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Sharing our Faith:
What is mission?
What is Mission?
The misconception of evangelism as words
and mission as action
What is Mission?
Evangelism as initiation into the
kingdom
Abrahams, Scott Jones, Bosch, 2000
What is Mission?
Initiation:
Making converts and launching them into
discipleship.Abrahams, Scott Jones, Bosch, 2000
What is Mission?
Initiation:
Making converts and launching them into
discipleship.Abrahams, Scott Jones, Bosch, 2000
Mission as God demonstrating his
love for the world…
What is mission?
…And the part that we play as his ‘missionaries’
What is mission?
Key Questions…
What is mission?
Are we realistic about how other
people perceive us?
What is Mission?
Are we discerning where God is at
work in our world – and serving Him?
What is Mission?
How do we witness outside the walls of
our Church?
What is Mission?
Do we feel equipped to survive in a multi-
faith nation?
What is Mission?
Are you on continually on the
move?
What is Mission?
Are we speaking out against injustice – on a local level?
What is Mission?
What is Mission?
Key questions:
Do we think that our Churches have a
divine right to exist?
Negative stereotypes of
mission
What is Mission?
The abuses of the Church: absolute power corrupts
What is Mission?
Peter Mullan2003
Story of three women who arrive at a Dublin Convent in 1964.
‘One of the great injustices of the second half of the 20th Century’
30,000 Women, Oppressed cf cared for.
Church mission compromised by
politics and state…
What is Mission?
Jesuit missionaries
in South Americacaught
betweenChurch and
State
Warner, 1996, Starring Irons/Nero Dir. Joffe
Negative StereotypesOf Mission
Roman CatholicOverseasArrogant
Non-indigenous Paternalistic
State-sponsoredColonialising
In response:
Home & Overseas.Protestant and RC.Protestant Church and ‘trade’ in partnership.Church challenges Colonialisation and latterly slaveryNon-indigenous - yesPaternalistic – yesArrogant – at timesAbusive – partly
Now Independent of State.Increasingly Multi-denominational.
Mission undertaken overseas & at home. Less Paternalism, More Partnership
Increasingly indigenous.Now challenging & globalisation
Shameful of its failings in the past.
What is the true picture of mission?
How is the Churches mission perceived
today?
What is Mission?
The Church in decline: peripheral, one
organisation among many others.
What is Mission?
How has the Church responded and its
missiologists responded?
What is Mission?
The Missio Dei, 1952
What is Mission?
Mission belongs to God, not us!
Karl Barth 1952 Willingham Conference of the IMC. Everything starts with God.
What is Mission?
Mission bears the hallmarks of the
triune God/ cruciform shaped.
WCC Mexico City, 1963
What is Mission?
Revolutionising our thinking…..
What is Mission?
Mission is God’s & ‘global’, cf something done by us, in hostile
foreign lands.Challenges Christian imperialism & Paternalism, Encourages indigenous Christianity, Witness where we find ourselves.
What is Mission?
The new frontier:
Human belief & social conscience cf
geographical presence
What is Mission?
Challenging our approach:
Where is God already at work & how can we
serve Him?
What is Mission?
God is at work beyond the limits of the
Church or its evangelists
What is Mission?
God is at work in people who aren’t
Christians….
What is Mission?
God is at work in people of other
faiths
What is Mission?
The Missio Dei
What is Mission?
Weaknesses of the Missio Dei…
Introducing ThangarajThangaraj M.T, The Common Task: A Theology of Christian Mission (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1999)
What is Mission?
Thomas Thangaraj:How do we work
together with people of other faiths?
Thangaraj M.T, The Common Task: A Theology of Christian Mission (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1999)
What is Mission?
Thomas Thangaraj:
Religious partnership does not begin with
talk about ‘God’
What is Mission?
Thomas Thangaraj:
Talk of ‘the Church’ as God’s agency for
mission is limiting.
What is Mission?
Thomas Thangaraj:
Starting point for dialogue is human
relationships….
What is Mission?
Thomas Thangaraj:
….and the human concerns that we
share.
What is Mission?
What is God’s mission to the world?
What is Mission?
Restoration of a fallen world and a
fallen people
What is Mission?
Israel as a vehicle of mission in God’s
world
What is mission?
Facets of mission:
God is the one
true GodVerkuyl, Contemporary Missiology, 1987
What is Mission?
Facets of mission:
Rescue and Liberation
What is Mission?
Facets of mission:
International witness
What is Mission?
Facets of mission:
God wrestles and defeats evil.
What is Mission?
How does Israel ‘mission’ in God’s
world
What is mission?
What is Mission?
Key questions:
Does Israel search for converts?
What is Mission?
Key questions:
Does Israel wait for the world to arrive on
its doorstep?
What is Mission?
Key questions:
Cetrifugal or Centripetal witness?
What is Mission?
Key questions:
Do we have a divine right to be here?
David Bosch
‘Shapes’ of Mission: an ecumenical age.
What is Mission?
A Challenge to Churches….
What is Mission?
Are we realistic about how other
people perceive us?
What is Mission?
Are we discerning where God is at
work in our world – and serving Him?
What is Mission?
How do we witness outside the walls of
our Church?
What is Mission?
Do we feel equipped to survive in a multi-
faith nation?
What is Mission?
Are you on continually on the
move?
What is Mission?
Are we speaking out against injustice – on a local level?
What is Mission?
What is Mission?
Key questions:
Do we think that our Churches have a
divine right to exist?
