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Perfecting Five Christian Character Traits That Empower a Missional Community to Cross-Cultural Mission

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Perfecting Five Christian Character Traits That Empower a Missional Community to Cross-Cultural Mission Please HONOR the copyright of these documents by not retransmitting or making any additional copies in any form (Except for private personal use). We appreciate your respectful cooperation. ___________________________ Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) P.O. Box 30183 Portland, Oregon 97294 USA Website: www.tren.com E-mail: [email protected] Phone# 1-800-334-8736 ___________________________ ATTENTION CATALOGING LIBRARIANS TREN ID# Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) MARC Record # Digital Object Identification DOI # Ministry Focus Paper Approval Sheet This ministry focus paper entitled PERFECTING FIVE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER TRAITS THAT EMPOWER A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY TO CROSS-CULTURAL MISSION Written by YOUNG KYU KIM and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry has been accepted by the Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned reader: _____________________________________ Kurt Fredrickson Date Received: July 21, 2015 PERFECTING FIVE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER TRAITS THAT EMPOWER A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY TO CROSS-CULTURAL MISSION A FINAL PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY YOUNG KYU KIM JULY 2015 ABSTRACT Perfecting Five Christian Character Traits that Empower a Missional Community to Cross-cultural Mission Young Kyu Kim Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2015 The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between character development and cross-cultural mission. Although restriction and persecution causes limitations, the main challenge of churches in northern Vietnam is not caused by external sources, but the internal state of the Church. It is argued that perfecting these five Christian character traits can translate into out-ward, cross-cultural passion for missions in overcoming the challenge. The thesis was observed from the development of local leaders and modeled among first-generation believers of Faith Love Hope Missional Community (THMC) in northern Vietnam. Through theological and biblical study, this study identifies the perfecting of five missional characteristics that empower leaders and communities to cross-cultural mission of God. Moreover, it highlights three interrelated issues facing the Church in northern Vietnam: irrelevance of the Christian faith in a Communist nation, concern for integrity among Christian leadership related to discipling and perfecting in mission; and lack of contextualized Vietnamese mission theology. Although the Church in Vietnam is presently growing in numbers, it identifies that two of the most significant factors of inward church focus and lack of Christian character are also on the rise. Although difficult, the project plans to evaluate the development of these five characteristics among members of THMC community. This study concludes that Great Commission mission, influenced heavily by the call to discipling by Donald McGavran, has missed the inseparable discipline of the perfecting process of character development. As a perfecting process it identified development of five missional characteristics that leads a community to out-ward, cross- cultural ministry. However, the major launch of the missional community has only just begun. Therefore, further research and practices are needed before a definite conclusion, and at the same time, the lifelong character development to be implemented through missional community. Content Reader: Dr. Kurt Fredrickson Words: 292 To my parents, Jun and Grace Kim, who made me who I am today; And to my wife, Kyung Hee, and our children John, Wittemore, Jane who have stood by me ‘til today ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank unsung brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, who made it possible for the birth of Faith Love Hope Missional Community. Their faithful obedience to God, the love of people, and a desire to grow in Christ brought joy in the midst of struggle. Thank you to all to those who outgrew the faith community, and to those who will continue to journey together. I am truly honored by those who have strived knowingly and unknowingly in perfecting the missional characteristics and serve God joyfully in cross-cultural life and ministry. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: MINISTRY CONTEXT Chapter 1. VIETNAM AND THE CHURCH: UNDERSTANDING THE NEED 10 Chapter 2. MISSION CONTEXT OF THMC IN NORTHERN VIETNAM 30 PART TWO: BIBILICAL AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION Chapter 3. LITERATURE REVIEW 48 Chapter 4. A CHRISTIAN CHARACTER IN CROSS-CULTURAL MISSIONAL THEOLOGY 74 PART THREE: MINISTRY STRATEGY Chapter 5. LAYING A GROUND FOR CHARACTERISTICS DEVELOPMENT 129 Chapter 6. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS AND EVALUATION 146 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 166 BIBLIOGRAPHY 169 v INTRODUCTION Since Vietnam was reunified under communism in 1975, “the number of evangelical believers has grown from some 160,000 to 1.4 million.”1 Although less than 10 percent of those believers are in northern Vietnam, the churches in the north have seen some resilient growth too. When John, his wife and a son 2 arrived in 1996, Vietnam was a very poor and backward country. It had a very tight grip on the religious life of the people. It was obvious that the nation as a whole was poor, and the Vietnamese people they met literally said, “Vi ệt Nam r ất nghèo (Vietnam is very poor).” Some people knew exactly how poor they were—114 th in the world. But the economy is growing fast. Goldman Sachs forecasts that the Vietnamese economy will become the world's seventeenth largest by 2025.3 These dynamic changes offer opportunities for churches in missions, but also present challenges, which demand a renewed approach in mission. Even so, many of the evangelical missions working in Vietnam are not ready for changes. Local churches are quickly embracing Western church models. The growing number of churches in Vietnam today resembles the Western churches in decline. Over the last twenty years, experts have been noting change in religious life in the West and talking about “the end of Christendom.” According to Diana Bass, although the research has been mainly on European countries and has thought America is an exception, 1 Reg Reimer, Vietnam’s Christians: A Century of Growth in Adversity (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2011), 1. In his book, Reimer writes about the remarkable growth of the church during communist rule. 2 The name used here is not a real name since he and his wife currently serve in Vietnam. However, they are one of hundreds of people who are serving the people and the churches creatively. 3 Jim O’Neill et al, “Global Economics Paper No: 134,” Goldman Sachs Economic Research (2005): 8. 1 Christian belief and practices are “eroding even in the United States.”4 Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, one of the largest churches in the US, and other conservative churches are reporting losses. 5 According to Dawson McAlister, a national youth ministry specialist, 90 percent of high school youth at churches will not be going to church when they reach their sophomore year in college and almost 30 percent of them will never return to church. 6 There are various factors that contribute to this decline according to experts, but two of the most significant factors are “inward”7 church focus and a lack of Christian characteristics within Christians. Reggie McNeal bluntly talks about the “church world” in North America. He says, it has “largely forsaken its missional covenant with God to be a part of kingdom expansion. It has, instead, substituted its own charter of church as a clubhouse.”8 With good intentions to grow and disciple their church members, it created a mono-cultural church culture which segregate churches from the needy and rapidly- changing world. Even in its going in mission to the world, churches are self-centered on 4 Diana Bass, Christianity After Religion (New York: HarperCollins, 2012), chap. 1, Kindle version. 5 Ibid. 6 Reggie McNeal, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003), chap. “All is Not Well,” Kindle version. This may be happening with second- and third-generation believers in churches in southern Vietnam, but high school and college youth in northern Vietnam churches would be mainly first-generation believers who are still eager to attend church. Therefore possible dropout may still be years away. 7 An “inward” church focuses on being “mono-ethnic,” “mono-cultural,” and “mono-theological” in church life and ministry. The word “inward” is not just a physical and geographical term. That is, a church can be “outward,” Kingdom focused even, if the church focuses on its ministry among its members and local community when it is already multi-ethnic and multi-cultural in its make up and embraces diverse theological traditions. On the other hand, a mono-ethnic, mono-cultural and mono-theological church can be “inward” focused even in her participation in “my mission” to tribal peoples in Southeast Asia. It will more likely plant and create “inward” focused churches. 8 McNeal, The Present Future , introduction, Kindle version. 2 “my mission,” “my program,” and “my church.” Growth in my mission, my program and my church, sadly in many cases, means division, disruption and decline in Kingdom expansion. Here, it would be fitting to introduce the state of South Korean churches, which have been greatly influenced by North American missions and churches
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