GLOBAL ANABAPTISM Stories from the global Mennonite church Celebrating the Reformation? n Monday, Oct. 31—Reformation Day in global South inhabit theological worlds far from the Protestant tradition—Pope Francis I the mainstreams of Western universities and the Ojoined with representatives of the Lutheran dominant narratives of church history textbooks World Federation and leaders from across the in which the Reformation looms so large. From Christian church in a remarkable ecumenical their perspective, the central theological issues service at the Lund Cathedral in Sweden. Coming of the 16th century Reformers—debates over the one year ahead of the 500th year anniversary of freedom of the will, for example, or justification Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses—a day by faith or the sovereignty of God—are far less many Lutherans regard as the birthplace of their significant than the biblical themes of poverty and church—the worship service both commemorat- healing, the living reality of the Holy Spirit, and John D. Roth ed the Protestant Reformation and expressed a Christ’s call to the Great Commission. is professor of hope for closer relations between Protestants and Calling attention to this broader perspective history at Goshen Catholics. does not mean we should ignore the long series of (Ind.) College, direc- Clearly, the service at Lund was a landmark events next year commemorating the 500th anni- tor of the Institute event, a significant step in a long ecumenical versary of the Reformation. “Right remembering” for the Study of journey. In 1999, after 50 years of ecumenical is a central theme of the biblical narrative—an Global Anabaptism dialogue, Catholic and Lutheran theologians expression of the good news of the gospel. and editor of summarized their shared understandings in a But if the Reformation is to be relevant to Mennonite document, “Declaration on the Doctrine of Justifi- the global Christian church, it may call for greater Quarterly Review. cation.” More recently, a joint publication, “From attention to those 16th-century groups that have Conflict to Communion,” concluded with five traditionally been relegated to margins of the ecumenical commitments, each pointing toward story: the dissenters, radicals, spiritualists and the restoration of fellowship that has divided heretics. Like the Radical Reformation dissenters, Protestants and Catholics for half a millennium. AIC groups often emerge as lay-initiated move- Now, as we near the culmination of a decade-long ments of self-proclaimed pastors and prophets national celebration of Martin Luther and the who challenge traditional sources of ecclesial Protestant Reformation, the highest authorities in authority, ignore political boundaries and threat- the Catholic and Lutheran churches have publicly en the social status quo. Like the spiritualists of The expressed a desire for reconciliation. Christians the 16th century, Pentecostal-Charismatics tend around the world should enthusiastically celebrate to emphasize the central role of the Holy Spirit, emergence and encourage these steps toward unity in the frequently expressed in ways that defy system- of global body of Christ. atization. The growing edges of the global church From a global church perspective, however, all today, like their Radical Reformation counterparts, Christianity this focus on the Reformation looks a bit different. have a tendency to fragmentation and division. At First, we should be reminded of some times, they practice a biblical hermeneutic open calls for a basic numbers. Of the roughly 2.4 billion Chris- to apocalyptic themes, attuned to the realities of fundamen- tians in the world, half are Catholics. Another 300 the poor, the young, the disenfranchised and wom- million or so are members of various Orthodox en. And for many, persecution is a likely, even tal reori- churches that have no particular connection to the inevitable, consequence of their faith. entation of Reformation. Then there is the fact that neither of The Protestant Reformation has bequeathed the fastest growing groups in the world of global many gifts to the global Christian church—it our under- Christianity—Pentecostal-Charismatic churches, should not, and will not, be forgotten in the his- which number around 650 million adherents, and tory of the church. But as the service in Lund re- standing of African Initiated Churches (AICs), with some 84 minds us, commemorations are also opportunities church million members—identify in any particular way to reflect on basic assumptions. The emergence with the events in 16th-century Europe. In the of global Christianity is not just an interesting history. meantime, those groups most closely associat- development somewhere on the periphery. It rep- ed with the Reformation—so-called “mainline resents a profound transformation of the Christian Protestants”—are facing precipitous losses in faith that calls for a fundamental reorientation of membership, particularly in Europe and North our understanding of church history, including the America. traditional narrative of the Protestant Reforma- Second, the majority of Christians in the tion. TM December 2016 | TheMennonite 9.