African Mission Boards and Societies

African Initiated Church Movement. Originally World Council of Churches, as well as a member an unanticipated product of the modern mission- council of the All Africa Conference of Churches. ary movement in Africa, the African Independent Bibliocentric and christocentric throughout Churches (AICs) today number 55 million church their history, these churches are now producing members in some 10,000 distinct denominations radically new Christian theology and practice. A present in virtually all of Africa’s 60 countries. notable example is earthkeeping, a blend of theo- This title is the most frequent descriptive term in logical environmentalism or caring for God’s cre- the current literature of some 4,000 books and ar- ation, especially in relation to land, trees, plants, ticles describing it. However, because Western natural resources, and in fact the whole of God’s denominations and Western-mission related creation. churches in Africa regard themselves also as “in- David B. Barrett dependent,” African AIC members have since 1970 promulgated the terms African Instituted African Mission Boards and Societies. A study Churches, or African Indigenous Churches, or of the general landscape of African mission ­locally founded churches. Some Western scholars boards and societies reveals that the majority of still use the older terms African Separatist the work to date has taken place in the Anglo- Churches or New Religious Movements. phone countries, particularly West Africa (Nige- These movements first began with a secession ria and Ghana). In Eastern and Central Africa, from Methodist missions in Sierre Leone in largely Christian churches seem to assume either 1817. Spreading rapidly across Africa by means that most people have already heard the gospel of virtually unrelated but similar schisms and se- or that Western missionaries are the only ones to cessions, by 1900 there were a hundred thousand tackle the job. For the Francophone church, Afri- members of these churches, by 1935 two million, can missionaries crossing international boundar- by 1968 six million, and by 1997 55 million. ies in large numbers remains a dream to be ful- Countries most heavily involved are, in order of filled in the future. number of members, South Africa, Congo-­ Perhaps most notable for zeal for internal Kinshasa, and Nigeria. The largest distinct de- cross-cultural evangelism is Zaire, a country nominations are: Zion Christian Church (12 mil- which could legitimately claim to be “too poor” lion in 10 countries), Church of Jesus Christ on to afford international missions. However, Chris- Earth through the Prophet Simon Kimbangu (8 tians not hindered with a vision of missions re- million), Cherubim and Seraphim (3 million), quiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a salary Deeper Life Bible Church (2 million in 40 coun- seem to be accomplishing the most for the king- tries worldwide). Earlier movements closely cop- dom, much of it undocumented. ied their parent bodies in name, polity, titles, As an outstanding example of an indigenous dogmas, liturgies, and ecclesiastical dress, and missionary movement, Nigeria’s Evangelical were frequently seen as merely Pentecostal imi- Churches of West Africa (ECWA) church and its tations. But from 1980 onward, newer bodies be- Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS, headed by came much more dynamic, postdenominational- Panya Baba), is premier. A mighty mission force ist, charismatic, and apostolic, with a majority of with 541 couples and 15 single missionaries, their leaders being highly educated professionals EMS has been instrumental in the growth of the avoiding ecclesiastical dress and similar trap- church. One of the more successful campaigns of pings, often leading megachurches with thou- Muslim outreach is Uganda’s version of Here’s sands of enthusiastic young people as deeply Life, adapted from Campus Crusade for Christ in committed members. America. In Mozambique, the Deeper Life Chris- After decades of fruitlessly trying to join ecu- tian Ministry, led by Nigerians, has been espe- menical councils of churches, evangelical coun- cially successful. It works in thirty countries cils or alliances, or Western confessional bodies, across Africa. almost all of which rejected such applications, Chad deserves imitation for its successful im- the AICs began their own conciliar movement plementation of saturation mission. Association and today have over 100 AIC councils of of Evangelicals of Africa (AEA) Secretary for Mis- churches across the continent and in several sions and Evangelism Bayo Famonure reports cases even worldwide. In 1978 the major conti- that 24,000 Chadian Christians were mobilized to nent-wide body was formed, OAIC (Organization reach 2,193 villages in a six-day period, aiming to of African Independent Churches, later renamed plant a church in every village. Costs were virtu- Organization of African Instituted Churches), in ally limited to food and transport for the volun- collaboration with the Coptic Orthodox Church teers. of Egypt as the original African independent Most African mission boards are run separately church. By 1998, however, the sheer weight of from Western agencies. There seems to be space numbers, Christian commitment, and credibility to operate without the need to cooperate, though had become such that OAIC was invited to be- a few boards are experimenting with partnering come, and became, an associate council of the such as Timo Teams, jointly sponsored by Africa 1 Asian Mission Boards and Societies

Inland Church (AIC) and Africa Inland Mission or ethnic and become broad-based churches. (AIM). Some boards are modeled after Faith Mis- Their secular jobs support them, and they have sions with no guaranteed salary or retirement no professional missionary training apart from fund, no special schools for their children, and the modeling of healthy churches they have seen no work account funds. A few, like Sheepfold, while growing up in their home country. At this Kenya’s largest interdenominational board, pool time, economic translocation rather than the for- their income so that all missionaries get an equal mation of formal mission boards appears to be share of whatever comes into the mission that the most widespread and effective means of month. Others receive directly whatever comes in spreading the gospel currently practiced by the from their supporters. One trend can be seen ev- African church. erywhere: sinking local currencies have greatly Sue DeVries hurt development of the international element of the African missionary movement. Asian Mission Boards and Societies. General Generally speaking, accountability and super- Description. Though Asian missionary activity is vision structures in African mission societies are recorded as early as 1884, it was not until the loose. Financial support is typically low, erratic, 1970s that the rest of the Christian world began and often based on only one or two special offer- to notice this activity. In 1972, there were over ings a year. Fragmentation of efforts is the norm. 100 mission agencies in Asia. Growth continued Each denomination or group sets its goals with- so that out of the 1,541 Non-Western Mission out any overall plan or sometimes even aware- Boards and Societies known in 1995, more than ness of where the unreached are, according to 825 were Asian. The most active countries are the AEA. Sometimes the dominant motivation India (with an estimated 281 agencies in 1995), seems to be the desire to plant a denominational Korea (113 agencies in 1994), Japan (63 agencies church in an urban center rather than to take the in 1995), and the Philippines (20 agencies in gospel to those who have not yet had an opportu- 1995). Well-known agencies include the Indian nity to hear. Mission Association, which in 1995 included 81 Language learning is often done informally at member mission boards with some 10,000 In- the destination, and with much less trauma and dian missionaries (with as many as 200 other In- fuss than for Western missionaries undergoing dian mission agencies not yet part of the Indian Language School. Children of missionaries are Mission Association). These numbers do not in- educated in the local schools until high school clude workers who operate independently within age, sometimes to their detriment educationally. their own country. In the Philippines alone, it is Some mission boards and missionary training estimated that 2,000 nationals serve in this ca- colleges belong to a particular denomination, pacity. such as the AIC Mission Board in East Africa or Characteristics. One important characteristic Nigeria’s ECWA-EMS. Some denominations once of Asian missions is the phenomenon of mission- had a missionary sending agency which has sub- aries crossing cultural boundaries within their sequently died out, such as the Church of the own country. Following Caste divisions, some Province of Kenya (Anglican) Diocesan Mission estimate that India has at least three thousand Association. Others are interdenominational and People Groups. The vast bulk of Indian mission- indigenous, such as Agape Missions, Calvary ary work is carried out within India. This is also Ministry (CAPRO, with over 300 full-time mis- seen in other major Asian missionary-sending sionaries), and Christian Missionary Fellowship countries such as Indonesia and Myanmar. (CMF). Together, these form the three largest in- A second characteristic is that Asian mission terdenominational mission agencies in Nigeria, boards cannot be equated with Western agen- but there are also seventy other smaller mission cies, which have elaborate structures and man- boards there (see Nigerian Mission Boards and agement systems. Many of the Asian boards are Societies). Some African mission boards have still simple with inexpensive systems, relying virtually become church denominations, such as more on faith than man-made management the CMF. structures. This is especially true with the mis- But probably the most remarkable contribu- sion agencies that send people within their own tion of Africans to the missionary movement has country. Administrative overhead expenditures been the migration of Christian traders, business- are therefore very low in comparison with West- men, and professionals, such as university pro- ern agencies. fessors and doctors, to other countries or neigh- A third characteristic is that Asian boards are boring tribes where Christianity is not yet firmly focusing their deployment into the 10/40 Win- established. These men and women leave home dow. Indian mission boards have sent approxi- because of economic privations, but by the work- mately five hundred missionaries into Nepal, ing of the Holy Spirit have become church plant- Bhutan, and Uzbekistan. Most of the Myanmar ers in their host countries. The fellowships they missionaries stay within their own country, end up planting are not always denominational which is part of the 10/40 Window. There are ex- 2 Brazilian Mission Boards and Societies ceptions, such as Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, of supporting missionaries to equalize pay scales where the boards have greater financial re- between Westerner and non-Westerner is one. sources to send missionaries into non-Asian con- Additionally, the cultural differences within a texts and out of the 10/40 Window. multinational team (and organization) can be a Fourth, with some exceptions, there seems to source of problems. Finally, the fact that the be tremendous creativity in Asian mission non-Western missionaries often have to learn the boards. With very little support, for example, Ko- organization’s language (often English) in addi- rean missionaries are being sent to remote tion to the vernacular of their field of service places in China. Their boards, lacking the elabo- raises an extra barrier to the development of true rate communication and management structures partnership. of Western boards, have no choice but to allow a Conclusion. The Asian missionary movement great deal of freedom to the missionaries. This is still young. For the time being, Asian mission means that the missionaries must be more able boards can afford to be simple without elaborate to stand on their own and be willing to suffer support systems, such as retirement plans, a more than the average Western missionaries. Ad- complicated pastoral care system, and large ditionally, without senior missionaries on hand schools for missionary children (MK). The hon- to provide supervision, oversight, and pastoral eymoon period, however, is rapidly disappearing. care, the new missionaries are forced to exercise Missionaries from countries such as Korea, great creativity sometimes just to survive the rig- Japan, and India are struggling with the educa- ors of the field. tion of their children. The cases are so complex Fifth, there is a surprisingly high rate of finan- for Korean mission boards that it has taken al- cial autonomy among Asian mission boards. Re- most a decade to get a consensus on the objec- cent estimates indicate that 91 percent of the tives for MK education. Additionally, field struc- Asian boards are funded by indigenous sources. tures also present tremendous challenges. So far, This is particularly true of Japanese and Korean a scattered effort without much teamwork boards, and most missionaries from these coun- among the Asian missionaries satisfied some tries are well supported by sponsoring churches Asian churches. Currently there is a need for and agencies. Missionaries from India, the Phil- field structures to coordinate and encourage a ippines, and Indonesia have generally not fared team effort. It will take time and effort to cre- as well. atively formulate infrastructures that are new, The final characteristic is the mix of denomi- affordable, and flexible enough for the ev- national and parachurch sending agencies. In er-changing world. countries such as Korea and Japan denomina- Maintaining the momentum of the Asian mis- tional boards are the major contributors to the sionary movement is a heavy burden that Asian mission board scenario. In Korea, both Hap mission boards must carry. Logically this burden Dong and Tong Hap Presbyterians are the two should be borne by the Asian church. However, largest sending agencies. Between them they the Asian church is being bombarded with secu- send out more than one-fourth of the missionar- larism and is threatened by major traditional ies from Korea. By way of contrast, the vast ma- Asian religions. Can the Asian mission boards jority of the members of the Indian Mission As- still afford to do missions, even when it is be- sociation are parachurch organizations. coming more costly and risky? Probably not Relationships with International Agencies. without the initiative taken by Asian churches. Some of the early attempts to send out Asian The well-being of the Asian mission movement missionaries were through indigenous mission and the future of Asian mission boards will agencies. An Indian Methodist was sent to Ma- greatly depend on how the Asian church tackles laysia in 1884. The Korean Presbyterian Foreign these challenges. Mission Board sent out the first team of David Tai Woong Lee cross-cultural missionaries to Shantung, China, Bibliography. L. Pate, From Every People: A Hand- in 1913. International mission agencies began to book of Two-Thirds World Mission with Directory/Histo- formulate sending bases in Asia during the ries/Analysis; Korea Research Institute for Mission, 1960s. The Christian and Missionary Alliance Korean Mission Handbook; L. Keyes, The Last Age of (CMA) and the Overseas Missionary Fellowship Missions; H. Y. Kim, From Asia to Asia: A Study on Mis- (OMF) were pioneers in this endeavor. Pate esti- sion History of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (1876– mates that somewhat more than 6 percent of the 1992). total Third World mission force serves with in- ternational organizations. One of the advantages Brazilian Mission Boards and Societies. Bra- of utilizing international agencies is the enjoy- zilian Protestants, established in the early nine- ment of the benefit of already well-established teenth century, were slow to undertake mission field structures. work overseas. Brazil, with its vast territory, was At the same time, however, there are prices to seen as a mission field. There are numerous his- be paid for these inconveniences. The high cost torical reasons for the lack of indigenous mis- 3 Charismatic Missions sionaries: churches were supported by foreign These agencies are most often simple structures; mission boards; when money was available it a board and an executive director. Office staffs was enough only to pay a local pastor; there was are typically small and minimally resourced. The no knowledge of mission fields outside Brazil; agencies see themselves as “servants” to the the missionaries failed to see the Brazilian church and seek to partner with local congrega- churches as capable of participating in the mis- tions in training, deploying, and maintaining the sionary enterprise; some denominations were missionaries. directed by missionaries and they did not see the Although 80 percent of the Brazilian evangeli- need for sending missionaries from Brazil since cal church identifies itself as Pentecostal or char- their mission board at home was doing exactly ismatic, only 7 percent of the sending structures that; and the thought that there were so much to (sending 22% of the missionaries) identify them- be done in Brazil before venturing overseas was selves as such. Most Brazilians serve under prevalent (and to some extent still is) among structures that identify themselves as either “in- Brazilian church leaders. terdenominational” (34%) or “traditional/ The rise of indigenous missionary efforts non-Pentecostal” (40%). Clearly the potential of started around 1911, when the Presbyterians the Pentecostal wing of the Brazilian church has sent Mota Sobrinho as their first missionary to not yet been realized in missions. Portugal with the intent to revitalize the Portu- A common “meeting point” for Brazil’s struc- guese Presbyterian Church. This first effort was tures has been the AMTB (Association of Brazil- supported by Presbyterians from Brazil, Portu- ian Cross-cultural Missions). This association is gal, and Scotland. The Baptists organized their Brazilian-led and seeks to assist Brazil’s missions Missions Board in 1907 and Chile and Portugal by promoting consultations, missions publica- were among the first counties to receive their tions, and partnerships among its constituency. help. The major indigenous boards and agencies With some regularity AMTB sponsors a Bra- among the denominations are the Assemblies of zil-wide national missions congress. God and the Baptist Convention. They are totally Preferred Fields of Service. There are Brazil- supported by Brazilian funds. ians developing all kinds of missionary work on Faith Missions started to appear in the late six continents, including evangelism, theological 1960s as a result of an awakening for missions, and secular education, planting churches, and when many local churches started to have their medical services. As might be expected, Brazil’s own missions conferences. Books, articles, and younger agencies tend to begin by sending their many lectures were given, challenging the Brazil- missionaries to fields relatively close to Brazil. ian churches to participate in mission. Kairós The great majority (64%) of Brazil’s missionaries and Missão Antioquia are the major autochtho- are serving in Latin America, Spain, or Portugal. nous agencies and support for their missionaries However, what is surprising to note is the signif- is raised in and out of Brazil. icant growth in the number and percentage of The sending of Brazilians as missionaries into Brazilians serving in resistant countries and cross-cultural ministry contexts (both inside and among peoples of the 10/40 Window. In 1989 outside Brazil) has grown rapidly in recent years. only 5 percent of Brazil’s missions force served Figures from a 1998 missions census show some in the 10/40 Window. By 1998 that percentage 2,200 Brazilians deployed in 84 counties around had grown to 13 percent. the world. Most consider the 1987 Ibero-Ameri- Brazil is expected, with Korea, to be one of the can missions congress held in São Paulo (see CO- principal countries sending out missionaries MIBAM) to be the watershed event. From that over the next decade. Training for the mission- date the number of Brazilians serving cross-­ ary, his or her character, loyalty in sending the culturally has more than doubled, the number of promised support, and partnership with receiv- Brazilian boards and agencies has significantly ing churches are areas that need attention in the increased, and the Brazilian evangelical church future if the Brazilian churches want to grow in has seen itself as a potential “mission force” their ability to participate meaningfully in the rather than a “missions field.” missionary task. The Structures. Brazilians are being sent by Antonio C. Barro and Ted Limpic the following different types of missions struc- tures: denominational boards (34%), interde- Charismatic Missions. The charismatic move- nominational Brazilian agencies (33%), interna- ment, also known as the charismatic renewal tional agencies with Brazilian leadership (19%), and Neo-Pentecostalism, is a worldwide revival international agencies with non-Brazilian leader- movement, an extension of the Pentecostal re- ship (12%), and local churches (1%). Nearly 90 vival that began around the turn of the century percent of Brazil’s missionaries are serving under (see Pentecostal Movement). While charismat- Brazilian leadership. ics tend to emphasize the gifts of healing, proph- The interdenominational Brazilian agencies ecy, and words of knowledge over tongues, the have been the fastest growing over recent years. distinction between the two movements remains 4 Charismatic Missions blurred. Walter Hollenweger refers to the charis- Independent charismatic churches want direct matic movement as “Pentecostalism within the involvement in missions. They become what are churches,” while his student, Arnold Bittlinger, known as “sending churches,” with as many as includes Pentecostalism within his definition of 125 missionaries receiving the majority of their charismatic. Pentecostal healing ministries ac- support from one congregation. Effective con- tive in the 1950s, such as those led by Oral Rob- gregations are characterized by having a mis- erts, T. L. Osborn, and Jack Coe, attracted public sions director or pastor, missions-minded senior attention and developed their following indepen- pastor, missions spending of over 10 percent of dent of the Pentecostal denominations which the budget, regular exposure of the congregation spawned them. They were influential along with to missions, relationship to missionary struc- the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship, In- tures, and contact with charismatic churches ternational, founded by Demos Shakarian, and and ministries on the field. David Du Plessis, an ecumenical Pentecostal The Vineyard Christian Fellowship, under the leader from South Africa, in bringing Pentecos- direction of John Wimber, introduced the con- talism into mainline Protestant churches. By cept of “power evangelism” in which a believer 1975, a strong charismatic influence was present is instructed by the Holy Spirit to initiate con- in all mainline American Protestant denomina- tact with an unbeliever and Signs and Wonders tions, and the renewal was well under way accompany the encounter (see also Power En- within the Roman Catholic Church. counter). The Vineyard is an example of an as- The charismatic movement grew dramatically sociation of churches that has recently devel- in the 1980s and 1990s. Jimmy Swaggert, Jim and oped missions awareness and international Tammy Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth outreach. Hagen, and others were affiliated with Pentecos- A few charismatic mission agencies were tal denominations but maintained independent formed that have experienced unusual success. ministries which attracted charismatic audiences. Youth With a Mission (YWAM), which gained its They were joined by independent charismatic popularity as a short-term missionary venture, is ministries such as the Christian Broadcasting the largest sending agency, with 6,000 full-time Network, started by Pat Robertson, and the Trin- missionaries. Its founder, Loren Cunningham, ity Broadcasting Network of Paul Crouch to dom- began with a vision to send young people from inate Christian media and claim the allegiance of North America around the world but quickly ex- a large part of Christian America. Renewal move- panded to include young people from every coun- ments are evangelistic by nature, and most of try. Another organization, Christ for the Nations, these mega-ministries sought international visibil- founded by Gordon Lindsay, claims to have ity to extend their influence. A conservative esti- mate of the number of charismatics worldwide planted over 8,500 congregations around the is 150 million, including more than 3,000 new world. ­denominations. The Association of International Mission Charismatics who remained in their denomi- Agencies (AIMS) provides a much-needed struc- national churches had the benefit of established ture for charismatic mission outreach. Estab- mission boards. As the renewal gained strength lished in 1985 to link churches, mission agen- within a given denomination, the number of cies, and training institutions, AIMS facilitates charismatic missionaries and mission leaders in- cooperation among charismatic agencies. In ad- creased. Independent charismatics, on the other dition to bridging diversity ranging from church hand, lacked formal links to mission agencies. planters to short-term professionals to tentmak- They sometimes joined nondenominational mis- ers, the Association provides for the ongoing in- sion organizations but often met with suspicion formation needs of its constituency. Under the due to their charismatic beliefs. There was a direction of Howard Foltz, the Association has trend toward unity and evangelistic urgency in grown to nearly 200 member organizations. the 1980s and 1990s, with charismatic churches The Pentecostal World Conference, held working together and forming associations of every four or five years since 1944, attempted churches. to unify Pentecostals/charismatics worldwide. The movement had a prolonged internal focus These meetings focused on self-identification. due to the denominational structures it sought With the rise of the renewal within the Roman to reform. This carried over into the indepen- Catholic Church, separate charismatic confer- dent churches. When the leaders considered ences were held to allow for the participation mission outreach, they looked for new strategies of Roman Catholics in leadership roles. These and approaches rather than relying on estab- large gatherings gradually took on the evange- lished agencies which were perceived as rigid listic priorities of evangelical Christianity but and lifeless. They eschewed organizational never attained the numerical strength or broad structure yet lacked the internal structure to representation of the movement that the lead- support missionaries. ers had envisioned. 5 Charismatic Missions

The 1977 Kansas City Charismatic Confer- ple extension of the local witness of the church. ence was an ecumenical North American con- Prompted by an awareness of what was happen- ference with an emphasis on the lordship of ing within the rest of Christendom, charismatics Christ. It was at this historic meeting that the wanted to join in Cross-Cultural Evangelism. three major streams of the North American Their Pentecostal heritage included an anti-intel- Pentecostal/charismatic movement—classical lectual bias often equating supernatural experi- Pentecostals, Protestant charismatics, and ence with sufficient preparation to be effective in Roman Catholic charismatics—formed a coali- a Third World setting. Involvement of the laity tion. Together they began to realize their re- is paramount as opposed to dependence on a sponsibility to fulfill the Great Commission. trained clergy. These factors delayed the develop- The first North American Congress on the ment of an effective mission strategy and, in the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization was held early days of the movement, produced many in 1986 in New Orleans. The second and largest missionaries who lacked appropriate prepara- of the two was held the next year, also in New tion for Cross-Cultural Ministry. As with the Orleans. These conferences are credited with Pentecostal movement, this trend has been cor- making world evangelization a central focus of rected, and charismatic missiologists are poised the charismatic movement. The participants ad- to make a significant contribution to world evan- opted the Lausanne Covenant and identified gelization in the twenty-first century. with the evangelistic goals of evangelical Christi- While the actual number of charismatic Chris- anity. tians in the world is a source of constant debate, The 1990 North American Congress on the the fact that together with the Pentecostals they Holy Spirit and World Evangelization at India- represent the largest segment of Christianity napolis, the third in the series, was held to pre- today is well documented. The flexibility of char- pare North Americans for the international ismatic belief and practice facilitates its Incul- meeting the following year. Enthusiasm was at a turation in Third World countries. The Holy high pitch but did not translate into significant Spirit is expected to directly guide the local lead- participation at Brighton the next year. ership as they establish local patterns of practice Brighton ’91 was the International Charis- and Apologetics. matic Consultation of World Evangelization. Missionary churches were strongly influenced With the working title “That the World Might Be- by the renewal following the assumption of con- lieve,” this consultation was designed to prepare trol by natural leaders. Following World War II, the worldwide charismatic movement for the the transfer of control to national leadership “decade of evangelism.” Although the geographi- spread rapidly throughout the countries of the cal representation was uneven, this is thought to Third World. Western Christian denominations have been the first truly global meeting for world realized the need to do the same within their evangelization held by the movement. Many mission churches. As the transfer of power was prominent American leaders were not in atten- in progress, the influence of the charismatic dance nor did they endorse the gathering. Thus movement was growing internationally. There Brighton ’91 symbolizes not only the lack of in- was a new openness to the priorities of Third ternational unity but also the lack of cohesion World Christians and recognition that the result among charismatics in North America. Orlando was rapid church growth. ’95, the fourth North American Congress, was The renewal introduced the option for rhyth- well attended but fell short of expectations. mic clapping and dancing and vocal expressions It is hard to judge the impact of these con- during the worship service. It encouraged the gresses on the charismatic movement, yet they use of local folk or popular music in church ser- did serve as a visible demonstration of charis- vices. Charismatics recognized satanic forces at matic interest in missions. They also provided a work in the world requiring prayer for God’s su- means to inform large segments of the movement pernatural intervention. They also prayed for that evangelism is a priority. The movement it- healing and miracles, expecting God to demon- self, however, remains fragmented in its ap- strate his power. The dramatic international proach to world evangelization. By nature, the growth of charismatic Christianity made a sig- constituency is pulled in several directions. Ec- nificant impact on the Western world, as it be- clesiastical allegiance, participation in larger ecu- came a force too large to ignore. menical networks, local priorities, special inter- While global unity has yet to be realized, the ests, and extensive diversity are just some of the charismatic renewal has had the effect of a factors which account for the current fragmenta- grassroots ecumenism. The common spiritual tion. experience became a catalyst for a broad-based The theoretical framework of the charismatic Christian unity. It contained an evangelistic movement includes a working theology or theol- thrust that assumed every Christian was a wit- ogy of ministry. This in part led to an incomplete ness for Christ. Cooperative evangelistic efforts Theology of Mission as it was viewed as a sim- include pentecostal, neo-fundamental, Roman 6 Chinese Mission Boards and Societies

Catholic, and mainline Protestant Christians. individual house churches. There is no common Charismatic interest in world evangelization statement of faith, no formal fellowship or de- matured in the 1980s although financial support nominational structures. It is, simply, a model of for missions remains below the average for Christian community for places where structural evangelical churches. Charismatic missiologists expression is not possible. The most important and agencies are emerging. feature of the house church movement is not a Some feel the charismatic movement is God’s theological system, but a common stand defined plan to energize the church for evangelistic out- by relationship to the TSPM and the Chinese reach. The belief that the gifts of the Spirit are government. This having been said, there are, for evangelistic purposes is especially true for however, certain common theological convic- Third World charismatics. Protestant charismat- tions among the house churches. One is obedi- ics are active in creating new ministries and pro- ence to the Word of God even to the point of moting evangelistic concern. Roman Catholic risking one’s life; another is the belief in the ab- charismatics have established programs to fur- solute separation of church and state, as the ther world evangelization including the Catholic movement’s adherents are convinced in the light Evangelization Training Program at the Francis- of Scripture that government control is not ac- can University of Steubenville (Ohio) and Evan- ceptable. gelization 2000. Che Bin Tan Kenneth D. Gill Bibliography. D. Adeney, China: The Church’s Long Bibliography. D. B. Barrett, IBMR, July 1988, pp. March; R. Fung, Households of God on China’s Soil; 119–21; A. Bittlinger, ed., The Church is Charismatic; M. D. Wong, Spiritual Food. W. Hollenweger, The Pentecostals; idem, OBMR, April 1980, pp. 68–75; G. B. McGee, Toward the Twenty-first Century in Christian Mission, pp. 41–53; idem, OPCM, Chinese Mission Boards and Societies. Chi- pp. 610–25; L. G. McClung, Pneuma, 16 (1994): 11–21; nese mission history on a wide scale began with K. Poewe, ed., Charismatic Christianity as a Global the founding of the Chinese Foreign Missionary Culture; E. Pousson, Spreading the Flame: Charismatic Union in 1928 by Leland Wang. It represented Churches and Missions Today; D. Shibley, A Force on an outreach to the scattered Chinese in the the Earth: The Charismatic Renewal and World Evange- South Seas of Asia and to outposts including lization. Borneo, Sarawak, Bali, Sumatra, and the Cele- bes. Later it expanded to include efforts in New Chinese House Church Movement. As a form Guinea, Fiji, Tahiti, and New Zealand. It was an of ministry, the house church movement in indigenous faith effort focusing on church plant- China is a contextual response to political pres- ing and church growth. sure. In the 1950s, after the expulsion of mis- In 1947 Evangelize China Fellowship was es- sionaries from China, those who refused to join tablished by Andrew Gih. A faith mission with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) were indigenous leadership, it labored in Hong Kong, not allowed to worship in their churches; so they Macao, and Taiwan, and later to the Chinese di- started a movement that recaptured the worship of the early Christians at home (Acts 2:46; 5:42; aspora in Southeast Asia. Primary schools for 1 Cor. 16:19). This form was viable because girls and orphanages for the homeless demon- meetings could be moved from one place to an- strated Gih’s concern for the marginalized. Over other at any time and could not be easily de- fifty churches were planted as the mission re- tected by local authorities. During the Cultural flected social and evangelistic concern. Revolution, when all churches were closed down Chinese mission activity on a broad scale by the government, all Christians could meet shifted to the United States with the founding of only in Christian homes. The movement grew the Chinese Christian Mission in October 1961, tremendously despite the hostile environment in Detroit, Michigan, under Thomas Wang. Soon because it provided a true Christian community after, the mission moved to its present site (Peta- of commitment and love where many experi- luma, California) continuing its effort to reach enced the power of the Holy Spirit in miracles both mainland and Chinese diaspora. Its global and radical life changes. Today the movement is dimension includes work in Hong Kong, Taiwan, massive in scope, with estimates ranging from Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and Can- 30 to 80 million participants as compared to a ada, plus new thrusts to Siberia, Latin America, total Christian population of less than 1 million and the Chinese mainland. A staff of thirty full- before the communist takeover in 1949. and part-time workers undergird the work of The term “house church” refers to those who twenty Chinese missionaries abroad. Its publish- refuse to join the TSPM and to register with the ing house and San Francisco book room reach government. The movement is not a denomina- out to both believers and nonbelievers, contextu- tion or ecclesiastical fellowship like what is alizing the gospel within Chinese traditional cul- found in the West. More accurately, it comprises ture. 7 Church Development

Another U.S. founded mission is Ambassadors Church Development. Evangelical missions for Christ. Established on May 6, 1963, by have always emphasized personal evangelism co-founders Ted Choy and Moses Chow, its focus and starting churches (congregations) as their is on the Chinese students. Its call was “to reach basic purpose. This dual purpose was formal- our kinsmen for Christ,” with the hope that these ized, and technically analyzed, in the 1960s by persons might someday return to China and be the appearance of what came to be known as the “a force for the kingdom.” The campus ministry Church Growth Movement, initiated and pio- centered around Bible study groups, where over- neered by Donald Anderson McGavran. A sci- seas Chinese students were won to Christ. Such ence of church planting and church development students were then channeled into local Chinese resulted that has complemented the perennial churches for discipling. emphasis of missions on personal evangelism. Ambassadors for Christ undergirds its mission Church growth theory says that personal evange- with a variety of publications to students, schol- lism is incomplete if it does not gather the con- ars, and believers in the Chinese churches. It pro- verts in congregations which, in turn, know how vides leadership and resources for the growth of to multiply themselves. Therefore, the multipli- Chinese Christian families and American-born cation of churches (local congregations) is the Chinese through seminars and conferences. It best, and fastest, way to evangelize the world. sponsors a triennial convention for North Amer- “Church Planting” became the technical term ica, calling Chinese Christians to engage in world used to describe this category of evangelism. evangelism. The five previous conventions have Mission societies and boards began to appoint seen attendees rise from an initial 300 to 1,800 in “church planters” and “church developers.” Mis- number, with hundreds having responded to the sion statements incorporated the goal of planting mission call. Unlike other Chinese mission ef- and developing churches in every socioeconomic forts, which emphasized “going,” Ambassadors and ethno-linguistic group in the world. “A for Christ has responded to those who have church for every people” became the motto. As “come” to America. In this sense it has linked the missiological science developed, a concomi- with the Chinese churches as a total mission tant emphasis emerged. How do you develop the force. congregation once it is planted? How do you en- The Chinese Overseas Christian Mission was sure its continuing growth? How do you prevent founded in 1950 by Stephen Y. T. Wang, then a a plateau after several years? Research, surveys, student at Cambridge, England. His concern was and study of these questions became a part of directed to the four thousand Chinese in En- the church growth theory. Planting churches and gland and Europe, the primary task being evan- developing them were seen as interdependent gelism and church planting. With Wang’s death disciplines in the study of missiology. in 1971, Mary Wang and co-workers continued As the Church Growth Movement developed the mission. Today over thirty workers are based and tested its theory, the term “church growth” in the United Kingdom and Europe in over one came to mean a process of planting, developing, hundred cities, ministering to over fifty churches and multiplying churches. This process has be- and many more fellowships. With the opening of come a unit of study in most missiological curric- Eastern Europe and Russia, the mission ex- ulums. The Church Growth Movement has had a tended its pioneering efforts. significant, and somewhat controversial, impact With a population of eight hundred thousand on general missiology, especially in the evangeli- Chinese in greater Europe today and only 2.5 cal wing of the modern missionary movement. percent of them reached for Christ, emphasis is A perusal of the church growth literature on directed to the huge numbers of Chinese restau- this subject, written by both those who espouse rant workers. A new thrust now prevails among the movement and those who oppose it, reveals Chinese scholars from mainland China, Taiwan, five dimensions of genuine, integral church de- and Hong Kong. Correspondence courses, lay velopment. seminars, and Theological Education by Exten- Internal church development means that the or- sion (TEE) undergird the mission. Literature in- ganized church has body life. The members will cludes Chinese and English journals along with be growing in grace, in knowledge of the faith, in videos and cassettes. Bible study, and in Christian living. The church Chinese mission history, as recounted, was in- will be in a constant state of edification. Love, digenous and intracultural in nature, as first-­ fellowship, and cooperation will be characteris- generation Chinese reached out to their own. tics common to the church. The church will be a With over one thousand Chinese evangelical warm center in the community that radiates churches in North America alone, it appears that Christian love, service, and concern. Spiritual a steady supply of American-raised and Ameri- gifts will be emphasized, discovered, and used can-born Chinese will bear the brunt of Chinese for the collective edification of all. Spiritual mission in the twenty-first century. growth in discipleship will be evident. Worship Hoover Wong and praise will be fleshed out in sacrificial ser- 8 Church/Mission Relations vice and stewardship. This internal growth is a church will demonstrate the characteristics of sine qua non for the other dimensions of devel- Christ’s kingdom and will gain the favor of the opment. community. In this way it, and its members, can Centripetal church development means the have a more positive influence on the political, church is reaching out to its community. The economic, and social aspects of its field of ser- members will be trained to witness as individu- vice. als, and collectively, to the nonchurched of the In summary, authentic church development community. Evangelistic activities will be peren- will be integral, involving simultaneous growth in nial. People will be added regularly to the mem- all five dimensions. Any church that continues to bership not only by transfer, or by biological grow bigger without at the same time growing growth, but by conversion. A constant numerical better by expanding its base to care for the nu- growth will be expected and experienced. In merical increase will face serious consequences. other words, people will be attracted to the Balance is basic for genuine church development. church by its reputation of internal growth and Justice C. Anderson by its intentional efforts to reach them with the Bibliography. V. Gerber, God’s Way to Keep a Church gospel. The internal growth will not lead to spir- Going and Growing; M. Hodges, Growing Young itual introversion, but will be a catalyst to nu- Churches; D. A. McGavran, How Churches Grow; idem, merical growth. Nongrowth will be a curable dis- Understanding Church Growth; D. Miles, Church ease. Growth: A Mighty River; E. C. Smith, Balanced Church Centrifugal church development means that the Growth. church will try to reproduce itself, or multiply it- self. It will try to become the mother of another Church/Mission Relations. As old as the Acts of church. It will extend itself into other areas of its the Apostles, relational issues between the field, and use its membership to start missions in church local and the church itinerant (missions) sectors of its society unreachable by its normal have been an important focus in Christian his- program. It will even be willing to sacrifice some tory. Acts 13–15 includes seminal passages de- of its own members to form a nucleus for a new scribing the commissioning and ministry of Paul congregation. A really growing church will not and Barnabas as missionaries sent out by the be content to just grow larger; it will try to give church at Antioch. The passage describes the su- birth to other churches. This multiplication prin- premely important Council at Jerusalem, which ciple will many times prevent the customary set the pattern for addressing cultural issues in “plateau syndrome,” experienced by so many the ever-increasing expansion of the church. The congregations after ten or twelve years of life. key issues of “Who sends the missionary?” and Cross-cultural church development means that “What kind of accountability of them is appro- the church that tries to multiply itself in a plural- priate?” find their answers in these passages. istic world will inevitably confront the cross-­ Paul and Barnabas, the archetypal first mis- cultural challenge. A sector of the field of the sionaries sent out by the postresurrection church will be the home of a different socioeco- church, provide a pattern that is most instruc- nomic, or ethno-linguistic people group. The tive. On the issue of sending, it is clear from Acts church will want to penetrate that group and try that they received both an internal and an exter- to start a church within it. The pluralistic nature nal call to itinerant cross-cultural ministry to of most communities today guarantees this en- Gentiles. The elders in Acts 13 conclude “It counter. The church will seek the means to evan- seemed good both to the Holy Spirit and to us” gelize within the other culture. to commission Paul and Barnabas for this minis- If there is no cross-cultural group in the area, try. And so they did. And as Paul and Barnabas then the church will want to seek ways to create went they kept in mind the importance of their world awareness among its members. Each local sending and prayer base, and the need to be ac- congregation should be aware that it is a part of countable to it. Their return visits and reports the universal church of Jesus Christ and his (Acts 14 and 18) are clear testimony to this. At world mission. It will initiate activities that will the same time, they functioned quite inde- involve it in the world mission of its denomina- pendently under the Holy Spirit’s guidance in de- tion. It will participate through missionary edu- termining both the itinerary and methods of cation, prayer, sacrificial giving to missions their missionary work. causes, and cooperation in world missions proj- The tensions that have existed in the modern ects. In this way the church will avoid Ethnocen- period in church–mission relations have cen- trism and see itself as a part of the universal tered primarily on these same ancient issues, community of Christ. “Who sends the missionary?” and “What consti- Influential church development means that the tutes an appropriate system of accountability?” church growing in the four dimensions will be For some, the issue is described in strictly theo- able to have a greater impact on the larger soci- logical terms: local churches ought to send mis- ety in which it operates. A loving, caring, growing sionaries, and the only reason mission agencies 9 Contextualization even exist is because the churches fell down on 209; S. F. Metcalf, EMQ 29:2 (1993): 142–49; C. Van the job. For others, the issue is more complex. Engen, God’s Missionary People: Rethinking the Purpose While agreeing with the principle that the local of the Local Church; R. D. Winter, PCWM, pp. B:45–57. church is the sender of missionaries, some point out that agencies are the necessary bridge to Contextualization. The term “contextualiza- doing that with accountability and effectiveness. tion” first appeared in 1972 in a publication of Were there no agencies, they argue, the churches the Theological Education Fund entitled Minis- would just have to invent them again. Both logis- try in Context. This document laid out the princi- tics and appropriate accountability require it, ples which would govern the distribution of they say. funds for the Third Mandate of the TEF. The Supporters of the agency model point out that scholarships were awarded for the graduate edu- Paul and Barnabas were their prototype, sent out cation of scholars in the international church. by the local church but self-governing under the Contextualization was described as “the capacity leadership of the Holy Spirit in both their strat- to respond meaningfully to the gospel within the egy and methodology. Accountability consisted framework of one’s own situation.” A precedent in reporting back, not in getting prior approval. for the new term, “contextual theology,” resulted While faxes and the internet did not yet exist, it from a consultation held in Bossey, Switzerland, seems unlikely that on-the-spot decision making in August 1971. The Ecumenical Institute of the would have been overruled in any case. They World Council of Churches had sponsored that seemed to operate on the assumption that the earlier discussion under the theme “Dogmatic or church itinerant is also part of the universal Contextual Theology.” church, even if it is not everything that the The lament behind the Third Mandate of the church in its local manifestation encompasses. TEF was that “both the approach and content of That it is, rather, a transcultural bridge, in sym- theological reflection tend to move within the biotic relationship with the local church of the framework of Western questions and cultural present, but also with the local church of the fu- presuppositions, failing to vigorously address the ture. The fact that they appointed elders as they gospel of Jesus Christ to the particular situa- went certainly seems to indicate as much. tion.” Further, it was declared that “Contextual- Most notable among those advocating the ization is not simply a fad or catch-word but a “two-structure” approach has been missiologist theological necessity demanded by the incarna- Ralph Winter, whose 1974 modality/sodality tional nature of the Word.” framework is the most extensive treatment of While the document had a limited purpose, this subject. Bruce Camp, writing in 1995, pro- the implications coming from it resulted in a vides a rare theoretical challenge to this view. movement which has had an impact on the the- Our own day has seen a number of new enti- ory and practice of mission. The contextualiza- ties and models directly relevant to church and tion concept was a timely innovation. New na- mission relations. The ministry of ACMC (Ad- tions were struggling for their own life. The vancing Churches in Mission Commitment, orig- mission enterprise needed new symbols to mark inally the Association of Church Mission Com- a needed separation from the colonialistic, West- mittees) over the last two decades has been a ern-dominated past (see Colonialism). strategic attempt to help local churches take There is no single or broadly accepted defini- their responsibility in the world mission enter- tion of contextualization. The goal of contextual- ization perhaps best defines what it is. That goal prise more seriously. It has done much to enable is to enable, insofar as it is humanly possible, an them to become more than simply disbursers of understanding of what it means that Jesus money. Other entities, such as the Antioch Net- Christ, the Word, is authentically experienced in work, have endeavored to link churches in mis- each and every human situation. Contextualiza- sion, particularly the plethora of burgeoning new tion means that the Word must dwell among all mega churches. At the same time, progressive families of humankind today as truly as Jesus agencies are working hard to genuinely serve the lived among his own kin. The gospel is Good churches, recognizing that effective communica- News when it provides answers for a particular tion has sometimes broken down and an un- people living in a particular place at a particular wholesome dichotomy has developed. time. This means the Worldview of that people The turn of the twenty-first century will be an provides a framework for communication, the interesting time for discerning how church and questions and needs of that people are a guide to mission relations in North America ultimately the emphasis of the message, and the cultural evolve. New models and hybrids of models are gifts of that people become the medium of ex- almost certain to emerge. pression. Gary R. Corwin Contextualization in mission is the effort made Bibliography. R. Allen, The Spontaneous Expansion by a particular church to experience the gospel of the Church; B. K. Camp, Missiology 23:2 (1995): 197– for its own life in light of the Word of God. In the 10 Contextualization process of contextualization the church, through to the World Council of Churches also made the the Holy Spirit, continually challenges, incorpo- concept difficult to accept in the nonconciliar rates, and transforms elements of the culture in circles. The heavy emphasis on justice and social order to bring them under the lordship of Christ. development left little, it seemed, for evangelism As believers in a particular place reflect upon the and conversion. Scholars in Latin America were Word through their own thoughts, employing among the earliest to write about what they saw their own cultural gifts, they are better able to as an appropriate theology for their context. The understand the gospel as incarnation. direction this new theology took alarmed many The term “contextualization” is most com- evangelicals. monly associated with theology, yet given the Liberation Theology became almost as a above definition, it is proper to speak of contex- household word in the 1970s and 1980s. Evan- tualization in a variety of ways encompassing all gelicals felt it demonstrated an inadequate use of the dimensions of religious life. For example, the Bible and relied too heavily on a Marxist ori- church architecture, worship, preaching, sys- entation. This was difficult for North American tems of church governance, symbols, and rituals conservatives to accept. Even before his book, are all areas where the contextualization princi- Ministry in Context, Gustavo Gutiérrez had al- ple applies. Context, on which the term is based, ready written his Theology of Liberation (1971). is not narrowly understood as the artifacts and Soon afterward J. Miguez Bonino followed with customs of culture only, but embraces the differ- Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation ences of human realities and experience. These (1978). These major innovations opened up fur- differences are related to cultural histories, soci- ther thinking on contextualization. They fol- etal situations, economics, politics, and ideolo- lowed closely the volatile 1960s in the United gies. In this sense contextualization applies as States. Ideas about contextualization in the much to the church “at home,” with all its varia- United States first became associated with the tions, as it does to the church “overseas.” controversial issues raised by the Vietnam War In mission practice the more visible aspects of and American racism. “Black Power,” as advo- contextualization were closely related to older cated by James Cone (1969), had become a pop- terms such as Accommodation, Adaption, Incul- ular application of what contextualization is. turation, and Indigenization. Issues such as Because of this ferment Hermeneutics quickly forms of communication, language, music, styles became the central point of contention among of dress, and so on had long been associated evangelicals. The question was asked whether with the so-called three-self missionary philoso- truth is derived primarily from human experi- phy which was built around the principle of in- ence or from Revelation. At first there was little digenization. Indigeneity often was understood consensus among evangelicals about the role of as “nativization,” in that the visible cultural Culture and social issues, especially in theology. forms of a given people would be used in ex- The contextualization debate made serious new pressing Christianity. In going beyond these thinking possible, especially with regard to cul- more superficial expressions, the new term “con- ture and the way in which it connects to the bib- textualization” tended to raise the fear of Syn- lical record. cretism. This would mean the “old religion” Throughout the 1970s the writing and discus- would become mixed in with the new biblical sion on contextualization began to clarify direc- faith and that culture would have more authority tions that evangelicals should take. A Laus- than revelation. Some felt, therefore, that the anne-sponsored gathering at Willowbank older concept of indigenization should not be (Bermuda) in 1978 adopted the theme “Gospel changed but, rather, broadened to cover more and Culture.” The conference took seriously the adequately the field of theology. role of the cultural context of the believer as In addition to giving greater attention to the well as the biblical text in defining evangeliza- deeper levels of culture, the new term “contextu- tion and church development. The late 1970s alization” became distinguished from indigeni- also saw the rise (and demise) of the quarterly, zation in other ways. Indigenization always im- The Gospel in Context. The journal’s brief life plied a comparison with the West, whereas demonstrated how creative and stimulating contextualization focuses on the resources avail- worldwide contextualization could be. able from within the context itself. Indigeniza- The decade of the 1970s also brought remark- tion was static while contextualization is dy- able progress in finding ways to carry out con- namic, as a still photograph might be compared textualization. Each of the ways, or “models,” as to a motion picture. The older indigenization they are called, carries certain epistemological was more isolated while contextualization, assumptions, as well as philosophical ideas though locally constructed, interacts with global about truth. While the models each have their realities. differences, they also have several features that The fact that the early documents about con- they share in common. Some are more centered textualization were formulated in offices related on human experience while others show a 11 

greater dependence on widely accepted teach- Transcendental model: This model does not ings of the church and the Bible. Thus, the as- concentrate on the impersonal aspect of theol- sumptions undergirding some of these models ogy, that is, to prove something “out there,” but make them less acceptable to evangelicals. Varia- is primarily concerned with what any truth tions exist within a given model and certain fea- means to the subject and to members of the sub- tures of more than one model may be combined. ject’s community. Likewise revelation is under- A brief review of the models will show how di- stood as the active perception or encounter with verse the approaches to contextualization are. God’s truth. Much criticism can be raised. How Adaptation model: One of the earliest ap- can one be an authentic believer without objec- proaches was to make historical-theological con- tive context and why is such Western sophistica- cepts fit into each cultural situation. Traditional tion necessary? Western ideas are the norm. These are brought Translation model: Based on translation sci- to the local culture. What is irrelevant may be set ence, the nearest possible meanings of the origi- aside and what must be modified can be nal text are sought out in the receiving culture. changed. The faulty assumption here is that Exact forms may not be possible, but expres- there is one philosophical framework within sions and forms that are equivalent are intro- which all cultures can communicate, assuming duced. Attempts were made to identify the “ker- that other forms of knowledge are not legitimate. nel” or core of the gospel which then would Anthropological model: The beginning point apply to all cultures. The problem of subjectivity is to study the people concerned. The key to in selecting forms is a risk, as is separating the communication and pathways to the human Word from what is culturally negotiable. heart and spirit lies in the culture. The assump- In contextualization, evangelicals have a valu- tion is that people know best their own culture; able tool with which to work out the meanings of worldview themes, symbols, myths are reposito- Scripture in the varieties of mission contexts and ries of truth for all people. While this is true, un- in conversations with the churches of the Two- less discernment about a culture is brought to Thirds World. A built-in risk of contextualization the Word for affirmation or judgment the con- is that the human situation and the culture of peoples so dominate the inquiry that God’s reve- textualization exercise can become distorted and lation through the Bible will be diminished. To misleading. be aware of this danger is a necessary step in Critical model: The critical aspect of this ap- avoiding it. Contextualization cannot take place proach centers on how features of traditional unless Scripture is read and obeyed by believers. culture—rituals, songs, stories, customs, music— This means that believers will study the Scrip- are brought under the scrutiny of biblical teach- tures carefully and respond to their cultural con- ing. Here the culture and the Scriptures are eval- cerns in light of what is in the biblical text. Cul- uated concurrently in the search for new ways to ture is subject to the God of culture. Culture is express belief and practice. One must ask who important to God and for all its good and bad will carry out the process, and how accurate are factors, culture is the framework within which the meanings derived from both customs and the God works out God’s purposes. Some indications Scripture. of the gospel’s presence in the soil may be evi- Semiotic model: Semiotics is the science of dent, but Scripture is something that is outside “reading a culture” through “signs” (see Symbol, and must be brought into the cultural setting to Symbolism). This comprehensive view of culture more fully understand what God is doing in cul- interprets symbols, myths, and the like that re- ture, and to find parallels between the culture veal the past as well as studying “signs” that indi- and the Bible. cate how the culture is changing. These realities The strength of contextualization is that if are compared with church tradition in a process properly carried out, it brings ordinary Christian of “opening up” both the local culture and Chris- believers into what is often called the theological tian practice. To master the complicated method process. Contextualization is not primarily the would tend to separate an indigenous researcher work of professionals, though they are needed. It from the people and the context. is making the gospel real to the untrained lay Synthetic model: Synthesis involves bringing person and the rank-and-file believer. They are together four components: the gospel, Christian the people who know what biblical faith must do tradition, culture, and social change. These ele- if it is to meet everyday problems. The term “in- ments are discussed together using insights of- carnational theology” is another way of speaking fered by the local people. Also there must be a about contextualization (see Incarnational Mis- recognition of sharing insights with “outsiders.” sion). This means that Christian truth is to be Each contributes to the other, while each main- understood by Christians in the pews and on the tains its own distinctives. The openness and le- streets. The objective of contextualization is to gitimacy given to all views would tend toward bring data from the whole of life to real people ambiguity and a kind of universalism. and to search the Scriptures for a meaningful ap- 12 Controversies in Contemporary Evangelical Mission Theory plication of the Word which “dwelt among us” Alternate Views of Hell. A number of theolo- (John 1:14). The missiological significance for gians have objected to the teaching of the eternal contextualization is that all nations must under- damnation of the lost. At least three other posi- stand the Word as clearly and as accurately as tions currently vie for attention. The first of did Jesus’ own people in his day. these views, prevalent in the Roman Catholic Dean Gilliland Church, understands purgatory to be “the state, place, or condition in the next world between Bibliography. S. B. Bevans, Models of Contextual heaven and hell” where purifying suffering takes Theology; D. S. Gilliland, The Word Among Us: Contex- place. “Purgatory is understood to continue in tualizing Theology for Mission Today; D. J. Hesselgrave and E. Rommen, Contextualization: Meaning and existence until the last judgment, at which time Methods; W. A. Dyrness, Learning About Theology from there will be only heaven and hell” (Hayes, 1992, the Third World; R. J. Schreiter, Constructing Local 93). Theologies. Second, the metaphorical position holds that “the Bible does not support a literal view of a Controversies in Contemporary Evangelical burning abyss. Hellfire and brimstone are not lit- Mission Theory. In spite of the clarity of New eral depictions of hell’s furnishings, but figura- Testament teaching concerning the world mission tive expressions warning the wicked of impend- of the church, controversies have marked the ing doom” (Crockett, 1992, 44). Those who hold modern missions movement from its inception. to the metaphorical view believe in a real hell Of the many that could be discussed, this essay that is a place of judgment, but that we do not describes five significant controversies that cur- know precisely what that punishment will be like rently have the attention of evangelical missiolo- (Crockett, 1992, 49). gists. The third view of hell in opposition to the lit- Some missiological controversies relate di- eral position is the conditional immortality, or annihilationism (see Annihilation). Again this is rectly to biblical revelation and the history of the not a denial of the reality of hell or suffering in church, while others are procedural in nature as it. Clark H. Pinnock states that “it is more scrip- mission is carried out today. While in this article tural, theologically coherent, and practical to in- we present opposing perspectives, it should be terpret the nature of hell as the destruction recognized that they represent positions on spec- rather than the endless torture of the wicked.” trums of views rather than the only alternatives He holds that the “ultimate result of rejecting seen in evangelical missiology. God is self-destruction, closure with God, and The Destiny of the Lost. Literal View of Hell. absolute death in body, soul, and spirit” (Pin- Those who hold to explicit faith in Jesus Christ nock, 137). as Savior as necessary for salvation appeal to the Spiritual Warfare. Spiritual Warfare is a bib- teaching of Scripture, such as Acts 4:12; Romans lical concept derived from the fall of humankind. 10:13, 14; 1 John 5:11, 12; John 14:6, and the The battle was intensified by Christ’s first com- general tenor of Christological teaching through- ing that brought into focus the reality of demon- out the Bible. ization and demon-deliverance. Today there are The traditional position gives credence to pro- two major views of spiritual warfare (see also gressive revelation throughout both Old and Power Encounter and Territorial Spirits). New Testaments as related to the redemptive The Classic View. Those who take this position mandate. This position gives strong urgency to rely on the teachings of the Word of God (Eph. the church’s world mission, since the destiny of 6:10–20), the power of God, and believing prayer. humankind is dependent on their explicit faith in No biblical evidence can be found that believers Christ. The argument is that people are lost be- can be “demonized” or “have” a demon, terms re- cause they are sinners, not because they have not served in Scripture for the unregenerate. Victory heard the gospel. in spiritual warfare for the believer centers on Four major reasons given for this position are: claiming Christ’s past victory on the cross over (1) the universal sinfulness and lostness of all Satan and demons (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 John humankind, (2) the necessity of Christ’s redemp- 3:8; Rev. 12:11), claiming the believer’s union with tive work for salvation, (3) the necessity of per- Christ (Rom. 6:1–4; Gal. 2:20), claiming the be- sonal faith in Christ, and (4) the necessity of lievers’ position as believer priests (1 Peter 2:9), hearing the gospel in order to be saved. James A. claiming the present work of the Holy Spirit Borland summarizes the position: “To hold out (John 16:13; Eph. 5:18), winning back influence the possibility of any other way of salvation does from Satan (Eph. 4:27), putting on the whole not add to God’s greatness but depreciates his armor of God (Eph. 6:13–17), praying when we Word and the work of the church through the are under pressure (Phil. 4:7–7), presenting our ages. To teach any other way of salvation for the whole being to God (Rom. 6:11–13), and resisting heathen diminishes missionary zeal and leaves the devil for daily victory (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8– the helpless hopeless” (p. 11). 9). 13 Controversies in Contemporary Evangelical Mission Theory

The Demon-Deliverance View. This approach to nized in determining a people’s responsiveness spiritual warfare features actively and directly (McQuilkin, 1974, 19–66). casting out demons by Christians who have the Advocates point out three sources of church appropriate gifts for this ministry. It has been de- growth, namely, biological growth (children born scribed as the “ekballistic mode of ministry” or to church members), transfer growth (people EMM (ekballom, meaning to cast out; Powlison, moving from one church to another), and con- 1995, 28). Those who hold to EMM say that version growth (when a person commits to “Christians and non-Christians often require an Christ as Savior and Lord). ‘ekballistic encounter’ to cast out inhabiting de- Opposition to Church Growth Theory. While ex- mons that enslave us in sexual lust, anger, low pressing appreciation for the contributions of self-esteem, fascination with the occult, unbelief, church growth thinking, some opponents warn of and other ungodly patterns” (ibid., 29). Adher- its shortcomings. Opponents of church growth ents of demon-deliverance ministry hold that object to the priority assigned by church growth non-Christians and Christians alike can be de- to numerical growth, resulting in weak support monized and require the ministry of exorcism. of other goals in mission. Opponents also point Powlison states, “In sum, ekballistic spiritual to the alleged ecclesio-centrism of church warfare envisions the warfare of Christians as a growth, its results-orientation, and its over-em- battle against invading demons, either to repel phasis on prioritizing so-called responsive them at the gates or eject them after they have groups. taken up residence” (ibid.). A counseling process Again, since church growth theory emphasizes is then put in place to encounter and cast out the a church-centered theology, some have expressed demon(s). that the centrality of Christ is eclipsed. Third Wave Theology. Since the mid-1970s the Christ-centered theology is foundational to the present-day controversy is heightened with the church’s mission. advent of what some have called the Third Wave The flash point of opposition, however, centers of the Holy Spirit, a term used to refer to the rise on the Homogeneous Unit Principle advocated of non-Pentecostal evangelicals who feel that the by many church growth theorists. McGavran first made the observation that “people like to whole range of spiritual gifts is still available in become Christians without crossing racial, lin- the church. This is commonly associated with guistic, or class barriers and that social disloca- the Signs and Wonders movement, though the tion should be held to a minimum” (McGavran, latter also includes Pentecostals and charismat- 1990, 163). In application, some call for the de- ics. Adherents hold the view that our work in velopment of ethnic churches so as to minimize ministry is a type of power encounter between the amount of social dislocation experienced by Christ’s and Satan’s kingdoms, which center in people coming to Christ. Wagner states that “this healings and exorcisms of demons. principle has become the most controversial of The Church Growth Movement. Church all church growth principles because critics have growth concepts find their origin in the New Tes- interpreted it as classist or racist” (ibid., x). Wag- tament. The last four decades have seen an explo- ner explains, however, that “the homogenous sion of interest in church growth thinking initiated unit principle is an attempt to respect the dignity by the work and writings of Donald McGavran in of individuals and allow their decisions for the 1950s. Christ to be religious rather than social decisions Definition of Church Growth. Church growth is (ibid.). “that discipline which seeks to understand, Western Support of Third World Missions. through biblical, sociological, historical, and be- Should sending money replace sending mission- havioral study, why churches grow or decline. aries from the West? Will sending money rather True church growth takes place when ‘Great than missionaries strengthen Indigenous Commission’ disciples are added and are evi- Churches? Does the spread of the gospel depend denced by responsible church membership” on money? Will Western support enhance the (Rainer, 1993, 21; see also Church Growth missionary spirit of national churches? What is Movement). This perspective on church growth the testimony of history to outside support of na- theory was developed by McGavran in his writ- tional churches? Did Paul take financial support ings, principally in his best-known work, Under- to the churches he planted? Discussion flows pro standing Church Growth. and con along both sides of these questions (see Advocates of Church Growth Theory. Support- also Foreign Financing of Indigenous Workers). ers of church growth theory hold the following Proponents of Traditional Missionary Presence. tenets: (1) that numerical church growth is cru- Those who defend the cross-cultural sending of cial, (2) that the church should concentrate on Western missionaries rather than money hold responsive peoples groups, (3) that people move- the following positions: (1) that it is a fallacy to ment conversions should be encouraged, and assume that the spread of the gospel can be ac- (4) that anthropological factors should be recog- complished only with money, that is, the Great 14 Cults, Cultism

Commission should not be held captive to fund ally integral to each other (see also Evangelism raising; (2) that outside funds can create Depen- and Social Responsibility). dency in national churches; (3) that a mercenary The Traditional View of Mission. Those who op- spirit among national leaders can be created by pose the concepts of holistic mission distinguish too strong an influx of Western funds; (4) that between the Cultural Mandate and the redemp- employing national workers will not necessarily tive or evangelistic mandate in Scripture. The lead to more effective ministry; (5) that sending traditional view holds that the cultural mandate money instead of missionaries compromises the is addressed to people as persons (Gen. 1:28; Great Commission. 2:15; 9:1, 7), while the redemptive mandate is ad- Proponents of Western Monetary Support. dressed to those who become members of the Those in favor of Western financial support of people of God. The cultural mandate is fulfilled Third World missions, rather than sending mis- by qualitative and quantitative improvement in sionaries, advance their reasoning with the fol- culture; it is preservative in a fallen world; and it lowing propositions: (1) Western missionaries is nonredemptive. The redemptive mandate is are too expensive; (2) Western believers should fulfilled by obedience in proclaiming the gospel multiply the effectiveness of their earnings at to a lost world; it offers hope to a fallen race; and home by supporting national missionaries in it is redemptive and transformational. their own countries; (3) Western missionaries Some question the use of John 20:21 as the spend too much time and money on social min- basic statement of the Great Commission. They istries; (4) the presence of Western missionaries contend that this violates the hermeneutical has a negative effect in poverty-stricken areas; principle of using the more complete and less (5) educational preparation for Western mission- obscure passages to understand the less com- aries is too time consuming and cost prohibitive. plete and more obscure passages, in this case Holistic Mission. “Holism” as it relates to Matthew 28:19–28; Luke 24:47 (Hesselgrave, Christian mission means that the church’s mis- 1990, 3). Also, they argue that the sociopolitical sion in the world includes not only gospel proc- action advocated by proponents of holistic mis- lamation but also sociopolitical, economic, and sion is contrary to the examples of Christ and the health dimensions. Those who hold this position early church. Opponents to the holistic mission believe that mending social ills and alleviating position believe that using the so-called Great political injustices are integral to Christian mis- Commandment as a part of Christian mission is sion (see Holistic Mission). unmerited. Loving one’s neighbor is the duty of The Holistic View of Mission. A growing num- the individual believer (Gal. 6:10) and not a part ber of evangelicals defend holistic mission. John of Christian mission as such (ibid., 4). R. W. Stott articulated this position in his book, In summarizing this position of the twofold Christian Mission in the Modern World. Stott mandate, Peters stated, “Only the second man- holds that John 20:21 is the basic statement of date [the redemptive mandate] is considered the Great Commission: “As the Father has sent missions in the strict biblical sense. The first me, I am sending you.” mandate [the cultural mandate] is philanthropic In addition to this position on the Great Com- and humanitarian service rendered by man to mission, Stott also champions the Great Com- man on the human level and as from members mandment, namely, Christ’s instruction to “love of the same ‘family’ (Gal. 6:10, Luke 10:25–27)” your neighbor as yourself.” According to this (Peters, 1972, 170). view, these two commands constitute the Chris- Paul A. Beals tian mission in the world. Stott explains that “if we love our neighbor as God made him, we must Bibliography. J. A. Borland, JETS (March 1990): inevitably be concerned for his total welfare, the 3–11; D. Hesselgrave, EMQ 35:3 (1999): 278–84; idem, good of his soul, his body, and his community” Trinity World Forum, Spring (1990), pp. 1–7; T. Ice and (Stott, 1975, 30). Also according to this view, the R. Dean, A Holy Rebellion: Strategy for Spiritual War- Christian mission should include a political di- fare; D. McGavran, Understanding Church Growth; J. R. McQuilkin, Measuring the Church Growth Movement; mension in an effort to bring about structural B. Myers, EMQ 35:3 (1999): 284–87; C. Ott, EMQ social change. (1993): 286–91; C. Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy; This concept of mission “describes . . . every- R. Powlison, Power Encounter: Reclaiming Spiritual thing the church is sent into the world to do. Warfare; T. Rainer, The Book of Church Growth: History, ‘Mission’ embraces the church’s double vocation Theology, and Principles; J. Sanders, ed., What About of service to be ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the Those Who Have Never Heard?; J. Stott, Christian Mis- light of the world.’ For Christ sends his people sion in the Modern World; J. Walvoord, W. Crockett, into the earth to be its salt, and sends his people Z. Hayes, and C. Pinnock, Four Views of Hell. into the world to be its light (Matt. 5:13–16)” (ibid., 30–31, emphasis his). In Stott’s expression Cults, Cultism. Cults and new religious move- of this view, evangelism and social action are ments tend to emerge during times of social considered equal partners in mission and mutu- change and cultural upheaval. Whether the lo- 15 Cults, Cultism cale is North America or in a developing nation, lief and practice. Therefore, any group, move- cults are most successful when people experi- ment, or teaching may be considered cultic to ence alienation, rootlessness, and uncertainty as the degree that it deviates from the Holy Scrip- a result of rapid social change. When people ex- tures as interpreted by orthodox, biblical Christi- perience a dislocation from previously stable so- anity and as expressed in such statements as the cial structures, they often question the efficacy Apostles’ Creed. and relevance of traditional social institutions The majority of people who join cults are con- like the family, government, and conventional re- sciously or unconsciously embarked on a spiri- ligion. From the perspective of biblical Christi- tual search. Some converts to New Religious anity, the new cultic movements are viewed as Movements are vulnerable because they have no spiritual counterfeits and their leaders as false formal religious affiliation whatsoever and there- prophets. fore lack the necessary discernment skills to It is imperative that Christians involved in evaluate the many religious groups that beckon. missions be aware of the intrusion of these Someone has said that “nature abhors a vac- groups into mission fields around the globe. Cult uum.” It is especially during times of cultural up- missionaries can be found in virtually every heaval that people, uprooted from traditional country where evangelicals are ministering. In ways of thinking, are susceptible to the influx of those countries where Christianity is not the new ideas. G. K. Chesterton once remarked that dominant religion, indigenous populations are when people cease to believe in God, they do not often unable to distinguish between legitimate believe in nothing. They believe in anything. Christian witness and the outreach of cultists be- What is an appropriate response for the Chris- cause the latter often claim to be Christian and tian missionary to the cultists who are engaged invoke the Bible as a source of their authority. It in real spiritual competition for the souls of is essential, therefore, that Christian missionar- searching individuals? First, we must recognize ies work to develop discernment skills among the that to reject the cultic alternatives to Christian- people they are attempting to disciple. ity is not to suggest that there is no truth in The need to “guard the gospel” is illustrated by them. Error is always built on a foundation of an event experienced a few years ago by a young half-truths. Spiritual counterfeits often contain couple involved in missionary service in Marti- an element of the real thing. Until we identify the nique, a French island in the West Indies. There web of error that characterizes all groups which they led a church-planting ministry that required depart from the baseline of truth found in the heavy investment in personal evangelism and Bible, we have only partially understood the dy- community outreach. From their labors there namics of the cults and new religions. When mis- emerged a tiny church that gradually grew to the sionaries encounter members of cults and new point of self-sufficiency. But while the missionar- religious movements, they can affirm the cultists’ ies were away on a leave of absence, the infant spiritual search while at the same time refuse to church was invaded by Jehovah’s Witnesses. accept the presuppositions they may hold. We When they returned, they discovered that many should seek to establish a common ground of the members, including some of the leaders, rather than attempt to win an argument. Many had been influenced by the teachings of that cult cultists, for example, share the Christian’s con- and had joined with them. cern for the environment, world peace, and alle- This scenario is repeated over and over world- viating hunger. Seeking common ground with wide. New Christians, lacking a solid foundation the cultist will provide an opportunity to intro- in the faith and knowing little about the strate- duce the claims of Jesus Christ. gies and hallmarks of cults and aberrational It goes without saying that missionaries (or Christian groups, are caught in a snare of decep- any serious Christian) attempting to reach cult- tion and false teaching. It has been said that be- ists for Christ must be sure of their own faith cause of the enormous recent increase of cultic and be able to give a reason for the hope that is missionary activity overseas, missionaries today in us. In the final analysis, the clash between are often as likely to confront someone from an Christianity and the cultic ways of under- American-based cult as they are someone from standing reality results from differences in worl- another world religion. The missionary zeal of dviews. The Christian missionary must be pre- the cults in many instances surpasses that of pared to present an alternative model of Christian denominations. spirituality, an alternative Worldview that is There are several ways to define cultism and to centered on biblical faith and the person of Jesus understand how cults work. It is possible to ana- Christ. All believers are necessarily engaged in lyze cults from sociological, psychological, and the task of Apologetics, or defending the Chris- theological perspectives. For the Christian, it is tian faith. important to consider the truth-claims of any re- Cultic movements gain most of their converts ligious group. God’s objective truth, as revealed not from other World Religions but from the in Scripture, is the standard for evaluating all be- ranks of Christians who are lacking a solid bibli- 16 Demon, Demonization cal foundation for their faith and who are naive (e.g., Unificationists rely on the Divine Principle regarding the recruitment tactics of cults. There- of Rev. Moon, the Mormons cite The Book of fore, it is imperative that mission agencies and Mormon). non-Western church leaders give priority to the Just as Christian believers in the West have task of educating new Christians about the dan- historically been involved in and supportive of gers of false teaching and demonstrating how to overseas or “foreign” missions, we must also be effectively respond to the cultic challenge. In sensitive to the fact that cults are expanding short, while evangelizing cults and new religions their influence worldwide. The cults are coming, may be part of the missionary’s opportunity to but equally important is the reality that the cults share the gospel of Christ, more attention should are going. Are we prepared for the inevitable spir- be given to the task of equipping local believers itual and human casualties that such movements to become grounded in the faith so that they can leave in their wake? discern truth from error and therefore avoid cul- Ronald Enroth tic entrapment. Bibliography. R. Abanes, Cults, New Religious Move- Just as missionaries must be familiar with the ments, and Your Family: A Guide to Ten Non-Christian culture and religion of the people they want to Groups Out to Convert Your Loved Ones; R. Enroth, ed., reach, they must also attempt to learn as much A Guide to Cults & New Religions; R. Rhodes, Reason- as possible about the cult or new religious move- ing From the Scriptures With the Mormons; idem, Rea- ment that is often seeking to proselytize nonbe- soning From the Scriptures With the Jehovah’s Wit- lievers and immature Christians. It is also im- nesses; idem, The Heart of Christianity; M. T. Singer, portant to identify the reasons why people are Cults in Our Midst. attracted to cults. It is easy to overlook the fact that theological and doctrinal attractions are Demon, Demonization. While Scripture does often secondary to personal and social reasons. not present a clear picture of their origin, de- People find cults appealing because the groups mons are generally recognized by Christians as meet basic human needs: the need to be af- angels who fell with Satan and are now agents firmed, the need for community and family, the seeking to work on his behalf on earth. In the need for purpose and commitment, and the need Old Testament, demons (or evil spirits) do not re- for spiritual fulfillment. ceive a great deal of attention. Generally, they are The tragedy is that cults often exploit the sig- portrayed as malicious spirit beings who are nificant human and spiritual needs that are used to bring God’s judgment (e.g., 1 Sam. 16:14; going unmet in today’s world. As missionaries Judg. 9:22–24) and are connected with idols and approach the task of equipping local Christians, idolatry (Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37, 38). While we they must first examine their own commitment get one glimpse of some hierarchy of demonic to the truth of the gospel and to the authority of powers (Dan. 10:13, 20), that glimpse is left un- God’s Word. Once we understand that the gospel developed (see Territorial Spirits). is really true and stands up to the most difficult The New Testament picture is clearer. At least scrutiny, our own faith is enlarged and we be- five types of demonic activity can be seen. Under come more eager to encourage the faith of oth- Satan’s control, they unsuccessfully resist Jesus ers. We all need to develop a firm framework of and try to expose his identity during his ministry truth by which to evaluate the claims of other (Mark 1:23–27), blind unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:3–4), groups. engage believers in warfare (Eph. 6:10–18), From that framework, the missionary can help wreak great destruction on earth as part of the young Christians to understand two core charac- end times (Rev. 9), and entice governments and teristics of all cultic teachings: (1) A false or inad- nations to rebel against God (Rev. 16:12–16). equate basis of salvation. The apostle Paul made The Gospels present seven encounters of Jesus a distinction that is basic to our understanding with demons during his three years of public of truth when he wrote, “For it is by grace you ministry: the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1–20 have been saved, through faith—and this not and parallels); the boy with seizures (Matt. from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by 17:14–20 and parallels); three instances of people works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). All being healed from specific demonic-caused dis- cultic deviations tend to downplay or distort the eases (Matt. 9:32–33; Matt. 12:22–23 and paral- finished work of Christ on the cross and empha- lel; Luke 13:10–17), and two cases where Jesus size the role of earning moral acceptance before silences the spirits (Mark 1:23–27 and parallel; God through our own righteous works as a basis Matt. 8:16 and parallels). In every example we of salvation. (2) A false basis of authority. Biblical see Jesus’ direct engagement of demons to set Christianity by definition takes the Bible as its people free. Their freedom came through the ex- yardstick for determining truth, whether in mat- ercise of his authority (Mark 1:27–28), in con- ters of faith or in practice. Cults, on the other trast to the rituals of the exorcists of his day. hand, commonly resort to extra-biblical revela- In the thirty plus years covered in Acts, only tion as the substantial basis of their theology five statements of distinct demonic encounters 17 Divine Deliverance are found (Acts 5:15–16; 8:6–7; 16:16–18; 19:11– bad as ignoring it. Missionaries may face either 12; 19:13–17). As with Jesus, the apostles exercise of two extremes: Secularism which denies de- authority over demons to set people free. The rel- mons and Animism which sees demons as the ative lack of examples from Acts appears to un- source of every problem. In many Western urban derscore that demons are to be confronted but settings influenced with New Age thinking the are not to be given preeminent attention. two opposites can be curiously intertwined in a In the epistles we find important teachings on form of spiritistic Syncretism. Many worldviews demons and their work. They are the powers be- acknowledge the spirit realm and contain a vari- hind idols (1 Cor. 10:19–21); we engage them in ety of beliefs and rituals for handling spirits and war (Eph. 6:10–18), humbly submitting to God their activities (see Exorcism). The missionaries and resisting Satan (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8–9; see must come to grips not only with their own also Spiritual Warfare); they subvert people Worldview, but also that of the Bible and the through false doctrines (1 Tim. 4:1–4); and we host culture. are to test the spirits (1 John 4:1–4). Concerning On a practical level, what can the missionary their character and tactics, they know the truth expect? In the New Testament, a demon drove a and shudder (James 2:19), and, following Satan, fortune teller to harass Paul and his missionary they masquerade as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:2– band so much that he had to deal with it (Acts 15). 16:16–18). Satan repeatedly thwarted Paul’s mis- In Revelation we see demons characterized as sionary plans (1 Thess. 2:17–18), and he perse- Satan’s host encamped against God. They lead vered in his missionary labors despite a Satan- the nations astray (Rev. 16:12–16) and bring de- ic-given thorn in the flesh (literally “angel of struction on earth (Rev. 9). Though the final pic- Satan”) by focusing on God’s power and grace ture is not one of battle but slaughter (Rev. (2 Cor. 12:1–9). The young churches Paul planted 19:19–20), their power on earth over unbelievers, were in danger of falling prey to Satanic decep- under God’s sovereignty, is mentioned through- tion (e.g., 2 Cor. 11:2–15) and had to put on spir- out Revelation. itual armor (Eph. 6:10–18). Contemporary mis- Demonic Attack. With more than thirty terms sionaries must be prepared to face all of these used (many of them in the Gospels), the range of situations. We should also note that Satan is not vocabulary of demonic attack against people is limited to the particular tactics employed in the rich. However, it all points in one direction: de- Bible. Just as human society grows and changes, mons desire to destroy the host by deception and so may demonic attacks (see Possession Phenom- distortion of our very humanity (seen clearly in ena). However, the central core strategies of de- the Gerasene demoniac; Mark 5:1–20). In terms ception, blinding, and movement toward de- of control, demons indwell people (Matt. 12:43– struction are constant themes whatever the 45); people may have spirits in them (Mark 1:23); culture. In light of this, a crucial missionary task be with a spirit (Mark 5:2); or have spirits (Matt. involves working with the local community to 11:18). The strongest term of demonic control is develop a clear biblical perspective on the de- daimonizomai, often translated “demon-pos- monic and to couple this with contextualized sessed.” The English connotations of “posses- ministry methodologies which maintain biblical sion,” however, cloud the meaning. Christians fidelity and, as far as possible, cultural sensitiv- cannot be “possessed” in the sense of ownership, ity. since they belong to Christ. The nrsv frequently uses “demoniac” and the Amplified renders it A. Scott Moreau “under the power of demons,” both of which bet- Bibliography. C. Arnold, Three Crucial Questions ter express the idea of control than ownership. about Spiritual Warfare; M. Kraft, Understanding Spiri- Though the term is not used after the Gospels, if tual Power; A. S. Moreau, The World of the Spirits; this type of control over Christians were not pos- S. Page, Powers of Evil; D. Powilson, Power Encounters; sible, the continual warnings against demonic G. Van Rheenen, Communicating Christ in Animistic infiltration in the epistles would serve no pur- Contexts. pose. Just as we can be “controlled” by false teachers, cult leaders, and so on, we can be “con- Divine Deliverance. Christ sets captives free. trolled” by demons, a fact that has long been ac- Missions is proclaiming Christ—who liberates knowledged both by those who minister to the from darkness and ignorance, from oppression demonized and in non-Western contexts. and injustice, from sin and its vicious hold on Missiological Issues. It is important for the every aspect of human life, and from death. missionary to understand the biblical teaching The deliverance motif runs throughout the on demons as well as be effectively trained in whole story of God’s redemptive work. The exo- dealing with demons as they manifest them- dus is the defining event of the Old Testament. selves. As is seen in Acts, however, our focus on The people of Israel were a people set free the demonic should be selective. Paying too through the merciful intervention of God; this is much attention to demonic activity can be just as a recurring theme in the Psalms. 18 Dreams and Visions

We also see deliverance in the ministry of kindness, mercy, and justice—to do what is right Jesus. He announced a kingdom and viewed his in the midst of wrong. If we overspiritualize the mission as one of liberation, through word and bondage, it is easy to assume that if there is suf- deed, from the forces, spiritual and otherwise, ficient prayer or faith the bondage will be elimi- that oppressed his hearers. And he called his fol- nated. In fact, however sincere our faith and lowers to participate, in word and deed, in this well-intentioned our prayers, the full and final cosmic agenda. deliverance of God will not come until the con- In the writings of Paul, we see that it is cen- summation of Christ’s kingdom. trally through the cross that Christ brings deliv- And then also, for others, the divine deliver- erance. The cross was propitiation—a sacrificial ance is fundamentally for emotional and physi- guilt-offering. In the cross was manifested the cal wellness. Sin has left a profound mark of dis- reconciling love of God. But the cross was also location and inner pain on individuals who have the triumph through which Christ brought deliv- experienced the horrifying effects of wrongdo- erance. Christians think of the resurrection as a ing. Perhaps they are the children of alcoholic great victory, and it was. But Scripture portrays parents; perhaps they experienced physical and the cross as the actual point of encounter be- emotional abuse. Freedom for them is deliver- tween Christ and evil, when the powers of dark- ance that includes physical and emotional heal- ness were defeated and humanity, indeed the ing. whole cosmos, was delivered from sin, the law, From every angle, we must remember that ul- and death (see Atonement). timately the whole creation is in bondage (Rom. Christ demonstrated God’s justice, giving him- 8:19–20) and looks forward to the day of its re- self as a ransom—not to Satan, but to the Father. demption. This reminds us that bondage is cos- Thereby, Christ triumphed over the powers of mic, not merely individual, and further that ulti- darkness (Col. 2:13–15; Heb. 2:14–15). It was not an encounter of power with power so much as it mate deliverance awaits Christ’s return. was a freedom to let sin meet judgment. Christ Consequently, we maintain a biblical perspec- triumphed by submitting to death. He defeated tive on divine deliverance when we affirm death by his own death. (1) that it is both individual and cosmic; (2) that The missionary task announces and partici- it has present manifestations, but will only be pates in the triumph of God and divine deliver- complete at the return of Christ; (3) that it is fun- ance. The announcement points to the triumph damentally a spiritual matter, but one that has of Christ on the cross; the participation comes visible manifestations in every aspect of human not by the triumph of Christians or the church, life and society; and (4) that deliverance comes but by suffering (as identification with the not so much through a show of force but by suf- cross). fering in Jesus’ name. For some, the primary manifestation of God’s Gordon T. Smith deliverance is freedom from oppressive social and Bibliography. T. Oden, The Word of Life; E. Rommen, economic systems. Liberation Theology con- ed., Spiritual Power and Missions: Raising the Issues. tends that God brings deliverance through socio- political upheaval that leads to justice. Missions is Dreams and Visions. Dreams and visions are participation in this process. But while all Chris- common universal phenomena, neither restricted tians are called to be catalysts of justice, a true social transformation will only come when the to particular peoples nor historical eras. Techni- human heart is liberated from sin. The fundamen- cally, dreams are related to the state of sleep, tal human problem is bondage, yes, but it is a while visions occur in trance-like states when bondage to sin of which the social and economic people are awake. However, because of their inequity in human systems is but a symptom. often ecstatic nature and revelatory character, For others, divine deliverance speaks of Spiri- dreams and visions function in much the same tual Warfare, God’s power confronting invisible manner. They are both important mediums of di- forces of evil and darkness, an encounter fueled vine revelation in Scripture. In fact, they are ex- by focused intercessory prayer. Behind this lies plicitly mentioned or alluded to almost two hun- the recognition that spiritual forces are at work dred times in the Bible. Thus, dreams and visions in every aspect of human life and society and play an important role in the drama of redemp- that divine deliverance will only come when tion. these spiritual forces are defeated. Dreams and visions were prevalent throughout But a cautionary note must be raised. It is pos- antiquity. For example, the royal courts of both sible to overspiritualize the forms of bondage or Mesopotamia and Egypt had wise men who were to overstate the extent to which Satan is himself professional interpreters of dreams. In the Greek actively involved in holding people and human world, sophisticated systems of interpretation systems in bondage. Often the work Christians were developed as well. Overall, there was an ex- are called to do includes both prayer and acts of cessive preoccupation with dreams and visions 19 Economics in the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman tion is contextual (see Contextualization) and world. thus he meets people where they are. Because This is the not the case in Scripture, however. many of the unreached are beyond the reach of The elements that dominated the dream world of the gospel and because much of the world is illit- antiquity—the riotous superstition, perversion, erate, dreams and visions are particularly rele- curiosity, and obsession with one’s fate—are vant. Moreover, similar to the case of Cornelius, lacking in the Bible. When viewed in this light, dreams or visions about Jesus often prepare the the biblical description of dreams and visions, way for the message of the evangelist. while pervasive, is restrained and sober. God is sovereign and never limited to human The Bible emphasizes that dreams and visions agency. He uses and will continue to use dreams are typical mediums of divine revelation: “When and visions to fulfill his Great Commission. Nev- a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal my- ertheless, his use of dreams and visions in mis- self to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams” sion in no way minimizes the role of missionar- (Num. 12:6; cf. 1 Sam. 3:1; 28:6, 15; Hos. 12:10). ies. Visions and missionaries were involved in The prophets usually received their messages the conversion of both Paul and Cornelius (Ana- through dreams or visions (Isa. 1:1; Ezek. 1:1; nias and Peter). Whether God communicates su- Daniel). pernaturally through dreams and visions or not, In the New Testament, dreams and visions are missionaries are always needed. described as characteristic of the age of the To affirm the reality and even need of dreams Spirit. The apostle Peter, quoting the fulfillment and visions to help fulfill the Great Commission of Joel’s prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit, in no way deprecates the priority and centrality notes that the church is to be a prophetic com- of the Word of God. The Bible is the exclusive munity, a community where “young men will see medium of special revelation, whereas dreams visions . . . old men will dream dreams” (Acts and visions are at best only supplementary and 2:17). secondary. This emphasis on dreams and visions is out- Moreover, dreams or visions are not always di- lined in Acts. Luke gives numerous illustrations vinely inspired. They can also be psychologically of visions in the early church. Ananias receives a or satanically inspired. Because of this, new con- vision regarding Paul (9:10). Paul is converted verts must be taught discernment. They must through a vision (26:19). Through visions, God learn to examine their dreams and visions in prepares the Gentile Cornelius to receive the gos- light of Scripture. They also need to submit their pel and prepares the Jew, Peter, to preach the dreams and visions to the leaders of their gospel (chaps. 10–11). The famous Macedonian churches who will help them determine if God is call comes through a vision (16:9). And at speaking. Corinth, Paul is encouraged by God to keep The Bible is God’s full and final revelation in preaching the gospel through a vision (18:9–10). written form, our highest objective authority. We What do these data suggest? What are the mis- must examine all things by the Word of God. siological implications of the Bible’s teaching on Moreover, Jesus primarily speaks to us through dreams and visions? While not a normal part of the Bible. However, he is not bound to the Bible the Western evangelical experience, dreams and alone. He also speaks to and guides his church visions are biblical and play an important part of life for people in the Two-Thirds World. Only through dreams and visions. To deny this supple- someone with an extreme anti-supernatural bias mentary and secondary form of revelation would deny their relevance to missions. (dreams and visions), is to deny teaching of our Second, dreams and visions are mediums of primary medium of revelation, the Bible! revelation. God speaks through dreams and vi- Richard D. Love sions to convert sinners (Paul and Cornelius) as Bibliography. D. E. Aune, ISBE Revised, IV:993–94; well as to encourage and guide his people (Ana- R. J. Budd, NIDNTT, I:511–12; M. Kelsey, God, Dreams, nias, Peter, Paul). He does the same today. Even and Revelation; A. Oepke, TDNT, V:220–38; J. H. Stek, the most conservative branches of Christianity ISBE Revised, I:991–92; J. G. S. S. Thompson, NBD, are reporting the use of dreams and visions in p. 1239; J. G. S. S. Thompson and J. S. Wright, NBD, the conversion of the unreached. Just as God pp. 289–90. used a vision to convert Paul, in like manner he is revealing himself to Muslims, Hindus, and Economics. Economics deals with the alloca- Buddhists. Just as God prepared Cornelius to tion of limited resources. Mission, in a Christian hear the gospel through dreams, so too is God context, entails the church’s modeling and prop- preparing a multitude of unreached peoples to agation of the gospel message. Economics and respond to his Good News. mission intersect at many crucial junctures. We As a missionary God, God’s method of commu- first look at mission-economic highlights in bib- nication is incarnational. He enters into our lical history before discussing the contemporary world to communicate his message. His revela- economic implications for mission. 20 Economics

Scriptural Foundation. From the earliest ciological barriers between the missionary and days of God’s dealings with his people, it is clear nationals, the need for economic support of new that God’s call ought to take priority over an in- converts ostracized from their socioeconomic dividual’s loyalties. Abraham, the father of be- community, and the problem of Indigenous lievers, was called to leave his home, even to sac- Churches’ dependence on foreign funds. rifice his son; the other patriarchs, likewise, were Of contemporary movements, it is particularly enjoined to live by faith (Heb. 11:8–22). Moses, Liberation Theology that focuses on economic too, chose to renounce his earthly possessions issues, usually in terms of Marxist economic (Heb. 11:24–28), and the abandonment of analysis. The following factors, however, appear self-pursuits was required of the Old Testament to contradict this approach (France): first, Jesus prophets. The same principle is reflected in the conceived of his own role not in terms of politi- New Testament in Christ’s own self-emptying cal or national liberation but of the restoration (Phil. 2:7), his selfless service (Mark 10:45; John of an individual’s personal relationship with 13:1–15), and his becoming poor to make believ- God; he explicitly rejected a political role, stress- ers rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Such sacrifice also became ing rather love and forgiveness even of one’s ene- the requirement for discipleship (Luke 9:57–62; mies, an element frequently missing in radical Jesus’ stewardship parables). movements; second, liberation in the New Testa- Of the four Evangelists, it is Luke who shows the greatest interest in economic issues. Luke’s ment almost always pertains to liberation from account of the life of the early church in Acts sin; third, Jesus does not present a program for provides an eschatological foretaste of kingdom achieving the redistribution of wealth or other living (Acts 2:44–45; 4:32–37). Paul, likewise, em- socioeconomic reforms; liberation theology con- ulated self-sacrifice in his own life and ministry, centrates on the symptom of socioeconomic jus- calling believers to the sharing of resources with tice while neglecting to deal with the root cause, those in need (esp. the collection for the Jerusa- the fallenness of human nature, which produces lem church: Rom. 15:25–27; 1 Cor. 16:1–4; 2 Cor. the twisted values of selfish materialism. 8–9), contentment with life’s necessities (Phil. A sensitivity to economic issues is vital for the 4:11–12; 1 Tim. 6:6–8), a disinterested attitude church’s effective ministry. The world’s rapid Ur- toward worldly possessions (1 Cor. 7:30–31), and banization, the evolution of modern technologies hospitality (Rom. 12:13). creating a new information elite, the increasing Believers were to extend hospitality to mis- gap between rich and poor countries, and many sionaries and itinerant preachers of the gospel other factors affect the church’s ministry at home (Matt. 10:10–15; Heb. 13:2; 2 John 10–11; 3 John and abroad in many ways. Evangelical spokesmen 5–8). Fundamental to missions is the acknowl- such as R. Sider and T. Campolo have called for a edgment that Christians are merely resident more simple, radical life-style on the part of aliens and that this world is not their permanent Christians for the sake of missions. It has been abode (Phil. 3:20; 1 Peter 1:1, 17; 2:11). The love the subject of considerable debate in evangelical of money is the root of all types of evil (1 Tim. circles over the past decades to what extent social 6:10; cf. Mark 4:18–19; 1 Tim. 3:3; 2 Tim. 3:2), no and economic concerns are to be part of the mis- one can serve two masters, God and Money sionary enterprise (see Great Commandment). (Matt. 6:24), and rich persons will enter the king- Some advocate the priority of evangelism and dom only with great difficulty (Mark 10:23–31; church planting, while others favor a holistic ap- Luke 12:16–21; 16:19–31; 19:1–10; 1 Tim. 6:17– proach that also incorporates social and eco- 19; James 5:1–6). In the seer’s apocalyptic vision, nomic issues. Many favor an approach that is pat- Babylon the Great, with its excessive reliance on terned after the model of Christ’s incarnation and her own wealth, has fallen (Rev. 17–18). service. Contemporary Relevance. Economics and mis- The following implications for modern mis- sion interface at several crucial junctions. Rele- vant issues include: (1) the general economic en- sions emerge from these considerations: (1) bib- vironment for mission (Bonk) and the question of lical discipleship, the prerequisite for missions, which economic system is most compatible with entails a disinterested attitude toward worldly biblical principles (Chewning, Smith); (2) the eco- possessions; (2) material resources are to be nomic situation of missionaries, including the used for the spreading of God’s kingdom (Jesus’ raising of funds, “tentmaking,” the problem of kingdom and stewardship parables); (3) solidar- fluctuating currency exchange rates, the problem ity is called for between believers of different of financial indebtedness of missionary candi- means in local churches and across cultures, dates (see Debt), and the issue of greater cost effi- leading to a sharing of resources; (4) the ultimate ciency of national missionaries (Yohannan); (3) issues in missions are spiritual, but economic the economic circumstances of the target cultures and social factors may provide barriers to effec- of mission, raising issues such as the need for tive evangelization (Bonk); (5) all missions work community Development and Relief Work, so- takes place in a political, economic, and social 21 Ethnotheologies environment, and these factors influence the ac- world. And that those developing theologies vari- complishment of the missionary task (Clouse). ously called indigenous, local, contextual, or eth- Andreas Köstenberger nic are mere addenda to this generic universal. A true terminological breakthrough will not come Bibliography. J. J. Bonk, Missions and Money: Afflu- ence as a Western Missionary Problem; R. C. Chewning, until we can speak easily of all particular theolo- ed., Biblical Principles and Economics: The Founda- gies as ultimately contributions, northern and tions; R. G. Clouse, ed., Wealth and Poverty: Four Chris- southern, to mutual enrichment and self-criti- tian Views; P. H. Davids, DJG, pp. 701–10; R. T. France, cism. Evangelical Quarterly 58 (1986): 3–23; I. Smith, God The Contributions of Ethnotheologies. In this and Culture, pp. 162–79; K. P. Yohannan, Why the new global mission setting ethnotheologies are World Waits: Exposing the Reality of Modern Missions. prodding theological reflection in directions new and old. They are underlining again the missio- Ethnotheologies. Ethnotheology is a recent logical dimension of all theology past and pres- word in mission vocabulary. Achieving promi- ent. Paul’s theology was that—a task theology nence in the 1970s, it has grown out of a new re- whose map found its orientation point in mis- ality—the cross-cultural diffusion of the gospel sions. And the early church that followed him into every corner of the world. The Christian did not lose that dimension (Conn, 1990, 51–63). faith has been rooted in Africa, Oceania, and var- Through the years, however, the missiological ious parts of Asia. Latin America is reformulating dimension has moved to the periphery. Theology its centuries-old dialogue with the faith into has made itself comfortable in the Western world something that is more than “borrowed” from of Christendom, the corpus Christianum. It “oc- Iberian or Anglo-Saxon churches. Voices in the cupies itself with the missionary enterprise as United States—African-American, Asian, and and when it seems to it appropriate to do so” Hispanic, for example—silenced by their mi- (Bosch, 1991, 494). nority status, are speaking loudly. A new day for Ethnotheologies, however, do not flow out of a missions has dawned—a demographic shift in world where the church is in a majority. They the ecclesiastical center of gravity from north to must define the faith in a non-Christian world south, from west to east, from majority to mi- where theirs is a minority voice. In this setting, nority. whether post- or pre-Christian, ethnotheologies With that shift comes a new opportunity for are recovering the missionary obligation of all theological cross-fertilization beyond those tradi- theology. The gospel’s connection to the world tional geographical, social, and ethnic barriers, demands the service of more than simply theolo- and new reflections on the meaning of Christian- gians; evangelicals are calling for mission theolo- ity in new contexts. The reading list of the world gians (Branson and Padilla, 1986, 311–23). church has expanded past the names of Calvin Ethnotheologies are expanding the global in- and Wesley, Hodge and Packer. To it has been terests of theology. Anglo-Saxon theology, for ex- added names of Elizonelo and Kim, Mbiti and ample, has explored Christology in terms of the Cone. traditional titles of Jesus as the Lord, Son of Terminology. No single term has yet emerged God, Son of Man, Jesus as prophet, priest, and to describe this new situation. “Indigenous theol- king. African theologians are turning to their ogy” was an early term that is still in use in some own cultural designations. Can we speak of Jesus places. But its colonialist ring and its attachment as the master of initiation, as chief, as ancestor to missionary sources sound too much like an and elder brother, and as healer (Schreiter, “outsider’s” imposition. “Contextual theology” 1991)? draws attention to role of context and setting in In an Asian context where the world’s major doing theology. But some evangelicals, for that religions predominate, how do we confess Christ very reason, are hesitant to give it full support; in an Islamic setting? Who is Jesus for Asian they fear an overemphasis on context and an un- women? In a Korean context of suffering and re- deremphasis on biblical text. “Local theology” is pressed anger, how does Jesus speak for the peo- popular among some Roman Catholic missiolo- ple (the minjung)? In a Hindu setting, is he Ava- gists (Schreiter, 1985, 6). tar or more (Sugirtharajah, 1993)? “Ethnotheology” has found wide, but not wide- Ethnotheologies are widening theology’s con- spread, acceptance in evangelical Protestant cir- text in a more holistic direction. For a millen- cles. Its strengths lie in its focus on the specific- nium and a half, Western European theology in- ity of theology for a given socio-cultural area and creasingly found its dominant dialogue partner in its support from linguistics and cultural anthro- philosophy. Its concerns turned to more abstract pology (Kraft, 1979). issues of ontology and epistemology. The secular- One common danger may be lying behind all ist worldview of the Enlightenment turned theol- these terms. It is the hidden, parochial assump- ogy to issues of faith and reason. And the rise of tion that real theology, theology without an adjec- the university gave both skepticism and religious tive, is what has been done in the Anglo-Saxon studies a home, further compartmentalizing life 22 Exorcism into separate categories of the public and the pri- understandings to the church’s theological heri- vate, theology and ethics, knowledge and virtue. tage of the past? In a world now seen as governed by human rea- And how do we do it without assuming that son and natural law, Western European theology there is some grand cookie-cutter pattern—a found itself asking, “Where is the God of truth in kind of universal theology that will apply in a world of science?” every context without nuance? How do we deal The ethnotheologies of a new day are driven with discontinuities between Western European by other contextual interests. In a political world and other theologies? Where is the line between of power versus powerlessness, they cross the semper reformanda and semper imitanda? These boundary between theology and ethics. Black are the contemporary questions that surround Theologies in the United States and South Af- ethnotheology and its ongoing development. rica and Liberation Theologies in Latin America Harvie M. Conn ask, “Where is the God of righteousness and jus- Bibliography. D. Bosch, Transforming Mission; M. L. tice in a world of injustice?” Often the theologi- Branson and R. Padilla, eds., Conflict and Context: cal formulations are Theodicy questions. West- Hermeneutics in the Americas; H. M. Conn, Eternal ern European theologies ask, “Does God exist?” Word and Changing Worlds; idem, WTJ 52:1 (Spring Black theology and Feminist Theologies ask, 1990): 51–63; W. Dyrness, Learning About Theology “Does God care?” from the Third World; C. H. Kraft, Christianity in Cul- Issues of traditional culture dominate the ture; B. R. Ro and R. Eshenaur, eds., The Bible and The- black African theological agenda: What should ology in Asian Contexts: An Evangelical Perspective in Asian Theology; R. Schreiter, Constructing Local Theol- our attitude be to African Traditional Reli- ogies; idem, ed., Faces of Jesus in Africa; R. S. Sugirtha- gions? What is our relation as African Christians rajah, ed., Asian Faces of Jesus. to Africa’s past (see African Theologies)? And in Asia ethnotheologies are formed particularly in Exorcism. To exorcize is to charge under oath dialogue with the world’s major religions. Theol- (e.g., in Matt. 26:63 Jesus is “adjured” to tell the ogy there resembles religious apologetics (see truth about his messianic status). The term also Asian Theologies). refers to the expelling of a spirit or spirits by Emerging Concerns. In this explosion of cre- means of ritual(s). Such rituals involve oaths; ative theologizing, evangelicals remain con- they may also include the use of magical formu- cerned about the balance between text and con- las and secret incantations. Though widely used text. “Theology must undoubtedly always be today of Christian work in expelling demons, the relevant and contextual, but this may never be term “exorcism” is not used in the New Testa- pursued at the expense of God’s revelation” ment to describe Jesus’ or his disciples’ ministry. (Bosch, 1991, 187). In the hermeneutical process Rather than relying on ritual, they cast out de- of theology Christians must take seriously the mons by verbally exercising God’s authority (see normative priority of their classical text, the Demon, Demonization). The noun occurs only in Scriptures. But, with a general weakness of bibli- Acts 19:13 of Jewish exorcists who used the cal exposition in many ethnotheologies (Dyrness, name of Jesus in a botched exorcism. 1990, 195), at least two particulars threaten this Rituals of exorcism are found in every world balance. religion and especially in Folk Religions. Four First, when does sensitivity to context become components are almost universally involved: the Syncretism (Conn, 1984, 176–205)? The 1982 exorcist, the victim, the community, and the rit- gathering of Third World evangelical theologians ual. The exorcist is seen as a person with special reflected this concern. “Ethnotheologies are powers. The victim may be troubled because of often politically motivated and do little or no jus- personal, clan, or tribal Taboo violations or rela- tice to the Scriptures. Syncretistic theologies tional breakdowns. Anthropologists note that the often accommodate biblical truth to cultural victim is often a scapegoat for the community. In variables. Several liberation theologies have spite of this, the community still lends support to raised vital questions which we cannot ignore. the exorcistic process, especially when commu- But we reject their tendency to give primacy to a nity participation is required for restoration. The Praxis which is not biblically informed in the ritual is the actual ceremony in which the spirits doing of theology. Likewise we object to their use are expelled. The variations are many, though of a socio­economic analysis as the hermeneuti- they generally focus on the release of spiritual cal key to the Scriptures” (Ro and Eshenaur, power. This may be accomplished by torture to 1984, 23–24). make the victim an uninhabitable host for spir- Second, can the particularism of ethnotheol- its; the application of specially prepared herbs; ogy lose its connection to the universal gospel? the use of magical formulas, chants, and incan- Where is the continuity between the theological tations; an offering; or some type of animal sac- formulations of the past and the emerging ethno- rifice. The help or advice of friendly spirits may theologies of the present? How do we relate new be enlisted through mediumistic channeling to 23 Extent of Missionary Identification deal with the spirit tormenting the victim. Un- tion was recognized as a means of increasing in- derstanding the functions of such rituals and the sights, sympathy, and influence among the peo- way they act as a social glue in the community is ple under study. The sensitive missionary, important for the missionary. If they are dis- however, goes further and benefits more deeply carded by the missionary and the social func- by becoming subjectively involved with the peo- tions that they serve remain unmet, the practices ple among whom he or she ministers. Recogniz- may simply go underground. ing that the final decision for Christ lies with the A variety of formalized exorcism ceremonies hearer, not the advocate, early concepts for mis- have existed inside the church from early on. In sionary identification called for the missionary the second and third centuries, rituals of exor- to work in light of human social institutions and cism were a common part of the baptismal pro- the associated means to make decisions in the cess. The Catholic Church has a well-established local setting when presenting the gospel. ritual. Lutherans and Anglicans once had exor- Contemporary missiology presents missionary cism rituals, but abandoned or issued strict con- identification based on an incarnational model trols over them by the 1600s to prevent abuses. for ministry (see Incarnational Mission). The Among some contemporary Christian groups the model functions within three main arenas: the form of demonic confrontation, the use of reli- life of the missionary, the message itself, and the gious paraphernalia (water, oil, crucifixes), medium or forms that convey the message. prayer and fasting, and repetitive reading of key The first arena, the missionary’s lifestyle, fos- Bible passages all with the extensive use of for- ters the most powerful means of identification. mulaic language point to a ritual orientation even The missionary seeks to become a full partici- though no formalized procedure is being fol- pant in the host society. Recognizing the reality lowed. of misunderstanding, the missionary enters the It is important for the missionary to under- new culture as a learner rather than teacher. He stand the function of exorcism in the local com- or she is open to genuinely sharing his or her munity. The fact that we are privileged to call on own cultural background. Thus, the missionary Christ’s authority in dealing with spirits in a becomes a type of culture-broker living between Power Encounter is often recognized by the two worlds, transmitting information from one local community as God’s work among them, and to the other, bringing the gospel from without thus provides an evangelistic breakthrough. A and giving from one cultural context to contem- danger to be noted is that if missionaries present porary yet culturally different recipients. The a ritual-­dependent Christian authority over the goal of identification is to achieve a cross-­ demonic, they may be opening the door to the cultural understanding in order to effectively rise of Syncretism in the form of Christian magi- communicate the message of Christ. The result cal thinking. of participating deeply in another culture forces one to think in new ways and recognize differing A. Scott Moreau views of reality. In doing so, the missionary be- Bibliography. F. Goodman, How about Demons? comes a “bicultural” person with a broader vi- Possession and Exorcism in the Modern World; sion that enables the ability to pull away from M. Kraft, Understanding Spiritual Power; S. Moreau, the home culture and work meaningfully in the The World of the Spirits. new one (see Biculturalism). Incarnational mis- sionaries thus develop a new cultural framework Extent of Missionary Identification. Mission- based on the two cultures known to them, allow- ary identification pervades all levels of the mis- ing more effective ministry in the host culture. sionary task. A complex concept, effective mis- Additionally, they often find new perceptions sionary identification lies at the heart of making about their home culture. Christ known across cultures and involves all Inherent to the goal of living in two worlds as that we are as human beings. A superficial mis- a bicultural person is the danger of rejection of sionary identification merely imitates the local one of our two worlds. We may either reject the customs of a people hoping to gain access for a culture in which we are ministering or reject our hearing of the gospel. With time, however, the re- own culture by “going native.” Neither of these ceiving culture will recognize such identification options is helpful to the missionary personally or as a gimmick. As Nida notes, the goal is not to professionally. The first option denies the valid- “propagandize people into the kingdom” but to ity of the people with whom we are ministering. identify with them so as to communicate more The second option denies the fact that we will clearly with them. This can only come about by always be seen as outsiders. Our goal is to learn being with them where they are and working to accept what is true and good in all cultures with them rather than for them. and to critique what is false and evil in each of Historically rooted in anthropological research them based on deeply rooted biblical truth. techniques where the researcher studied his or The practice of incarnational missionary iden- her “subjects” in their own context, identifica- tification functions on three levels: (1) lifestyle— 24 Fads in Missions external identification in terms of language, the individual needs and social contexts of peo- dress, food, patterns of courtesy, use of local ples. transportation, and housing; (2) willingness to Roberta R. King serve alongside and eventually under a local Bibliography. K. Bediako, Christianity in Africa: The leader; (3) inner identification, the deepest of all Renewal of a Non-Western Religion; P. Hiebert, Anthropo- levels. Attitudes of dignity, respect, and trust logical Insights for Missionaries; C. H. Kraft, Christianity speak of our genuine love for the people with in Culture; E. Nida, Message and Mission: The Communi- whom we minister. Genuinely deep love forms cation of the Faith; P. Parshall, New Paths in Muslim both the foundation and capstone for all levels of Evangelism; A. Tippett, Introduction to Missiology. identification. The second arena for missionary identification Fads in Missions. When an innovation begins to deals with the content and presentation of the take hold, we would like to know if it is going to message. Drawing from Communication theory, endure. One way is to ask how biblical the inno- the missionary is encouraged to adopt the recep- vation is: Does it aim at reinforcing some biblical tor’s frame of reference where one becomes fa- mandate or principle, or recovering one that has miliar with the conceptual framework of the re- been neglected? ceptor and attempts to fit communication of the For example, when Ralph Winter rocked the message within the categories and felt needs of Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in the receptor’s Worldview. Thus, the message is 1974 with his vision of “hidden people,” it was presented in a way that “scratches where the not a fad. Recognizing Christ’s mandate to reach hearer itches.” Jesus demonstrated this when he every nation, the unreached of the world became spoke to the woman at the well about living the focal point of evangelical missions. Thus, to- water and her background. He also dealt with ward the end of the twentieth century a plethora Nicodemus on his own Pharasaic terms. He in- of innovations aimed in the same direction: the teracted differently with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1– 10/40 Window concept, the AD 2000 Movement, 10), the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21), and the identifying the “gateway” cities or peoples, for demoniac (Luke 8:38–39). Furthermore, the example, all target the least reached. Are they apostle Paul followed Jesus’ example when he fads? Time will tell. determined to be Jewish or Greek depending on Another innovation which has endured is the his audience (1 Cor. 9:19–22), clearly seen in his “indigenous” methodology developed in the address to the Athenians (Acts 17:22–31). nineteenth century by John Nevius—that the The third arena for missionary identification goal of missions is to establish self-governing, self-­supporting, self-propagating churches (see lies in the development of the forms and media Indigenous Churches). The Third-World mis- for conveying the gospel message. The mission- sions movement has grown from the “self-propa- ary who has not learned the beliefs, feelings, and gating” or Great Commission mandate, an endur- values of a culture will often fail to recognize the ing “new” development. But fads often seem to most appropriate methods for communicating accompany biblical innovation. For example, the Christ. There is the continued danger of simple self-support principle became, “let the nationals translation of Western books, songs, drama, and do it,” and let the West pay for it (see Foreign films. As Tippett suggested, “the first step in Financing of Indigenous Workers). These are identification is to accept as many indigenous fads that will pass because they violate basic bib- forms and procedures as can legitimately be re- lical principles. We can never buy our way out of tained as Christian.” Although the cost in time personal responsibility, nor assign world evange- and effort to pursue such Contextualization of lism to others so long as half the world has no the gospel is great, it does not match the cost Christian “nationals,” because peoples live out of and threat of miscommunicating the gospel. A reach of present gospel witness. syncretistic acceptance of the gospel and stilted Donald McGavran’s themes of concentrating or stunted churches easily result from lack of on responsive peoples and targeting homoge- identification on this level. nous units for evangelism are certainly far less Missionary identification today is not an op- popular than they once were. This should come tion: it is an imperative. Historically, one of the as no surprise regarding the Homogeneous Unit results of poor missionary identification has been Principle, since it is extra-biblical (though not the national outcry of “Missionary go home!” We demonstrably anti-biblical, at least in the way must learn from our mistakes and move ahead McGavran advocated it). But concentration on with greater determination, especially in light of responsive people is clearly biblical, the way God modernity’s more complex degree of multicultur- himself operates. Nevertheless, this concept does alism. In spite of our tendency to work at external not have the strength the innovation once knew, identification, people still need to experience love so may prove to be a fad. on deeper levels. Missionaries must incarnate Two of the strongest emphases in the last quar- themselves by recognizing and working within ter of the twentieth century were Short-Term 25 Financing Missions

Mission and Tent-Making Missions. These can- urban mission work among the economic elite in not be considered fads since they have always the major cities of the world. been with us, but unrealistic expectations for Since the dawn of political states looking fa- these approaches may pass since they lack bibli- vorably on Christianity, missions have also been cal mandate or principle. financed out of state treasuries, including finan- Holy Spirit power is essential for missionary cial grants, land grants, and imperial patronages. success, but the innovations accompanying the During the colonial era, many Protestant efforts Power Encounter movement at the end of the were financed by colonial grant-in-aid deals twentieth century—prayer walks, spiritual map- which mutually benefited missionary and colo- ping, confronting an identifiable demonic nial enterprise. The resulting entanglements of prince that reigns over a city or region (see Ter- church and state, however, often left a mixed ritorial Spirits), and many others—may prove perception on the part of both missionaries and to be fads because the biblical foundation is at the national churches, with the latter seeing the least problematic. former as agents of the supporting state rather Innovation is essential for the cause of mis- than ambassadors of Christ. sions and this will bring genuine biblical ad- Finally, contemporary economic trends in the vance, but inevitably it will bring passing fads as West have enabled the development of numerous well. The way of confidence is to evaluate each private foundations and trust funds, many of new idea at the bar of Scripture. which underwrite projects and otherwise finance Robertson McQuilkin Christian charitable work as well as direct evan- gelistic endeavors. Financing Missions. Biblical Models. Three Issues in Financing Mission. Recently, how- biblical models of financing missionary efforts ever, several issues of significance for future mis- are found in the life of Paul. He wrote to the Phi- sion financing have been raised. First, at least in lippians that he had learned to trust God in all North America, mission giving has largely come circumstances to provide his needs (Phil. 4:12– out of discretionary income, which has been dry- 14). A tentmaker by trade (Acts 18:3), he men- ing up over the last few decades. While a wealthy tioned to the Ephesians and the Thessalonians generation that is now in process of dying has that he provided his own needs through his labor been leaving large gifts to missionary work in (Acts 20:34 and 1 Thess. 2:9). Tent-Making Mis- wills and trust funds, such giving is generally not sion, as it is known today, is named after this projected to extend beyond this generation. practice. In writing to the Corinthians, however, Second, many Western churches and agencies Paul directly urged them to give generously have begun to build giving policies around the (2 Cor. 8–9). His flexibility for financing mission- financing of Third World missionaries, who are ary work illustrates a general principle that any significantly cheaper than Western missionaries. method which is ethically sound and God-honor- In general this emphasis, based on new thinking ing may be considered acceptable. of global partnership and cost-effectiveness, is a Types of Missionary Support. The most com- mon method of mission funding has long been welcome change. Unfortunately, however, for the voluntary contribution of members of local some it has become an inappropriate vehicle to churches, though there are multiple means used call for a cessation of supporting Western mis- to channel what is given to where it is needed. sionaries altogether (see also Foreign Financing Some denominational missions assess member of Indigenous Workers). churches on a per capita basis to fund the de- Third, some rightly question the amount that nominational mission efforts, while others allow Western missionaries feel they must raise, which each church to develop its own mission budget often adds up to many thousands of dollars per and give money as it sees fit. Non-denomina- month to finance family travel and lifestyles tional mission agencies also serve as administra- which are often well above the level of indige- tive conduits through which money is collected nous populations along with benefits such as and distributed (see also Faith Missions). Many health insurance and retirement income. The im- agencies require each missionary to raise his or plications of this for giving patterns and priori- her own individual support, while others form a ties is now being felt in churches, mission agen- central pool for which every missionary raises cies, and on the various fields of service (Bonk; money and out of which all salaries and project see also Missionary Affluence). funding comes. Fourth, control of money and exercise of Following Paul’s example (Acts 18:3), many power cannot be separated as easily as we might continue to engage in tent-making mission. This like. This is especially significant when foreign is perhaps the most common method of financ- funds have been used to initiate and preserve ing Third-World missionaries, whose churches large missionary institutions (e.g., schools, and and agencies often do not have the financial ca- hospitals) which the local economy could not pability to underwrite international travel or support unaided. Such institutions have tended 26 Foreign Financing of Indigenous Workers to foster dependence rather than Partnership in worldview Hiebert labeled the flaw of the ex- missionary efforts. cluded middle. Finally, alarms over future Western missionary His model was quickly picked up by mission- funding has begun to sound in many quarters. aries and missiologists working among Models that have become traditional in the West, non-Western populations, especially those work- such as the mission agency relying on local ing in areas such as Spiritual Warfare. It was churches to passively and unquestioningly give used to give legitimacy to demonic and spiritual whenever approached, no longer hold. Discretion- explanations of phenomena that had been previ- ary finances in the consumer-driven Western cul- ously overlooked by Western theology, anthro- tures appear to be dwindling, as in commitment to pology, and missiology, all of which tended to traditional mission fund-raising techniques. look for so-called natural explanations for the In light of these factors, it will be increasingly observed phenomena. As a tool it named an area important in the future to find new and appropri- many evangelical missionaries had missed in ate ways to creatively trust God to supply the nec- their training and identified the sources of their essary means for engaging in the missionary task. discomfort in finding ways to contextually ad- However, since it is God’s intention to see the dress middle world issues in non-Western cul- whole world reached, it does not seem unreason- tures. able to assume that he will continue to provide For some, however, the pendulum has swung the means to do so, though not necessarily in the so far that the danger is a flaw of an expanded ways we expect and not without our taking seri- middle in which every strange event is thought ously our responsibility to the Great Commission. to have a middle domain explanation; this is es- pecially significant in the contemporary discus- A. Scott Moreau sion of Territorial Spirits. Using the middle do- Bibliography. J. Bonk, Missions and Money: Afflu- main to explain all such events is taking Hiebert’s ence as a Western Missionary Problem; L. Bush, Fund- analytic model beyond its intention, which was ing Third World Missions; CDCWM, pp. 208–9; J. F. to address the ways events are explained in dif- Engel, A Clouded Future: Advancing North American fering cultures rather than to give an ontological World Missions; J. Ronsvale and S. Ronsvale, Behind picture of the explanations behind such events. the Stained Glass Windows. A. Scott Moreau Flaw of the Excluded Middle. A concept devel- Foreign Financing of Indigenous Workers. oped by missiologist Paul Hiebert in an article in Nineteenth-century missionaries often em- Missiology 10:1 (January 1982, pp. 35–47) and ployed local personnel as evangelists, pastors, later reprinted in Anthropological Reflections on and Bible women, but eventually they came to Missiological Issues. Hiebert observed that the realize that unhealthy Dependency and “rice Western two-tiered view of the universe typically Christian” attitudes often resulted from this left out an entire dimension seen quite readily by employer-employee relationship. In reaction to people of non-Western cultures. Hiebert built his this problem, mission theorists insisted that analysis on a two-dimensional matrix. The first churches and ministries in the non-Western dimension is that of three worlds or domains: world should be totally self-­governing, (1) a seen world (that which is of this world and self-propagating, and especially self-supporting seen), (2) the unseen of this world (that which is (see Indigenous Churches). By the early twenti- of this world but not seen), and (3) an unseen eth century many missions had established transempirical world (that which pertains to firm policies against any mission pay or sub- heavens, hells, and other worlds). The second di- sidy for local pastors and evangelists. mension is that of two types of analogies people However, some people believed that insisting on use to explain the powers around them: (1) an full self-support was an overreaction. Instead, organic analogy (powers are personal, e.g., gods they advocated careful financial partnership with and spirits) and (2) a mechanical analogy (pow- indigenous ministries, treating them as equals ers are impersonal, e.g., gravity and electricity). rather than employees. Partners International Combining the seen/unseen/transempirical (then CNEC) was founded in 1943 for that ex- worlds and organic/mechanical analogies into a press purpose. Among the most vocal advocates matrix, Hiebert’s model highlighted the differ- of financial support for indigenous workers were ence between Westerners, who tend to see only Robert Finley, founder of International Students, two worlds (the seen world and the transempiri- Inc. and Christian Aid; his brother Allen, presi- cal world) and many non-Westerners who recog- dent of CNEC/Partners International; and Ian nize the middle world, comprised of unseen North, Australian founder of Ambassadors for powers (magical forces, evil eye, mana) and spir- Christ. its that are very much a part of everyday human As Western colonialism dissolved, between life (e.g., a person is ill because of a curse or a 1946 and 1960, European and American main- spirit attack). The blind spot in the Western line denominations quickly handed over leader- 27 Ghanaian Mission Boards and Societies ship of the churches and institutions their mis- however effective or charismatic the leaders may sionaries had established in former colonies. To be. It is perfectly proper to require regular finan- symbolize this new relationship, American Pres- cial reports by the recipients and even external byterians even began to call their missionaries audits where possible. However, the key to suc- “Fraternal Workers.” cess is to have open trust relationships in a part- Theologically conservative missions were nership between equals. slower to change but as the churches in the Charles Bennett Third World increased rapidly in size and matu- rity, attitudes among leaders of evangelical mis- Bibliography. L. Bush and L. Lutz, Partnering in Ministry; A. Finley and L. Lutz, The Family Tie; J. H. sions began to shift. In 1972 the Latin America Kraakevik, ed., Partners in the Gospel; D. Rickett and Mission granted full autonomy to all its field D. Welliver, eds., Supporting Indigenous Ministries; ministries and openly espoused continual finan- W. Taylor, ed., Kingdom Partnerships for Synergy in cial partnership with them. To a lesser degree, Missions. other missions began to follow suit. Around 1980 two new evangelical partnering Ghanaian Mission Boards and Societies. Gha- agencies were formed, Gospel for Asia and Over- naians have been active in missionary work ever seas Council for Theological Education. By the since Philip Quaque (c. 1741–1816) was first en- late 1980s partnership with indigenous minis- gaged by the Anglican Church to reach people tries as equals had become almost a watchword. from his own country. The Presbyterian Church Scores of new organizations were formed for the of Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian express purpose of supporting indigenous work- Church in Ghana were planted by German mis- ers and ministries in the Third World, instead of sion agencies, and became the first self-governing sending out missionaries from the West. By 1996 non-Western churches in Ghana after World there were more than 110 such organizations in War I. By 1980, there were 23 active mission North America alone. In October of that year the agencies in Ghana. In 1993 it was estimated that leaders of more than fifty of these new support over 670 Ghana missionaries had been sent out missions met together at the Billy Graham Cen- by some 44 agencies. The Church of Pentecost has ter in Wheaton, Illinois, for the first “Consulta- tion on Support of Indigenous Ministries.” placed workers in several African countries as The two most common questions that arise well as in Europe and North America. Christian when considering foreign financing of indige- Outreach Fellowship, founded by William Ofori nous workers are: Atta, deploys cross-­cultural missionaries to un- reached people groups. Pioneers Africa, headed 1. How can you give them financial assis- by Solomon Aryeetey, works among Muslims in tance without creating unhealthy Mali and has focused on unreached peoples in Af- dependency? rica. 2. How can you assure financial account- Bible Translation and Christian literature dis- ability and proper use of funds if you tribution have been important facets of Ghanian have no direct control over them? mission endeavor. The growth of Bible transla- tion work in the local languages is closely related Advocates of financial assistance for indige- to the story of the growth of missions in Ghana. nous workers insist that interdependency be- The work of the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, tween different parts of the Body of Christ is Literacy, and Bible Translation (GILLBT) is rec- both biblical and healthy. Unhealthy dependency ognized by both the church and the state. The develops when one partner tries to exercise too use of the Jesus Film in local languages is help- much control. Usually it is the provider of finan- ing Ghanians reach unreached peoples within cial resources that does so. Ghana’s borders. If most of the funding comes from a foreign There are several parachurch organizations source, then the recipients will feel they cannot that actively utilize Ghanian staff to reach risk offending that source. But if the vision, con- Ghana and other countries for Christ. Gottfried trol, and a majority of the funding is indigenous Osei-Mensah was the first executive director of and an open trust relationship exists between the the Lausanne Committe for World Evangeliza- two parties, then foreign funding can leverage tion. Theophilus B. Dankwa headed IFES-Africa and multiply the effectiveness of indigenous and Sam Atiemo Youth for Christ. Isaac Ababio ministries without creating unhealthy depen- pioneered the Hour of Visitation Evangelistic dency. Association. Florence Yeboah’s GHACOE Wom- Accountability is greatly enhanced by funding en’s Ministry is engaged in holistic mission. only ministry teams that are organized and have Scripture Union (SU) had been active in Ghana governing boards or similar accountability struc- since the early 1950s, and many of the current tures. Giving funds to indigenous workers who Ghanian church leaders came to Christ through are “lone rangers” is always fraught with danger, the SU efforts. 28 Incarnational Mission

As a result of the Ghana Church Survey pub- Belief in the incarnation raises profound ques- lished by the Ghana Evangelism Committee in tions about the nature of God and about the na- 1989 and a subsequent national mission consul- ture of Jesus Christ. Yet, from the earliest at- tation in 1993, Ghana’s most neglected mission tempts to grapple with and understand who fields have become the target of pioneer out- Jesus was, the incarnation—God’s assuming hu- reaches by denominations, mission agencies, manness—has been pivotal in comprehending and individual churches; more cross-cultural the Christian faith. The earliest church councils missionaries have been sent out and an Associa- discussed, debated, and concluded that the “God tion of Evangelical Missions has been formed. was in Christ” affirmation (2 Cor. 5:19) means Theological education and training for mis- that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. Ex- sions remains a challenge. Christian G. Baeta, plications (or the theology) of the incarnation Kwesi Dickson, and John Pobee have made sig- are found not only in Scripture, but also in a suc- nificant contributions. Kwame Bediako and the cession of creeds. Three branches of Christianity, Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Centre for Mission especially the Orthodox, as well as Roman Cath- Research and Applied Theology are also making olic and Anglo-Catholic, customarily give more fresh strides in mission training and research. attention and emphasis to the doctrine of the in- Ghana has sent missionaries around the carnation than do Protestants. In fact, some world. In the past twenty years, these have in- evangelical theologies tend to accentuate the di- cluded a new wave of missionaries—“economic vinity of Christ so disproportionately that the ul- missionaries.” They are comprised of committed timate result is a kind of Christological docetism believers who have been spread out from Ghana in which the human nature of Jesus is virtually because of harsh national economic pressure on eliminated or is little more than a facade for his them at home. They mostly serve as profession- divinity. Maintaining theological balance has als in their new host countries, but diligently never been easy, as any comprehensive survey of work as members of God’s kingdom on his busi- the history of theology reveals. Yet when either ness of telling others about Christ. They are on the divinity or the humanity of Jesus is over-em- every continent and in every ideological and reli- phasized, the outcome is a distortion of the na- gious region around the world. ture of Jesus as represented in the New Testa- Robert Aboagye-Mensah ment. Mainstream Christianity has been and Jude Hama unwilling to relinquish either the divine or the human nature of Jesus, though some theologians Incarnational Mission. The dramatic opening have given more attention to the meaning of the of John’s Gospel is foundational for under- incarnation than others. Grassroots believers, standing the meaning and implications of “incar- meanwhile, appear to be satisfied to confess that national mission.” “In the beginning was the in Jesus Christ God was uniquely revealed in his- Word,” the apostle wrote, “and the Word was tory, and that in Jesus Christ the divine intent for with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the humanity was definitively imaged. That there is Word became flesh and lived among us . . .” (1:1, mystery here no one denies. As Archbishop Wil- 14). The fuller context of the passage suggests liam Temple put it, anyone who professes to that in Jesus, God identified thoroughly with hu- understand the relationship of the divine to the mankind, and that God came in Jesus for the ex- human in Jesus Christ simply demonstrates that press purpose of disclosing not only God’s love he or she has failed to understand the signifi- but also God’s salvific intent for the world (3:16– cance of the incarnation (p. 139). 17). To refer to the incarnation as mystery, however, However the Gospel writer may have under- is not to suggest that it is “beyond us” or a kind of stood the nature of Jesus, the church has stead- theological icon. Quite the contrary. As Donald fastly regarded the incarnation to mean that God Baillie said, the mystery will always be mystery, was “enfleshed” in Jesus. All the Gospels bear but the mystery is lessened once we realize that witness to the fact that Jesus was born in a spe- believing in the incarnation means accepting a cific time and place, into a particular culture, paradox “which can to some small measure be and that he lived, matured, worked, ministered, understood in the light of the ‘paradox of grace’” and died as a human being. In Jesus—who came (p. 131). For the incarnation was not and is not to be called “the Christ” or the Messiah—God primarily a doctrine. It was and is an event. It was thereby revealed as love, self-giving love, was a life lived, and it is a life to be lived. “He was love vulnerable to the exigencies of human life made what we are,” declared Irenaeus, “that He including the assault of evil and death. Yet evil might make us what He is Himself” (Adv. Haer., was not victorious. It was instead inexorably de- Bk. v. Pref. cited by Baillie, ibid.). Thus Paul feated in Christ’s death and resurrection. God could make the staggering claim, “For me to live became a human being to redeem all humankind is Christ” (Phil. 2:21). So committed was the from the destructive power of sin and to recon- apostle to the Christ who summoned, trans- cile and transform the whole of creation. formed, and “missioned” him, and so determined 29 Incarnational Mission was Paul to communicate the same good news and more resistance than support from “official- Jesus fleshed-out, that he could say, “I have been dom”—the basic question they asked still begs to crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who be answered. Jesus, liberation theologians said, live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:19– indisputably sided with the hurting, exploited, 20). In these words believers find the most signif- and abused of his day. This was his mission, and icant implication of the incarnation, namely, that anyone who presumes to incarnate Christ’s mis- Jesus Christ can be fleshed out in the lives of sion today will likewise stand with the suffering those who follow in Jesus’ steps (1 Peter 2:21). In peoples of the world whether they are in Amer- essence, therefore, this is the mission of Jesus’ ica, Europe, Asia, or Africa (see Liberation The- followers, to walk in Jesus’ steps. ologies). Common in Catholic theological tradition is Standing with the poor and oppressed does the idea that the incarnation of Christ is the link not mean ignoring or neglecting the mission of between God and the institutional church, or, evangelization, but, as Mortimer Arias notes, even more specifically, it is the link between God evangelization can never be merely “verbal proc- and the sacraments by which believers become lamation.” Authentic evangelization will be also “partakers of Christ.” It is a short step, therefore, “the incarnation of the gospel” in the lives of from seeing the Sacraments administered by the Christ’s people, Christ’s community (p. 107). church as means of grace to regarding the plan- Reflection on the meaning of “incarnational tatio ecclesiae as extending the incarnation. mission” can be found also in the writings of cer- In 1838, with the publication of his Kingdom of tain ecumenical and evangelical theologians. For Christ, British theologian Frederick D. Maurice J. R. Chandran of India, an incarnational view of went beyond the conventional Anglo-Catholic mission means Indigenization. For Nigerian understanding of the incarnation by positing spe- Emefie Ikenga-Metuh, it means Contextualiza- cific social and political implications. In a sense, tion for “God has always been incarnate in Maurice anticipated the approach to the life of human cultures.” For former World Council of Jesus developed by many liberation theologians Churches general secretary W. Visser ‘t. Hooft, it during the last quarter of the twentieth century. meant a holistic ministry. Other more recent ex- For in terms of the social and political signifi- amples are John S. Pobee’s insightful Mission in cance of the incarnation, it has been the libera- Christ’s Way and Jonathan J. Bonk’s disturbing tion theologians who expounded the relationship Missions and Money. Pobee, an African on loan of the incarnation in the world today. Jesus, they to the World Council of Churches, spells out in underscore, was born in a religio-political context detail the dimensions of an incarnational mis- of suffering, oppression, and injustice. He was sion, while Bonk, a former Mennonite mission- counted not among the rich or the powerful but ary and now associate director of the Overseas rather among the common, the nondescript folk Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Con- from the hill country of Galilee. To inaugurate his necticut, addresses the crucial issue of mission- mission, nonetheless, Jesus made an astonishing ary prosperity, saying that economically affluent association: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, missionaries can never engage in incarnational because he has anointed me to bring good news mission for what they model is an “inversion of to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the Incarnation.” Their prosperity makes it im- the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to possible for them to “identify with the life situa- let the oppressed go free, [and] to proclaim the tions of the poor” to whom the gospel is ad- year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). dressed (p. 61). His mission, as he described it, was to liberate Nearly a half-century ago one of the most re- the impoverished, the imprisoned, the sightless, spected and effective mission leaders among and the oppressed. As it turned out, it was these Southern Baptists, M. Theron Rankin, then the kinds of people who became Jesus’ principal fol- executive secretary of the Foreign Mission lowers—the poor, the sick, the disabled, the de- Board, envisioned a model of incarnational mis- spised, the marginalized, and the alienated— sion. “If God could have saved the world by re- women, tax collectors, prostitutes, and others moteness,” and achieved the divine purpose whom society scorned. Moreover, it was from while remaining detached from humanity, these that Jesus chose his disciples whom he de- Rankin asked, would there have been the incar- clared were “the salt of the earth” and the “light nation? Then he added, the most effective wit- of the world” (Matt. 5:1: 13, 14). ness the church makes will always be in the lives In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Latin Ameri- of those who in Christ’s name bury themselves in can liberation theologians, following the lead of the lives and struggles of another people, mis- the Second Vatican Council, began asking what sionaries who serve the people, learn to speak the incarnation of Jesus implied in a world beset their language, develop the capacity to feel their with injustice, hatred, poverty, exploitation, pre- hurt and hunger, and “who learn to love them mature death, and hopelessness. Though their personally and individually.” response to the question incited intense debate— Alan Neely 30 Indigenous Churches

Bibliography. A. Mortimer, Announcing the Reign of reach. This is especially true of the rapidly ex- God; D. M. Baillie, God Was in Christ; J. J. Bonk, Mis- panding Pentecostal movement in India. At Ma- sions and Money; J. R. Chandran, Student World 51 dras the New Life Assembly of God sends and (1958): 334–42; E. Ikenga-Metuh, Mission Studies 6 supports its own missionaries to other parts of (1989): 5–12; F. D. Maurice, Kingdom of Christ; J. S. India. In another instance an entire new field has Pobee, Mission in Christ’s Way; T. M. Rankin, The Com- mission 15 (June 1952): 9; W. Temple, Christus Veritas; been opened by missionaries sent from one local W. A. Visser ‘t. Hooft, The Uppsala Report, pp. 317–20. congregation at Chrompet, Madras, which also functions as a mission society (GEMS—Gospel Echoing Missionary Society). Further, indepen- Indian Mission Boards and Agencies. Thou- dent workers have had an important role in pen- sands of Indian missionaries are presently serv- etrating new areas and establishing Pentecostal ing under some two hundred indigenous mission churches and agencies. organizations. Indigenous Christian missions are Roman Catholic missionary orders have not not new to the Indian context. Early indigenous been included in most studies of indigenous mis- agencies still active include the Mar Thoma Syr- sions, probably because little distinction is made ian Evangelistic Association (organized in 1888), between indigenous orders and those of non-­ the Indian Missionary Society of Tirunelveli Indian origins. The latter are thoroughly indige- (1903), and the National Missionary Society nized in personnel and management. The Catho- (1906). The India Missions Association (IMA), lic contribution is in fact enormous. created in 1977 to coordinate the activities of the Indianized international Protestant agencies various indigenous missions, in 1994 claimed 75 include Inter-Serve (India), Operation Mobiliza- member mission agencies having about 9,000 tion, and Youth With a Mission. Various special- missionaries. In 1996 this had increased to 87 ized social ministries—drug rehabilitation, edu- members and 14,000 Indian missionaries. The cation, literature, medicine, projects with youth, Indian Evangelical Team (IET) was the largest, the poor, the destitute, and slums—also form with 1,032 pioneer missionaries in fourteen part of the missionary edge of the Indian states. Many other mission organizations are not churches. members of IMA. It is difficult to ascertain the Roger E. Hedlund number. A 1992 study identified 275 agencies en- gaged in cross-cultural and other direct mission- Bibliography. R. E. Hedlund and F. Hrangkhuma, ary activity. An index included 103 agencies, 76 eds., Indigenous Missions of India; Indian Missions As- of which listed pioneer evangelism. Tamil Nadu sociation, Languages of India: Present Status of Chris- tian Work in Every Indian Language; L. J. Joshi, Evalu- has the largest number of mission headquarters, ation of Indigenous Missions of India; S. Lazarus, ed., followed by Kerala and Andhra, Pradesh. Proclaiming Christ: A Handbook of Indigenous Mission What precisely is an indigenous Indian mis- in India; L. D. Pate, From Every People: A Handbook of sion? Definitions vary, but Indian mission boards Two-Thirds World Missions. and agencies may be delineated in terms of mis- sionary work that is rooted in the Indian Indigenous Churches. The term “indigenous” churches and has an Indian identity. They are comes from biology and indicates a plant or ani- not a copy or continuation of the foreign mis- mal native to an area. Missiologists adopted the sions that worked in India over the past two cen- word and used it to refer to churches that reflect turies, but are a genuine expression of the mis- the cultural distinctives of their ethnolinguistic sionary spirit of Indian churches and Christians. group. The missionary effort to establish indige- India has two main types of mission boards. nous churches is an effort to plant churches that One is church-based and denominational. Exam- fit naturally into their environment and to avoid ples include the Mission Board of the Presbyte- planting churches that replicate Western pat- rian Church of North East India, the Zoram Bap- terns. tist Mission of Mizoram, the Nagaland Missionary Missionary efforts to establish indigenous Movement, the Mar Thoma Syrian Evangelistic churches are attempts to do missions as the Association, and the various diocesan mission apostle Paul did. A brief recital of Paul’s mission- boards. This pattern prevails in northeast India. ary methods demonstrates this fact. Paul served The other is the nondenominational or interde- as an itinerant missionary, never staying more nominational mission. Examples include the Na- than three years in any city. Paul’s approach to tional Missionary Society, Indian Evangelical evangelizing regions was to plant churches in Mission, Friends Missionary Prayer Band, and cities from which the gospel would permeate the various independent agencies. This pattern pre- surrounding areas. He never appealed to the dominates in the south. Yet this is only part of the churches in Antioch or Jerusalem for funds with picture. which to support the new churches. Rather, he Mission is not the exclusive domain of the mis- expected the churches to support themselves. sion societies. Churches and denominations Paul appointed and trained elders to lead all the themselves are also vehicles for missionary out- churches he planted. He gave the churches over 31 Indigenous Churches to the care of the Holy Spirit, but he also visited The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church them and wrote to them periodically. (1927). Henry Venn (1796–1873) of the Church Mis- Allen emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit in sionary Society and Rufus Anderson (1796–1880) missions and encouraged missionaries to work of the American Board of Commissioners of For- in itinerant church planting, trusting the Holy eign Missions first used the term “indigenous Spirit to develop the churches. Allen’s main prin- church” in the mid-nineteenth century. They both ciples are these: (1) All permanent teaching must wrote about the necessity of planting “three-self” be intelligible and so easily understood that churches—churches that would be self-support- those who receive it can retain it, use it, and pass ing, self-governing, and self-propagating (Venn it on. (2) All organizations should be set up in a used the term “self-extending”). They exhorted way that national Christians can maintain them. missionaries to establish churches that could sup- (3) Church finances should be provided and con- port themselves, govern themselves, and carry out trolled by the local church members. (4) Chris- a program of evangelism and missions. They cau- tians should be taught to provide pastoral care tioned missionaries about becoming absorbed in for each other. (5) Missionaries should give na- pastoring and maintaining churches, insisting tional believers the authority to exercise spiritual that the missionary’s primary task must be plant- gifts freely and at once. Allen’s principles have ing new churches that would be “self-reliant” and influenced many twentieth-century missiolo- “purely native.” They instructed their missionar- gists, most prominently Donald McGavran. ies to train national pastors and hand the care of Melvin Hodges (1909–86), a missionary and the churches over to them at the earliest opportu- mission administrator with the Assemblies of nity. Venn coupled the concept of indigenous God, wrote The Indigenous Church (1953). churches with euthanasia in missions. By eutha- Widely used in missions courses, this book ex- nasia he meant that missionaries should plant pressed the ideas of Venn, Anderson, Nevius, and churches, train leaders, and then move on to new, Allen in an updated, popular format. Hodges ac- unevangelized regions. Henry Venn believed that knowledged the difficulty missionaries experi- missionaries should always be temporary work- ence in changing a field from a subsidy approach ers, not permanent fixtures. to an indigenous approach. He also emphasized John L. Nevius (1829–93), a Presbyterian mis- training national workers and giving them re- sionary to China, built on Venn and Anderson’s sponsibility for the care of the churches, freeing indigenous principles in his classic work, Plant- the missionaries to concentrate on starting new ing and Development of Missionary Churches. Ne- churches. vius developed a set of principles that came to be In his book, Verdict Theology in Missionary The- called “The Nevius Plan”: (1) Christians should ory, Alan Tippett (1911–88) updated the three-self continue to live in their neighborhoods and pur- formula of Henry Venn. Tippett served on the fac- sue their occupations, being self-supporting and ulty of the School of World Mission at Fuller Sem- witnessing to their co-workers and neighbors. (2) inary and was a member of Donald McGavran’s Missions should only develop programs and in- inner circle. The writings of Tippett, McGavran, stitutions that the national church desired and and others show that the Church Growth Move- could support. (3) The national churches should ment accepted and built on the work of the earlier call out and support their own pastors. proponents of indigenous missions. (4) Churches should be built in the native style In Verdict Theology Tippett proposed a sixfold with money and materials given by the church description of an indigenous church: (1) Self-im- members. (5) Intensive biblical and doctrinal in- age. The church sees itself as being independent struction should be provided for church leaders from the mission, serving as Christ’s church in every year. In his writings Nevius criticized the its locality. (2) Self-functioning. The church is heavily subsidized work that most missions car- capable of carrying on all the normal functions ried on in China. Nevius’s principles had little of a church—worship, Christian education, and impact in China, but when the American Presby- so on. (3) Self-determining. This means the terians began their work in Korea, the new mis- church can and does make its own decisions. sionaries invited Nevius to advise them. They The local churches do not depend on the mission adopted his plan and enjoyed great success. to make their decisions for them. Tippett echoes Roland Allen (1868–1947), an Anglican priest, Venn in saying that the mission has to die for the served as a missionary in China with the Society church to be born. (4) Self-supporting. The for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign church carries its own financial burdens and fi- Parts from 1892 until 1904. Like Nevius, he crit- nances its own service projects. (5) Self-propaga- icized the methods employed by most missions tion. The national church sees itself as responsi- in China. He wrote several books, but expressed ble for carrying out the Great Commission. The his philosophy of indigenous missions in Mis- church gives itself wholeheartedly to evangelism sionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? (1912) and and missions. (6) Self-giving. An indigenous 32 Information Technology church knows the social needs of its community routine today. IT here refers to electronic com- and endeavors to minister to those needs. puting and communication systems employing Tippett summarizes his understanding of the digital technology, which started with the digital indigenous church with this definition: “When computer in the late 1940s and developed into the indigenous people of a community think of computer-based internetworking by the 1970s. the Lord as their own, not a foreign Christ; when In 1960, Joseph E. Grimes used a computer to they do things as unto the Lord, meeting the cul- do language analysis in Bible translation work in tural needs around them, worshipping in pat- Mexico. Other mission specialists also used com- terns they understand; when their congregations puters to analyze sociological and church statis- function in participation in a body which is tics and other data in studying religious move- structurally indigenous; then you have an indige- ments and church growth trends. David B. nous church” (136). Barrett, a missionary to Kenya doing graduate In recent years some missiologists have sug- studies in New York, used a computer to analyze gested adding a seventh mark to Tippett’s list— the data he and others had collected on more that self-theologizing. They believe a truly indigenous six thousand African independent church and re- church will develop its own theology, expressed newal movements (see African-Initiated Church in culturally appropriate ways. These theologies Movement). Results were used in Barrett’s 1968 would affirm the central doctrines of the Chris­ book, Schism and Renewal in Africa. Also in 1968, tian faith, but they would express them using data from the survey of mission agencies in metaphors and concepts that reflect their own North America were entered into a computer unique cultures. under the direction of Edward R. Dayton and Missionaries who seek to establish indigenous camera-ready pages generated for the North churches should keep these principles in mind as America Protestant Ministries Overseas Directory. they begin their work: (1) Missionaries should In 1974, information on unreached peoples plant churches with the goal in mind. This was gathered from seventy-three countries for means that the desired outcome—an indigenous the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism. church—should influence the methods em- This was stored on a computer from which an ployed. (2) There will always be a dynamic ten- Unreached Peoples Directory was printed and dis- sion between supracultural doctrines and vari- tributed to Congress participants as a work-in- able cultural traits. (3) Church planters should progress to be refined and expanded. Data about expect the churches to support themselves from the beginning. (4) Bible study groups should be the languages of the world published in the Eth- encouraged to make basic decisions even before nologue by Wycliffe Bible Translators were they organize as churches. (5) Missionaries placed on a computer so subsequent editions should encourage new congregations to evange- could be more easily updated and analyzed. lize their communities and seek opportunities to With the proliferation and the growing capac- begin new churches. (6) Missionaries should al- ity of personal computers and networks, IT sup- ways use reproducible methods of evangelism, ported activities in missions have become wide- teaching, preaching, and leadership. (7) Mission- spread. Bible translators continue to enhance aries should give priority to developing nationals specialized software used on portable computers to serve as church leaders. (8) Missionaries to speed the work of translation. Electronic mail should view themselves as temporary church is used for instant communication in many parts planters rather than permanent pastors. (9) Mis- of the world by missionaries, national workers, sionaries should resist the temptation to estab- mission executives, and those supporting mis- lish institutions and wait for the national church sionaries. Mission information about unreached to take the initiative. (10) Missionaries must peoples and other aspects of missions is avail- allow the national churches to develop theolo- able on various Internet Web sites. One can link gies and practices that are biblical yet appropri- to many of these from the Global Mapping Inter- ate in their cultural settings. national Web address (www.gmi.org) or the John Mark Terry Wheaton College Missions Department address (www.wheaton.edu/missions). Bibliography. R. Pierce Beaver, ed., To Advance the The Internet’s electronic mail and conferenc- Gospel: Selections from the Writings of Rufus Anderson; M. L. Hodges, The Indigenous Church; J. L. Nevius, ing capabilities also provide a way for those con- Planting and Development of Missionary Churches; cerned about various people groups to share in- A. Tippett, Verdict Theology in Missionary Theory; formation and ideas in an open networking M. Warren, ed., To Apply the Gospel: Selections from the mode. One of the most popular of these is the Writings of Henry Venn. Brigada Network (www.brigada.org) with more than six thousand participants receiving the Information Technology. With the dramatic weekly Brigada Today newsletter as well as being growth in the worldwide use of the Internet, involved in related online conferences of their using the tools of information technology (IT) is specific missions interest. 33 Interagency Cooperation

The Internet can also expand and extend partic- pants, thereby glorifying the creative God behind ipation in mission conferences and other mis- them. sion-related activities. During InterVarsity’s 1996 Tom A. Steffen Urbana world mission convention for students, Bibliography. L. Bush and L. Lutz, Partnering in Min- background information and daily summaries ap- istry; The Direction of World Evangelism, IJFM 11:1 peared on the Web, including audio and video (1994); J. H. Kraakevik and D. Welliver, eds., Partners in segments, for those who were not among the the Gospel: The Strategic Role of Partnership in World; 19,300 onsite delegates. This has been continued W. Sandy, Forging the Productivity Partnership; W. D. to help a new generation of students anticipate Taylor, ed., Kingdom Partnerships for Synergy in Mis- the triennial convention in 2000 (www.urbana. sions. org). John Siewert Itinerant Mission. Itinerant mission work is usually done for short periods and rapidly changes its mode of operation. Because of vari- Interagency Cooperation. While the days of ous handicaps, an itinerant missionary likely has mission agencies acting as lone rangers continue a short-term presence in the targeted context to diminish, there is still progress to be made. A and works until interrupted by government in- number of external factors will continue the tervention or the realization of the mission’s ob- push toward cooperation: the dwindling number jectives. The roving nature of the work mitigates of full-time missionaries; the increase of short-­ against establishing institutions and requires fo- termers; churches doing their own selecting, cused evangelistic and mission goals. training, sending, and mentoring; the diminish- The apostle Paul engaged in itinerant mission ing appreciation for denominations; ministry work. He went to specific locations to accom- overlap between agencies (reduplicating support plish the clear objectives of proclaiming the gos- personnel); the difficulty of fundraising for pel and establishing new churches. He was usu- workers and agency maintenance. More by ne- ally “on the move” and his tasks required him to cessity than design, interagency cooperation pro- appoint leaders and then set out for new territo- vides a solution for survival and ministry. ries and regions beyond those where he had al- Interagency cooperation includes a number of ready worked (Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 10:16). risks for those who wish to participate. Agency Historically, itinerant types of mission and boards, leaders, and personnel will worry about evangelism result from various sociopolitical re- a number of issues: Will they lose the agency’s strictions. As migrant Christians rove through- distinctive for existence? Will the agency’s mis- out the world and engage in witnessing, they per- sion statement and core values be compromised? form unintentional itinerant mission work. How can the different philosophies of ministry Intentional itinerant mission efforts may result be unified? Should they? If certain positions in when people migrate into new geographic areas. the agency are no longer necessary, what hap- In the pioneer sections of the United States pens to those who filled them? What energy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, costs will be necessary to maintain productive circuit-riding­ preachers did itinerant ministries cooperation? Who funds what? And of deeper to service areas where there were not enough concern, will their agency die? gospel laborers for the rising population. At the The trust factor figures large in interagency same time, itinerant work was necessary for cooperation. To offset some of the above con- those opening up frontier missions in the inte- rior sections of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. cerns, courting should precede the wedding con- Pioneering situations normally require self-im- tract. When they eventually say, “I do,” they say posed itinerant mission work because of limited “yes” to commitment, character, a common vi- personnel and resources. sion, costs, cooperation, and communication Since World War II, new pioneer situations over concerns, and “no” to competition and com- have emerged that are based on political circum- parison. stances rather than geographical ones. Indepen- The rewards of interagency cooperation must dent nations born in the aftermath of the Euro- move beyond survival. And they can. From the pean colonial era established laws regulating perspective of agency personnel, the pooling of foreign nationals in their countries. Often signifi- personnel and finances can meet their needs cantly sized population segments or people from recruitment to retirement much more ade- groups within these countries were historically quately. From the perspective of ministry projects resistant to Christian influence, especially if it and programs, interagency cooperation can ex- seemed to be controlled by foreign agencies. pand the kingdom of God in ways no single These governments tended to repeal or restrict agency can. Some of these efforts may be short- visas and residence permits that had been issued term, some long-term. But all processes should to those suspected to be foreign Christian mis- be driven by the unity–diversity of the partici- sionaries. 34 Jesus Film

Doing mission in these new types of frontier (e.g., Immanuel Bible Training College in Yoko- territories requires utilization of short-term visa hama), at least one of which is associated with an options or seeking long-term visas under the aus- accredited university (Tokyo Christian University pices of secular humanitarian, disaster relief, or in Chiba). Some boards and societies partner international commercial enterprises (see Cre- with churches in specific areas (e.g., Africa, the ative Access Countries). “Tentmaking” describes Philippines, Australia). Some focus on ecumeni- the way the apostle Paul supplemented his in- cal partnership, while others emphasize social come while doing itinerant mission work (Acts issues such as peace and hunger. 20:33–34). Modern tentmakers employ their J. Nelson Jennings skills and talents to achieve as permanent a sta- Bibliography. L. M. Douglas, ed., World Christianity: tus as possible in politically restricted countries Oceania; OW; J. H. Kane, A Global View of Christian by working for these secular enterprises. Often Missions: From Pentecost to the Present; R. V. J. Wind- they draw their livelihood from their secular sor, ed., World Dictionary of Missionary Training Pro- work, though this is not inherent to the tentmak- grams, 2d ed. ing concept. Because their visa status is still short-term, the duration of the work is equally Jesus Film. In recent decades the Jesus film has short. Itinerant missionaries must achieve their emerged as one of the primary tools for evange- evangelistic, discipling, and church-planting ob- lism throughout the world. The film is a two- jectives with optimum results in as expeditious a hour motion picture based on the Gospel of manner as possible. Luke. A vision of Campus Crusade for Christ Keith E. Eitel founder Bill Bright, it was developed in cooper- Bibliography. R. Allen, Missionary Methods St. ation with the Genesis Project and produced by Paul’s or Ours; D. Barrett and T. M. Johnston, Our John Heyman in 1978. Globe and How to Reach It; V. D. Garrison, The Nonres- The initial theatrical release was handled by idential Missionary. Warner Brothers. Having opened in 2,000 the- aters in North America, the Jesus film was soon Japanese Mission Boards and Societies. Ja- sold to television cable networks throughout the pan’s Christian missionary outreach—surprisingly world. By 1998 it had already been dubbed in substantial for a country whose Christian popula- more than 450 languages spoken by 85 percent of tion remains at about 1 percent of the total—can the world’s population. Another 200 versions were be connected to its historical position in relation in process. The eventual goal of over 1,000 lan- to other countries. In the pre–World War II period guages will potentially allow over 98 percent of Japanese Christian missionaries went out to vari- the world to hear the gospel in their mother ous colonies within the expanding Japanese Em- tongue. pire (e.g., Taiwan) after its 1894–95 victorious war The Jesus Film Project, a ministry of Campus with China, to Korea after its annexation in 1910, Crusade for Christ, coordinates showings in then to protectorates granted by the League of more than 220 countries. A variety of methods Nations after World War I (e.g., parts of Microne- are used, including 35-millimeter showings in sia). In other words, Japanese churches sent mis- commercial theaters; 16-millimeter showings in sionaries to work within Japanese-controlled do- rural areas when portable screens, projectors, mains. and generators need to be provided; national, re- The current period of missionary outreach is gional, and local television releases; and video- very much associated with Japan’s postwar eco- cassettes placed in rental shops and libraries or nomic growth, beginning in the 1960s. The delivered home to home by church workers. Dis- United Church, Overseas Medical Co-operative tributed by more than 700 ministries and church Service, Holiness Church, and Evangelical Mis- agencies, the film has been seen by over one bil- sionary Society spearheaded the earlier postwar lion people. At showings where an invitation to efforts. Much of this outreach was to Japanese receive Christ could be offered, 50 million deci- people living abroad. Currently there is more of sions had been indicated by 1997. an international quality to the missions move- The widespread acceptability of the film to the ment, in terms both of the sending-equipping Christian community is probably due to its scrip- agencies in Japan and of the places in which the tural base. Jesus speaks no words outside of 269 (1993) missionaries from Japan are working. those found in the Bible. A related factor is the Various international mission boards and societ- film’s accuracy. Five years of research went into ies have offices in Japan (e.g., Wycliffe) for rais- the preparation for the production. More than ing up personnel, finances, and prayer support. four hundred scholars evaluated the script. Each There are organizations for coordinating commu- scene was filmed as close as possible to the loca- nication between mission agencies and through- tion where the original action took place two out the Christian community in Japan. There are thousand years ago. The biblical approach and interdenominational missionary training centers the selection of the actor to portray Jesus were of 35 Korean Mission Boards and Societies primary importance. After scores of screen tests sionaries sent from South Korea, working in Brian Deacon, a Christian Shakespearean actor Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, from England, was selected for the role of Jesus. Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Ethiopia, Okinawa, All of the remaining actors came from Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Brunei, and America where the film was made. (1976, 124). But it was not until the early 1980s The enthusiastic acceptance of the film by so that there was an explosive increase in the num- many viewers from such diverse cultures is due ber of Korean Christians sent as missionaries. to four primary factors. First, the film is a docu- The Antioch News documents the explosion of drama of first-century Palestine. Many relate to numerical growth of Korean missionaries sent this presentation because they live in that rural by denominations, local churches, and pa- type of culture where people still fish and farm ra-church and mission organizations (excluding for a living. Second, the film reaches people who those sent to America; Kim, 1998, 6). The num- cannot read. Third, that many people have never bers increased from 323 in 1982, to 1,645 in seen a film in their own language gives the film a 1990, 3,272 in 1994, and 5,804 in 1998. strong impact. Fourth, most non-Westerners are With this rapid growth has come the dilemma concrete thinkers. They receive Jesus not only of how Koreans can most effectively be trained because he is the Savior, but because he has and enabled to work with other missionaries for power over nature, evil spirits, sickness, and the kingdom and the task of world evangeliza- death. tion. Paul E. Eshleman Issues of Concern and the Korean Mission- Bibliography. P. E. Eshleman, I Just Saw Jesus; ary Effort. There is no doubt that Korean Chris- idem, The Touch of Jesus. tians have a strong evangelistic spirit. They want to plant churches and do missions. But too often Korean Mission Boards and Societies. The their understanding of missions is limited to story of church growth in Korea has been well “soul saving” and the ministry of the Word. Ko- known throughout the world, but its missionary rean missionaries need a better balance of both work has not been as widely reported. From the the ministries of the word and deed, without beginning, the Korean church has been a mis- making a sharp separation between the two. But sionary church, particularly since the Presbyte- to do this requires that Koreans think again rian Church in Korea was set up as a self-govern- about the place of God in missions, or the theol- ing, independent church in 1907. As of March ogy of missions. 1998, there were over 5,800 Korean missionaries Second, with the explosion of growth in num- in 152 countries (Kim, 1988, 6). bers of Korean missionaries since the early Rise of the Missionary Movement in the Ko- 1980s, too many missionaries have been sent rean Church. In 1907, during the culmination of without being properly selected or trained. There Korea’s first great awakening, seven men were or- is an urgent need to give immediate attention to dained by the first Presbyterian Church in Korea this deficiency in working with missionary can- and one of them, Ki-Poong Yi, was sent as a mis- didates, moving them from their monocultural sionary to the Island of Quelpart (Chaejudo) in background to being cross-cultural people. 1907. In 1909, Suk-Jin Han was sent to Japan, Third, it is sad to see how the abundance of fi- and three ordained missionaries were sent to nances has kept many Korean Christians from a Shantung, China in 1913 (Rhodes, 1934, 392–95): childlike dependence on God in their ministry Tai-Ro Park, Pyung-Soon Sa, and Young-Hoon and from cooperating with other missionaries, Kim. Also, the Korean church did the work of denominations, and churches in their mission- missions in such places as Siberia, Hawaii, Mex- ary efforts. Korean missionaries tend to use their ico, Mongolia, Manchuria, and America, working finances to recruit nationals and new converts to with both the Korean diaspora and the nationals, work together in evangelizing and planting in spite of losing their sovereignty, language, and churches. However, they may do so at the cost of names and suffering severe persecution under corrupting these “innocent” people, a reality ob- Japanese Colonial Rule (1907–45). From 1902 to served earlier by John L. Nevius in China and 1945, the Korean church sent a total of 120 mis- more recently seen in the Philippines. sionaries. Finally, the early Korean missionaries cooper- The contemporary face of the Korean church ated and worked together with the Western mis- and its involvement in missions has gone sionaries and the host churches as partners. through a drastic change from those early days. Presently, however, there are a growing number The Korean War (1950–53) divided Korea and of Korean missionaries who work independently the strength of Korean Christianity moved from with little or no consultation with other mission- North to South. Samuel I. Kim has noted that aries and national churches in their location of from 1953 to 1976 there were a total of 234 mis- ministry. Missionaries of all nations need each 36 Latin American Mission Boards and Societies other, and Korean missionaries in particular international mission force, generally relying on must learn (or perhaps relearn) to partner and to North American or European funds and leader- work cooperatively for the kingdom. ship. Student movements associated with the In- The Korean church, as a missionary church, ternational Fellowship of Evangelical Students can make great and unique contributions to the (IFES) pioneered missionary conventions to missionary movement of the church in the twen- challenge students to become involved in mis- ty-first century if it can solve these dilemmas. sions in their own countries or abroad. The First Timothy Kiho Park Latin American Missionary Congress gathered five hundred university students and graduates Bibliography. C. K. Kim, ed., Antioch News, 3:22 from all over Latin America in Curitiba, Brazil, (March 1988); S. I. Kim, New Forces in Missions, pp. in January 1976. Sponsored by the IFES related 121–30; H. A. Rhodes, ed., History of the Korea Mission: Alianza Bíblica Universitaria do Brasil (Inter Var- Presbyterian Church U.S.A. 1884–1934. sity of Brazil), this congress produced the “Declaracao de Curitiba” (a missiological mani- Latin American Mission Boards and Societies. festo) and several of the participants volunteered Very early after the arrival of evangelicals in Latin for missionary service in rural Latin America, America a missionary impulse among Latin Angola, and Italy. Operation Mobilization was Americans took them as missionaries to remote also active in providing vision and missionary areas of their countries as well as to other coun- education to Latin American young people, re- tries and continents. The roots of missionary cruiting selected volunteers for work and travel work in pietist and revivalist movements empha- in the ships Doulos and Logos. Mexican univer- sized the priesthood of all believers and created sity graduates related to these movements structures that facilitated it, in open contrast to started “Proyecto Magreb,” later on “PM Interna- the priest-centered life of predominant Roman tional,” to reach the Muslim world from a base Catholicism. There are records of spontaneous in Spain. In July 1987, several organizations and missionary activity of Chileans from the Method- individuals sponsored COMIBAM in São Paulo, ist Pentecostal revival of 1911, going as missionar- Brazil. COMIBAM and the Latin American Theo- ies to Argentina beginning in 1925. Argentinean logical Fraternity are working successfully to Baptists sent Maximino Fernández as a mission- bring missiological components into theological ary to start work in Paraguay in 1919. Puerto education. Even churches and countries that Rican Baptists sent Santiago Soto-Fontánez as a went through critical days because of political missionary to El Salvador, and Eduardo Carlos violence have been the source of a missionary Pereyra from Brazil crusaded for the cause of thrust such as AMEN (Evangelical Association missions among Presbyterians in his country. for Mission to the Nations) in Peru, an indige- These cases are examples of two missionary pat- nous faith mission that sent missionaries to En- terns that originated in Latin America. First, the gland and France in the 1970s and used “Keryg- migration pattern to and from neighboring coun- ma”—a folk music team—to generate interest tries became a vehicle used by tentmakers as a and funds for their venture. Indigenous sending way of carrying on missionary work. This has de- agencies have also developed in Costa Rica and veloped significantly in recent years, when for po- Guatemala. In this fourth pattern, leadership, litical or economic reasons thousands of Latin funding, and management is entirely in Latin Americans have emigrated to North America, Eu- American hands though funds may also be rope, and Australia, or have gone as technicians raised from churches planted by its missionaries and professionals to work in the Muslim world. in North America and Europe. There are an in- There are thousands of evangelicals from Latin creasing number of Latin American missionaries America working in Japan, many of whom get in- going to Spain either to work there or to use it as volved as missionary volunteers in that country. a base and training ground to prepare missionar- Second, organized denominational mission ies to Muslim countries of North Africa and Cen- boards following the model of North American tral Asia. Research completed in late 1977 shows missions developed especially in Argentina, a total of four hundred Latin American mission Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil. Mainly denomi- sending agencies and approximately four thou- nations that were financially strong and well or- sand missionaries. ganized have managed to continue this model. In recent years Roman Catholics have intensi- After World War II, a large number of conser- fied the promotion of missionary vocations vative evangelical faith missions came to Latin through Missionary Congresses that meet every America and some of them created a third pat- other year. This has been coordinated by DEMIS, tern for the channeling of missionary vocations the Missions Department of the Conference of among Latin Americans. Organizations such as Latin American Bishops (CELAM). Among Cath- the Latin America Mission, Wycliffe Bible Trans- olic missiologists there is concern because while lators, Operation Mobilization, and Youth with a almost 50 percent of the Catholics of the world Mission incorporated Latin Americans into their live in Latin America, only 2 percent of their 37 March for Jesus total missionary force comes from that region. Bibliography. S. Hawthorne and G. Kendrick, The Comboni order from Italy has been the most Prayer-Walking: Praying on Site with Insight; “March for active in missionary education and promotion. Jesus” Web site (http://www.mfj.org). Some of the problems of channeling missionary fervor into action that Protestants face are solved Mass Communication. It has been said that the among Catholics through the traditional mis- Reformation would have been impossible with- sionary orders such as Jesuits, Franciscans, and out Gutenberg’s invention of printing with mov- Dominicans. These are truly international in able type, which made literature available to the membership, leadership, and fund raising, and common person. The various forms of mass facilitate the inclusion of Latin Americans in Media also seem to have been providentially pro- their ranks, in order to do missionary work in vided by God for world evangelization, and have other parts of the world. played a major role in modern missions. Print. The “father of modern missions,” Wil- Samuel Escobar liam Carey, set the tone with his emphasis on Bibliography. W. D. Taylor, ed., Internationalizing publication and distribution of the Scriptures Missionary Training; J. D. Woodberry, C. Van Engen, and other literature. He and his colleagues pro- and E. J. Elliston, eds., Missiological Education for the duced nearly 40 translations of the Bible or por- 21st Century. tions thereof in languages of South Asia, along with a great number of tracts and other Christian March for Jesus. Modeled after the biblical materials. A fellow member of the “Serampore image of Jesus’ triumphal procession into Jeru- Trio,” William Ward, was an experienced printer salem, the first prayer and praise marches were and newspaper editor who operated a mission organized to take worship experiences into the press. streets. In May of 1987, several groups joined to- Similarly, other pioneers saw Bible Transla- gether to organize a rally in London. In spite of tion and literature distribution as a key to reach- inclement weather, some 15,000 turned out. The ing the masses for Christ (see Literacy, Litera- following year saw 55,000 join in, and the orga- ture Mission Work). Robert Morrison, who nizers, including song-writer Graham Kendrick, arrived in Canton, China, in 1807, not only trans- developed plans for multiple marches through- lated the entire Bible into Mandarin, but also out Britain. Marches for Jesus were held in 45 published the Shorter Catechism and part of the cities in 1989, and over 600 in 1990. That same Book of Common Prayer, along with a number of year, the first Marches for Jesus were held in the pamphlets. Two of Morrison’s colleagues were United States in Austin, Texas, with some 1,500 printers, and one, William Milne, set up a press participating. The following year two marches in Malacca. were held in Texas (Austin and Houston) where Early efforts to evangelize the Middle East in- 22,000 were involved. The organization went na- cluded a printing press in Malta, donated in 1822 tionwide, and on May 23, 1992, there were some by the Old South Church of Boston, to publish 142 marches around the United States. Interna- tracts and Scriptures for distribution in the re- gion. Similar stories could be told of almost tionally there were 25 marches in European every place in the world. countries. The movement became a global event By 1921, according to Arthur J. Brown, some in 1993 when, on June 12, an estimated 1.7 mil- 160 presses run by Protestant missions were lion Christians in some 850 cities participated in churning out 400 million pages per year. Today every continent. The largest single march was in there are major Christian publishing houses in Sao Paulo, where some 300,000 took part. June almost every corner of the globe. Most missions 25, 1994, was the first official global March for and national churches use literature extensively Jesus, with 10 million in 178 nations participat- for evangelism as well as education of believers. ing. In 1996, an estimated 2 million took part in Books, periodicals, Sunday school materials, the march in Sao Paulo alone. pamphlets, and tracts continue to be published The tone of the marches has been typically by the millions in hundreds of languages. Mis- that of love and unity across denominational sionary organizations which work primarily with barriers and a focus on worship. Rather than the printed page include Christian Literature confronting non-Christians, the marchers seek to Crusade, Every Home for Christ, Operation Mo- celebrate the reality of their love for Jesus in a bilization, the various Bible Societies, and many tangible and positive way. As a display of Chris- more. Among many recent innovative efforts is tian unity and statement of Jesus’ kingship over Amity Press, set up by the United Bible Societies all the earth, Marches for Jesus stand as signifi- in China with government approval, which has cant events in mission at the end of the twentieth printed over seven million Chinese Bibles and century. New Testaments. Also, several evangelistic maga- A. Scott Moreau zines such as Step and African Challenge in Africa 38 Mass Communication and Prisma in Mexico are reaching the secular World Federation, was confiscated by the revolu- market. tionary government of Ethiopia in 1977, after 14 Desktop publishing and computer typesetting years of outreach and a $2 million investment. have revolutionized literature production, espe- Also in 1977 the government of Burundi closed cially in non-Western alphabets. Radio Cordac, a joint effort of several missions. Electronic Media. Radio began as “wireless The recent civil war in Liberia resulted in major telegraphy” at the turn of the century, with the damage to equipment and forced temporary first commercial audio broadcasts in the U.S. evacuation of ELWA staff. starting in 1919. Only ten years later, Ruben Lar- In addition to the large international and son and Clarence Jones began efforts to use the multi-lingual radio ministries, an estimated fledgling medium to reach the world with the 3,200 local stations worldwide are operated by gospel (see also Radio Mission Work). Against missions, local churches, or lay Christians. the best technical advice at the time, which said Thousands of hours of gospel programming also radio would not work in the mountains or near go out each week on secular stations. Recent po- the equator, they were led to locate in Quito, Ec- litical changes in both western and eastern Eu- uador, where the Voice of the Andes, HCJB, went rope have opened new doors for local gospel on the air on Christmas Day, 1931. It became a broadcasting in many countries where a few voice heard literally around the world. Today years ago it was totally impossible. HCJB and its affiliated stations broadcast in 39 One new thrust in international radio outreach languages, reaching Europe and the Far East as is “The World by 2000,” a joint project of WRMF/ well as Latin America. In addition to the out- HCJB, FEBC, TWR, and ELWA, whose purpose is reach within and from Ecuador, World Radio to provide programming in the language of every Missionary Fellowship (WRMF), HCJB’s parent major unreached people group. The initial goal organization, operates a string of stations along was 144 new languages. Satellite networks like the Texas border which reach the northern areas the HCJB/TWR ALAS (WINGS) make program- of Mexico, one of the few Latin American coun- ming available to local Christian and secular sta- tries that restricts gospel broadcasting. tions. If and when direct satellite broadcasting A second missionary radio giant began just becomes feasible, missionary broadcasters will after World War II. John Broger, a former Navy undoubtedly be at the forefront. officer, and Robert Bowman and William Rob- Missionary radio pioneer HCJB also built the erts, both involved in pioneer radio ministries in first missionary television station (see also Tele- the U.S., formed the Far East Broadcasting Com- vision Evangelism). The Window of the Andes pany (FEBC) in December 1945. Although they went on the air in Quito in 1961. Latin America, had planned to set up a station in China, the Lord with relatively free access, has seen a prolifera- directed them to Manila, where DZAS, “The Call tion of Christian TV channels, while in parts of of the Orient,” began transmitting in 1948. Today Africa and Europe evangelicals have been able to FEBC and its associate organization, FEBA (Far get time, sometimes free of charge, on govern- East Broadcasting Associates), operate over 30 ment stations. Organizations like the U.S.-based stations in the Philippines, Saipan, South Korea, Christian Broadcasting Network (700 Club) buy the Seychelles, and other locations, broadcasting time on hundreds of TV outlets and cable ser- in some 100 languages. vices worldwide. Evangelists such as Billy Gra- Trans World Radio, founded by Dr. Paul Freed, ham and Luis Palau have held continent or grew out of a vision for reaching Spain with the worldwide media crusades; the Graham one- gospel via radio. Freed was able to lease a fre- hour program, “Starting Over,” aired in April quency in the international city of Tangier, in 1996, was seen by an estimated 2.5 billion people North Africa. The Voice of Tangier went on the in over 200 countries, using 48 languages. air in 1954 with a 2500-watt war surplus trans- Radio and television are powerful tools which mitter, broadcasting to Europe. With Morocco’s have taken the gospel to hundreds of millions of independence in 1959, operations were moved to people, many in limited-access countries or iso- Monte Carlo. Today TWR broadcasts from high- lated locations. The estimated total of 1.2 billion power stations in Monaco, Guam, Bonaire, Swa- receivers means radio has the potential of reach- ziland, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, and Albania, as well as ing well over 90 percent of the world’s popula- leasing time on commercial stations in various tion. The widespread use of radio by the govern- countries. Recording studios all over the world ments of countries like Russia and China for provide programming in over 90 languages. internal communications has paved the way for Other major international radio ministries in- missionary broadcasts to those peoples. clude ELWA, in Liberia, West Africa, founded in Nevertheless, like all media, radio and TV have 1954 by SIM International; IBRA (Sweden); and their limitations. “Potential audience” is usually Voice of Hope in Lebanon. Another high-power very different from actual listeners. The effective- international station in Africa, RVOG, the Radio ness of short-wave has declined as local stations Voice of the Gospel, operated by the Lutheran become more widespread. Further, atmospheric 39 Miracles in Mission conditions can severely affect propagation, and Areas of Interface between the Miraculous ever more powerful transmitters are required to and Mission. Missions interface with the mirac- keep up with the competition. ulous in evangelism, healing, deliverance, and Perhaps an even greater challenge is to provide other areas. attractive, culturally relevant programming, par- The Miraculous and Evangelism. All evange- ticularly with television, where dubbed versions lism is miraculous but in missions today individ- of U.S. shows have more often than not been the uals and groups are opened to the gospel in ways norm. Keeping the home constituency satisfied that can only be miraculous. The history of may conflict with ministry effectiveness; witness Christianity is replete with accounts of people dictation-speed Bible readings for people learn- movements that obviously were instigated and ing English—in the King James Version. promoted by the Holy Spirit. Recordings. Gospel Recordings was founded Some contemporary missionaries consider in 1941 by Joy Ridderhof, a former missionary warfare prayer and the “binding” of territorial to Honduras, to let people throughout the world spirits as a major method in evangelistic activi- hear God’s Word in their own language. By 1955 ties. C. Peter Wagner defines Territorial Spir- over one million 78 rpm records have been pro- its as members of the hierarchy of evil spirits duced. Victrola-type players were simplified to who, delegated by Satan, control regions, cities, the finger-operated, cardboard “Cardtalk” which tribes, people groups, neighborhoods, and other required no batteries or repair parts. The vinyl social networks and inhibit evangelistic break- record has been largely replaced by cassettes, through. John Duncan and Edgardo Silvoso re- and there are now gospel recordings in over four count how, in Argentina, after prayer, fasting, thousand languages. confession, and confronting territorial spirits, Cassettes are being used in many areas of the the Lord granted a marvelous gospel break- mission field for both evangelism and teaching, through. John Wimber, who believes in “power particularly in areas of low literacy. Unlike radio, evangelism” and miracles in evangelism, does the message can be listened to repeatedly and at not hold miracles necessary for evangelism. He any hour. Rugged, hand-cranked players are sees proclamation of the gospel as the “heart and available for remote areas. soul” of evangelism. Film. The lantern slides used by missionaries The Miraculous and Healing. God has used in the early part of the century were replaced by healing to reveal the truth of his message 16mm films and then video. Moody Science throughout history. The Lord has healed through films and dramatic movies produced by groups the prophets (2 Kings 5:1–16), Jesus (Mark 1:40– such as Billy Graham have been widely trans- 41; John 4:46–54), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), lated and distributed. There has been some effort New Testament believers (Acts 14:3), and Chris- toward culturally relevant productions using tian missionaries today. God continues to per- Third World artists and settings. Cinema vans form miracles of healing, both to meet the phys- draw large open-air crowds in Africa, Latin ical needs of suffering people and to reveal the America, and other parts of the world. Deserving truth of his message. special mention is the Jesus Film, the most Belief in divine healing in no way prohibits widely seen movie in cinematic history, which using modern medicine and using modern medi- has been dubbed into more than 450 languages cine does not indicate a lack of faith in God’s and seen by more than one billion people. power to heal. Missions today should allow God to speak both through modern medicine and Steve Sywulka God’s direct healing action. Bibliography. B. Armstrong, The Electric Church; The Miraculous and Deliverance. Demons (evil B. Siedell, Gospel Radio; V. B. Søgaard, Everything You spirits, powers) exist and harm, but do not pos- Need to Know for a Cassette Ministry. sess in the sense of owning, human beings, whether believers or unbelievers. Jesus and New Miracles in Mission. Contemporary mission en- Testament Christians expelled demons from per- deavor cannot and should not seek to avoid the sons (Matt. 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Acts 5:16; subject of supernatural power and the miracu- 16:16–18). Contemporary missionaries face ex- lous. Neither, on the other hand, should missions panding needs and opportunities to oppose evil today become obsessed with or distressed over spirits who demonize persons. Deliverance from the power and activity of evil beings under Sa- evil spirits has become a growing phenomenon tan’s control, nor over those who teach about among evangelical missionaries. Demons who them. The Bible teaches Christ’s victory over all attack people can be expelled and rendered pow- the Powers (authorities), Principalities (rulers), erless through God’s power (see also Demons, De- dominions, and demons (1 Cor. 2:6; 15:24; Eph. monization; Exorcism; and Spiritual Warfare). 1:15–23; Col. 1:15–20, 2:15; 2 Thess. 2:8; Heb. The Miraculous and Other Manifestations. 2:14). Mission today needs to rest assured that Miracles today are evidenced in tongues, knowl- God still can and does work miracles. edge, visions, and other areas (1 Cor. 12–14). 40 Missionary

These manifestations, questioned by some, indi- Mission on Six Continents. The Commission on cate to others the direct action of God. Mission- World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the aries must deal honestly and directly with these World Council of Churches held its first world manifestations. conference at Mexico City in December 1963. It Principles Relating to Missions and the Mi- affirmed that the old unidirectional model of raculous. Several principles relate to miracles Westerners sending and non-Westerners receiv- and missionary work. First, missionaries should ing missionaries was past. Disavowing the anti- welcome the aid of miracles and other manifes- quated paternalistic structures, the CWME de- tations of Signs and Wonders in missionary clared under the caption “mission in six ministry. In regard to supernatural power and continents,” that the emphasis should be that the miraculous, missionaries must be careful God’s mission could now originate from every never to be materialists, disbelieving in supernat- part of the world. Every part of the world had ural powers, nor magicians, thinking supernatu- been implanted with the church and therefore ral powers can be controlled by ritual (see was capable of sending mission agents to any Magic). other part of the world. Mission belonged to the Second, missionaries must affirm that mira- essence of the church, and the paganism (or cles, signs, and wonders are not necessary for neo-paganism) of the West constituted as much evangelism or other missionary work. The Holy a mission challenge as the paganism of countries Spirit continues to grant evangelistic fruit where far away from the West ever did. Indeed, the there are no outward signs of miracles. Signs and Western world now needed to realize what wonders can, however, be instrumental in help- non-Western Christians could do to help its peo- ing people become more willing to hear the gos- ple find meaningful faith in God. pel. The new theological emphasis alerted the Third, missionaries must accept that healing is church in every continent to recognize its mis- not always God’s plan for every person. God sionary calling within its own environment. It speaks through suffering as well as through heal- challenged the traditional one-way traffic in mis- ing. Missionaries should not, therefore, promise sion and denied that Westerners were the most healing as God remains sovereign in granting authentic representatives of Christian belief, life, healing. and practice. As Johannes Verkuyl pointed out, Fourth, missionaries must also remember that it discarded the distinction between mission (in power resides in the gospel itself, not in miracles distant lands) and evangelism (in one’s own (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18). Missionaries must be land) and challenged churches everywhere to certain never to make miracles seem imperative focus on the one world, which is in need of the for missionary effectiveness. They must remem- gospel. An assumption here was that Partner- ber that miracles, like all other Christian deeds, ships and reciprocity are to characterize relation- must glorify God rather than calling attention to ships between Christians from all parts of the humans. When miracles are used to bring fame world. and notoriety to humans, these “signs” are not of The slogan was a milestone of twentieth-­ God. Christians may be seen doing miracles but century mission theology. It maintained currency never be doing miracles to be seen. for a few decades in ecumenical circles. Finally, missionaries should remember that A. Christopher Smith miraculous events are not always of God. Pha­ raoh’s magicians did signs (Exod. 7:10–22) as did Bibliography. R. K. Orchard, ed., Witness in Six Satan (2 Thess. 2:9). Jesus declared that false Continents: Records of the CWME of the WCC Mexico prophets would perform miracle (Matt. 24:24). City 1963; J. Verkuyl, Contemporary Missiology: An Introduction. Missionaries must beware of counterfeit mira- cles. Missionaries must remember that signs and wonders function to convey truth, especially di- Missionary. Few terms within the evangelical vine compassion. The purpose of signs is that missiological vocabulary generate more diverse people apprehend the message the signs bring definitions. For some, “everybody is a mission- rather than dwell on the signs themselves. ary,” but Stephen Neill is right in saying that if everybody is a missionary, nobody is a mission- Ebbie C. Smith ary. A few argue that a select category of persons Bibliography. C. E. Arnold, Ephesians: Power and are honored with this title; but still others dis- Magic; idem, Powers of Darkness; D. Bridge, Signs and card it totally and substitute “apostolic messen- Wonders Today; J. Dawson, Taking Our Cities for God; ger” instead. N. Geisler, Signs and Wonders; P. G. Hiebert, Anthropo- The Biblical Root and Uses. In the New Testa- logical Reflections on Missiological Issues; D. Powlison, Power Encounters; E. Rommen, ed., Spiritual Power ment the Greek term apostellom (with a related and Missions; T. M. Warner, Spiritual Warfare; C. P. one, pempo)m emerges in two major categories: as Wagner, Engaging the Enemy; C. P. Wagner, and F. D. a broadly used verb, the sending in one form or Pennoyer, eds., Wrestling with Dark Angels. another and by different senders (132 times), and 41 Missionary as a more specifically used noun, the apostolic thirteenth century, and later other orders. This person (80 times). The senders (either verb or was established in 1622 when the Congregation noun) include a variety of people (including a for the Propagation of the Faith was instituted. negative one, Herod; Matt. 2:16), God (John Hoffman writes, “According to the letters patent 20:21), Christ (Luke 9:2), the church (Acts 15:27), it gave to apostolic laborers overseas, missionar- the Spirit (pempo min Acts 13:4). The sent ones in- ies were those sent to announce the Gospel of clude the Spirit (1 Peter 1:23), Christ (Matt. Jesus Christ, to teach the gentiles to observe 10:40; John 20:21), the apostles (Mark 3:15; Luke whatever the Roman Catholic Church com- 6:12–16), other authorized representatives of the mands, to propagate the Catholic Faith, and to churches (2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25; Rom. 16:7), an- forewarn of the universal judgment.” Today Cath- gels (Rev. 1:1), and servants or employees (Acts olics use the terms missionary, missioner, mis- 10:17). The core New Testament meaning clus- sionate, and mission apostolate in a variety of ters around ideas related to sending and or cross- ways, including “. . . anyone engaged in some ing lines, to those being sent, the sent ones— manner in the establishment of the Church whether messengers or the Twelve, or the others where it had not been established,” as well as who serve with some kind of apostolic authority teachers, medical personnel, agronomists and or function. The New Testament affirms that the others serving holistically. Within Catholicism the apostolic messenger (the missionary) becomes broadest meaning is now also applied “. . . to all the person authoritatively sent out by God and apostolic Christians collaborating with Christ in the church on a special mission with a special bringing about the total redemption of all man- message, with particular focus on the Gentiles/ kind, and indeed of all created nature . . . in a nations. word, all those engaging in the mission of bring- Other Jewish records show this term (a deriva- ing Christ to all being and all being to Christ.” tive of the Hebrew saliah) describing authorized The Protestant Reformation, partially in reac- messengers sent into the diaspora: to collect tion to the Roman positions, minimized the term funds for Jewish uses; or taking letters from and concept of the missionary. It reemerged with Jews or Jewish centers with instructions and greater significance within German Pietism at warnings, including how to deal with resistance. Halle, itself a reaction to the Reformation excess. The New Testament adopts some of these ideas, Thus the Moravians used the term for their as well as a broader one from Greek culture with broad-spectrum enterprise, and then it was ad- the concept of divine authorization. It then in- opted by Carey, Judson, Morrison, and Living- jects new meaning into the missionary apostles stone and their successors. (life-long service, Spirit-empowered, with partic- The Term Used Today. We have mentioned the ular focus on the missionary task) referring to the original Twelve (plus Paul) as well as other diverse Catholic uses of this term. In secular cir- authorized messengers. This is the core of the cles the term “mission” still has a variety of uses: Christian apostolic person and function. There is diplomatic, commercial, or military missions. no evidence of this office being authoritatively Some Protestants have argued for their own par- passed on from generation to generation. ticular coinage applied in the broadest way for The Term through Church History. Ironically all Christian activity as “mission” and subse- as the Latin language takes over Bible use and quently all Christians are missionaries. Some church life, its synonym, mitto, becomes the evangelicals use the slogan “everybody is a mis- dominant word. From mitto we derive the En­ sionary” to reject an apparent special category, glish word “missionary.” Therefore an “accident” but also because they desire to universalize mis- of linguistic history has replaced the original sionary responsibility. Greek concept with all of its richness and depth. Singaporean Jim Chew encourages us to sub- In the immediate post-apostolic era, the term stitute “cross-cultural messenger.” To him, this was used of itinerant ministers, and in that form special servant “ . . . is not a temporary but an was known to Irenaeus and Tertullian. James abiding necessity for the life of the church, pro- Scherer argues that there is no New Testament vided always that the movement of mission is connection that would utilize apostolic concepts multidirectional, all churches both sending and and functions in the corporate life of the receiving.” However, Chew sustains the position churches of that later period. “The functions of that “missionary” is simply a generic term for all the apostolate were merged into the corporate Christians doing everything the church does in ministry of the church.” service to the Kingdom of God. We do a disser- Roman Catholic usage emerged by 596 when vice to the “missionary” by universalizing its use. Gregory the Great sent the Benedictine monk Au- While all believers are witnesses and kingdom gustine of Canterbury to lead a missionary dele- servants, not all are missionaries. We do not gation to the British Isles. The Roman Church glamorize or exalt the missionary, or ascribe also used the term in reference to their orders (as higher honor in life or greater heavenly reward, sent ones), starting with the Franciscans in the and neither do we create an artificial office. 42 Money

This focused conclusion comes from a biblical work in areas of endemic poverty will of neces- theology of vocations (God has given us diverse sity have to face more realistically if they are to vocations and all are holy, but not all the same); be true partners in the global missionary task. a theology of gifts (not all are apostles nor all A. Scott Moreau speak in tongues—1 Cor. 12:29) and therefore not all Christians are missionaries; and a theol- Bibliography. J. J. Bonk, Missions and Money: Afflu- ence as a Western Missionary Problem. ogy of callings (the Triune God sovereignly calls some to this position and task; see Missionary Call). These men and women are cross-cultural Money. The fact and scale of Western money workers who serve within or without their na- constitutes a major barrier to cross-cultural tional boundaries, and they will cross some kind transmission of the gospel, all the more so be- of linguistic, cultural, or geographic barriers as cause chains of affluence may prevent discern- authorized sent ones. ment of their evil effects. For example, a major William David Taylor cause of conflict according to the Epistle of James is covetousness. Historically, Western Bibliography. D. Müller, NIDNTT; 1:126–35; Christian missionary outreach was undertaken J. Chew, When You Cross Cultures; T. Hale, On Being a in tandem with an insatiable quest in the West to Missionary; J. H. Kane, Understanding Christian Mis- control global resources, a process which began sion, 3rd ed.; R. Hoffman, NCE 9:907; G. W. Peters, A Biblical Theology of Missions; J. A. Scherer, Missionary, during centuries of the slave trade and colonial Go Home! expansion of the West, and which continues through multinational corporations and interna- Missionary Affluence. A relatively unexamined tional agencies such as the World Bank and In- element of recent missionary life and work has ternational Monetary Fund. These chains also been the affluence of Western missionaries in lead to the worship of false gods. In a pastoral comparison with the majority of the world’s peo- message to North American churches, Bishop ples among whom they work. The development Oscar Romero of El Salvador (1917–80) wrote in of great personal wealth in the West over the 1979 that the idolatry of wealth and private past few centuries and the cultural assumptions property inclines persons toward “having more” inherent with that wealth have been paralleled and lessens their interest in “being more.” It is by the development of like assumptions and ex- this absolutism that supports structural violence pectations of appropriate missionary lifestyles and oppression of people (Voice of the Voiceless, and capabilities. Wealthy missionaries, as Bonk 173). Elsewhere Romero wrote that the god of rightly points out, find it difficult at best to truly money forces us to turn our backs on the God of incarnate Christ among the destitute of the Christianity. As people want the god of money, world, as the gap between them is simply too big many reproach the church and kill movements and the wealthy have too much to lose by letting that try to destroy false idols. go of that to which they cling. The analysis of James and the prophetic warn- It does not matter that missionaries, by West- ings of Romero are but two portrayals of how ern standards, are generally on the lower end of money is a problem to those throughout the the socioeconomic scale. What does matter is world struggling to incarnate the gospel. Mission that all too often those among whom they work activity cannot take place without money, but see the missionaries as having access to personal money poses at least three challenges. First, the and institutional wealth of which the indigenous affluent, including those who live privileged lives population can only dream. Often, however, it is among the poor, must take into account teach- not just a question of the amount of income; ings of the Bible on the subject of the poor, the even missionaries who live at low income levels wealthy, and the consequences of acquisitive- can still communicate a materialistic worldview, ness. Second, Western missionaries have worked and those who have wealth can communicate from positions of power and Missionary Afflu- genuine lack of materialism. Additionally, that ence. The relative wealth of Western Christians the missionary may live a truly incarnate lifestyle engenders strategies which create dependency does not remove the fact that such a lifestyle is among younger churches and harm the poor. Fi- by the missionary’s choice, and such a type of nally, affluence leads the relatively wealthy choice is unavailable for the poor. Christians of the West to aid and abet the pro- The fact of such disparity may subvert the very cesses which have plunged poor nations into a gospel message the mission agencies and mis- succession of traumas and may contribute to fu- sionaries bring, and often leads to hidden resent- ture crises (see also Wealth and Poverty). ment and eventually open conflict. As the gap Formidable as these challenges might seem, between the rich and the poor continues to grow, many Christians are attempting to surmount and as Indigenous Churches begin to find their them. The following illustrations are suggestive. own authentic voices, it will become an increas- Individually, Christians coming to grips with the ing problem that Western missionaries who call to follow Jesus are simplifying their lifestyles 43 Myanmar Mission Boards and Agencies and counting the benefits of self-denial. Mission during the past three decades has resulted in mis- boards have changed policies relating to how sion across cultures. Also, parachurch move- missionaries live. Church agencies have sought ments such as Campus Crusade, Witnessing for to be more responsible in investment and devel- Christ, Every Home for Christ, God’s Trio Part- opment policies. Whether as individuals or cor- ners, Gospel for the Nation, and Myanmar porately, many Christians have articulated an Church Planting Mission all help fulfill the evan- understanding of Christian stewardship as ser­ gelistic mandate. The churches in this stream vant­hood, advocacy for justice, and empower- emphasize evangelism, renewal, church planting, ment of the poor. Since the onset of the Two- and theological education in their missionary ef- Thirds World debt crisis in the early 1980s, many forts. Christians have advocated debt forgiveness for In addition to these streams, the Myanmar severely poor countries. Many Christian voices Bible Society, Christian Literature Society, and are calling for a recovery of the Jubilee tradition Myanmar Blind Mission Fellowship all work in- to free the poor from all debt without condition. dependently with their own mission boards. There is a growing religious environmental Chin Khua Khai movement which articulates the understanding that the earth has lost the capability of sustain- Bibliography. D. Barrett, WCE; W. C. B. Purser, ing the material prosperity of the West and the Christian Missions in Burma; Statistics of Churches in Myanmar (1995–1996); M. Shwe Wa, Burma Baptist aspirations of the world’s poor and calls for a Chronicle; S. Tin, Statistical Year Book of Myanmar. new biblical perspective on care of God’s cre- ation. New Apostolic Reformation Missions. The Paul R. Dekar New Apostolic Reformation is an extraordinary Bibliography. J. J. Bonk, Missions and Money: Afflu- work of God at the close of the twentieth century ence as a Western Missionary Problem; D. J. Hall, The which is, to a significant extent, changing the Steward. A Biblical Symbol Come of Age; I. McCrae, shape of Protestant Christianity around the Global Economics. Seeking a Christian Ethic; M. Meeks, God the Economist. The Doctrine of God and Political world. For almost 500 years, Christian churches Economy; R. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: have largely functioned within traditional de- Moving from Affluence to Generosity. nominational structures of one kind or another. Particularly in the 1990s, but with roots going Myanmar Mission Boards and Agencies. back for almost a century, new forms and opera- There are two major streams of Protestant mis- tional procedures are now emerging in areas sionary efforts in Myanmar. The first is that of such as local church government, interchurch re- conciliar mission work, which is a joint effort of lationships, financing, evangelism, missions, eleven mainline Protestant churches united in prayer, leadership selection and training, the role the Myanmar Council of Churches related to the of supernatural power, worship and other im- World Council of Churches. The Regional portant aspects of church life. Some of these Council for Burma was formed in 1914, and re- changes are being seen within denominations named the Burma Christian Council in 1949 and themselves, but for the most part they are taking the Burma Council of Churches in 1975. Today, the form of loosely structured apostolic networks. Myanmar Baptist Convention, Methodists, and In virtually every region of the world, these new Presbyterians, through their mission boards and apostolic churches constitute the fastest growing societies, are sending missionaries to the un- segment of Christianity. reached areas. Evangelistic efforts since the One of the strong characteristics of the new 1970s, such as “Chins for Christ in One Century” apostolic churches is the conscious desire to re- and “Kachin Gideon Band-3/330,” have been the instate the ministry and office of apostle, most dynamic. The Conciliar mission stream whether the term itself is used or not. Churches emphasizes ecumenicity, development, and theo- which characterize themselves as apostolic in logical education. nature have outreach built into their very fabric. Under the Evangelical-Pentecostal stream are This includes outreach and church planting in seventeen denominations and some parachurch their own surroundings and social ministries as movements, ranging in persuasion from funda- well as foreign missions. The strong desire to be mentalistic to charismatic. The Myanmar Evan- directly involved in taking the gospel to the na- gelical Christian Fellowship was organized in tions of the world is reminiscent of the upsurge 1984. Assemblies of God, the fastest growing and of world missions among traditional evangelical third largest denomination in the country with a churches after World War II. membership of 67,648, began in 1930 and is a During the last quarter of the twentieth cen- strong mission church. The other denominations tury the more traditional Western missionary in this stream have come into existence as the re- agencies have been in notable decline, while sult of renewal, evangelism, and church planting. Third World-based missionary agencies have The renewal movement among the Zomi Chin been strongly increasing (see Non-Western Mis- 44 Nigerian Mission Boards and Societies sion Boards and Societies). Many of these Third intercession; (5) advanced praise and worship; World agencies have emerged from the new ap- and (6) apostolic networking (Ministry Advan- ostolic churches in their midst. An important tage, July–August 1996, p. 8). part of their methodology is to recognize apos- C. Peter Wagner tolic leaders in foreign nations, build personal relationships with them, and encourage the for- Nigerian Mission Boards and Societies. In mation and multiplication of apostolic networks 1842 Protestant missions came to what was to be- which relate to each other in non-bureaucratic, come Nigeria. From the beginning, it was recog- non-controlling ways. The local congregation nized that most of the work would have to be frequently becomes the principal launching pad done by Africans. The Anglican Church Mission- for overseas missions, somewhat to the dismay ary Society (CMS) got many workers from of traditional mission agencies, both denomina- among the rescued slaves settled in Sierra Leone. tional and interdenominational. Ted Haggard, The Metho­dists used Ghanaians, and the Presby- pastor of new Life Church of Colorado Springs, terians had West Indian missionaries. As local said this at a National Symposium on the Post- converts were won, most foreign missions trained denominational Church held at Fuller Seminary and sent out local evangelists as quickly as possi- in 1996: “[The New Apostolic Reformation] is ble. Many of these worked in cultures not their the ‘black market’ of Christian ministry. Because own. the lost of the world are demanding prayer and Most notable among the early African mission- the message of the Gospel, the demand is forcing aries working with the CMS was Samuel Adjai us to work outside normally accepted missions Crowther. He set up and supervised the Niger methods to satisfy the cry for eternal life in the Mission, which worked along the Niger River hearts of people.” from the delta to the confluence with the Benue A common characteristic of new apostolic River, ministering to at least five language churches is for the senior pastor to lead teams of groups. He recruited rescued Africans from Si- lay people on at least one, and more frequently erra Leone as staff. Crowther worked within the two or three, mission trips to different nations framework of the CMS, and the Niger Mission each year. These are usually facilitated through personal relationships with apostolic figures in developed into regular Anglican dioceses. Today the nations visited, and they last for a week or the Anglican Church in Nigeria has its own mis- two. Stated immediate objectives of these trips sion-sending structure. vary greatly from supporting the preaching and In 1949 the Sudan Interior Mission, now the teaching ministry of the senior pastor to under- Society for International Ministries, helped taking a construction project, to street evange- the churches they had founded to set up their lism, to prayer journeys to social service projects own missionary-sending body, the African Mis- to literature distribution to other similar activi- sionary Society. Its name was changed to the ties. However, a more fundamental reason for this Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS) upon the kind of an ongoing program is the benefit of a organization of the Evangelical Churches of constantly increasing level of missions interest West Africa in 1953. The oldest and largest Nige- and commitment throughout the local church. Al- rian mission agency, the EMS has over a thou- most invariably the individuals who take these sand workers in several African countries, Brit- trips return as transformed persons. Missions is ain, and the United States. no longer peripheral to them, but an essential The Nigerian Baptists have been sending mis- part of their personalities. And this permeates sionaries to Sierra Leone for many years. They through their respective spheres of influence in have also worked in the less-reached areas of Ni- the church. How much can one local church be geria. Other notable denominational missions involved in missions? A new apostolic church of are the mission departments of the Church of 2,500 in Anaheim, California, Grace Korean Christ in Nigeria, Assemblies of God, Gospel Church, pastored by Kim Kwang Shin, has an an- Faith Mission, and Deeper Life Bible Church. nual church budget of $6.5 million, of which $5 Deeper Life had seventy-two missionaries in thir- million is spent on foreign missions in East Af- ty-two nations in 1992. rica, Russia, mainland China, Vietnam, and other Campus revivals in the 1960s and 1970s led to places. the founding of Nigeria’s first nondenomina- David Shibley of Global Advance, one of the tional mission societies. Calvary Ministries foremost trainers of new apostolic missionaries, started with educated young people in Zaire in lists six reasons why new apostolic churches are 1975. By 1996 they had over two hundred work- making such a significant contribution to world ers serving in nineteen Nigerian ethnic groups evangelization: (1) less bureaucracy; (2) a high and ten other African countries. The Christian view of Scripture; (3) the expression of signs and Missionary Foundation started in Ibadan in wonders for the verification of the gospel; 1982, and by 1992 had fifty-five missionaries in (4) strategic-level spiritual warfare and advanced at least eight Nigerian tribes and nine other 45 Nonresidential Missionary countries. Many smaller mission agencies con- Identifying the world’s distinct religiosocial tinue to be formed. groupings of peoples, primarily by linguistic cri- In 1982, nine Nigerian mission organizations teria, has aided researchers in specifying the na- banded together to form the Nigeria Evangelical ture of the task remaining for fulfillment of Missions Association (NEMA). Their joint proj- Christ’s commission to preach the gospel to all ects include raising mission awareness, research, the peoples of the world. Technological advances and missionary training. There were over thir- enable mission strategists to gather data more ty-five agencies in NEMA by 1996. Members in- effectively, assess the implications of that data clude independent agencies, denominational more precisely, and envision new ways and agencies, support agencies, and specialized min- means of penetrating resistant blocs of peoples. istries (e.g., children’s and student work). In 1986, a team of Southern Baptist Foreign Today many of the independent agencies run Mission Board researchers coined the term “non- their own missionary training programs. The residential missionary” to describe a radically larger denominations have tried to incorporate new mission methodology. Nonresidential mis- missionary training into their existing theologi- sionaries function in innovative ways in that they cal education. often begin their ministry outside the indigenous The number of Nigerian missionaries contin- locale of a distinct people group, or designated ues to grow. In 1992 there were 2,873 missionar- population segment, that is historically resistant ies from Nigeria, of whom 1,259 were doing to, or perhaps even left untouched by, the gospel. cross-cultural work. Most Nigerian cross-cul- While living outside the target area, they commit tural missionaries work in less-reached Nigerian themselves to strategic research, language learn- tribes, though there are about 250 working in ing, and discovery of new avenues for establish- other countries. ing contact with decision makers inside the tar- The Roman Catholics have a college for train- get area. They usually do not rely on the ing Nigerian missionary priests. Some of the less resources­ of just one agency or denominational orthodox African Independent Churches of Nige- sending structure to penetrate their resistant peo- ria send missionaries to the Nigerian communi- ple or population segment. Instead, they coordi- ties in Western lands and some to non-Christian nate like interests among various Christian enti- Nigerian peoples. ties and orchestrate a collective but focused Nigeria has 50 percent of the population of strategy to establish legitimate humanitarian West Africa and 85 percent of the region’s evan- bases for entry into the targeted area. gelicals. This makes it a strategic sending nation Once the nonresidential missionary establishes for the evangelization of West Africa. a viable foundation for working in the targeted Lois Fuller context, the host government may grant a long- term presence. Teams of qualified people able to Bibliography. L. D. Pate, From Every People: A render and administer humanitarian services in- Handbook of Two-Thirds World Missions. directly engage in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting ventures through the web of so- Nonresidential Missionary. Strategic mission cial relationships they are able to establish with planners of bygone eras historically tended to individuals from their assigned people group. neglect the sections of the world that were more It is at this point that the term “nonresiden- resistant to the gospel, with a few notable excep- tial” may lose its meaning because of an indefi- tions. Antagonistic zones have become more im- nite presence in the targeted area. Because of penetrable, especially since the end of World this frequent occurrence, some mission agencies War II. A nonresidential missionary, however, relabel the model to reflect more accurately the has the responsibility of discovering ways to function a nonresidential missionary performs, identify and evangelize historically resistant and namely, the coordination of various strategic ini- Unreached People groups, or population seg- tiatives among Christians aimed at reaching an ments, with the intent of establishing a viable unreached area or people with the gospel and es- movement of Christian churches among them. tablishing a viable Christian presence. In the wake of the Western colonial era, Keith E. Eitel emerging national governments dissolved legal Bibliography. D. B. Barrett and T. M. Johnston, Our restraints on precolonial, indigenous religious Globe and How to Reach It: Seeing the World Evange- movements. Blocs of Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, lized by AD 2000 and Beyond; V. D. Garrison, The Non- and tribal peoples renewed and reasserted them- residential Missionary: A New Strategy and the People It selves against external religiosocial influences. Serves; idem, IJFM 9 (1992): 67–69; M. S. Philemon, Introduction of Marxist ideologies in many IJFM 8 (1991): 141–46. countries created an unprecedented set of cir- cumstances that often coerced peoples to resist Non-Western Mission Boards and Societies. the gospel and to accept, or at least practice, var- As people in countries around the world were ious forms of atheism. evangelized and incorporated into a worshiping 46 Non-Western Mission Boards and Societies group of believers by missionaries, one of the sionary recruitment and deployment have either natural results was the development of mission- plateaued or declined. ary outreach from these newer churches. Similar Types of Agencies. The missionary activities of to their counterparts in Europe and North Amer- the Two-Thirds World can be classified as struc- ica, believers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and tured or unstructured. The unstructured groups Oceania developed their own missionary-sending consist of believers who spontaneously proclaim vision and efforts. Like those of the Western the good news of Christ’s love without any for- countries, these efforts required missionary-send- mal organization to define and direct their activ- ing organizations with explicit policies and pro- ity. The Quechua Movement for Christ in Bolivia, cedures. the Tzeltal Christians and Chol Indian Church of Terms. There have been several labels for this Mexico, the Apostolic Church of Ghana, and the development. The phrase “Third World Mis- Chinese Christians in Burma are examples of ef- sions” was borrowed from political economics fective unstructured missionary endeavors. Re- (see Third World). Many from Africa, Asia, Latin ceiving encouragement from colleagues and America, and Oceania felt, however, that “Third church leadership, those members of the group World Missions” implied third-class missions. As who have an evangelistic vision reach out spon- this was not the intention, “Non-Western Mis- taneously, often to a neighboring village or town sions” was suggested, a particularly good re- of another culture. Finances come from friends placement to describe those in Asia, since most or tentmaking activities; training and pastoral of their cultures are non-Western. However, the supervision are often minimal. peoples in Latin America consider themselves Within the Two-Thirds World, however, most just as Western as those of North America, so of the missionary activity is structured. There this term also had its deficiencies. are national officers or directors, a system for “Emerging Missions” was used to describe the raising and maintaining financial support, and arising army of new missionaries from countries methods to coordinate the evangelistic outreach that traditionally had received missionaries, yet of workers hundreds of miles from the central now sent workers as well. The term was not office. The agencies vary greatly in character, but are united by the fact that they are formally or- meant to imply that the emerging movement was ganized. They are usually led by a charismatic completely new. For records as early as the 1820s communicator, while the vast majority of work- tell of missionaries like Joshua Mateinaniu, who ers are from the ethnic group or nation conduct- planted churches by traveling from one Pacific ing the outreach. island to another. What the term actually in- There are large denominational agencies, like tended to convey was that this phenomenon had the Burma Baptist Convention and the Diocesan recently become better documented and in this Missionary Association of the Church of the sense was emerging. Province of Kenya (Anglican). On the other The current term is “Two-Thirds World Mis- hand, there are large nondenominational agen- sions,” a more accurate representation of the re- cies, like the Friends Missionary Prayer Band in source God is now mobilizing for his kingdom; India and Mission Amen in Peru. There are agen- the countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and cies that maintain their main office close to the Oceania constitute nearly two-thirds of the field of service rather than in the home country, world’s inhabited­ land mass and at least that frac- for purposes of recruitment and fund raising, for tion (if not more) of the world’s population (see instance, Project Magreb, a Latin American Two-Thirds World). Although “Two-Thirds World agency located in Spain. And there are hundreds Missions” is the more popular term today, the of smaller agencies that operate along family other labels continue to have some use in describ- lines: employees at the home office are family ing this extremely significant development. members, and the missionaries are either friends Growth. In 1972, the first year the worldwide of the family or relatives. activity of the emerging missions was reviewed, Problems. In the Two-Thirds World, mission there were an estimated 2,951 missionaries sent agency problems are virtually the same as those out by 368 agencies and organizations. Similar anywhere. Funding the work and adequately systematic research was carried out in 1980 and training workers remain critical concerns for 1988 and coupled with various regional studies. prayer and resolve. One of the ways in which The results indicated that non-Western missions newer agencies have learned to handle some of and agencies were growing more than five times these difficulties has been to participate in conti- faster than their counterparts in the West. By the nent-wide or international conferences on global mid-1990s, there were an estimated 88,000 missions. Another way they have learned about cross-cultural workers sent out by approximately mission structure and administration has been 1,600 non-Western agencies or organizations in from nationalized structures that are related to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. This international agencies. Youth with a Mission, growth has continued, while in the West mis- Operation Mobilization, New Tribes, Wycliffe, 47 Oceanic Mission Boards and Societies and a host of other agencies of European or A further illustration of the connection be- North American origin have been sources of en- tween Protestant (especially the LMS) and indig- couragement and education for newer groups. enous mission efforts was the Cook Islands The future of global missions clearly lies with Christian Church, begun by the LMS in the the Two-Thirds World agencies and missionaries. 1820s, which sent about seventy missionaries to Like those that preceded them, they are not al- Papau New Guinea between 1872 and 1896. ways without cultural bias and limitations. Yet if Also, an LMS seminary established in 1844 the gospel message is to continue to move into trained numerous Samoans for evangelistic out- all nations, it will in large measure be the work reach. After Tahitians had helped evangelize of very committed missionaries from the Samoa in the 1830s, an LMS missionary named churches and agencies of the Two-Thirds World. Murray trained Samoans in Tutuila, who in turn Larry E. Keyes spread the gospel eastward to Manua. Tahitian missionaries indeed have gone out all Bibliography. D. J. Cho, New Forces in Missions; D. E. Clark, The Third World and Mission; M. L. Nelson, over the Pacific, as have Samoans: by 1972, over The How and Why of Third World Missions: An Asian 210 Samoan Congregationalists had served as Case Study; idem, Readings in Third World Missions: A missionaries, introducing Christianity to Toke- Collection of Essential Documents; L. D. Pate, From lau, Niue, the Gilbert and Ellis Islands (now Kiri- Every People: A Handbook of Two-Thirds World Mis- bati and Tuvalu), and Vanuatu. Moreover, new sions; idem, The Last Age of Missions: A Study of Third missionaries continue to be sent out throughout World Mission Societies; J. Richard, Asian Church Lead- the Pacific and around the world. The Fijian ers; T. Williams, World Missions—Building Bridges or church has been sending overseas missionaries Barriers; J. Wong, P. Larsen, and E. C. Pentecost, Mis- sions from the Third World: A World Survey of for over one hundred years, and Tongan mission- Non-Western Missions in Asia, Africa and Latin Amer- aries have gone out throughout the Pacific (e.g., ica. to Samoa and Fiji in the nineteenth century), in- cluding Australia, Hawaii, and California. Oceanic Mission Boards and Societies. The Naming all of the missions and similar organi- island regions of the Pacific, or Oceania, can be zations operating in Oceania today would make divided into three general areas: Melanesia, Mi- a rather extensive list. Some of them are as fol- cronesia, and Polynesia. Over the past two cen- lows, listed (where applicable) with their dates of turies, the Christian faith has spread through- establishment and grouped into identifiable cat- out these approximately 25,000 islands to make egories: ecumenical agencies: Pacific Conference Oceania one of the most Christianized areas in of Churches (PCC, 1966); Council for World Mis- the world. Indigenous missionaries have played sion (formerly LMS, 1977); parachurch agencies an important role in the spread of the gospel for literature distribution: The Bible Society of throughout the Pacific, and more recently are the South Pacific, Lotu Pasifika Productions contributing to worldwide gospel outreach as (1973); educational institutions: Pacific Theolog- well. ical College (associated with the PCC, 1965), Pa- Spanish Catholic missionaries saw a small cific Regional Seminary (Catholic, 1972), Chris­ measure of success in the seventeenth century. tian Leaders Training Colleges; research and However, it was not until well after British, Prot- training organizations: The Micronesian Semi- estant missions—such as the London Missionary nar, Pacific Churches Research Center (1976); Society (LMS), the Church Missionary Society student fellowships: Campus Crusade for Christ, (CMS), and the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Pacific Students for Christ; women’s groups: Society—started arriving around 1800 that Ca- YWCA (1974), The Girls’ Brigade Asia-Pacific. tholicism (increasingly French) started to grow The continuing presence of ex-patriate mission- significantly. Moreover, it has been primarily aries in leadership roles is perhaps best exempli- Protestant or independent efforts that have in- fied in the work of Wycliffe Bible Translators, cluded the work of indigenous missionaries. For Mission Aviation Fellowship, and Christian example, Tahitian missionaries first took Christi- Radio Missionary Fellowship in Papau New anity to Fiji under the LMS; a missionary from Guinea. Overall, however, the international mis- Kiribati named Tabuia independently evange- sionary community in PNG and throughout Oce- lized Nauru between 1888 and 1899; and, after a ania works largely in supporting and cooperating Samoan convert from Tonga had brought Chris- roles with indigenous churches and missions in tianity to Samoa in 1828, a Samoan missionary seeking to reach out to as yet unreached groups, named Paulo helped lead two hundred to three as well as to countries throughout the world. hundred Niueans to faith by 1852. Other groups J. Nelson Jennings not long in coming to Oceania included the Pres- Bibliography. L. M. Douglas, ed., World Christianity: byterians, the American Board of Commissioners Oceania; J. H. Kane, A Global View of Christian Mis- for Foreign Missions, the Seventh-Day Adven- sions: From Pentecost to the Present; K. Cragg, CDCWM, tists, and the Liebenzell Mission. pp. 459–65. 48 Parachurch Agencies and Mission

Parachurch Agencies and Mission. Parachurch present time parachurch organizations almost agencies appear at first glance to be a relatively defy description because of their proliferation recent phenomenon, by many accounts begin- throughout the Christian world. The main pre- ning their ministries shortly after the Second requisites seem to be an individual with a vision, World War. But a closer look at the history of the a cadre of supporters who affirm that vision, and church and its missionary enterprise will reveal the courage to initiate ministry and raise the nec- a longer and deeper background. This back- essary capital to sustain the ministry. In the prov- ground raises the question of defining these or- idence of God, many of these ministries have es- ganizations, which relate in various ways to na- tablished themselves in such a way as to provide tional denominations and local churches. Many leadership for the church in areas where the would agree that the term “parachurch” is a con- church was either weak or where it lacked the in- venient but imprecise term for these organiza- centive to undertake such bold initiatives in tions. The term itself is a compound, indicating reaching out beyond the parameters of the local that such groups function “outside” the church, church. Foreign mission societies have enabled or at least parallel to it (from the Greek preposi- regional and national churches to specialize in tion para, meaning “beside” or “alongside”). meeting the needs of specific interest groups, and These organizations specialize in a diverse array in so doing, they have enlarged the ministries of of Christian services and are self-supporting, local congregations far beyond their ability to ac- drawing their funds from Christian churches and complish the same thing on their own. Christians within those churches. Further, para- Classification. Generally speaking, almost churches see themselves for the most part as every conceivable area of mission has been ad- “arms of the local church” and not in competi- dressed, with many of these, unfortunately, du- tion with it. Although there are legitimate differ- plicating other ministries. By and large, these ences of opinion regarding just how such organi- groups have been organized around Great Com- zations come into being, many of them are born mission and Great Commandment passages in the “in” the church and then sent out as functioning New Testament. Evangelism and Discipleship, and healthy parts of the local or denominational educational institutions, relief and community body. Certainly it is beyond dispute that many, development (see Relief Work and Develop- by the same token, are brought into being when ment), medical societies, Bible distribution and a visionary Christian believes that either the translation groups, media and communication church is not doing an adequate job in, for in- agencies, and many specialized organizations stance, reaching a particular segment of the too numerous to mention—these constitute a community, or for whatever reason, the church broad survey of the categories by which para- is unable to do it. church agencies can be identified. History. Missiologist Ralph Winter points out Contributions of Parachurch Agencies in a distinction between stationary institutions (mo- Missionary Activity. Parachurch organizations dalities) and mobile agencies (sodalities) that relate to missions by providing training and mo- began in biblical times (see Sodality and Modal- mentum for local churches and denominations. ity). In the next few centuries, the church became Some of the most creative initiatives in world more institutionalized, heretical sects sprung up, mission have come from within these organiza- and the church began to splinter into factions, tions, often working in tandem with local sometimes resembling the denominations of the churches or denominations. Recently unique present century. Subsequent history records the openings for the gospel have come from the al- significance of the councils of the church which most universal screening of the life of Jesus from gathered to sort out the lines of orthodoxy and to the Gospel according to Luke (see Jesus Film); affirm and clarify precise statements by which literally thousands of churches have been planted the church would proceed. The early monastic as a result of the follow-up and discipling of new movement and the subsequent orders of the believers. The ministry of the Bible translation Roman Church indicated a useful paradigm for has also resulted in openings for the gospel in both spiritual formation as well as specialized very remote areas of the globe, a ministry under- ministry commitments. When these kinds of taken by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Interna- groups were formed, they were often made up of tional, a mission agency devoted to working in the laity “carrying on a personal ministry outside cultures with languages that had been without the direct authority and control of the church.” structured analysis and written materials. At the The Reformation signaled a way in which a com- present time special emphasis is being given to mitted churchman like Martin Luther wanted to reaching national and religious groups which tra- change the church from within but was pre- ditionally presented great challenges to mission- vented from doing so; the result (as in the later aries. The spread of communicable diseases, fam- experience of John Wesley) was the formation of ine, earthquakes, floods, and national and a new movement outside the church which devel- international military conflicts have spurred the oped into a full-fledged denomination. At the church into action, and often, the parachurch 49 Partnership agencies (e.g., World Vision and World Relief) tions. As for church-mission relationships, these have responded quickly to relieve the immediate include, with numerous variations, at least four suffering, provide rescue operations, and in many theories: (1) departure, (2) subordination, cases have remained to provide supplies and aid (3) parallelism, and (4) partnership. in rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed in the Theory 1: Departure. Once the national church struggle for peace and stability. Parachurch orga- reaches maturity, the expatriates depart physi- nizations have also pioneered strategic thinking cally, although they may continue to send funds. in reaching unreached peoples (see Peoples, Peo- Henry Venn and Rufus Anderson must be cred- ple Groups), establishing cross-cultural training ited for this unrivaled mission theory of the nine- for both short-term and career missionaries, and teenth and first half of the twentieth centuries: exploring the potentially explosive Creative Ac- the three-self Indigenous Church concept cess Countries through Tentmaking Mission (self-propagating, self-supporting, self-govern- strategies. ing). John Nevius, sensing the practicality of the Hindrances to Parachurch Effectiveness in three-selfs, instituted them in China and more ef- Missionary Activity. Parachurch agencies have fectively in Korea. Nevius’s The Planting and De- always challenged the status quo in which reli- veloping of Missionary Churches remains a clas- gious culture can be found, and having pointed to sic. Roland Allen echoed Venn and Anderson’s their strengths it would be easy to overlook their theory in the twentieth century, arguing that the weaknesses. Because of the tendency toward en- three-selfs work not just because they are practi- trepreneurial leadership, there is often a lack of cal, as did Nevius, but because they are biblical. accountability outside the organization and par- Allen makes the argument in his classic Mission- ticularly to the local church. From the churches’ ary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? Failure to ask the perspective, it is easy to ask for funds to meet a global questions, among other things, would pressing need while at the same time not being eventually date this theory. sensitive to the counsel of godly leaders within Theory 2: Subordination. Once the national the church, be it local or denominational. And church reaches maturity, expatriates work under even if it is not a stated policy, parachurch orga- national leaders while providing their own sup- nizations have tended to hold their local church port. This unilateral theory transfers complete responsibilities rather loosely, sometimes sched- control to the national church. Some view this uling events without coordinating with church theory as ecumenism at its best while others see calendars. Over the years, however, these issues it as distorted partnership representing a kind of have been addressed within the organizations reverse paternalism. themselves, and other agencies have been created Theory 3: Parallelism. Since the national expressly to assist in matters of financial integrity church is mature, each party develops comple- as well as in theological orthodoxy. mentary, yet separate agendas while maintaining The Future. Few would deny that parachurch individual organizational structures, personnel, organizations have contributed greatly to the and budgets. This theory respects the unity, diver- church’s mission throughout the church’s his- sity, and autonomy of all the players. Proponents tory. Indeed, the church has been enriched see the international body of Christ in action, uti- through the many ministries created by vision- lizing the different parts to fulfill a unified goal. ary Christians. But when the designation “para- Opponents believe it stifles the Great Commission church” is used of such organizations, there is a within the national church, leaving evangelism clear expectation that these organizations will and mission to outsiders. work more closely with national and local Theory 4: Partnerships. Luis Bush defines churches, always trying to achieve that unity partnerships as: “an association of two or more which brings great delight to the heart of God Christian autonomous bodies who have formed (John 17:21–23; Eph. 4:1–13). a trusting relationship and fulfill agreed upon ex- John W. Nyquist pectations by sharing complementary strengths and resources to reach their mutual goal.” This Bibliography. Discipleship and Worship Program, theory advocates that institutions work not apart The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., Pa- ra-Church Groups: A Report on Current Religious Move- from each other [Theory 1], or under each other ments; K. S. Latourette, Advance Through the Storm; [Theory 2], or unified but separate [Theory 3], Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, Co-operat- but as equal partners. Proponents argue this ing in World Evangelization, A Handbook on Church/Pa- multilateral theory protects both the commission ra-church Relationships; R. D. Winter, Perspectives on the of the receiving national church and the sending World Christian Movement, pp. B45–B57; J. White, The institution or church. Opponents argue the com- Church and the Parachurch: An Uneasy Marriage. plexity of ethnic relationships, economic levels, and so forth, make this theory extremely difficult Partnership. The voices calling for the Morato- to accomplish. rium of foreign mission agencies have grown si- While the first three theories continue to re- lent. In their place new voices call for other op- ceive endorsement, a growing number of nation- 50 Pentecostal Missions als and expatriates, countering Henry Venn’s “eu- partners will want to institute procedures for the thanasia of mission” strategy (also promoted by graceful dismantling of the partnership, due ei- Roland Allen), support the fourth theory. They ther to the completion of the stated goals, to the argue that in God’s economy, inclusion, interde- completion of the original time frame for the pendence, and role changes should replace isola- partnership, or to unresolved conflicts that may tion, independence, or departure. arise. Partnership Fundamentals. Strategic part- Partnership Life Cycle Phases. Fundamental nerships today go far beyond mission agencies to the success of any strategic partnership is and national churches to include local churches, trust. Open communication facilitates parachurch organizations, and academic train- trust-building and efficiency. During the explora- ing institutions. Participants may partner on the tion phase, potential partners will want to dis- local, national, or international levels. On the in- cuss their expectations in relation to the term ternational level (often cutting across geography, “partnership.” These expectations may include theology, ethnicity, gender, generations, and in- languages to be used, conflict resolution, goals come boundaries), participants may come from and priorities, organizational structure (status anywhere in the world and go anywhere in the and roles), decision-making, planning and evalu- world. ation, operation ethics, theological distinctives, Motivations for forming strategic partnerships mutual accountability contingency plans, fi- vary considerably. One is fear. The declining mis- nances, de-partnering, and how cultural distinc- sionary population from the West in contrast to tives influence the interpretation of each. During the increasing missionary population from the this phase they will seek to discover if there is a Third World (see Non-Western Mission Boards genuine mutual need, for herein lies the basis for and Agencies) raises control issues. The high healthy partnership. cost of new start-ups, along with the mainte- The formation phase may involve a facilitator nance of existing programs, creates tremendous respected by all parties who demonstrates strong competition for dollars in a shrinking support belief in the sovereignty of God, personal integ- pool. The competitive search for dollars also in- rity, ability to network, an appreciation of diver- fluences job security. A second motivation is con- sity, ability to solve cross-cultural conflicts, live venience. Seekers may find association with an- with ambiguity, and champion the vision. During other group advantageous, whether for finances, the operational phase changes can be expected as personnel, training, facilities, technology, logis- adjustments are made to adapt to present reali- tics, psychological security, linguistics, cultural ties. Participants will continually reevaluate per- or lifestyle nearness, name recognition, global sonal relationships, the purpose, procedures, and access, or publicity. A more positive motivation performances. They will attempt to make neces- is theology. The Bible calls for Christians to set sary adjustments in culturally sensitive ways that aside unhealthy competition and instead create reflect a Christian spirit. Once the partnership alternative complementary partnerships that uti- completes its goals, the dismantling phase be- lize effectively the diversity represented, take se- gins. riously the stewardship of resources (human and Tom A. Steffen material), and create liberated synergy, thereby Bibliography. R. Allen, The Spontaneous Expansion credibility to witness. of the Church; L. Bush and L. Lutz, Partnering in Minis- Strategic partnerships deal with methodology, try. The Directory of World Evangelism; V. Gerber, ed., not with goals of what must be done. Central to Missions in Creative Tension: The Green Lake ’71 Com- the “what” should be the expansion of the church pendium; W. D. Taylor, ed., Kingdom Partnerships for as a sign of God’s kingdom. Wise partners will Synergy in Missions; C. P. Williams, The Ideal of the insist that the vision statement centers around Self-Governing Church: A Study in Victorian Missionary selective components of the Great Command- Strategy. ment and the Great Commission. A common vision serves as the driving force Pentecostal Missions. A twentieth-century mis- behind effective strategic partnerships. Partners sions movement noted for its emphases on Spirit negotiate a vision statement, and the organiza- baptism, expectation of miraculous “signs and tional structure to fulfill it. They agree upon as- wonders” in gospel proclamation, utilization of signed roles and rules that foster complementary indigenous church principles, pragmatism in participation. Every member shares in the risks communications and technology, and spectacu- without compromising their divine call or corpo- lar church growth. rate values. Radical evangelicals on the fringe of the nine- The duration of strategic partnerships varies teenth-century missions movement anticipated depending upon the specified goals. Some are the premillennial return of Jesus Christ and the designed to field quick response teams for short outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days to periods. Others form for long-term activities or spiritually equip believers with apostolic power somewhere in between. Whatever the duration, for the world evangelization (Joel 2:28–29). Ac- 51 Pentecostal Missions cordingly, miracles would witness to the power of than their Wesleyan–holiness and Reformed re- the gospel as they had in the expansion of the vivalist brothers and sisters. Other evangelical Early Church. A. B. Simpson and A. J. Gordon, missionaries virtually dismissed the notion of among others, believed that prayer for the sick miracles. Nonetheless, because of their focus on and power encounters (exorcisms, etc.) would at- the Spirit’s work in mission, Pentecostals have tract non-Christians to the gospel. willingly addressed the dark side of spirituality: As the century drew to a close and statistics Satanic power. This has helped them to effec- revealed the slow pace of conversions on the tively relate the gospel to peoples with non-West- mission fields, some believed that God might ern worldviews. Because the Spirit’s outpouring also bestow xenolalic tongues (known human empowers seekers with spiritual gifts and for languages) on Spirit-baptized missionaries as Spiritual Warfare (Eph. 6:12), Pentecostalism happened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). quickly becomes indigenous. Hence, they could bypass lengthy language study With ever-increasing numbers of missionaries, and immediately begin preaching to bring swift farsighted leaders recognized the need for orga- closure to the Great Commission. In varying de- nization. The earliest and most successful Euro- grees, Simpson, Gordon, and C. T. Studd, with pean mission agencies were in the United King- others such as W. B. Godbey, Frank W. Sandford, dom the Pentecostal Missionary Union of Great and the Kansas holiness preacher, Charles F. Par- Britain and Ireland (1909), Zaire Evangelistic ham, considered this possibility. Mission (1919); in Netherlands, the Pentecostal Parham concluded that speaking in tongues Mission Alliance (1920); and in Scandinavia, constituted the “Bible evidence” of Spirit baptism: Missionaries sent out from Swedish and Norwe- he and most of his students at Bethel Bible School gian Pentecostal congregations. In South Africa, in Topeka, Kansas, experienced the phenomenon the Apostolic Faith Mission (1913) sent mission- in January 1901. This event and particularly news aries to various people groups in that region. of the later Welsh Revival (1904–5) prompted the North American agencies included the Pente- Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, costal Mission in South and Central Africa under the leadership of the African-American Wil- (1910), Assemblies of God (1914), Pentecostal liam J. Seymour. It became the most influential Assemblies of Canada (1922), Russian and East- revival of the century in global perspective and ern European Mission (1927), Pentecostal Holi- marked the beginning of Pentecostal missions. ness Church (1911), and Church of God (Cleve- Similar revivals followed in the wake of Topeka land, Tenn.) (1902). Following the trinitarian and Azusa Street including ones at Zion and Chi- dispute in the Assemblies of God (1913–16), cago, Ill.; Dunn, N.C.; Nyack, N.Y.; Winnipeg and many “Oneness” or “Jesus Name” missionaries Toronto, Canada; Sunderland, England; Oslo, joined organizations that eventually merged to Norway; and Stockholm, Sweden. From these form the United Pentecostal Church (1945). Still, arose a new diaspora of missionaries, reaching a large number of independent missionaries upwards of two hundred by 1910. In India, how- served abroad, preferring the personal guidance ever, influenced in part by the Welsh Revival and of the Holy Spirit in their activities over the di- the ministry of Minnie F. Abrams, the Pentecostal rectives of mission boards. revival began autonomously in 1906. With the delay in Christ’s return, Pentecostals Although robust in their faith, the early mis- frequently borrowed the paternalistic practices sionaries were often ill-prepared, traveling with- of their Protestant counterparts to give perma- out salary or pledged support, and without nence to their efforts. However, Alice E. Luce, cross-cultural preparation. Before 1908, most of formerly with the Church Missionary Society in them expected to preach with “missionary India, influenced Pentecostal missions through tongues,” but subsequently understood them to her adaptation of Roland Allen’s teachings on be glossolalia or unknown tongues for prayer in the Indigenous Church in his Missionary Meth- the Spirit (1 Cor. 13:1; 14:2). Whereas in India, a ods: St. Paul’s or Ours? (1912) with Pentecostal significant contingent of veteran missionaries distinctives. Reflecting the influence of Allen (e.g., Chris­tian and Missionary Alliance [CMA], and Luce, Assemblies of God missiologist Mel- Methodists) became Pentecostal. Beginning in vin L. Hodges penned his best-seller, The Indige- the 1920s, Bible institute graduates, particularly nous Church (1953). from North America and the United Kingdom, Growth in many countries accelerated after became the backbone for much of the mission mid-century when missionaries, especially those enterprise. from the Assemblies of God (U.S.A.) and the Apart from glossolalia and belief that all of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, began moving gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7–11) had been re- away from paternal control to partnership with stored, Pentecostal missionaries initially differed national church leaders. Scandinavian mission- little from their CMA and holiness contemporar- aries, rejecting any authority or agency above the ies. As time passed, however, they continued to local congregation, naturally supported indige- highlight miraculous signs and wonders more nous church principles. Their successes in Brazil 52 Philippine Mission Boards and Societies

(and developments in Chile) first signaled the in- The Pentecostals; J. A. B. Jongeneel, ed., Pentecost, Mis- ternational progress of the movement. The sion and Ecumenism; W. Ma and R. P. Menzies, eds., unique combination of Pentecostal spirituality Pentecostalism in Context; L. G. McClung, Jr., ed., with the application of these principles accounts Azusa Street and Beyond: Pentecostal Missions and for the rapid growth. The Church of God (Cleve- Church Growth in the Twentieth Century; G. B. McGee, This Gospel Shall Be Preached: A History and Theology land, Tenn.) has also seen success but without of Assemblies of God Foreign Missions, 2 vols.; idem, formally embracing indigenous church princi- “The Radical Strategy: The Linkage Between Paranor- ples; growth has also come in part through amal- mal Phenomena and Evangelism in Modern Christian gamation with existing Pentecostal church bod- Missions,” in The Holy Spirit and Mission Dynamics, ies overseas. In recent years, mission churches ed., C. D. McConnell; R. P. Spittler, Jr., “Implicit Values have themselves begun sending out thousands of in Pentecostal Missions,” Missiology: An International their own missionaries (e.g., Yoido Full Gospel Review 16 (October 1988): 409–24; L. S. Vaccaro de Pe- Church in Seoul, Korea, pastored by David [for- trella, “The Tension Between Evangelism and Social merly Paul] Yonggi Cho; Congregaçã Cristã do Action in the Pentecostal Movement,” IRM 75 (January Brazil in São Paulo, Brazil, founded by Luigi 1986): 34–38; C. P. Wagner, Spiritual Power and Church Francescon; Calvary Charismatic Center in Sin- Growth. gapore, pastored by Rick Seaward). Since Pentecostals have always been more in- Philippine Mission Boards and Societies. terested in the “doing” than “theorizing” of mis- Evangelical churches in the Philippines have sion, they have produced few theologies of mis- been sending missionaries to peoples of other sion. The exceptions include: The Baptism of the cultures since the beginning of the twentieth Holy Ghost & Fire, 2d ed. (1906) by Minnie F. century. This movement may be due in part to Abrams, the first Pentecostal theology of mission; the influence and example of the Western mis- Our Foreign Missions: A Biblical Guideline (Vår sionary movement. Perhaps a more significant Yttre Mission: Några Bibliska Riklinjer) ([Stock- reason, however, is the cultural diversity of the holm] 1937) by David Landin; A Theology of the Philippine Islands. It is not uncommon for Fili- Church and Its Mission (1977) by Melvin L. pinos to speak two or more languages. In one Hodges; The Third Force in Missions (1985) by sense, one can say that cross-cultural communi- Paul A. Pomerville; The Liberating Spirit: Toward cation is something Filipinos do as a matter of an Hispanic American Pentecostal Social Ethic course in their daily lives. It is therefore not sur- (1993) by Eldin Villafañe; and Not By Might Nor prising, given the large Christian population and by Power: A Pentecostal Theology of Social Concern wide cultural diversity, that a strong indigenous in Latin America (1996) by Douglas Petersen. In missionary movement has grown and matured discussions on the mission of the Church (1990– over the years. Generally, this movement focused 95), Pentecostal scholars presented major papers at first primarily on Church Planting and Evan- on vital aspects of missiology at meetings of the gelism within the Philippine Islands. Some fifth quinquennium of the international Roman worked cross-culturally while others called Catholic­ and Classical Pentecostal Dialogue. themselves missionaries as they worked among The emergence of Pentecostal missions repre- their own people group. Nevertheless, Tagalogs sented a vibrant new thrust in evangelism at a worked among the Samal and Badjao in the time when the older missionary movement had southern Philippines or among the Ifugao or Ka- begun to decline due in part to questions raised linga people of the north. about the ultimate claims of the Christian faith. Two studies done in 1986 revealed that two- Without such hesitancies, Pentecostal missionar- thirds of the mission agencies active at that time ies have changed the landscape of Christianity in were founded in the 1970s and the first half of the twentieth century through their accent on the 1980s, when Filipino missionaries could be the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian world found in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the mission. Although contemporary statistics of Middle East, Latin America, and Africa. There- worldwide church growth appear inflated, Pente- fore, while the sending of missionaries is not a costals now represent one of the largest families new phenomenon, the number of new mission of Christians. Pentecostalism has proven to be agencies has grown significantly during the past the most dynamic force of the century for Chris- two decades. tian expansion. In 1986, Filipino national leaders, while con- Gary B. McGee sidering how to evangelize their home country, set a goal of sending two thousand new Filipino Bibliography. A. L. Clanton, United We Stand: A missionaries by the year 2000. They further sub- History of Oneness Organizations; E. L. Cleary and H. W. Stewart-Gambino, eds., Power, Politics, and Pen- divided this goal by projecting that one thousand tecostals in Latin America; M. W. Dempster, B. D. of these missionaries would be sent to minister Klaus, D. Petersen, eds., Called & Empowered: Global cross-culturally within the Philippines and one Mission in Pentecostal Perspective; W. J. Hollenweger, thousand would be sent outside of the country. 53 Possession Phenomena

Various modes of support for these missionar- The growing number of mission agencies is an ies have been used in their cross-cultural envi- indication of a developing missions movement in ronments. Some Filipino missionaries have been the Philippines. Interest in serving in missions is sponsored by Western denominations. Others high among university students and young pro- have served in Tent-Making Mission, working as fessionals, but local churches are still reluctant domestic or manual laborers, while serving to make the financial commitment to send. As Christ and giving witness to their faith in their this changes, further growth in number of mis- newfound cultural contexts. Still others have sion agencies and the expansion of existing agen- been sent by local churches and supported cies can be expected. through the sacrificial giving of the local church Eric D. Smith, Dean Wiebracht, as full-time Christian missionaries. Those in this and Thomas N. Wisely category have found missionary work difficult financially because the economic base for send- Possession Phenomena. In almost every cul- ing and supporting from the Philippines has not ture of the world the phenomenon of possession been strong enough to support the Western is known and experienced. Typical symptoms of model. Also, it has been difficult to send local possession include trance, trembling, sweating, currencies abroad due to local government re- groaning, screaming, speaking in a different strictions. Finally, several indigenous mission voice or an incoherent language, taking on a new agencies are closely connected with Western or identity, inordinate strength, inexplicable knowl- international mission agencies. The OMF Home edge, and prophecy. Often, but not always, those Council is responsible for Filipino missionaries who have been possessed have no memory of the serving with Overseas Missionary Fellowship. events of the possession after they are released New Tribes, Philippines, is also working closely (see also Exorcism). with the New Tribes Mission of North America. Explanations for possession can be classed in Many agencies are beginning to develop their three categories: physical, psychological and so- own international contacts without the benefit of cial, and spiritual. Each generally offers alterna- Western involvement. This has been facilitated tive explanations for the same phenomena. How- by the networking activity of the Missions Com- ever, the categories are not mutually exclusive; in mittee of the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia. many cultures possession first takes hold of a Three cooperative organizations are worthy of person as a result of an illness or emotional mention. AMNET, directed by Chito Navarro, is trauma, but is explained in spirit-related terms. a loose association of independent churches Physical explanations include fever, chemical imbalance, epilepsy, asthma, hypnosis, drug-­ which are cooperating to reach unreached peo- induced hallucination, severe physical trauma ples in the 10/40 Window. In 1998, they were resulting in shock, and sleepwalking. When pos- using one member mission agency, the Tribes session is purely the result of a physiological and Nations Outreach, as their sending agency. state, it will be alleviated as soon as the physical But they have been effectively promoting a mis- problem is properly treated. sions vision among their constituent churches. Psychological and social explanations include Another organization is a cooperative project of wish-fulfillment (as an attention-getting device), the Overseas Missionary Fellowship, SEND In- social stress and mob hysteria, and simulated ternational, World Team, and the Alliance of possession (as a means of obtaining a desired Bible Christian Communities Philippines. They goal). Anthropologists note the Taita of Kenya as have called it the Global Alliance Philippines an example. When Taita women are stressed be- Ministries, Inc., or GAP. This new organization cause of their husbands’ negligence, they may will be the sending agency for Filipino mission- call for a community ceremonial dance. During aries working with any of the participating inter- the dance some become possessed, and spirits national missions. They are currently consider- berate the husbands through the mouths of the ing the expansion of GAP to accommodate other wives. The husbands, fearing retribution from mission agencies which can incorporate Filipino the spirit world for disobedience, obey the direc- missionaries on their international missionary tions of the spirits. The Taita see this as actual teams. Finally, there is the Philippine Missionary possession, the anthropologists as a cultural phe- Society, which seeks to establish links between nomenon designed to alleviate social stress. Filipino missionaries and local churches or de- Spiritual explanations from a non-Christian nominations in other countries. For example, a perspective range from mystic states (e.g., a sha- local church in Guatemala may need a Christian man’s voyage) to beneficial mediumship. worker for church planting or evangelism. PMA Non-Christian perspectives do not necessarily seeks to raise funds for travel and other costs for view possession as negative. For example, it may the Filipino missionary while the church in Gua- be a sign that ancestors or spirits have chosen a temala takes on the support of that missionary person as a channel through which they will when she or he arrives. communicate with the community. From the 54 Power Ministries

Christian perspective, however, all genuine pos- challenge them. In doing so, they wagered that session (or demonization) is demonic control of the Christian God had greater power than their the person and must be dealt with by exercising gods and cast themselves completely on him for Christ’s authority. It should be noted that some protection from the revenge of their gods. Pentecostal phenomena have a surface similarity A typical power encounter would involve a to possession (e.g., slaying in the Spirit), but in priest or chief, speaking on behalf of his people, those cases the explanation is that the Holy publicly denouncing their allegiance to their Spirit is at work. god(s) in the name of Jesus and challenging the The tendency of cross-cultural workers is to god(s) to do something about it. When the god(s) apply the explanation that makes best sense in could not respond, the victory belonged to Jesus light of their own cultural framework (see Flaw and large numbers of the people usually con- of the Excluded Middle). The missionary from verted. As Tippett noted, power-oriented people a secular background may seek to explain pos- require power proof, not simply reasoning, if session purely in terms of physical or psycholog- they are to be convinced. ical categories. The missionary from an animis- The value and validity of an approach to evan- tic culture will tend to explain all the phenomena gelism that involves power confrontations is as actual possession. The former must be aware widely accepted today in missiological thinking that not all possession phenomena can be re- and practice, since it is recognized that most of duced to the physical and psychological, and the the peoples of the world are power-oriented. Cur- latter that not all that appears to be demonic rent theorists, however, have expanded Tippett’s possession is genuine demonization in the bibli- original concept to include healing and deliver- cal sense (see also Demon, Demonization). In ance from demons as power encounters. They terms of ministry, people will respond best when see Jesus’ ministry as including numerous such help is offered in categories that make sense to power encounters. These encounters are usually them culturally. Therefore the sensitive mission- less spectacular than those Tippett described but, ary will seek to develop contextualized ministry it is argued, qualify as genuine power encounters patterns that are faithful to the Scriptures and, since they involve the pitting of the power of God as far as possible, in tune with cultural practices. to bring freedom against the power of Satan to A. Scott Moreau keep people in bondage. Furthermore, such “signs and wonders” frequently result in the con- Bibliography. D. W. Augsburger, Pastoral Counseling across Cultures; J. W. Montgomery, ed., Demon Posses- version of families and even larger groups who sion; A. S. Moreau, The World of the Spirits; S. Walker, accept the healing or deliverance as demonstrat- Ceremonial Spirit Possession. ing the presence and power of God. There is, however, some difference of opinion over Power Encounter. The term “power encounter” whether such encounters should be planned or simply taken advantage of when they occur. was coined by Fuller missiologist Alan Tippett to label an event commonly experienced by the peo- It is important to note that conversion through ples of the South Pacific as they converted to power encounter does not assure that the move- Christianity. Tippett noted that people usually ment will be stable and enduring. Throughout the Scriptures we see that people can observe had come to Christ in large groupings (“People God’s mightiest demonstrations of power but Movements”) soon after a major confrontation that tested the power of their ancestral gods soon go right back to the gods who were de- against that of the Christian God, resulting in an feated. Thus it was both after Moses defeated obvious victory for the latter. These encounters Pharaoh and Elijah defeated the prophets of were reminiscent of the scriptural encounters be- Baal. So it has been in many of the power events tween Moses and Pharaoh (Exod. 7–12) and be- in the South Pacific and elsewhere. As always, tween Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings the crucial dimension in conversion is what hap- 18). pens after the turning, whether people feed and South Pacific peoples were (and are) keenly grow in their new relationship with Jesus Christ aware of the presence, activity, and power of spir- or neglect it and let it die. its. Their leaders were openly committed to the Charles H. Kraft gods of their islands. They credited these gods Bibliography. C. H. Kraft, Christianity With Power; with providing protection, food, fertility, and all M. G. Kraft, Understanding Spiritual Power; A. R. Tip- other necessities of life for them. But they also pett, People Movements in Southern Polynesia; C. P. lived in great fear of their anger and vengeance. Wagner, Confronting the Powers. To challenge the ancestral gods was unthinkable for most South Pacific peoples. Nevertheless, in Power Ministries. Proactive involvement in turning to Christ, often after years of weighing the power ministries has not been characteristic of consequences, it was chiefs and priests, those who evangelical missions until recently. Two mind- knew the gods and their power best, who chose to sets which have been widespread among tradi- 55 Power Ministries tional evangelicals, including evangelical missi- they could expect to do even greater works than ologists, have made them very cautious about he did. In the framework of Third Wave think- participating in ministries that call upon the ing, John Wimber’s Power Evangelism (1993) has Holy Spirit to manifest outwardly the kinds of been very influential in this area. power ministries prominent in the Gospels and Prophecy. A frequent experience of the apos- Acts. (1) The first mind-set is the doctrine of ces- tles was to hear God speaking direct words to sationism, which postulates that certain gifts of them for instruction or admonition or comfort. the Holy Spirit which were in use by the apos- The gift of prophecy is mentioned in the lists of tles and first-century church leaders had been spiritual gifts in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians given to the church only until the New Testa- 12. Recently, beginning particularly in the 1980s, ment canon had been completed at the end of many evangelicals have begun to accept not only the apostolic age, at which time they ceased and the gift of prophecy, but also the contemporary are no longer to be expected in the church. The office of prophet. Two works have been particu- power ministries being introduced into evangel- larly helpful in moving evangelicals out of the ical missiology today would be included, for the assumption that God does not exhibit any revela- most part, in the list of gifts which are thought tory activity today, namely, Wayne Grudem’s The to have ceased, and therefore cessationists could Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today not accept the validity of contemporary power (1988) and Jack Deere’s Surprised by the Voice of ministries. (2) The second mind-set among tra- God (1996). ditional evangelicals is a worldview suffering Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare. Taking se- from what missiologist Paul G. Hiebert called riously the biblical assertion that a major obsta- the Flaw of the Excluded Middle. The Western cle to world evangelization is the fact that Satan, worldview, strongly influenced by scientific ra- the god of this age, has blinded the minds of un- tionalism, has a difficult time comprehending believers (see 2 Cor. 4:3–4), a number of evangel- just how the supernatural powers of the invisi- icals have argued that he does this by means of ble world can and do affect daily life of human dispatching high-ranking demonic beings, some- beings. The non-Western worldview deals with times referred to as Territorial Spirits, to keep such powers on a daily basis, and therefore is cities, nations, people groups, religious blocs, much more in tune with assumptions made by and other social networks in spiritual darkness. Old Testament and New Testament writers than They attempt to follow the lead of the apostle are many Westerners. Exceptions to this among Paul, who asserts that we do not wrestle against Third World leaders are generally those who flesh and blood but against principalities and have been trained by Westerners in Western-ori- powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Under the guid- ented institutions. ance of the Holy Spirit, they use the weapons of Both of these mind-sets were seriously chal- Spiritual Warfare, principally intercession, to lenged by evangelical leaders over the final two neutralize these powers to the greatest extent decades of the twentieth century. As a result ces- possible in order to prepare the way for the har- sationism has weakened in popularity. The major vesters who are the missionaries, the church work reflecting this is Jack Deere’s Surprised by planters, the pastors, and the evangelists. The the Power of the Spirit (1993). Changes in West- major apologetic for strategic-level spiritual war- ern worldview are taking place more slowly ex- fare is C. Peter Wagner’s Confronting the Powers cept in circles influenced by the charismatic (1996), while the contrary position is expounded movement, by the New Apostolic Reformation, in Clinton Arnold’s 3 Crucial Questions about by missiologists, and by the New Age. The book Spiritual Warfare (1997) (see also Powers, The) which has been influential in helping evangeli- and Chuck Lowe’s Territorial Spirits and World cals think through the paradigm shift is Evangelization (1998). Charles H. Kraft’s Christianity with Power: Your Spiritual Mapping. Prayer directed against World View and Your Experience of the Supernat- the forces of the invisible world is seen to be ural (1989). A consequence of this is that evan- more powerful if it is accurately targeted. The as- gelical mission leaders, although not in one ac- sumption is that the more we can discover about cord, are much more open to power ministries the devices of Satan (see 2 Cor. 2:11), the more as a component of mission strategies than they vulnerable he and his forces become, and the have been in the past. Of the many facets of less he will take advantage of us. Spiritual map- power ministries now being advocated and used ping is said to be to the intercessor what X-rays by evangelical missionaries, six may be noted as are to the surgeon. One of the leading figures in areas of particular significance. advocating spiritual mapping is George Otis Jr., Supernatural Signs and Wonders. Jesus sent whose principal works are The Last of the Giants his disciples out to preach the gospel of the king- (1991) and The Twilight Labyrinth (1997). dom of God accompanied by healing the sick, Identificational Repentance. Corporate re- casting out demons, and raising the dead. He pentance has been recognized as a principal told them that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, weapon of spiritual warfare. The enemy fre- 56 Power, Theology of quently keeps people blinded to the gospel be- and mighty works you do?” (Deut. 3:24; cf. Pss. cause unremitted corporate sins, both past and 77:13; 89:6). present, provide what is the equivalent of a legal In the New Testament God’s power became in- right for the powers of darkness to afflict whole carnate in the person of Jesus Christ. His birth populations. Present generations can identify was by the power of God through the Holy Spirit with and repent for corporate sins of their ances- so that he might be called “the Son of God” tors, removing the legal right of the enemy and (Luke 1:35). As God’s Son, Christ manifested “the opening the way for the healing of national power of the Spirit” in his ministry (Luke 4:14, wounds, and for the expansion of God’s king- 18, 36). The metaphors of creation and liberation dom. The chief textbook describing this principle can also be used to describe the power of God in is John Dawson’s Healing America’s Wounds Christ’s life. As re-creator, Christ came “to seek (1994). and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Sin sep- Prayer Evangelism. While prayer has always arated humanity from God, but God in Christ played a role in the process of evangelization, has re-created those who believe to become new. some have felt that the potential power of prayer As deliverer, Christ came “to destroy the devil’s as a proactive evangelistic tool has been un- work” (1 John 3:8), to free those demonically op- derutilized. The major work arguing that prayer pressed and possessed. Christ was appointed can be used as an evangelistic methodology, “with the Holy Spirit and power” to heal “all who rather than simply as a back up to other method- were under the power of the devil, because God ologies, is Ed Silvoso’s That None Should Perish was with him” (Acts 10:38). Finally, by his resur- (1994). rection Christ is declared to be God’s Son (Rom. C. Peter Wagner 1:4) and has been exalted to God’s right hand, where he stands above all principalities and powers (Eph. 1:18–23). Power, Theology of. The power of God is a God’s ministry in Christ was not an indiscrim- major theme of Scripture. Two central Old Testa- inate demonstration of power for the sake of ment metaphors graphically depict this power. power but rather power operating in divine rela- First, God is the Creator who made from nothing tionship and through divine intention. Blind what is. From the beginning of the world God is Bartimaeus, although chastised by the multi- seen ruling over his creation by right of being its tudes, continued to cry out in faith, “Son of Creator. Humans, because they are made by David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46–52). The God, should consider themselves to be “sheep of Roman centurion demonstrated a remarkable his pasture” (Ps. 100:3). Second, God is the liber- faith in the power of Jesus to heal from a dis- ator of covenant people elected to be in relation- tance (Matt. 8:5–13). The father of the young boy ship to him. The Jewish confessional declares possessed of an evil spirit responded to Jesus’ God’s mighty acts of deliverance: “We cried out statement that “Everything is possible for him to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord who believes” by saying, “I do believe; help me heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and op- overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22–24). These pression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt works of power thus “presuppose faith both in with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, him who does the work and in those on whose with great terror and with miraculous signs and behalf they are done, so that a personal relation- wonders” (Deut. 26:7–8). ship is demanded” (Grundmann, 1985, 189). In both of these metaphors the power of God Since the Fall of Humankind, God’s rule has is not conveyed indiscriminately but in relation- been challenged by Satan. Satan, an angelic ship. Genesis 3 describes God the Creator search- being cast down from heaven because of rebel- ing for fallen humanity, calling, “Where are lion (Rev. 12:9; Van Rheenen, 1990, 264–66), cre- you?” This searching reveals the nature of God. ated a dominion which stands in opposition to He seeks to reestablish an intimate relationship the Kingdom of God. The gods of the Old Testa- between himself and his creation rather than ment, demons of the Gospels, and principalities merely exercise his power to punish. God’s deliv- and powers of Pauline literature are various ter- erance of the Israelites from Egypt was covenant minologies describing the forces of Satan (see deliverance: God delivered from oppression also Powers, The). Although described by these those with whom he had developed a relation- various terms, they all reflect the forces of the ship (Exod. 3:23–24). Based on this relationship devil, who “has been sinning from the begin- (Exod. 20: 1), God called Israel into an exclusive ning” (1 John 3:8). Humans were created free to relationship with him (Exod. 20:2–7). Through- choose either the dominion of Satan or the king- out the Old Testament God is contrasted to the dom of God (Gen. 2:16; 3:1–5). gods of the nations by the use of rhetorical ques- Sometimes God’s power is not apparent in a tions demonstrating his incomparability. Moses, world largely controlled by Satan (1 John 5:19). for example, praised God, asking, “What god is Followers of God ask, “Why do you hide your there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds face?” (Ps. 44) or “God, my Rock, why have you 57 Powers, The forgotten me?” (Ps. 42). Christians, participating Likewise, these understandings help us compre- in the sufferings of Christ (1 Peter 4:13), cry out hend the nature of spiritual warfare. Spiritual in anguish, pleading for God to intervene (Rev. warfare is not about fighting Satan; he has been 6:9–11). During these times of suffering, Chris- defeated by the triumphal resurrection of Jesus tians stand in faith, acknowledging God’s ulti- Christ. Spiritual warfare rather is standing firm mate sovereignty. in Christ’s mighty power. It is accepting God’s Not only is God’s power quantitatively greater victory through Christ by faith and allowing than Satan’s, the quality is also different. Satan’s God’s redemptive power to work through Christ. power is debasing—contorting the disobedient Gailyn Van Rheenen who follow the cravings of their own sinful nature Bibliography. C. E. Arnold, Ephesians: Magic and (Eph. 2:3). God’s power, based on his great love, Power, W. Grundmann, TDNT Abridged, pp. 186–91; raises believers above these earthly cravings into J. R. W. Stott and R. Coote, eds. Down to Earth: Studies heavenly realms (Eph. 2:4–6). Paul’s prayer in in Christianity and Culture; G. Van Rheenen, Communi- Ephesians 3:14–21 interweaves God’s power with cating Christ in Animistic Contexts; idem, Missiology his great love. Arnold writes, “Christ . . . roots and 21:1 (January 1993): 41–53. establishes the believer in his own love and strengthens the believer to follow the pattern of Powers, The. Given the reality of Territorial that love (3:16–17).” He succinctly contrasts Spirits and their hostility to the gospel and to Christian perspectives of power and love with the people of God, some missiologists have been pagan Ephesian perspectives: “In magic, many of calling the church to take a direct and aggressive the recipes and spells were used for the purpose stance toward these supernatural powers. New of gaining advantage over people—winning a strategies have been devised involving practices chariot race, attracting a lover, winning at dice, such as “spiritual mapping” (discerning the spirit etc. God’s power enables the believer to love after powers) and “warfare prayer” to enable evange- the pattern of Christ. The seemingly impossible lists and Christian leaders to nullify the influence demands of this kind of love require divine en- of territorial spirits and thereby enhance the re- ablement in order for them to be fulfilled” (1989, ceptivity of a people to the gospel. Many have 100). wondered, however, whether these new practices Humans frequently misuse the power of God are biblically rooted and, more importantly, and contort it for their own selfish, egocentric whether believers have the authority to engage purposes. The Willowbank Report says, “Power territorial spirits. in human hands is always dangerous. We have to Since the mid-1980s numerous stories of Chris- mind the recurring theme of Paul’s two letters to tians effectively battling territorial spirits have the Corinthians—that God’s power, seen in the surfaced from all over the world, including the cross of Christ, operates through human weak- United States, Argentina, Korea, Japan, Canada, ness (e.g., 1 Cor. 1:18–2:5; 2 Cor. 4:7; 12:9, 10). and elsewhere. More than anywhere else, Argen- Worldly people worship power; Christians who tina became the focal point for the implementa- have it know its perils” (Stott and Coote, 1980, tion of a strategy involving a direct attack against 327). The power of God must never be used to territorial rulers. Some evangelists and pastors in give glory to human personalities or human in- that country exercised authority in Jesus’ name to stitutions. Ultimate power is of God, and its use cast out or bind the spirits over certain cities. Ac- in defeating Satan must only give glory to God. cording to the practitioners, the results have been There is always significant distortion of the dramatic. Once the territorial ruler has been iden- Christian message when Christianity is reduced tified and cast down, massive outpourings of peo- to power. God’s power must always be seen in a ple converting to the gospel have followed and broad eschatological framework: God, who has churches have grown exponentially. already defeated Satan through the death and Following the 1989 Lausanne Congress II in resurrection of Christ, will consummate his work Manila, an international group was formed to at the end of time. Currently believers stand be- share and discuss ideas about battling the pow- tween the times: Christ, who has come, will re- ers in the context of world mission. The “Spiri- turn at the end of time. tual Warfare Network” (SWN) has met annually These theological perspectives on power under the leadership of C. Peter Wagner, pro- should guide Christians to understand both fessor in the School of World Mission at Fuller Prayer and Spiritual Warfare. Prayer should Theological Seminary. The group officially be- never be understood primarily in terms of power came part of the prayer track of the AD 2000 and but rather as relating to God who is the source of Beyond Movement. Wagner compiled many of all power. The difference between the two is sig- the new insights and went public with a strategy nificant. If prayer is understood as power, Chris- for engaging high-ranking powers over cities and tians will readily seek power words or rituals territories—a strategy he called “Strategic Level rather than personally relating to a sovereign Spiritual Warfare” (SLSW). Wagner’s numerous God and waiting for him to act in his own time. books on the issue have attracted significant at- 58 Powers, The tention as he has essentially become the princi- pentance have also often inappropriately applied pal spokesperson for SLSW. covenant promises given to the nation of Israel At the heart of the new strategy is a threefold directly to contemporary nations and cities. Be- emphasis on (1) discerning the territorial spirits lievers do not function in a priestly role between assigned to a city, (2) dealing with the corporate God and their nation in the sense that they bear sin of a city or area, and (3) engaging in aggres- a responsibility for confessing the sin of the un- sive “warfare prayer” against the territorial spir- believing population to God. Their responsibility its. “Spiritual mapping” is one method for dis- is to confess their own sins (perhaps even corpo- cerning the territorial spirits. According to rately) and proclaim a gospel that consists of the George Otis, Jr., the originator of the spiritual possibility for reconciliation between sinners mapping concept, this task involves conducting and God. an extensive spiritual analysis of a city or country The final aspect of battling territorial spirits— especially focused on the religious history of the and perhaps the most controversial part—is the area. This information can provide specific clues direct engagement with the territorial spirits. for understanding the spiritual forces that are at Some have called this “warfare prayer,” but it is work. This information is given to intercessors not properly prayer since it is not directed to who can then pray with much more specificity God. Many proponents of SLSW would contend and according to how the Spirit leads them. that there is a stage in the battle where one needs Some advocates of SLSW have taken “spiritual to take authority in the name of Jesus and com- mapping” much further and have sought infor- mand the ruling spirit(s) to leave. They contend mation from pagan and occult contexts about that just as Jesus himself commanded Satan to spiritual forces. They have even understood leave after his temptation with the words, “Away mapping to be the attempt to uncover the de- with you, Satan!” (Matt. 4:10), believers have the monic grids of power in a given city. This uncrit- responsibility to come against him in the cities ical acceptance of information from occult or and regions of their ministry. idolatrous contexts has led a number of critics to There are difficulties with this last aspect of wonder whether some SLSW advocates are fall- ing into a syncretistic form of Christian ani- the strategy. Jesus was not evicting Satan from mism. Jerusalem with his remarks, he was simply tell- Since the mid-1990s, a strong emphasis in ing Satan to leave his person. In fact, there is no SLSW has been placed on the practice of “identi- example in the Bible of any leader discerning a ficational repentance.” In fact, the Philosophy of territorial ruler and commanding it to leave its Prayer statement for the United Prayer Track of territory. Jesus did not throw down the ruling the AD 2000 and Beyond Movement states, “no spirit over Galilee or Judea; Paul did not com- aspect of warfare prayer is more important than mand the spirit over Corinth to “be gone” nor identificational repentance.” The assumption did he bind the territorial ruler over Rome. Per- here is that corporate sin in a city or area has haps most instructive is the fact that in the most provided openings for high-ranking principali- informative Old Testament account about terri- ties and powers to establish spiritual strong- torial spirits, Daniel was not engaging in any holds. These must be dealt with through the cor- kind of warfare prayer against the heavenly pow- porate identification with the sins of a city and ers (Dan. 10:13, 20, 21). He was involved in pray- then confessing and repenting of these sins as a ing and fasting on behalf of the people of Israel means of effecting reconciliation and thereby and actually had no awareness of the angelic breaking Satan’s grip on the city. The strongest struggle in the spiritual realm until he was told advocate of this approach has been John Daw- after the fact by the interpreting angel. son. Debate still continues over the propriety of Some advocates of SLSW believe that by en- SLSW, but the current consensus remains to be gaging in identificational repentance they can that God has not given believers the authority or “remit” the sins of others. But there is no sense responsibility to cast demons out of cities or ter- in which one Christian can apply the atoning ritories. God himself will direct his angels to and forgiving work of Jesus to another person fight the battles against the high-ranking powers. who has not personally exercised faith in Christ. Clinton E. Arnold What these proponents often mean, however, is that the intergenerational curse resulting from Bibliography. C. E. Arnold, Three Crucial Questions the sins of the ancestors can be lifted by identify- About Spiritual Warfare; D. Greenlee, Missiology 22:4 (October, 1994): 507–14; E. Rommen, ed., Spiritual ing oneself with those sins and confessing them. Power and Missions. Raising the Issues; C. P. Wagner, But once again, there is no scriptural evidence Confronting the Powers: How the New Testament supporting the notion that believers can vicari- Church Experienced the Power of Strategic-Level Spiri- ously confess the sins of other people and re- tual Warfare; idem, Warfare Prayer. How to Seek God’s move God’s temporal penalty, or curse, on the Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His King- corporate sin. Advocates of identificational re- dom; M. Wakely, EMQ 31:2 (April, 1995): 152–62. 59 Renewal Movements

Renewal Movements. Change is an inevitable Religion grows stale when excitement, sacrifice, part of life. All cultures and religions experience and commitment give way to cold, mechanical, times of decline and decay. In order for them to and impersonal performance. What began as a survive, revitalization and renewal are necessary. vibrant movement hardens into a lifeless organi- Cultural Revitalization. Revitalization move- zation. Vision is lost. Focus shifts from people to ments are a deliberate effort to construct a more programs, from flexibility to rigidity, from minis- satisfying Culture. Though they may include re- try to administration. The shell of religiosity no ligious elements, their major focus involves the longer satisfies the human need to meet the holy. entire cultural system. When reality provides no A seedbed for change, the conditions for renewal escape from the frustration of social deteriora- are present. tion, revitalization movements offer a way out. Religion should be an intensely personal mat- The Ghost Dance of the American Indians, the ter expressed in a closely knit community. When Mau Mau of Africa, and the Cargo Cults of Mel- these are absent, renewal will focus on individu- anesia longed for the defeat of an enemy, free- als and organizations. Individual renewal is dom from slavery, and arrival of utopian riches. needed when religious fervor wanes. Spiritual re- These dreams were nurtured by anxiety that freshment comes from above (chants, sermons, reached an explosive intensity. In each case, the prayer, meditations, songs, and pilgrimages help anticipated overthrow of an existing system— fan the dying embers of a sagging faith into the and inauguration of a replacement—was an at- glowing warmth of a new life). Newness ex- tempt to reduce stress. presses itself in two areas. First, individual re- According to Anthony Wallace, a common se- newal will result in personal restoration. People quence in revitalization movements involves: will rededicate themselves to their religion, re- (1) the normal state in which needs are ade- commit themselves to their God or gods. A per- quately met by existing components in the soci- sonal restoration includes abandoning an old life ety; (2) a period of increased stress, where frus- and adopting a new life that brings knowledge, tration is amplified by outside domination or healing, liberation, purity, salvation, or forgive- lack of material goods; (3) a time of cultural dis- ness. Second, individual renewal will express it- tortion when normative methods of releasing self in ritual rejuvenation. Ritual is a way of act- tension are laid aside; and (4) the rise of a revi- ing out religion, a way of escaping the secular talization movement, a dynamic group within a routine of daily living to enter spiritual realms. community dedicated to overcoming degrada- The solution to dead rituals is not rejecting but tion in their midst. Often these movements are regenerating them. Renewal reinstills the sacred out of touch with reality, doomed to failure from in worship. A confrontation with the holy re- the start. Sometimes revitalization movements stir a latent power within a culture whereby sat- stores a sense of awe, mystery, or respect for the isfying correctives are generated. As a result, fur- divine. ther decline is avoided, achieving a new normal Organizational renewal is needed when an in- state. stitution imposes dehumanizing rules and proce- Spiritual Renewal. Religions remain viable dures on its members. Since some sort of reli- only as they periodically experience renewal. The gious system is essential, the solution is not divine side of renewal is called revival. The destroying but renewing organization. Reform- human manifestation is labeled nativistic, messi- ing churches, monasteries, fellowships, orders, anic, millennial, or renewal movements. Though agencies, and movements will minimize their they differ in form and content from place to evil and maximize their good. Organizational re- place and from time to time, renewal movements newal takes two forms. First, it manifests itself typically emerge when religions lose their vital- in para-institutions. Those organizations that ity. Where renewal furnishes a system of mean- stand alongside existing institutions address par- ingful beliefs and practices—a system useful in ticular issues that have been neglected, lost, or dealing with the realities of life—old beliefs and deemphasized by the older organizations. Such practices are altered or abandoned (depending groups attract talented people with high commit- on the extent and immediacy of the need for ment. As older organizations lose members and change). Under such circumstances, teachers, resources, they either die, create rivalries, or leaders, messengers, prophets, or messiahs pro- renew themselves. Recent Christian para-institu- vide supernaturally sanctioned reinterpretations tions include Focus on the Family, Promise of traditional ideologies, establish a new sect Keepers, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, within the old religious system, or begin a new Christian Business Man’s Club, Youth for Christ, religion. Spiritual renewal usually involves both Navigators, and Campus Crusade for Christ (see borrowing and inventing, a reworking of old and Parachurch Agencies). Non-Christian para-insti- adding of new religious elements. tutions include the Rastafarians, Radhasoami, Renewal is instigated by various conditions Eckankar, Theosophy, and the Anthroposophical and implemented through different processes. Society. 60 Short-term Missions

Organizational renewal reveals itself in new tiveness in such contexts depends in part on a re- structures. When bureaucratic inertia and mem- lationship of trust and open communication be- bership nominalism deaden an organization, tween the various partners, as well as clear lines those who retain the commitment of the “found- of accountability between the missionaries and ing fathers” may begin anew. Reshaping the old the various groups with which they are associ- seems hopeless. New structures become a viable ated. option. Catholic orders and Protestant denomi- Harold Netland nations are salient Christian examples of this phenomenon. Black Muslims, New Thought Short-term Missions. A term typically used to Movement, The Self-Realization Fellowship, describe missionary service, normally involving Soka Gakkai, Great White Brotherhood, and the cross-cultural immersion, that is intentionally Bahai faith are new structures that grew out of designed to last from a few weeks to less than non-Christian religious organizations. two years. Culture and religion provide a worldview that Short-term missions finds its roots in the describes and explains the nature of the uni- Scriptures and, in a broad sense, can be under- verse, humanity, and the holy. As circumstances stood through the words of Jesus in the Great render elements of Worldview impracticable, Commandment (Matt. 22:37–39) and the Great new beliefs and practices are required. Where Commission (Matt. 28:18–20). In a sense Jesus es- change is slow, there is usually time for gradual tablishes the guidelines for the early short-term adjustments. Where change is rapid, traditional mission experiences and demonstrates what is at beliefs and practices fail to help adherents adjust the core of short-term missions in the sending quickly enough. As a consequence, cultural revi- out of the twelve (Matt. 10:1–42) and the seven- talization and spiritual renewal often develop. ty-two (Luke 10:1–20). He states quite clearly When these adaptive efforts succeed, new cul- that those who are sent must love the Lord their tural and spiritual expressions are born that will God with all their heart, soul, and mind and then last until they also become irrelevant to the ever- love their neighbor as themselves. From that changing ways of life. posture, they must recognize that all authority Ed Mathews has been given to him; therefore, they should go Bibliography. P. Hammond, An Introduction to Cul- and make disciples of all nations. tural and Social Anthropology; P. Hiebert, Anthropologi- Scope. As a modern-day phenomenon, the cal Reflections on Missiological Issues; C. Kottak, An- short-term missions movement has spanned the thropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity; globe and has provided opportunities for thou- A. Wallace, An Anthropological View; idem, Culture and sands of individuals to experience, for a brief Personality. time, the world of missions. The length of service often varies from a week to several years. Mis- Secondment. Practice of missionary personnel sion agencies, churches, high schools, colleges who have their primary identification with one and universities, parachurch ministries, families, particular mission agency or institution being and individuals are increasingly exploring and “seconded,” or assigned, to another institution in promoting short-term missions. The wide variety which to carry out their ministry. This can take a of people taking advantage of these opportuni- variety of forms and be undertaken for various ties include youth, college and university stu- reasons. A missionary serving with, for example, dents, single adults, families, and seniors. The the Evangelical Free Church Mission might de- kinds of work that individuals and teams engage sire to work in a context in which the mission in include, but are not limited to, construction agency has no plans to establish a work. The projects, teaching English, athletics and sports, missionary, while still remaining a Free Church drama and the arts, medical and health care, missionary, might be seconded to a different evangelism and discipleship, church planting, agency (perhaps OMF International) which does youth ministries, camp work, prayer and re- have work in that context. The Free Church mis- search, and general assistance. sionary would then work within the OMF struc- Growth. The short-term missions movement ture in that ministry. Secondment often occurs has grown dramatically over the past several de- with more specialized ministries (medical mis- cades. Mission agencies, church denominations, sions, theological education, relief and develop- and parachurch organizations as well as indepen- ment, missions aviation, radio, etc.) so that a dent teams continue to contribute to the large specialist can be assigned to ministry in institu- numbers involved in the short-term missions en- tions requiring his or her skills. Often such insti- terprise. During the late 1990s, more than thirty tutions are cooperative ventures, drawing on var- thousand individuals joined forces each year with ious denominational and missions organizations. career missionaries and nationals to serve in The practice of secondment reflects a healthy urban centers, towns, and countries around the trend toward greater cooperation among various world. This rapid growth is due in part to mod- denominational and missions structures. Effec- ern travel that allows individuals to journey to 61 Signs and Wonders the remotest areas of the world in a relatively churches, nationals, and missionaries on the short time. There continues to be a desire on the field in order to clarify expectations. Thorough part of those who go to make themselves avail- preparation for those on the field, as well as the able in service without committing their entire short-term workers, is essential. A clear under- lives to a missions career. There has been an standing developed through training in the areas overwhelming acknowledgment of short-term of spiritual formation, cultural issues, and inter- missions in recent years, and, though there is personal dynamics is necessary. Short-term much discussion about the practice, it is obvious workers should also understand the biblical that short-term missions is a powerful and effec- basis of their service. Realistic expectations for tive force in the modern missions movement. the short-term worker must be explored. Those The Critics. Many have been critical of short- expectations should assume a posture of learn- term missions for numerous reasons. One of the ing and a desire to serve with the national lead- main criticisms focuses on the motivation of ers and career missionaries in a supportive part- those who go. Many career missionaries feel that nership. One of the most important dimensions short-term missionaries lack real commitment of any short-term mission is careful reflection at and endurance. Often the national church ques- the end of the experience. Short-term workers tions the presence of the short-term worker in must debrief and process their experience so that their culture because it appears that the motiva- they can be responsible with what they have tion of the short-termer is unclear. Some feel been allowed to experience. This will not only that the short-term workers provide a distraction enable short-term workers to understand their for career missionaries. Other concerns focus on mission experience better, but it will allow them the perception that the results from short-term to communicate their vision to others. ministry are unreliable and there is little lasting Conclusion. The short-term mission move- fruit produced from the work of the short-term ment is rooted in the Scriptures and will con- workers. Many suggest that the financial costs tinue to be a driving force for the advancement are too high and possibly take money away from of the global cause of Jesus Christ. Short-term career missionaries. missions must continue to be tied to long-term The Value. Despite the many criticisms, short- missions. Partnerships must be forged between term missions is moving forward. The short- the ones who go, the national hosts, the career term missions movement definitely has been a missionaries, the sending church, and those with key factor in the mobilization of world mission whom the short-term workers serve. Training, globally. The present generation of missionary preparation, and careful follow-up will be vital candidates tends to make their decisions and elements to the effectiveness of the work. As commitments based on the knowledge gained these areas intersect, short-term missions will through firsthand experience. As a result of fulfill its intended goals and will continue to en- short-term service a world vision can be devel- able people to develop a global missionary vision oped that in turn affects the mobilization efforts and make an impact for the cause of Christ. of the church at large. In addition, many feel Dennis Massaro that short-term missions provides valuable re- spite for career missionaries, brings a fresh en- Bibliography. S. Barnes, EMQ 28:4 (1992): 376–81; B. Berry, Mission Today 96 Special Report- Short-Term thusiasm from the outside, and accomplishes Missions; idem, The Short Term Mission Handbook; practical projects as well as significant ministry. S. Hawthorne ed., Stepping Out; J. Nyquist and P. Hie- Obviously, many who serve in short-term mis- bert, Trinity World Forum, Spring 1995, pp. 1–4; sions are likely candidates for long-term service, L. Pelt, EMQ 28: 4 (1992): 384–88; M. Pocock, EMQ and in fact, a significant number of career mis- 23:2 (1987): 154–60; J. Raymo, Marching to a Different sionaries today have had a short-term mission Drummer; B. Sjogren and B. Sterns, Run with the Vi- experience. Those who return without making a sion. commitment to long-term service are able to im- pact the churches that they are a part of with a Signs and Wonders. Biblical expression that re- global awareness and an expanded vision of fers to God’s powerful and miraculous interven- God’s work in the world. As a result, the prayer tions in creation. In Scripture, these acts were efforts and the giving patterns for missions are performed by God through his servants and in- enhanced. cluded miraculous healings, demonic expulsions, Needs. The short-term missions experience is control over natural phenomena, and Power En- valid, but there are some important components counters. Signs and wonders usually occurred that must be put into place to ensure its effec- in conjunction with the proclamation of God’s tiveness. A careful selection process should be message in the Old Testament or with proclama- established so that those who are sent know the tion of the Kingdom of God in the New Testa- purpose for which they are being sent and are ment. The purpose of the signs and wonders was willing to go as learners and servants. Clear com- to reveal the glory of God and his grace and munication channels should be established with power, to authenticate God’s message and mes- 62 Sodality and Modality senger, to confirm Jesus Christ as the promised On the other end of the spectrum is the Pente- Messiah, and to usher in the kingdom of God. costal view that every Christian and church The healings and demonic deliverances of Jesus should experience and minister with signs and and the disciples were considered part of the wonders. Healings, deliverance, and power en- gospel itself. In the Book of Acts, signs and won- counters are part of the gospel message. Effec- ders followed the apostles and accompanied the tive evangelism occurs where the gospel is pro- verbal proclamation of the gospel. There is a pat- claimed with power, and the signs and wonders tern of growth and expansion of the church that that accompany such evangelism are the same as followed these recorded miracles in Scripture. In those in the New Testament. John Wimber popu- many cases Persecution followed the period of larized one expression of this position and growth. played a key role in the increased use of signs Records and references to different types of and wonders among Western missionaries. signs and wonders were prevalent in the writings A third view affirms the presence of signs and of the early church fathers. From the fifth cen- wonders as important tools of evangelism and tury until the twentieth century, reports of mira- church growth, yet does not see them as norma- cles, however, decreased, although there are nu- tive. Proponents of this view affirm the need for merous accounts of miracles and power signs and wonders in mission, but caution encounters in conjunction with frontier missions. against an overemphasis and unbalanced view. For example, power encounters, demonic deliver- They caution that in practice, signs and wonders ance, and healings are attributed to missionaries have often taken center stage, at the expense of such as Boniface (680–754) and Ulfilas (c. 311– the verbal gospel message. Furthermore, they 383). warn that it is easy to fall into a formula ap- In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the proach, an evangelical form of magic. Finally there is the concern that often miracles are re- scientific, rational, Western Worldview shaped the missionary perspective of supernatural phe- ported and claimed where there are none. Signs and wonders are affirmed, but there is a need for nomena (see also Enlightenment). Emphasis was placed on verbal proclamation without any dis- an overall balance in the reliance on the miracu- lous in evangelism. tinctive manifestations of God’s supernatural The debate remains as to the nature and place power, and supernatural phenomena were ex- of signs and wonders in evangelism and mission. plained in nonsupernatural terms. Recently, how- The conclusion of these questions is based pri- ever, many missionaries have found the need to marily on the paradigm from which these issues combine the preaching of the gospel with some are addressed. The evidence shows that many of form of power manifestation to reach the people those ministering with signs and wonders have (see also Power Mission and Powers, The). This and are experiencing conversion growth. This is is most prominent in areas and cultures that ad- especially the case among resistant peoples. The here to some form of supernatural worldview. In proclamation of the gospel in conjunction with many cases, these signs and wonders are fol- signs and wonders has been the deciding factor lowed by conversions and explosive church for the conversion of many. growth. Mark Wagner A renewed emphasis on signs and wonders brought forth by the charismatic and Third Wave Bibliography. G. S. Grieg and K. N. Springer, eds., movements has reestablished the need and place The Kingdom and the Power; E. N. Gross, Miracles, De- of signs and wonders in the evangelism process. mons, and Spiritual Warfare: An Urgent Call for Discern- ment; P. G. Hiebert, Anthropological Reflections on Mis- This topic has become widely debated among siological Issues; C. P. Wagner, comp., Signs and theologians and missiologists. The two main Wonders Today; V. J. Sterk, Missiology 20 (July 1992): questions in the discussion are: Do signs and 371–84; D. Williams, Signs, Wonders, and the Kingdom wonders still exist today as they did in biblical of God; J. Wimber, Power Evangelism. times? What part should they play in evangelism and missions today? Sodality and Modality. Roman Catholics have On one end of the spectrum is the cessasionist found the term sodality handy to refer to groups view that signs and wonders ceased with the age of younger and older women organized in a fel- of the apostles since their purpose was to con- lowship to handle some function within a parish. firm the message preached by the apostles. Signs They apparently needed a word that did not in- and wonders may occur today at the initiative of clude whole families but could refer to fellow- God in areas were the gospel is introduced for ships along age, sex, or task lines. The Protestant the first time. However, such occurrences are church historian, Latourette, employed the term very rare. Generally it is assumed that healings in that same sense. and other signs and wonders are no longer seen Cultural anthropologists came along and ex- today and that verbal proclamation of the gospel panded the usage to include groups such as cus- is sufficient. tomary teams of young men who would together 63 Spiritual Warfare handle, say, irrigation duties. They have used it ing in that direction. The “churches” of the mis- to refer to any coherent sub-group within a com- sion field and in the New Testament are often ba- munity which does not include entire families sically clusters of extended families and thus, like but only teams, task forces, or social groups of small towns and other civil entities, true modali- some kind. This has been the meaning when ties. paired with the newly coined term, modality. Ralph D. Winter The very word sodality harks back to the Latin, meaning social group. But why would a term like Spiritual Warfare. Spiritual warfare is the this be in a dictionary of missions? And how did Christian encounter with evil supernatural pow- modality get connected to it? The author of this ers led by Satan and his army of fallen angels, entry once wrote an article distinguishing be- generally called demons or evil spirits (see tween church communities and mission bodies, Demon, Demons). The original battle was be- and needed a pair of general terms to do so. Jim tween Satan and God, but on the level of the Reapsome retitled that article (Evangelical Mis- heavenlies, the war has been won decisively by sions Quarterly, Oct. 1970), as “Churches need God (Col. 2:15; 1 John 3:8). On earth the battles missions because modalities need sodalities.” continue, but the issue is to determine not who Later, in a much more detailed historical study, will win but whether God’s people will appropri- “The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mis- ate the victory won for them by the cross and the sion” (Missiology 2:1 [January 1974]: 121–39) resurrection. this writer compared the synagogue as a modal- The conflict began in the Garden of Eden as ity to the sodalities constituted by Pharisaic mis- recorded in Genesis 3 and will continue until the sion bands that “traversed land and sea to make fulfillment of the events predicted in Revelation a proselyte,” and, consequently compared the 20. Scripture makes it clear that Satan leads the Antioch congregation as a modality related to, anti-God and anti-Christian forces as “the prince but not with authority over, the sodality of Paul’s of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) or “the missionary band (which was not responsible to god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) and as a leader of just one church). Then, in a major jump of time the fallen angels (Matt. 25:41). It is also clear, the parallel logically arose between the later Roman parishes as modalities when compared however, that although Satan gained some mea- to the Roman orders which could be called so- sure of control through the events in the garden, dalities along with what Protestants often call God retains ultimate sovereignty over his cre- ation. God’s people are assured of victory in the parachurch structures (see also Parachurch battle when they engage the enemy on the basis Agencies and Mission)—which normally do not count whole families as members. In a “mission- of faith and obedience—the conditions set by ary family,” for example, usually only the adult God in his covenant with Israel and the implica- members of the family are considered members tions of submitting to God in James 4:7. of the mission. They are the ones who have made Every battle Israel fought in the conquest of a second adult decision to become members. Canaan was won or lost on spiritual consider- Some others have referred to the same distinc- ations. When Israel obeyed God’s commands and tion with the phrases church structures and mis- acted on the basis of faith, God gave them vic- sion structures, the difficulty being that it is im- tory no matter what the military situation. The portant to insist that both structures are equally battle was ultimately between God and the gods. part of the church of Jesus Christ. While idols are treated in the Old Testament with It is especially important to note that the sodal- contempt as utterly devoid of spiritual power ity/modality distinction does not correspond pre- (Ps. 114:4–8; Isa. 40:18–20; 44:9–20; Jer. 10:3ff.), cisely to the common church/parachurch termi- the god or spirit behind the idol was treated as nology. One difference is that the sodality/ real (cf. Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37; 1 Cor. 10:18–20). modality terms in broad meaning may refer to Yahweh was often compared to the gods (1 Kings secular entities, not just Christian entities. Even 8:23; 1 Chron. 16:25; Pss. 86:8; 96:4; 135:5). That more specifically, many misunderstand the sodal- was not a comparison with nothing. It was the ity/modality terminology to categorize denomina- sovereign God compared to the angels who were tional mission boards as modalities (just because in rebellion against him. they are closely allied with modalities) and fail to This battle is portrayed in the Gospels and in see that sodalities may (and should) track closely the rest of the New Testament. Paul states clearly with one or more denominations, and often do, that “our struggle is . . . against the powers of just as military structures are usually linked this dark world and against the spiritual forces closely to civil modalities. Also, in America, a of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). These newly founded “church” fellowship is very much are real enemies, and resistance against them like a sodality if it is merely a “gathered” congre- will involve spiritual warfare. While we are as- gation of individual believers. It does not neatly fit sured of victory in the battle, we are never as- into the modality category though it may be head- sured that we will not have to fight in the battle. 64 Spiritual Warfare

The influence of the Enlightenment and later Ultimately spiritual warfare is the battle for the evolutionary hypothesis began a process the mind. Satan knows that people will always which has resulted in the secularization of the live what they really believe, even if they do not Western worldview. As a result, biblical refer- live what they profess to believe. Since one’s be- ences to the role of spirit beings in the realm of lief about God is foundational to all other beliefs, the created world are often misinterpreted or ig- Satan will almost always begin by trying to per- nored in dealing with the text, and many mis- vert one’s belief about the character of God. It sionaries have gone to the field with a defective happened in Eden. Satan said that God’s state- worldview, resulting in serious flaws in their ap- ment about dying if people ate of the fruit was a proach to animistic belief systems. lie and that God could therefore not be trusted. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a He also implied that God could not love them tendency to overemphasize the role of spirits and withhold that beautiful, desirable fruit from which produces a Christian Syncretism with An- them. Once they began to question the integrity imism. People use the Bible as a good luck charm of God, they came under Satan’s control. to protect one from evil spirits, prescribe certain It appears that Satan’s great desire is to be God words or expressions to be used in dealing with (Luke 4:5–7; 2 Thess. 2:3, 4). This is also seen in demons, or assume that knowing the name of a the Old Testament in the conflict between God demon gives more power over it. People coming and the gods. As noted above, the real power be- from animistic backgrounds also fall into syncre- hind the “gods” in the Old Testament is Satan tism, but that is usually because the Christians and his host of evil spirits. This same principle who introduce them to Christ do not help them applies to all religious systems which set forth a understand the Christian worldview as it relates god other than the Yahweh of Scripture. So the to issues of spiritual power. battle is still in process. Unfortunately, many Much of this confusion stems from the fact missionaries have failed to help their converts that Satan’s primary tactic is deception. That make a thorough worldview change from an ani- does not mean that everything a demon says is a mistic view in which the spirit world is manipu- lie. Deception gains its power by concealing the lable to a Christian view in which a sovereign lie in surrounding truth. What is needed is dis- God is in control. Not only can God not be ma- cernment, not simply in responding to what a nipulated by us, there is absolutely nothing we demon may say but in dealing with the deceiving can do to commend ourselves to God. We are ut- spirits that are constantly trying to confuse our terly dependent on his grace as a means of deal- belief system (Rev. 12:9; 1 Tim. 4:1). ing with our sin and relating to him on a daily The primary issue in deception is always truth, basis. The very definition of sin is dependent on and Satan deceives especially concerning the one’s view of the holiness and sovereignty of source of power and of knowledge. God has pro- God. A low view of sin stems from a low view of vided all the power and knowledge we need to God. live as “more than conquerors” in Christ; but Thus winning in spiritual warfare always ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been needs to begin with a right view of God and with trying to cause us not to trust God to provide the a right view of what it means to be a child of power we need and to doubt our ability to know God. If we say that we are children of God by God and to trust the Word of God. faith but believe that we have to earn our daily Satan uses his power to cause us to fear him. standing with God, we become the victims of an For Christians to fear Satan they must first impossible situation. By grace God makes us doubt the power and provision of God for victory “co-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17)—a standing over Satan. Thus he accomplishes two goals: to which we could never earn by our own efforts. cause Christians to doubt God and to gain some Believing that this is indeed our position “in measure of control over them through fear. Christ” provides the only viable position from But Satan will also seek to entice people—be- which to resist the enemy. The battle looks very lievers or unbelievers—to take power from him different from the vantage point of the throne of rather than from God. He comes as an angel of God than it does from the context of the circum- light and makes his power seem desirable. This stances of our lives on earth. brings one into contact with a long list of occult In missionary ministry this battle may well be practices such as fortune telling, magic, sorcery, more like a Power Encounter than the battle for and witchcraft. Satan has enough power to pro- the mind which underlies it. Paul says that his duce some striking results— “counterfeit mira- call was “to open their eyes, to bring them from cles, signs and wonders” (2 Thess. 2:10). Some darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to people only ask, “Does it work?” rather than “Is God” (Acts 26:18). Thus evangelism is a kind of it from God; is it true?” Many people end up with power encounter, and converts need to under- a spiritual stronghold in their lives because they stand clearly that they are moving from one have fallen for Satan’s deceptive use of power. realm of spiritual power to another. 65 Suffering

Often associated with conversion is the de- flicted in every way,” he writes, “but not crushed; struction of objects used in non-Christian reli- perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, gious practices. This is a visible renunciation of but not forsaken; struck down, but not de- the old ways and old worldview, but it is also a stroyed; always carrying in the body the death of challenge to the “gods” behind the objects to de- Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made fend themselves if they are able. visible in our bodies” (4:8–10). Missionaries may well see overt demonic activ- It is important to remember, as Douglas Web- ity (see Possession Phenomena), and they need to ster observes, that the Greek word for Witness, know how to minister with confidence in such a martus, soon acquired a new meaning, one who situation. Many places have been opened to the died for the faith, and it has been transliterated as gospel through seeing a person set free from evil martyr, thus “combining the ideas of mission and spirits. Spiritual practitioners in other religions suffering” (1966, 104). To be a witness will there- may challenge Christians to demonstrate their fore result in suffering, sometimes in death. This power in a variety of ways. The missionary needs has been particularly true for missionaries. For to be prepared to respond appropriately. Ulti- some, mission has meant violent death, for ex- mately prayer may be the most important ample, John Williams, Eleanor Chestnut, and weapon in the Christian’s arsenal against the Archbishop Oscar Romero. For others it has enemy. meant harassment, arrest, and months or years Timothy M. Warner in prison, for example, Adoniram Judson and William Wade Harris. How many have suffered Bibliography. N. Anderson, How to Help Others Find the loss of spouses and/or children, for example, Freedom in Christ; M. Kraft, Understanding Spiritual Power; A. S. Moreau, The Essentials of Spiritual War- George Schmidt, E. R. Beckman, and Carie fare; E. Murphy, The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare; Sydenstricker? Who knows the number who T. Warner, Spiritual Warfare. have experienced terribly unhappy marriages be- cause of abusive or mentally ill spouses, for ex- Suffering. The universal symbol of Christianity ample, William Carey, Robert Morrison, and is the cross, a symbol of suffering, specifically, Martha Crawford? Abandonment by colleagues the suffering of Jesus. To reflect upon the life of or supporters has pushed some to the brink of Jesus is to remember his suffering. As the Ser- despair, for example, Rowland Bingham and C. T. vant Songs of Isaiah anticipated, Jesus “was de- Studd. Oppression of the poor and the defense- spised and rejected, . . . a man of suffering and less invariably weighs heavily on compassionate missionaries and missionary bishops, for exam- acquainted with infirmity” (53:3 nrsv, see also 50:6 and 53:4–5, 7–12). Likewise, it has been the ple, Bartholomew de Las Casas and Festo fortune of those who follow Jesus to experience Kivengere. Significant, therefore, is the apostle suffering. “Remember the word I said to you,” Paul’s conclusion following his recitation of per- Jesus reminded his disciples, “‘Servants are not sonal suffering. He says, “And besides other greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, things, I am under daily pressure because of my they will persecute you” (John 15:20). No sooner anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). Many did the church begin to flourish then the apostles of the sufferings experienced in mission stem were arrested and threatened. They and others from apprehension and pain for Christ’s people. were imprisoned and murdered (Acts 4:1–22; To be involved in the mission of Jesus Christ, 5:17–33; 7:54–60). But their suffering was seen therefore, is to experience suffering, and one of not as an affliction; it was rather a means of wit- the most vivid reminders of this fact is when we ness. “They rejoiced that they were considered as Jesus’ followers gather for the celebration of worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the the Eucharist, a reenactment of the sufferings of name” (Acts 5:41). Though the words of the our Lord. Whether we hold to the real or sym- writer of 1 Peter were addressed to first-century bolic presence in the elements, we should always Christian slaves, they have been regarded, and remember that “the breaking of the bread” and rightly so, as applicable to all of Jesus’ disciples: the “drinking of the cup” happens repeatedly outside as well as inside the walls of the church. “For to this you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that Alan Neely you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Bibliography. A. J. Gittins, Bread for the Journey; The Christian mission—if it is Christian, that J. S. Pobee, Mission in Christ’s Way; R. A. Tucker, FJIJ; is, Christ-like—is a replication of the mission of D. Webster, Yes to Mission. Jesus, and in due time will involve suffering. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul Teams in Mission. A ministry strategy and orga- recounts his own suffering in the spreading of nizational structure that uses a small-group for- the gospel (11:23–28), and he reminds his read- mat and emphasizes interdependent relation- ers that though suffering is a part of being a dis- ships in order to accomplish a given task. ciple, it also is a form of witness. “We are af- Applied to the missionary context, the term has 66 Technology been used to describe a wide variety of struc- and the development of relationships over time tures and strategies, including short-term teams, and, most notably, through crisis and conflict evangelistic teams, church-planting teams, resolution. People working in the same place strategic-­ministry teams, and structures in may be a group, but it takes commitment and wider interagency partnerships. mutuality in the face of the task at hand to weave The concept of team mission has found in- the fabric of a team. creasing popularity in recent years. Parallel to Paul F. Hartford current management trends that emphasize em- Bibliography. M. S. Harrison, Developing Multina- ployee empowerment and group decision-mak- tional Teams; J. R. Katzenbach and D. K. Smith, The ing, it also reflects a deeper understanding of Wisdom of Teams; S. L. Mackin, EMQ 28:2 (April 1992): community within the body of Christ by stress- 134–40; D. A. McGavran, Readings in Third World Mis- ing interdependent relationships, mutual care sions, pp. 187–89; K. O’Donnell, ed., Missionary Care; and nurture, and the balance of spiritual gifting. D. W. Shenk and E. R. Stutzman, Creating Communi- Team structures are therefore seen as provid- ties of the Kingdom; R. D. Winter, Crucial Dimensions ing a more biblically correct model of the nature in World Evangelization, pp. 326–44. of the church. When team members develop and use their own Spiritual Gifts and natural abili- Technology. Missionaries and mission agencies ties and, in their areas of weakness, depend on use technologies both for internal functioning the gifts and abilities of others, the newly planted and to accomplish their primary external mis- church gains valuable insight into the interde- sion. pendence necessary if it is to survive and pros- Communicational Technologies. The range per. Team structures are also an advantage in the and decreasing cost of communications technol- process of Contextualization, for theology is ogies are placing virtually every missionary seen as belonging to the church collectively, and worldwide within an almost instantaneous inter- not to individuals or professionals. New contex- active situation. Cellular and satellite phones in tual theologies grow out of the mutual efforts of urban and rural areas have opened telecommu- many Christians to understand and apply the nications to local missionaries who in the past gospel to the specific context. have had no access to phone communications.­ The emphasis on team structures is not en- E-mail provides a wide range of communica- tirely new. It has been suggested that Paul’s mis- tional opportunities. Through internet links one sionary journeys involved a team structure that can not only have text-based communications, was both fluid and mobile. Several individuals but graphics and audio as well. It is anticipated are mentioned in Acts as ministering alongside that interactive audio and video connections will of Paul and Barnabas (or Paul and Silas). soon not only be possible (as they now are), but Team structures in mission have the advan- will also be very practical and economical. tages of providing companionship, continuity, With the commitment of missions like Mission and balance as well as strength and a greater ob- Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to link what they de- jectivity in decision making. Weaknesses include scribe as the “telephone disadvantaged world” increased potential for disagreement and dishar- with the rest of the world through radio-based mony, concentration of power, stifling of individ- E-mail, the possibility of easily accessible two- uality and initiative, inflexibility, and the foster- way communication through E-mail is now being ing of dependency. In some Pioneer Mission realized. By 1996 MAF had established approxi- Work, concentrated team structures may be im- mately fifty “hubs” worldwide through which peo- practical. In such settings a sense of community ple could have access to internet-based E-mail. and teamwork can usually be achieved on a While often these connections are based on a wider scale rather than through immediate phys- relay system, the delay is hours rather than days ical proximity. Healthy missionary teams strive or weeks. Some of these connections are phone- to balance these advantages and disadvantages. based and others are high-frequency radio-based. Teams should be formed before departure to With the rise in accessibility to the missionar- the field. It is also recommended that teams in- ies some questions have arisen related to the new clude experienced as well as inexperienced mis- forms of communication. Whereas in the past sionaries, and that they have a realistic view in missionaries have often been distant in terms of regard to continuity. Not all of the initial mem- time and geography, with E-mail they are just a bers will remain with the team, and new mem- click of a mouse button away. Some churches bers should be added, especially where the goal and individuals have sought to communicate is to create a structure that will readily include more often with the missionaries and expect national members and eventually become the more and “better” reporting from them with less local ministry team. delay. With the current “faddishness” of E-mail Lastly, it should be pointed out that a true some missionaries find themselves swamped sense of team does not come with an organiza- with E-mail requests awaiting immediate re- tional structure, but with dynamic interaction sponse. The senders of E-mail and faxes, know- 67 Technology ing that their messages arrive virtually as they into account: purpose of learning; objectives for send them, often expect answers back in the content; control (who makes/participates in the same way and in the same day. decision making?); characteristics of the learner Mission administrators then raise several cru- (e.g., learning style, competence in subject area, cial questions: Do the benefits justify the invest- familiarity with the technology, relevant experi- ment in the equipment and training costs? Are ence, motivation, relevant skill level, spiritual the technologies contextually appropriate? Will maturity); overall educational delivery system, the use of the new technologies facilitate the including the balance of formal, nonformal, and reaching of the mission field or not? Many tech- informal modes, and the administrative support nologies are available and affordable, but irrele- system; costs to learner, agency, and community; vant or distracting. available resources to the learner and for pro- Access to information about new technologies duction, delivery, and support; instructors’ com- is often available through shared databases avail- petence, commitment both in the subject area able publicly in either electronic bulletin boards and with the technology; skill objectives; and or internet connections or privately through a spiritual formation objectives. fee structure. Through the worldwide web one In addition to an in-depth understanding of can access any of several search “engines” to the community to be served, the students, the identify information sources. If one does not teachers, the agency providing the technology, have access to these databases, most research li- and the technology’s local application should braries have facilities to search a wide range of also be understood before a significant commit- databases that touch on virtually any topic that ment is made. Any change in the technological has been put either in print or in an electronic sphere of an educational enterprise can be ex- medium. pected to bring unpredictable changes in every New and useful technologies are becoming part of the community. A change in technology available in every arena of mission activity may be expected to bring changes in the World- whether evangelism and church planting, leader- view of the community, including its assump- ship development, or relief and development. tions, values, forms, and expected ways of behav- One could cite the software that Wycliffe Bible ior. A technological change will result in a Translators is developing in morpheme parsing change in culture. The more technological as a significant technological step forward in lin- change is introduced, the more cultural change guistic analysis. It facilitates a more rapid and can be expected. The more quickly it is intro- accurate translation process as well as helping duced, the more one can expect cultural disso- with literacy development. Or, one could men- nance around the technology. tion some newly discovered “technologies” in the When selecting an educational technology the area of church growth that facilitate the wholis- following values should be considered: the use of tic growth of the church. One could show the multiple sensory channels; the immediate use of new technologies being used in mission aviation the proposed learning in which analogous or to make flying safer. The application of new elec- equivalent immediate feedback is provided; ac- tronic technologies to education and the equip- tive rather than passive participation by the ping of leaders generates much excitement and learner; an employment of variety, suspense, and anticipation across the mission community. It humor; opportunity for the learner to use his or will be helpful to briefly address some of the her own experience to discover what is to be concerns about technologies in the arena of edu- learned; building on prerequisites without re- cation for leadership development (see also Edu- peating them and transferability of the learning. cational Mission Work). Given the expectation of culture change when Educational Technologies. Whether one lec- any new technology is introduced, the wise plan- tures using a chalkboard or satellite-based tele- ner will ask about the kinds of culture change conferencing, the primary purpose of using dif- that will need to be addressed in advance. What ferent technologies in leadership education is to assumptions need to be challenged? What values enhance learning. The use of different technolo- need to change? What behaviors will be affected? gies extends the potential range of learning expe- These kinds of questions of each of the involved riences, and provides the opportunities for more constituencies should be addressed (e.g., learn- appropriate response and the contextualization ers, communities to be served, educational/train- of the learning. The use of technology may in- ing agency). It should not be assumed that in- crease the potential access to the learning by re- structors who are familiar with one set of ducing the constraints of time, cost, and venue. technologies will automatically be skilled in the The appropriate selection of the technologies use of another. Similarly, the support of one set of requires sensitivity to and knowledge about the technologies may require a change in one’s “phi- local situation, learners, the people the learners losophy of education.” For example, one may will be working with, and the agency using the have to move from a teacher-directed, content-fo- technologies. The following issues must be taken cused kind of education to a more student-di- 68 Television Evangelism rected, interactive, function-focused kind of edu- while driving, washing dishes, or looking at each cation. other, television requires everyone to face in the In anticipation of the required or expected cul- same direction and pay full attention. tural changes a wise planner will begin initiating From the beginning, the United States opted the steps to facilitate these changes in the commu- for commercially based television, and noncom- nity. As new technologies are becoming available mercial public broadcasting has had difficult some educators are suggesting changes in interdis- times. In Europe, led by such agencies as the ciplinary organization. Missiology often requires BBC in Britain, television has been financed by a multidisciplinary research. Planners should then license fee paid by all owners of television sets; organize the information along less strict disci- but with the advent of satellite-based broadcast- plinary lines or more multidisciplinary lines. ing the commercial model is advancing rapidly Educators also suggest that we implement de- all over the world. sign learning flexibility with both administra- For the Christian evangelist, television has a tive and delivery structures more contextually number of strengths. It is a medium that reaches designed. In some cases they would be more in- a large group of people at the same time. It can dividually structured and in other cases more utilize numerous types of presentation: lecture, community/­cooperatively structured. Different dialogue, drama, dance, music. On the other technologies lend themselves to this kind of hand, television is very expensive and, given the flexibility. Some technologies serve individuals size of the audience, tends to cater to the lowest better whereas others serve groups well. For ex- common denominators. Furthermore, it usually ample, audiotapes tend to serve the individual operates in an entertainment environment. Such better, whereas videorecordings may be used as problems may seem insurmountable for Chris­ well with groups. Retraining faculty and stu- tian churches, but the medium is too powerful to dents about the new technologies provides skills be left exclusively in the hands of those who have and reduces fear. no Christian interest and concerns. We should Additionally, timing issues need to be designed note that Christian use of television in the United more flexibly. Such issues include duration, be- States is already a billion-dollar enterprise. ginning and ending points, and when a person The church will have to learn that television can begin in terms of personal experience/pre- writes its own rules. Television communicates in requisites and allowance of self-pacing. Further, the living rooms of the audience, and here the constraints related to venue, student selection, Christian communicator will be judged on equal and class size may be treated more flexibly with terms with other television producers as to skills the use of new technologies. and mastery of the medium. The screen has to be The use of computer-mediated courses has gen- filled with scenery, people, motion, and visual ef- erated much interest in training circles. Comput- fects, and not just a talking head. er-mediated courses are now available in missiol- The electronic church is basically an American ogy from the United States and one would expect phenomenon. We have seen the rise of the tel- in some other countries very soon. As areas de- evangelists, the superstars of American religious velop access to the internet, these courses will be- television. They have been the topic of many come available. Other missiological information books and articles, ranging from horror stories is becoming increasingly available on CD-ROM. to unreserved praise. The misbehavior of a few Missionaries and mission agencies should and has had significant influence on the perceived will continue to explore and use an increasingly credibility of all television preachers. broad variety of technologies. However, the se- Ben Armstrong, former chairman of the Na- lection of the technologies to be used should be tional Religious Broadcasters, has come out based on considered criteria, especially that of strongly in favor of the electronic church as a cultural sensitivity and availability, rather than revolutionary new form of the worshiping, wit- just contemporary faddishness. nessing church. Malcolm Muggeridge, on the Edgar J. Elliston other hand, claimed that Jesus would decline the Bibliography. I. Babour, Ethics in an Age of Technol- offer, treating it as the fourth temptation. He was ogy; F. Ferré, Hellfire and Lightning Rods; A. S. Moreau concerned about the fact that television centers and M. O’Rear, EMQ 33:4 (1997): 464–66; idem, EMQ on violence, sex, and deceit. There are times, 35:1 (1998): 84–87; idem, EMQ 35:2 (1998): 212–15; Muggeridge conceded, when television can com- N. Postman, Technopoly; R. Rowland, Missiology and municate true life, as was the case of the televi- the Social Sciences, pp. 84–101. sion program he made with Mother Teresa of Calcutta. True life and testimony seem to be well Television Evangelism. Today, television watch- suited for television. ing is the primary way in which people in many Other parts of the world have seen the devel- countries spend their free time; the average opment of low-cost city stations serving a limited household watches several hours of television community. There are also major developments daily. Unlike radio, which can be listened to in the area of satellite television. SAT-7 is a new 69 10/40 Window initiative broadcasting into the Arab world, and the fifty poorest countries of the world and the a new Thai operation is giving space to a Chris- least evangelized countries of the world is no co- tian channel that will cover most of East Asia. incidence. After observing that the majority of Among the potential program formats, we the unreached people live in the poorest coun- should mention the big worship service—a tries of the world, Bryant Myers concludes, “the church service actually produced for television. poor are lost and the lost are poor.” A good example would be the Hour of Power, the Third, there has been a lack of missionaries Sunday morning service of the Crystal Cathedral serving among the peoples of the 10/40 Window. in California with Robert Schuller. This program Only about 8 percent of the missionary force has been on the air since 1970. Other formats in- presently focuses on this needy and neglected clude talk shows, such as the 700 Club with Pat area. Historically, the three religious blocs of this Robertson. Still others have experimented with region (Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist) have been short programs or spots. There are many chil- considered resistant. But lack of fruit among dren’s shows. A real potential would be to de- these people may not be due to resistance so velop new forms of teaching the Bible, for bibli- much as neglect. Generally, the church has made cal illiteracy is becoming a serious issue in both little effort to reach these peoples. The Bible is church and society. clear that little sowing leads to little reaping. The challenge is to integrate television with For these three reasons, the 10/40 Window rep- other forms of evangelism, in particular with the resents what some missiologists describe as Sa- outreach of the local church. To do that, the tan’s stronghold. From a careful analysis of the issue of financial support will need to be solved. 10/40 Window, it appears that Satan and his There is also a need to find ways to minimize the forces have established a unique territorial strong- negative impact of television on family life. Ini- hold that has restrained the advance of the gospel tiatives in this direction have been made by the into this area of the world. In this region of the Lutherans in Japan. world, Paul’s description of Satan as “the god of Viggo Søgaard this age who has blinded the minds of unbeliev- ers” (2 Cor. 4:4) can be clearly seen. Clearly the Bibliography. B. Armstrong, The Electric Church; W. F. Fore, Television and Religion: The Shaping of forces of darkness stand behind the overwhelm- Faith, Values, and Culture; M. Muggeridge, Christ and ing poverty and spiritual bondage of this region. the Media; V. B. Søgaard, Media in Church and Mission: Therefore, the 10/40 Window serves as an im- Communicating the Gospel. portant and strategic tool for the completion of the Great Commission. It helps the church visu- 10/40 Window. The term “10/40 Window” has alize its greatest challenge and focuses the been used to describe a rectangular-shaped win- church on its final frontier. The 10/40 Window dow 10 degrees by 40 degrees north of the equa- calls for a reevaluation of the church’s priorities, tor spanning the globe from West Africa to Asia, a refocusing of its energies, and a redeployment including over 60 countries and more than 2 bil- of its missionaries. Luis Bush, the international lion people. The majority of the unreached peo- director of the AD 2000 and Beyond Movement, ples of the world—those who have never heard sums it up well: “If we are to be faithful to Scrip- the gospel and who are not within reach of ture, obedient to the mandate of Christ, and if churches of their own people—live within this we want to see the establishment of a mis- window (see Peoples, People Groups). sion-minded church planting movement within At the Lausanne Congress on World Evange- every unreached people and city . . . so that all lization (1974), Ralph Winter rocked the evan- peoples might have a valid opportunity to experi- gelical world with the challenge of unreached ence the love, truth and saving power of Jesus peoples. At the Lausanne Congress II in Manila Christ, we must get down to the core of the un- (1989), Luis Bush gave the ethnic orientation of reached—the 10/40 Window.” unreached peoples a new geographical focus. Richard D. Love There, during a plenary session of the congress, Bibliography. C. P. Wagner, S. Peters, and M. Wil- he presented the strategic concept of the 10/40 son; eds., Praying through the 100 Gateway Cities of the Window for the first time. 10/40 Window; J. D. Douglas, ed., Proclaim Christ Until There are three major reasons for the dire spir- He Comes: Lausanne II in Manila, F. K. Jansen, ed., Tar- itual state of the 10/40 Window. First of all, the get Earth. 10/40 Window is the home of the world’s major non-Christian religions: Islam, Hinduism, and Territorial Spirits. The Bible speaks of evil an- Buddhism. Over 1 billion Muslims, and more gels or spirits that exercise significant influence than 1 billion Hindus and almost 240 million and control over people groups, empires, coun- Buddhists live in this region. tries, and cities. These perverse powers not only Second, the poorest of the poor live in the work to bring harm and misery, but more impor- 10/40 Window. The remarkable overlap between tantly, they strive to keep people from coming to 70 Territorial Spirits a knowledge of the one true God. Since the mid– these sad chapters in the history of Israel: “They 1980s, some evangelists and missiologists have worshipped their idols which became a snare to begun advocating an aggressive strategy for them. They sacrificed their sons and their daugh- doing spiritual battle with these so-called territo- ters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the rial spirits as a means of more effective evange- blood of their sons and daughters, whom they lism (see Powers and Mission, the). sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land Although there is not extensive information in was desecrated by their blood” (Ps. 96:36–38). the Bible about territorial spirits, there is suffi- The Gods and Goddesses of the Canaanites were, cient discussion to affirm their reality and pro- in reality, demonic spirits. They tempted the peo- vide some insight into their nature and activities. ple of Israel and solicited their worship under In a passage that highlights God’s sovereignty the guise of local deities. They were what many over the nations, God is said to have divided hu- are calling today “territorial spirits.” manity “according to the number of the sons of The most well known and illustrious passage Israel” or, as the Septuagint and a scroll of Deu- about territorial spirits is Daniel 10. Since the teronomy from Qumran put it, “according to the text describes angelic powers that have specific number of the sons of God”—a reference to an- connections to the successive empires of Persia gels (Deut. 32:8). The passage thus appears to be and Greece, they might more appropriately be teaching that the number of the nations of the called “empire spirits.” These evil angels are earth is directly proportional to the number of mentioned to Daniel by an interpreting angel, angels. This passage was widely understood in perhaps Gabriel (see Dan. 9:21), who came to ex- Judaism to mean that certain angels are associ- plain a vision God had given to him. Gabriel re- ated with particular countries and peoples. veals that there was a heavenly struggle that hin- Some of these angelic rulers evidently have re- dered his coming to Daniel for three weeks: “The belled against God. Rather than direct the peo- prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twen- ple’s worship to the one true God, they have ty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief sought veneration for themselves and have princes, came to help me, because I was detained falsely presented themselves to the people as there with the king of Persia” (Dan. 10:13). Later, “gods” (Ps. 82:1–8). The prophet Isaiah foretells Gabriel informs Daniel that the heavenly warfare the future judgment of these patron angels of the would continue, but would not include a struggle nations: “In that day the Lord will punish the with another angelic prince: “Soon I will return powers in the heavens above and the kings on to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I earth below” (Isa. 24:21). go, the prince of Greece will come. . . . No one These powers who have masqueraded as gods supports me against them except Michael, your are, in reality, demonic spirits. The same chapter prince” (Dan. 10:20–21). Both the prince of Per- that reveals the allotments of humanity to an- sia and the prince of Greece in these passages gelic guardianship (Deut. 32:8) speaks of Israel are not references to the human rulers, but to provoking God to jealousy by embracing foreign angelic forces. There is a clear consensus among gods (Deut. 32:16). Israel actually “sacrificed to Bible scholars on this foundational point. This demons” (Heb. = shedim; Greek = daimonia) interpretation is strongly suggested by the fact (Deut. 32:17). They forsook the one true al- that the archangel Michael is also referred to as mighty God and gave their devotion to fallen an- a “prince.” The Septuagint (Theodotian) transla- gels, to demonic spirits. Of course they did not tion of the Hebrew term sar is archon, a word realize that they were worshiping evil spirits. that was used by Paul (see Eph. 2:2; 1 Cor. 2:6, These principalities and powers pulled off an ef- 8), John (John 12:31), and other first-century fective hoax by deceiving people into thinking and early Christian writers for angelic powers. that they were the omnipotent rulers of heaven The New Testament gives us little direct teach- and earth. ing about angelic patrons over cities, territories, The Septuagint version of Psalm 96:5 also un- regions, or nations. Jesus says nothing about masks the true identity of the various gods of the these higher-level spirits. Neither does the Book nations: “For all the gods of the nations are de- of Acts contain explicit teaching about them. mons, but the Lord made the heavens.” All of the Paul’s references to the “principalities and pow- rituals, prayers, sacrifices, and worship offered ers” are not directed toward issues surrounding to the gods of other nations were not really of- regional or city spirits. His teaching is focused fered to “gods” at all. They were accorded to an- on the variety of ways evil spirits directly oppose gelic imposters usurping the rightful place of the believers. Some interpreters have seen territorial one true God. dimensions in his list of principalities and pow- A particularly appalling aspect of this grand ers in Ephesians 6:12, but the whole context of demonic deception is the horrific sacrifices that this passage has to do with the believers’ daily these rebellious angels demanded of the people direct struggle with the demonic (see Spiritual as their “gods.” They went so far as to elicit Warfare). Paul’s most pertinent teaching is his human sacrifice. The psalmist laments one of comment in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that “the sacri- 71 Third World fices of pagans are offered to demons, not to tice, and government which were established as God.” Here he reaffirms the Old Testament no- part of the process of colonization. Perhaps the tion that idolatry and false religion are animated most virulent import were the languages of the by the demonic as part of their attempt to sub- colonial empires. Although the colonial land- vert the plan of God and seek worship for them- scape changed with the Industrial Revolution, it selves. continued unchallenged through the end of the Throughout the Bible there is never any inti- nineteenth century with the rapid colonization mation that these powers rival God in any way of Africa and parts of Asia by the Western na- or present a serious threat to the fulfillment of tions. World War I marked the end of the era of his plan and purposes. God is sovereign and is imperialism and the foreshadowing of the period infinitely more powerful than any of the spirits of Nationalism which would follow World or angels. The Father earnestly seeks the full de- War II. votion of his people. He wants believers to call Beginning with the independence of India directly on him for wisdom, strength, and help. (1947) and China (1949), the political map began Clinton E. Arnold its most radical change in history. The spread of nationalist movements was fueled by the eco- Bibliography. C. E. Arnold, Three Crucial Questions nomic recovery in the West, the cold war ten- About Spiritual Warfare; S. Page, Powers of Evil. A Bib- lical Study of Satan and Demons; E. Rommen, ed., Spir- sions, and the social climate brought about by itual Power and Missions. Raising the Issues; C. Wag- the formation of the United Nations. Nationalist ner, Confronting the Powers: How the New Testament leaders emerged from within the colonies with Church Experienced the Power of Strategic-Level Spiri- the momentum born of promises of a better tual Warfare; idem, Warfare Prayer: How to Seek God’s world. While in some cases armed revolutions Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His King- ensued, for the most part the nationalist move- dom. ments pressured the already weakened govern- ments of the West, resulting in the formation of Third World. The term, Third World, refers to newly independent nations. By the 1980s, the those nations primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin majority of the world had won or been granted America, and the Pacific which emerged from political independence. Due in large part to the the colonial era after World War II. Having its rapid political upheaval, the promises of better origin in the commercial class of the French times have largely gone unachieved. Forces such Revolution (third estate), the term Third World as the vestiges of colonial structures, a global was coined first by the French intellectuals in the economy with advantages to the industrialized late 1940s and later by leaders of the nonaligned nations, unstable political climates, armed con- nations movement at a conference in Indonesia flicts, and the population explosion contribute to in 1955. Popular usage of the term has shifted a staggering array of challenges for the newly from the political connotations with its emphasis formed states of the Third World. on opposition to the colonial powers and the Third World Issues. Although the nations of cold war nuclear threats of the first (capitalist) the Third World represent the widest possible di- and second (communist) worlds, to a focus on versity of cultures, religions, and lifestyles, there the issues which are common to the Third World are common issues which distinguish them from nations. Because the Third World represents ap- the more developed nations. The foremost issue proximately 4 billion of the world’s population (6 facing the Third World is widespread Poverty billion), attempts have been made to change the (Isbister). While poverty is to some extent rela- term to the Two Thirds World. Despite these ef- tive and occurs in every nation, the extreme ef- forts, the Third World remains a primary term of fects of poverty are experienced to a dispropor- identification. tionate degree in the Third World. In an attempt History. The emergence of the Third World to avoid overstating the gap between rich coun- may be viewed as the product of two major tries and the Third World, the World Bank uses a forces—external forces linked to the era of impe- “purchasing power parity” which in its estimates rialism and internal forces linked to nationalism of per capita income reveal that U.S. incomes and Revolution (Gheddo; Isbister). The period vary from 3 times higher than the richer coun- of Western imperialism began with the explora- tries of the Third World to 20 times higher than tions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The the poorest countries (Isbister). Another way of discovery of new lands under the thrones of Eu- understanding poverty is in absolute terms or in- rope gave rise to a period of rapid expansion of come levels at which people are unable to afford empires and the establishment of colonial rule food which is nutritionally adequate and essen- (see Colonialism). Along with colonial rule came tial non-food items. Using an absolute standard, the inevitable access to the resources of the colo- the United Nations Development Program esti- nies and the economic advantage for the “mother mates that one-third of the Third World lives in country.” The massive impact included the sys- poverty with even higher proportions in Asia tems of education, economics, healthcare, jus- (60%) and Africa (50%). 72 Worldview

The problems which cause or result from pov- year later (April 1951) about 150 representatives erty are complex; however, a number of critical of China’s larger denominations met in Beijing issues surround the extreme poverty of the Third and formed the Chinese Christian Three-Self Re- World. The issues of health and physical well-be- form Committee. The designation “Three-Self” ing are of primary concern. Diseases which are was taken from Rufus Anderson’s definition of linked to the shortage of potable water and inad- the aim of missions as “the planting of churches equate nutrition plague the Third World. While which would be self-governing, self-supporting, the capacity to produce food and essential non- and self-propagating” (see I n d i g e n o u s food items varies among nations, the difficulties Churches). This committee was charged to re- of distribution and generation of sustainable in- place the National Christian Council (formed in come to purchase available supplies are common 1922) as the voice of Chinese Protestantism, problems of the Third World. Added to these since the council’s “cultural imperialism” (West- critical issues are the challenges of establishing ern ties) and theological liberalism (conservative appropriate education, sustainable development, churches refused to join) were regarded as un- healthcare, adequate housing, and equitable eco- suited to the new era. In 1954, with the official nomic growth. Along with the debt crises, these endorsement of the government the committee issues are shaping the agenda of the Third World formed the Chinese Christian Three-Self Patri- and to an escalating extent that of the industrial- otic movement (TSPM) to represent Chinese ized world. Protestantism before the PRC authorities. By Missiological Considerations. One of the 1958 this organization had established branches spin-offs of the independence movements among in every province under the direct control of the Third World nations has been an increasing atti- national Religious Affairs Bureau. Separate Prot- tude among Western Christians that missions to estant denominations ceased altogether, and the Third World should be from the Third World. soon almost all churches in China closed down. In other words, independence for the church is Then followed the Cultural Revolution; mad- akin to that of the nations. While it is true that ness overtook the nation, and Christians suffered an increased partnership must be realized, it is unbelievably. Fortunately, the coming of Deng also true that the church in the Third World can- Xiaoping to national leadership and his stress on not address the problems alone (see Globalism). “New Realism” eventually brought political re- As Johannes Verkuyl put it, “interdependence is laxation. The TSPM reappeared and began to en- not only a necessity of life but also a calling with courage and oversee the reopening of churches which we have been charged.” Interdependence along with the restoration of their properties. By demands a “vision of transformation” which in- 1990 more than 6,000 churches were function- cludes not only the generous sharing of re- ing, and over 15,000 other meeting points were sources, but a sustained commitment to the con- registered for religious use. At least fourteen cerns of both evangelism and sociopolitical TSPM seminaries reopened and renewed former involvement (Samuel). The commitment was patterns of pastoral and lay biblical training, al- summarized well in the theme of Lausanne II, though no deviation was permitted from a pro- “calling the whole Church to take the whole Gos- government political posture. Even so, during pel to the whole world.” The precarious position those most difficult years, a growing “Christian- of the Third World raises major concerns for ity fever” throughout the countryside was widely missiological reflection which include an on-go- admitted by both political and TSPM authorities. ing commitment to “teaching them to observe” This brought into being a “house church” move- and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. ment that functions beyond TSPM control (see 22:39; 28:20). Chinese House Church Movement). Christians C. Douglas McConnell are currently estimated at about 35 million. Bibliography. P. Gheddo, Why Is the Third World Whether all congregations will eventually regis- Poor?; J. Isbister, Promises Not Kept: The Betrayal of So- ter with the TSPM largely depends on the power cial Change in the Third World; Lausanne Congress on struggle in Beijing between reactionaries and World Evangelization, The Lausanne Covenant; V. Sam- progressives. uel, Serving with the Poor in Asia, pp. 145–54; United Arthur F. Glasser Nations Development Program, Human Development Report; J. Verkuyl, To Break the Chains of Oppression, Bibliography. D. H. Adeney, China: The Church’s pp. 85–103. Long March; A. Hunter and K.-K Chan, Protestantism in Contemporary China. Three-Self Movement (China). After the Peo- ple’s Republic of China (PRC) was established Worldview. In popular usage the expression (1949), a group of 40 Chinese Christian leaders “worldview” often refers to nothing more than a met in Beijing in July 1950 to draft a manifesto particular point of view, a way of looking at calling for the end of all Chinese church ties with something. But a worldview represents much Western denominations and mission agencies. A more; it represents a whole constellation of as- 73 Worldview sumptions and beliefs about what is real, how more corrective than interpretive. Those who things fit together, and how things happen. Be- adopt such an approach regard the Contextual- fore considering a definition, however, it is use- ization of the gospel as a method for discovering ful to recognize two traditions in our under- the weaknesses of opposing worldviews and con- standing of worldview: the philosophical/ vincing their proponents of the superiority of the theological and the cultural/societal. Christian faith. The expression “worldview” (from Weltan- Worldview as an Interpretive Concept. On schauung) has its origins in eighteenth-century the other hand, many evangelical Christian mis- German philosophy in the sense of ideology or sionaries who adopt cultural approaches begin system of thought, and this is the sense in which with both the Bible and the language and culture contemporary theologians use it. For most evan- of the people they wish to reach. Because a com- gelical theologians a worldview constitutes a sys- mand of the language is the key to under- tematic approach to theology. Their focus is on standing a worldview, they learn the language, the fundamental beliefs about the nature of God how the people use the language to categorize as Creator and Redeemer and the nature of hu- the things they regard as important, and how manity in its fallen state in need of a redeemer. they use it to interpret their life experiences. They regard the Christian (biblical) worldview as Thus their approach is more interpretive than in opposition to such ideologies as empiricism, corrective. They regard the contextualization of humanism, naturalism, positivism, scientism, the gospel as an expression of the Christian faith and secularism, as well as world religions such through culturally appropriate concepts which as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The reli- are compatible with biblical truth. Accordingly, gions of technologically primitive societies are they speak of societal worldviews which have a often regarded collectively under labels such as Christian basis: thus American Christian, Na- Animism or Primal Religions. vaho Christian, Maasai Christian or Zulu Chris- In contrast, those who study the world’s cul- tian worldviews. When, however, such Christian tures use worldview to refer to how the peoples societal worldviews express biblical truth with of different cultures conceive of the world, how categories which are unusual in comparison to they categorize the things in the world and struc- those of the European languages, Western theo- ture their knowledge, and how they interpret life logians often suspect that those categories repre- experience so as to live fulfilling lives. sent a fusion of Christian and heathen concepts No one cultural group can claim to have the (see Syncretism). correct worldview; rather, each group’s world- Overview of Worldview. A worldview may be view stands on its own. Consequently, we can thought of as having four integrated compo- only speak of particular worldviews such as nents: words, categories, patterned life experi- those of the Amish, Navaho, Sioux, or Maasai so- ences (i.e., schemas), and themes. Each of these cieties. contributes to the distinctiveness of a worldview A definition that satisfies both of these ap- and to how that worldview governs people as proaches is that of Nash (1992): “A worldview, they live out their lives. then, is a conceptual scheme by which we con- People generally do not think about their sciously or unconsciously place or fit everything world­view; in fact most assume that peoples of we believe and by which we interpret and judge other cultures think and reason in much the reality.” Nevertheless, the philosophical/theologi- same way (see Ethnocentrism). However, when cal and cultural/societal traditions differ sub- they encounter another worldview with different stantially in what they include in the concept of assumptions and values they become aware of worldview and in how they apply it. worldview differences. Worldview as a Corrective Concept. Those To illustrate how a worldview integrates vari- who adopt theological approaches begin with a ous concepts, we will consider some aspects of single, unifying principle which structures the the worldview of the Selepet people of Papua rest of the worldview. Nash (1992) reduces the New Guinea, a worldview which is radically dif- principle to a single statement: “Human beings ferent from those of Western societies, but which and the universe in which they reside are the cre- is typical of Melanesian societies. The Selepet ation of the God who has revealed himself in people use the word tosa for a wide range of be- [the Christian] Scripture.” Working out a single havior. If a person steals someone’s chicken, she principle, however, results in a “whole range of or he acquires a tosa, which may be translated as systematic theology” (Holmes). “sin.” To become free of the tosa requires that Evangelical theologians generally present the she or he give something of equivalent value to Christian worldview as a systematic theology for the chicken’s owner. This item is known as a the defense of the Christian faith or as an instru- matnge and serves as restitution. A person may ment to confront and dismantle opposing world- also acquire a tosa by destroying another per- views. In so doing they use philosophical and son’s property or physically abusing a person. logical argumentation, and their approach is The offender may remove the tosa with a matnge 74 Zionism, African Church which serves as compensation. Or the offended rality. For example, Americans buy matches and party may exact their own matnge by an act of regard them as personal property. Anyone who vengeance or by a demand for retributive pun- takes another person’s matches is guilty of petty ishment. To borrow something also incurs a tosa, theft. However, in some technologically primitive and the repayment serves as the matnge. Finally, societies fire belongs to everyone, just like water the acceptance of a gift incurs a tosa, which is and air. So members of those societies may feel best translated as “obligation,” because one is free to help themselves to an American’s matches. obliged to remove the tosa by giving a matnge in Just because technology has captured fire, placed the form of a comparable gift. What unifies all it on the end of a stick, and made it available for these examples is a dominant Selepet worldview marketing does not remove matches from their theme that people have to maintain balance and category of things which belong to everyone, harmony in their interpersonal relationships. things not subject to being stolen. Rather, anyone Every tosa creates an imbalance which has to be who claims exclusive rights by withholding such rectified by a matnge. a basic human resource as fire is regarded as Rather than focusing on the typical Western morally deviant and exhibiting unchristian be- Christian concept of sin as falling short of God’s havior. standard or breaking God’s law, this typically In conclusion, it is important to recognize that Melanesian worldview theme supports an the worldviews of different cultural groups need equally Christian concept of sin as any action not be regarded as in opposition to a Christian which disrupts a harmonious relationship. Adam worldview; rather they can become vehicles to and Eve’s fundamental sin was to break their re- express biblical truth just as did the classical He- lationship with God by transferring their alle- brew and Greek worldviews. giance to Satan; disobedience was the outcome Ken A. McElhanon of that change. Therefore, one could regard the Bibliography. D. J. Hesselgrave, Communicating Melanesian Christian concept of sin as the more Christ Cross-culturally: An Introduction to Missionary basic of the two. Communication. 2nd rev. ed.; P. G. Hiebert, Anthropo- If Melanesian Christians were to use their con- logical Insights for Missionaries; A. F. Holmes, Contours cept of sin to evaluate contemporary American of a World View; C. H. Kraft, Anthropology for Christian culture, they would regard the development of Witness; R. H. Nash, Worldviews in Conflict: Choosing the social security system and individual retire- Christianity in a World of Ideas; J. W. Sire, The Universe ment accounts as fundamentally unchristian Next Door. remedies for the elderly having to face retire- ment without family support. Moreover, they Zionism, African Church. Of significance to would strongly condemn the removal of the el- missiologists is a form of Zionism that charac- derly from the family to nursing homes. terizes a church movement in South Africa. The Many Western theologies emphasize that sal- term “Zion” was introduced to the context by vation is attained through repentance and faith missionaries from the Pentecostal apocalyptic (Acts 20:21) and maintained by an ongoing faith church of Zion, Illinois. In this case the term (Acts 13:43; Phil. 2:12). In many Melanesian does not refer to the literal mountain in Israel, worldviews, however, the concept of repentance but is a symbolic title for eternal life with Christ is minimized. Rather, the process of salvation is in a heavenly home. Especially during the apart- seen to involve the giving of one’s allegiance heid era, it served as a rallying point for Africans (John 1:12 neb) which leads to reconciliation who desired to secure their Christian identity de- (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:20) and adoption (Eph. 1:5), spite the politically and socially oppressive envi- and is maintained by harmonious relationships ronment. With several thousand registered (Eph. 4:30; Heb. 12:14). It is important to recog- churches and several million followers, the Zion- nize that the Melanesian concept of sin and sal- ists form the largest church movement in South vation can be consistent with biblical truth. Giv- Africa (see also African Initiated Church Move- ing their allegiance to God results in their being ment). adopted and entails that they stop doing those A. Scott Moreau things which would harm that relationship. Bibliography. P. M. Steyne, Dynamic Religious Thus, they repent even though they do not ac- Movements, pp. 19–38. knowledge it as such. Worldview and Morality. The categories which a society creates are relevant to questions of mo-

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