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Global Missiology for the 21st Century: The Iguassu Dialogue (Globalization of Mission Series) Review1. What was the purpose of the Iguassu meeting? What can I learn from it?
William Taylor, Executive Director of WEF, convened this meeting of 160 "reflective practitioners" in Brazil at the end of the 20th century to reflect on how "modernity has misshaped our church and missions `enterprise.'" Taylor writes, "during the last decades of the 20th century, an unfortunate over emphasis on pragmatic and reductionist thinking came to pervade the international Evangelical missionary movement. We must acknowledge that this emphasis has seeped into the church around the world." What I gave notice to was that this was the primary global event of its kind and that most Missiological and theological institutions were focused on their task. There was "little interest in substantial theological reflection." The "dangerous and presuppositional questions" which were asked at Iguassu included: "Where is the power of the gospel in the church today?"; "What kind of gospel have we transported around the world?"; and "What does it mean to see the presence of the kingdom of heaven in our world today?" Taylor calls the Iguassu meeting and the book a "tapestry". It is that and more. The deep thoughtful insights and experience offered by the writers and the varied applications for missions today has made this book a useful tool in my arsenal.
2. How is modernity defined and what affects are described?
Modernity is defined as the "Worldview of the West" which has been "shaped since the 16th century by the Cartesian dualism." This dualism has divided the universe into two, the supernatural world and the natural material world of humans, plants, animals, and matter." (Hiebert 169) The results of modernity are the "crippling omissions" such as reducing the gospel to proclamation or a list of bullet points on a statement of faith have created a mile-wide and inch-deep Christianity without regard for culture or the nation. The sixth stated purpose of the Iguassu meeting in Brazil, October 1999, was that "during the last decades of the 20th century, an unfortunate overemphasis on pragmatic and reductionist thinking came to pervade the international Evangelical missionary movement." (p. 4) A key unfortunate result of modernity is the reduction of world evangelization to research, statistics, and quantifiable objectives, especially with regards to the many global efforts targeting the year 2000. Many say there has been an over emphasis of short-term missions. Quoting René Padilla, Norberto Saracco writes how that reductionism has crippled the church: "It is not a question of being `the faithful few,' but because God wants all to be saved; the matter is that `when the gospel is manipulated in order to make it easier for all to be Christians, the foundation is being laid from the very beginning to have an unfaithful church.'" (p. 363) Because Europe is, "to a great extent, an unevangelized continent," (p. 266) a proper response may be to mobilize Christians to that continent in pursuit of re-evangelization and renewal.
Another devastating omission of modernity is an inadequate emphasis or understanding of the Biblical theology of vocation. Because the church has been divided by the dualism of modernity, "many well-trained believers do not know how to relate their faith to their everyday lives. They feel divided between private interests (church, spirituality, etc.) and public concerns (economics, politics, environment, etc.)." (McAlister 368) "Disregard for the call of God into our world of profound personal, familial, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental crises." (p. 5)
"We still do not understand how Modernity has misshapen our Church and missions `enterprise'." (p.3) Modernity's affect on the world and the church reaches across the globe in ever expanding circles of materialism while at the same time reaching deep into the psyche of every modern individual. "New age networks have spread throughout the world, offering an especially appealing religious soup that allows one to be both spiritual and materialist at the same time." (p. 10) McAlister calls for a clear vision and refers to two critical issues of our time: "identity and mission". His concern in the face of globalization is that young people "find themselves in the supermarket of lifestyle choices," with the message: "define your own reality." The obvious frustration amplifies a "culture of despair...with deep expressions of suspicion, fear, cynicism, and anger, which can be seen inside the church as well as without." (p. 370)
3. How is Hiebert's vision of warfare and worldview expanded my own?
It is interesting how Hiebert reviews theology and missions before his presentation of spiritual warfare. His summation of systematic theology as "Greek" and biblical theology as "Hebrew" has helped me see the broad expanse of Christian scholarship in new light. This has been the place of spiritual warfare. Presenting "Missiological Theology" for the purpose of answering the limitations of the established systems and schools is revelational. He quotes David Bosch saying, "Paul was the first Christian theologian precisely because he was the first Christian missionary." (p. 167) The Missiological approach to theology puts Augustine's "Credo Ut Intelliga" back in the place of priority; first believe, then understand; first accept and act on the Word as it is meant for `you', then gain revelation of the broader applications. The task of the mission theologian is to communicate and apply the gospel to people living today, so that it transforms them and their cultures into what God wants them to be. Missiological theology seeks to bridge the gulf between revelation given millennia ago and the human context today." (p. 167) This is active faith applying the Word of God, the weapons of spiritual warfare, "sword" and "shield," are "mighty through God." (Eph. 6:10-18)
Taking this reality, the call is for transformation. Spiritual warfare is the church's call "to fight against poverty, injustice, oppression, and other evils which are due to oppressive, exploitative human systems of government, business, and religion." "Transformation must involve whole communities as well as individuals," Paul Hiebert writes. (p. 168)
4. What have I learned about globalization and the churches response?
We in the West must stop thinking of the division of the world, the West and "the 2/3rd World.referred to as the "Great Rest of the World." (p. 5) "The most striking reality facing Christian missions in the world today is the decline of Christianity in the West, largely caused by a deadening, anti-Christian, humanistic, secularist philosophy." (Adeyemo 266)
Given a pluralistic society is the most appropriate environment for the free exchange of ideas, perhaps the best response to religious pluralism is found in the Iguassu Affirmation: "We commit to give voice to all segments of the global church." (p. 20) Today, in the wake of the War on Terrorism, and more particularly The War in Iraq, there is more than "an air of global hostility against the West in general and the United States in particular." Adyemo adds, "Rather than becoming easier, Christian mission enterprises in our day are becoming more difficult, risky, precarious, and expensive. The only way forward.is to engage in partnerships." (p. 267) "The spirit of proselytism should be replaced by the willingness to learn from one another." (p. 7)
The Iguassu Affirmation states: "We must be aware of ethnocentricism in our view of economic forces..We commit to address the realities of world poverty and oppose those that serve the powerful rather than the powerless." (p. 20) McAlister went further, saying, "If missions in the Western context do not consciously shift to a more holistic theology and practice, then I cannot see how we can reach people. Practical models and demonstrated community are essentials in the post-modern era. The churches need resources to be able to move back and forth between Scripture and culture as they frame redemptive agendas. Few tools or models seem readily available to the Western church." (McAlister 371)
"We can cheer the growth of the Christian faith, which some say is up to one-hundred-thousand persons choosing Christ each day, but what do we think of the expansion and growth of a "well funded and intensely expansionist Islam?" (p. 10)
SUMMARY
"Pluralism challenges us," as the Iguassu Affirmation declares, "to hold firmly to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Savior, even as we work for increased tolerance and understanding among religious communities." It is true that harmony will not be found if, in practice, we are rearguing the truth claims of religious modernity. Iguassu calls for a commitment "to be agents of reconciliation." (p.19)
Agents of reconciliation are vulnerable learners with hope as an operating agenda. John Stott is quoted saying, "Jesus could not have served human need by remaining aloof in the safe isolation of his heaven; he had to enter our world...He made himself vulnerable when he made himself one with us." (p. 261)
Henri Nouwen's challenge gives fuller meaning to what it means to become agents of transformation and reconciliation: "The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross." (p. 167)
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