document accepted by the World Council of Churches at its 10th Assembly in Busan, South-Korea, in October 2013: “Together towards life – mission and evangelism in changing landscapes”. This is the first new mission affirmation by the WCC in 30 years, and presents a compelling new vision of Christian mission, namely its rootedness in God and its present role in the strengthening/consolidation/reinforcement of the reign of God. This research explores the relevance of the aforementioned policy document for mission and Missiology in terms of three themes: “Where do we come from?”; “What is happening now?”, and “What could the future look like?”

International Review of Mission

The new affirmation on mission and evangelism of WCC, Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, highlights the urgency facing the church to “renew its methods of evangelism to communicate the good news with persuasion, inspiration, and conviction.” To this end, a series of “Explorations in Evangelism” was launched by the World Council of Churches, in co-operation with the Council for World Mission (CWM), with the first one taking place in Sydney, Australia, in September 2015. It addressed the theme “Evangelism in the City.” Given a particular focus on secularization, urbanization, and new forms and initiatives in doing evangelism in “the city,” participants from across the world discussed and reflected on the particularities and sensitivities that such a local context could have with regards to the practice of evangelism. In the process of analyzing and interpreting that local context, in order to contextualize the message of the gospel, particular attention was given to the relevance of the gospel vis à vis culture in specific milieus such as migrant communities, secular and multi-ethnic environments, and multi-religious backgrounds. This issue of IRM brings together some of the reflections participants shared with the group during the Exploration in Sydney, addressing the theme of Evangelism in the City from their own perspectives, always with the same common aspiration: to encourage (re)-commitment to fresh practices of evangelism globally. These new insights echo the urgency for the renewal of the understanding of the practices of evangelism locally, with the hope to instil passion and innovative vision to evangelists in bringing forth the message of the gospel through fresh approaches. Kyriaki AVTZI Guest Editor As IRM editor, I offer my special thanks to Kyriaki Avtzi, WCC programme executive on evangelism, who kindly accepted my invitation to be guest editor of this issue on “Evangelism in the City.” The next issue of IRM will reflect on “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship,” on the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism's (CWME) proposal for the theme of the next WCC conference on world mission and evangelism in 2018. Jooseop KEUM Editor

Transformative Spirituality and Missional Leadership

The importance of transformative spirituality for missional leadership is explored. Missional leadership is defined as the transformation of people and institutions to participate, through meaningful relations and in the power of the Spirit, in God’s mission. Missional spirituality is discussed in the context of the missional church, focusing on what the churchis, does, how the churchorganizeswhat it does, theappropriate leadership, andmissional spirituality. This article brings together ideas from the missional church movement and the World Council of Churches (Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes), with its emphasis on a ‘transformative spirituality’ an approach that states that ‘mission spirituality is always transformative’. These ideas are applied to missional leadership.The research applies the following dimensions of personal leadership virtues to transformative missional spirituality and missional leadership: transcendence (which includes appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humor, and religiousness), humanity (which includes the social competencies of kindness, love, and social intelligence), wisdom and knowledge (which include the cognitive competencies of creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, and love of learning), justice (associated with fairness, leadership, and teamwork), courage (including the personal and emotional competencies of bravery, persistence, and zest), and finally temperance (which includes the competencies of forgiveness, modesty, prudence, and self-regulation).

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. …

Evangelii Gaudiumand the Prospects for Ecumenical Mission

Abstract Evangelii Gaudium (EG) is addressed to bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and lay faithful of Catholic Church. It comes out of an internal discussion of the new and devotes considerable space to particular concerns of Catholic Church, such as its pastoral activity, preaching ministry, and devotion to Mary. Out of 288 sections, it devotes only three near end to dialogue. So it would not seem at first sight to offer much prospect for ecumenical mission. However, this impression is deceptive. This article compares EG with main concerns of World Council of Churches' statement on mission and evangelism in changing landscapes, Together towards Life (TTL), which was published earlier same year, and finds a remarkable extent of common ground. It also finds that both documents share an inclusive and holistic understanding of mission/evangelization. ********** Evangelii Gaudium (EG) is addressed to bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and lay faithful of Catholic Church. (1) It comes out of an internal discussion of the new (2) and devotes considerable space to particular concerns of Catholic Church, such as its pastoral activity, preaching ministry and devotion to Mary. Out of 288 sections it devotes only three near end to dialogue (244-246). So it would not seem at first sight to offer much prospect for ecumenical mission. However, this impression is deceptive, first, because of extent of common ground between EG and World Council of Churches' (WCC) statement on mission and evangelism in changing landscapes, Together towards Life (TTL), (3) which was published earlier same year, and second, because of its inclusive and holistic understanding of evangelization. I shall argue that EG shares four-fold mission agenda of TTL, as expressed in its four main sections on practising life-giving mission of Spirit, including marginalized, creating a missionary church, and proclaiming gospel authentically. In each case I shall point to ways in which confluence of EG with TTL gives ground for ecumenical mission. Practising Life-giving Mission of Spirit TTL has a distinctive pneumatological framework. Each of its main sections is titled with a characteristic of Holy Spirit: Spirit of mission, Spirit of liberation, Spirit of community, and Spirit of Pentecost. Moreover, life which is focus of title of document is made synonymous with presence and action of Spirit. Although not quite so prominently, EG is similarly infused with theme of pneumatology: Spirit animates ministry (15), impels evangelization (119, 130), guides evangelizer (14, 139, 119), and nourishes missionary disciple (50, 280). (4) In EG, Holy Spirit is principal agent of evangelization (122), sowing Christian values in society (68), enriching culture (116), penetrating every human situation and all social bonds (178), and bringing about liberation (178, see 197). The Spirit in freedom (279) goes ahead of evangelization, liberating and enlightening non-Christians (254, 265), directing people toward church (47), blazing new trails (105), and enabling response to gospel (112). As Spirit of Christ, Spirit is source of grace that gives hope (84) and confidence (145, 280) and frees us from our self-centredness to evangelize (97). The Spirit raises up communities of evangelism (29), is manifested in works of love (37), and mobilizes loving attentiveness that enables seeking of other's good (199). The Spirit is both source of diversity and also brings about unity (131, 230) by reconciling different parts of church (40, cf. 246) and building harmony between cultures (117). The mission pneumatology of EG comes to a climax in its last chapter, in which spirit of new evangelization is likened to Spirit of Pentecost and Mary is described as its supreme exemplar. …

Ecodomy in mission: The ecological crisis in the light of recent ecumenical statements

This research explored ecodomy in mission and gave a brief overview of the ecological dimension of mission. This was done in terms of the polarity between creation and end times, or a creation-centred and a redemption-centred approach. The two approaches were described by focusing on two themes found in the works of missiologist and ecumenical policy documents (The Accra Confession, The Cape Town Commitment, and Together towards life � Mission and evangelism in changing landscapes): the reorientation towards creation and the re-imagination of the eschaton. In terms of the reorientation towards creation, the research found that current developments in missiology reflect a major interest in the importance of ecological issues, offer a clear understanding that the Gospel is good news for all of creation, and demand justice towards the whole oikoumene. It affirmed that God�s mission is inherently creational and world-affirming. In terms of the re-imagination of the eschaton, the research found that the new life promised by the gospel is life in fullness, and includes the whole oikoumene. The reality that is already present in the reign of the risen Christ in his kingdom, structures and informs the life-giving mission of the church.

Ecumenical Dynamic: Living in More than One Place at Once by Keith Clements, and: Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, with a Practical Guide ed. by Jooseop Keum, and: Can a Renewal Movement Be Renewed? Questions for the Future of Ecumenism by Michael Kinnamon (review)

Keith Clements, Ecumenical Dynamic: Living in More than One Place at Once. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2013. Pp. 222. $20.00, paper. Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, with a Practical Guide. Edited by Jooseop Keum. Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications, 2013. Pp. 81, with DVD. $ 20.00, paper. Michael Kinnamon, Can a Renewal Movement Be Renewed? Questions for Future of Ecumenism. Grand Rapids, MI, and Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2014. Pp. 167. $24.00. After Spring sparked by ecumenical dialogues in 1980's and 1990's, some now describe ecumenical scene as one of Winter. ecumenical accords hardly seem to have been noticed by churches. Cardinal Walter Kasper suggested that change may be result of unfulfilled expectations. But, dialogues are only part of ecumenism, and two works here reviewed, by Clements and Kinnamon, both with long ecumenical experience, offer suggestions leading to a broader ecumenical vision. Clements, an English Baptist, was active in Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland and Conference of European Churches. His Ecumenical Dynamic proposes transcending narrow confines and entering into and identifying oneself with a dynamic that unites people. central section of work, The Dynamic Illustrated, presents movements and individuals who represent this larger approach. Although 1910 Edinburgh Conference is acknowledged as beginning of ecumenical movement, Clements suggests that it was mutual visits, the peace exchanges of Anglo-German churches in 1908 and 1909, when, as war clouds were rising, historic voyages of two ships--one from England and other from Germany, each with hundreds of Christians visiting their brothers and sisters of other county--laid foundation for World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship. Other towering figures of this larger ecumenical vision were J. H. Oldham and the Moot, a group of British intellectuals founded to explore role of Christian belief in modern society and relation between social environment and gospel; and George Bell, the apostle of Unity, dean of Canterbury, for whom ecumenism was grounded in sovereignty of Christ and expressed in personal relationships. 1934 Barmen Declaration had ecumenical implications: It was not only a statement of faith but also an invitation to be identified with Confessing Church. last section, The Dynamic Continued, looks to future, one not dominated by ecclesial structures but with less-clericalized communities such as Taize, Bruderhof, Focolare, Iona, and Corrymeela. …

Together towards life – sailing with pirates

In this research, the 2013 mission affirmation of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC), Together towards life – Mission and evangelism in changing landscapes (TTL), is evaluated through a rather unique hermeneutical lens by interpreting and assessing the ecumenical discourse in the light of the book by Kester Brewin, Mutiny, Why we love pirates and how they can save us (2012), and by integrating these insights. The research acknowledges the emphasis on life-affirming mission in TTL, and the approach that a theological bridge is established between the Christian faith, secular worldviews, indigenous religions, and wisdom traditions, because the gospel is good news for all of creation. The following questions are investigated in the light of this: How can the idea of life be reconciled with the mission of God? What is the content and scope of “life” and what is “life” all about? The focus is on the economic political-social consequences of adapting “life” as a theological point of departure. The research integrates a re-evaluation of piracy, as unpacked by Brewin, with the missional endeavour of discernment and the discovery of what “fullness of life” can mean in our day and times. It discusses piracy and mission as: resistance against the idolatry in the free-market economy; the restoration of the commons and koinonia in places where relationships flourish; living in the margins; and economic and ecological liberation in the Kingdom as a place of freedom.

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: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes”

October 2014 Samuel Escobar, a contributing editor, and his wife, Lilly, worked with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students in Latin America and Canada, 1959–85. Then he taught missions at Eastern Baptist (now Palmer) Theological Seminary, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, 1985–2005. He presently teaches at theFacultadProtestantedeTeologiaUEBEinMadrid. —jsescobar@yahoo.com A I sit down to prepare this response to a World Council of Churches (WCC) document on mission and evangelism, I cannot but reflect on the “landscape” from which I write. My most recent experience of missiological activity in Spainwas a fewweeks ago speaking in a gathering of LatinAmericanmissionaries in Europe. Over a hundred of them met at Torrox, near Malaga, representing fifteen countries. After that I crossed the peninsula to Seville in order to teach an intensive course about Christian mission organized by Irismenio Ribeiro, a Brazilian missionary who leads an extension theological center for the region. It was hosted by the Baptist church of Montequinto, where the pastor is Stella Maris Merlo, anArgentinian who has been serving as a missionary in Spain for thirty-three years. During the course we prayed for a team of Spanish missionaries that serve in Equatorial Guinea in western Africa under the European Baptist Mission. At the time for meals we were hosted by Gladys, a lady from El Salvador, a hard-working immigrant and one of the hundreds of Latin American volunteers who are active in Spanish churches these days. This is the reality of the global church in the twenty-first century, and as I experience it in Spain I cannot but praise the Lord as I trace back this reality to the two centuries of missionary work that have preceded us. Four years ago we were celebrating the centennial of Edinburgh 1910, and this year we are celebrating forty years of the Lausanne Covenant and the movement that followed it. In fact, the Busan document of the WCC has reminded me of what I consider providential convergences for Christian mission in the mid-1970s. First, in 1974 evangelicals gathered in Lausanne issued the Lausanne Covenant. This document reaffirmed commitment to mission and evangelism but also included critical reflection about the way in which mission efforts had taken place up to that moment, along with a surprising call to repentance and a commitment to explore realistically a more Christlike way of going about them. That same year a synod of bishops of the Roman Catholic Church asked Pope Paul VI to issue a renewed call to evangelism; in 1975 he promulgated the apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, concerning the evangelization of the modern world. In the same year, the WCC had its Fifth Assembly, in Nairobi, where themes of mission and evangelismwere the object of renewed attention. Missiologist James A. Scherer commented that, in Nairobi, “Assembly statements about ‘confessing Christ’ had a stronglyChristocentric, Trinitarian, and churchly ring, echoing Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic influence but also responding to evangelical criticisms.”1Thefinal documentwas “Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes”

Reflections on “Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes”

Reflections on “Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes”