Winter-Unfolding Drama
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The Unfolding Drama of the Christian Movement by Ralph D. Winter William Carey Library Pasadena, California The Unfolding Drama of the Christian Movement by Ralph D. Winter William Carey Library Pasadena, California These are transcriptions of lectures given by Ralph D. Winter, Ph.D., at Fuller Theological Seminary, School of World Mission, 1979. The Unfolding Drama of the Christian Movement Ralph D. Winter Contents Chapter 1: The MEANS of World Evangelization Chapter 2: The Unfinished Task of World Evangelization Chapter 3: Penetrating the Last Frontiers Chapter 4: The Importance of a Strategy of Closure Chapter 5: The First Four Hundred Years Chapter 6: The Second Four Hundred Years (AD 400-800) Chapter 7: The Third Four Hundred Years (800—1200 AD) Chapter 8: The Fourth Four Hundred Years (1200-1600 AD) Chapter 9: The Breakdown of the Uniformitarian Hypothesis Chapter 10: The Fifth Expansion Chapter 11: The Evangelical Awakening Chapter 12: The Emergence of Protestant Orders, 1795-1865 Chapter 13: The Rise of the American Protestant Mission Movement Chapter 14: Student Movements in Missions Chapter 15: The Retreat of the West Chapter 16: The Legacy of Edinburgh, 1910 Chapter 17: Missions and Church Councils Chapter 18: The Story of Global Civilization as of 1945 Winter Chapter 1 The MEANS of World Evangelization Our first topic to chew into is called, “The sionary. He was not the first Protestant mis- Means of World Evangelization.” The word sionary; he was merely the first Protestant mis- means intrudes itself upon the pages of human sionary who wrote a book on the theory of missions, history at a certain “locus classicus” in the case and who specifically proposed that mission of William Carey’s famous little book, the brief societies were a legitimate means for the ful- title of which is “An Enquiry into the Obliga- fillment of the Great Commission. tions of Christians to Use Means for the Con- Today most of us take mission societies for version of the Heathens.” The longer title I granted. We are so completely unaware of the don’t recall. The key word in this title is the issue of their existence—that is, whether or not word means. they should exist—that in our field work Carey’s little 97-page book covers three overseas and around the world, almost things: without exception it has never even occurred 1) It talks about previous efforts in to us that we have needed to start mission societies history. within the national churches. The very idea just 2) It talks about the remaining task. In the doesn’t even come up. I’ll bet that for half of second part it presents quantitatively a you what I’m saying is unintelligible; you series of tables and tabular materials probably did not even catch what I said which incorporate Carey’s own best esti- mates of what was left to be done. because you have never even thought that Now by estimates, I really mean estimates! there should be a mission society composed of Take the island of Borneo—all he knew the national church people themselves. was the rough area in square miles. This But lately such mission societies are more is back in 1790, and he had no idea how and more talked about, and they are some- many people lived there, so he estimated. times referred to as “Third World Missions.” He said, “Well, there are probably so Not missions to the Third World, but missions many people per square mile and from the Third World. Not missions from the therefore the population of Borneo is so Third World to the U.S., although that is cer- large.” And probably these people are tainly legitimate, but simply mission structures mainly non-Christians. Perhaps there are a few papists (as he called the Catholics) that are composed of, and directed by, Africans and a few Mohammedans” (as he called or Koreans or Christians from the Third World. the Muslims).” His guesswork, however, Unfortunately, this hiatus in mission provides the basis of all the tables which history is so serious that there are almost no constitute the second part of that book. effective Third World mission societies as yet 3) Thirdly, Carey refers to the word (in 1979). At this point there are at least 200 in means. In this case he introduces the idea existence. If you go around and count every- of a mission society, and finally we thing that moves, every shadow, every understand what he means by the glimmer, you can get even more on the list. But “means” of world evangelization! many of these societies are perhaps inner city Now, lest you think that all this is some missions in the city of Seoul, Korea, or some little obscure reference, off to one side in the kind of boat mission down in Korea’s Inchon backwater of history, let me say that in my Harbor. Very rarely do they work outside the opinion, beyond the Bible itself, the impact of cultural traditions of their own people. They Carey’s small book on history is greater than are often not “cross-cultural.” Not what we call any other document in regard to the fulfillment “foreign” mission societies. of the Great Commission. William Carey is I am not going to stand up here and deny often thought of as the first Protestant mis- the word missions to such structures. This word © 1996 R. Winter. No copy may be made without the author’s permission. 1 – 1 1 – 2 The MEANS of World Evangelization is free for people to use any way they wish. I Carey referred was very specifically a mech- have no lock and key on the word missions. But anism—a social mechanism, an organizational I would suggest that for the most part the structure, if you wish—which was designed word is used more specifically in the foreign for bridging church growth. Although the ter- mission tradition and usually refers to going minology here may seem a bit clumsy, the where there is not yet a church, not merely activity to which I refer is the specific the attempt going out from where there is already a church. to go from one culture where there is a church to Let me try to draw a picture of what I another culture where there is no culturally rel- mean. As you all know by now, in McGavran’s evant church movement. terms, the phrase the mosaic of human society There might be what could be called an consists of different human subcultures not dif- enclave church. Suppose, for example, in Iran ferent countries. In India, instead of being one or more of the various subcultures may strewn out separately, they pile up like a stack already have an “enclave” church of its own. of pancakes since they are very often sand- But this church, we note, in no significant way wiched with each other in layers in a given relates to culture in which it is immersed. In town or city. Although there may be fifty the same way, to say that there is no church in layers in the same town, each layer is never- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is to speak imprecisely. theless a different culture—missiologically. There is a church, perhaps several, in Riyadh, If there are well-established churches in one Saudi Arabia, but there is no indigenous church or two of these different layers, then working within that overall cultural tradition. I think within those particular cultures to found other you understand what I mean. To go from a churches is certainly mission of a sort. subcultural enclave out to the main culture of To cope with such details I have actually Saudi Arabia would therefore be missions, not tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to get people evangelism. to think in terms of various kinds of church However, note that this kind of missions growth. Expansion growth is what happens from an enclave is probably the least successful when the existing churches grow bigger. to succeed—because over the years (or perhaps Extension growth refers to the multiplication of centuries) very high prejudice barriers have been existing churches within the same culture. But built up between the majority culture and the bridging growth is perhaps the least recognized Christianized sub-culture or enclave. because a bridge is built when the churches That is why it is actually easier for someone within one culture go over to some other from a distant culture to do missions in that sit- culture where there is not yet a culturally rel- uation than for the local Christians within the evant church movement. As far as I personally enclave church to break out their situation and am concerned, I would prefer to use (or even try to witness to the culture that may have long reserve) the word mission for the bridging type resented them for other reasons than just their of church growth, and I would call these other witness of Christ. This problem represents one types of growth simply evangelism. I prefer this of the most serious misunderstandings in not because one type of church growth is better mission strategy today. We can call it “the or more important than the others but because problem of the proximate culture.” mission, as I am defining it here (using the term But, so much for definitions of the word bridging), requires many more specialized skills means. Let me go back for a moment to the and training. And, by definition, it can’t be done astounding hiatus in mission strategy which without involving an outsider, since there is no has allowed mission activity to go on and on in Christian movement within that culture as yet.