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Mission

Page history last edited by Paul Hazelden 6 years, 8 months ago

 

From Alwyn Pereira:

 

I like what you have written.  I think, it is in many ways, a prophetic discourse voicing what is going on and calling us to orthodoxy. There is a tension in that on the one hand the Church must be distinctive and on the other it has to engage with culture (contextualisation).  

My view of the situation is that there is a misunderstanding of ''MISSION' and instead we have a lot of 'evangelism' fused with the establishment of ecclesiological fiefdoms and we call this 'MISSION '.  Mission is about TRANSFORMATION and it leads to the messianic-eschatological community we see in Acts 2 or 4; nothing short of that can be or should be acceptable as 'being church'.  

This is what Rowan Williams said : "

“the essence of the church is missionary” it [the church] is essentially missionary in its nature, seeking to transform the human world by communicating to it in word and act a truthfulness that exposes the deepest human fears and evasions and makes possible the kind of human existence that can pass beyond these fears to a new liberty.

(in Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement (Harrisburg, Pa.:Morehouse Publishing, 2000) and On Christian Theology (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2000).

 

In this view Mission is about transformation – transforming individual lives, transforming communities and transforming the world; this is God's initiative and it is powered by the Spirit. Thus for me the Church's Mission must be e.g. addressing the brokenness of the homeless as well as eradicating the causes. We have to be about building communities that enable and encourage the thriving of human life  sharing in the goods in common and the flourishing of Creation. 

The growing disillusionment is that certain types of voices, only certain type of gifts and activities are given space in Church.  The gifts of the many are not released, and as a result we have stunted growth.


Here are some Anglican thoughts: 

Five marks of mission

In 1984 the Anglican Consultative Council (www.anglicancommunion.org) began to develop a “mission statement” for the worldwide Anglican communion, and the bishops of the Lambeth Conference adopted these “Five Marks Of Mission” in 1988. They were then adopted by the General Synod of the Church of England in 1996.

  • To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom
  • To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
  • To respond to human need by loving service
  • To seek to transform unjust structures of society
  • To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain the life of the earth

The Anglican Consultative Council notes,

“The first mark of mission… is really a summary of what all mission is about, because it is based on Jesus' own summary of his mission (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 4:18, Luke 7:22; cf. John 3:14-17). Instead of being just one of five distinct activities, this should be the key statement about everything we do in mission.”

Mission-shaped church

In 2004 the General Synod commended the report “Mission-shaped church” to the whole of the Church of England. Building on the five marks of mission, this report speaks of five values for a missionary church:

  • A missionary church is focused on God the Trinity
    Worship lies at the heart of a missionary church, and to love and know God as Father, Son and Spirit is its chief inspiration and primary purpose…
  • A missionary church is incarnational
    It seeks to shape itself in relation to the culture in which it is located or to which it is called…
  • A missionary church is transformational
    It exists for the transformation of the community that it serves, through the power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit…
  • A missionary church makes disciples
    It is active in calling people to faith in Jesus Christ…it is concerned for the transformation of individuals, as well as for the transformation of communities.
  • A missionary church is relational
    It is characterized by welcome and hospitality. Its ethos and style are open to change when new members join.

 

     

     

     

     


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