The Lausanne Global Conversation is on the World Wide Open Network
Author: Martine Audéoud and Rubin Pohor
Date: 29.07.2010
Category: Partnership
Editor’s Note: This Cape Town 2010 Advance Paper has been written by Martine Audéoud and Rubin Pohor as an overview of the topic to be discussed at the Multiplex session on “Hope for the Christian Church through Global Incarnational Partnerships.” Responses to this paper through the Lausanne Global Conversation will be fed back to the authors and others to help shape their final presentations at the Congress.
The Executive Director of Christian Direction in Montréal, Glenn Smith, wrote recently (1): “In the homes on my street, I can hear several different languages, symbolizing a diverse array of cultures. What was once a former European immigration has now shifted to a truly global movement”. If this global movement can be witnessed in our daily lives, especially in urban areas, it is all the more truly experienced in the Christian churches all around the world. After a few decades of experiences in global partnerships throughout the world, it is time to pause and reflect on the lessons learned from challenging or successful global partnerships, or both. The purpose of these reflections is first to go back to the Scriptures and dig out biblical principles that support the development of global partnerships within the Christian church. We will then reflect on refreshing examples of global partnerships. Finally, we will enquire about our new contextual parameters that should stimulate or suggest new creative models of partnerships in our global churches.
Biblical Examples of Global Partnerships
To ground biblically the concept of global partnerships, let us first open the Scriptures where we discover the first global partnership in Eden. God, the Trinity, developed a global partnership with Adam and Eve, providing them with life and the most intimate relationship possible with Himself. Adam and Eve were to protect and take care of the garden, and to bring joy to God’s heart within a loving relationship. What was global in this partnership? The whole created garden was to be taken care of, with all its contents. Its resources had to be managed. It became the means of sustaining Adam and Eve. From this first example we see that biblically based partnerships are rooted in a 100% trusting, mutual and intimate relationship that gives adequate security for an exchange of resources and services. This first global partnership aimed at satisfying the desire of God’s heart to share His unconditional life-giving love to creatures who would respond meaningfully.
A second global partnership can be found in Genesis 17 when God promises to Abraham descendants that would cover the whole earth in exchange for Abraham’s life of complete obedience and consecration to God. Again, we can note how God is expecting an exclusive relationship with Abraham in exchange for a globalized abundance of life. At the heart of this partnership, we see God’s deep desire for an most intimate relationship with Abraham, His friend (Is. 41:8).
In Ephesians 3:14-21, we find another biblical example of global partnership. Here the apostle Paul pours out his heart regarding God’s Trinitarian partnership with His worldwide Church. The purpose of this partnership is obvious: the Church was to be completely immersed in and filled with God’s love and His fullness. To accomplish this, God would empower the Church with the Holy Spirit.
In each of these three examples of partnerships, what went wrong? Trust broke down. Adam and Eve’s relationship with God suffered as they heeded the serpent’s voice. Abraham’s lack of trust resulted in pain for all humanity when he accepted his maid as a second wife instead of trusting in God’s promise and waiting for its fulfillment. In the third instance, Christ rebuked the church in Ephesus for abandoning its first love (Rev. 2:4).
In view of the biblical roots of global partnerships for Christ’s Church, a major component of these partnerships should be complete, unconditional trust and intimacy in relationships. Global relationships should not be sought because ‘we are living in a global world’, as is often said today, but because the Church’s heart beats with God’s heart in yearning to pursue deep, intimate, trusting relationships with other parts of the Church here on earth, thus prefiguring heaven when “God will be all in all” (2 Cor. 15:28). Secondly, the goal of global partnership is not resource management, sharing resources, or the like. This will generally happen in the development of global partnerships, but the primary motivation for global partnerships will be a heart filled with God’s Trinitarian love towards another expression of Christ’s Body. Consequently, the sharing of resources does not have to be ‘equal’ or even ‘equitable’ in a global partnership. In the biblical models of global partnerships, resource sharing usually draws more heavily from one side of the partnership. One final principle is also obvious: in each of the three biblical examples, the goal of the partnership is that the recipient of the resources (i.e. Adam and Eve, the descendants of Abraham, or the Church) would grow into a mature loving relationship with God. As Cody Lorance wrote (2): “The active pursuit of ever-deepening global partnerships by local bodies of Christians enables those communities to better (and increasingly so) comprehend and know God’s love which results in dramatic spiritual transformation and growth”. Paul states that the end-goal of all the resource sharing that the Trinitarian God exemplifies with the Church is to enable the Church to enter into the complete fullness of the consequences of Christ’s redemption at the Cross (Eph. 1:3-14). Thus, the pursuit of global partnerships that mirror the Trinitarian God should aim to bring the Church to a level of maturity where it will proactively and conscientiously seek to live in the light of the cosmological redemption that Christ has accomplished at the Cross, and thus become a transformational agent in the diverse communities throughout the globe.
Contemporary Examples of Global Partnerships
Having looked at biblical and theological foundations of Christian global partnership, let us consider some creative and refreshing examples of partnerships that have been initiated throughout the globe. First, David Hacket (3) relates an Internet based example of global partnership for glocal evangelism:
Because of the growing interest in reaching non-English speaking people on the Internet, a new effort is underway to create an international network of Web evangelism pioneers who work in languages other than English. Organizers are calling this anticipated network the "International Internet Evangelism Network," or IIEN.
The purpose of the IIEN is to advance global Internet evangelism by creating a community of Internet evangelism practitioners who share what they learn, thereby avoiding duplication of efforts, and offer encouragement to each other. The forum can help practitioners discover ways to collaborate in similar ministries, with the hope of reducing expenses and increasing Christian unity.
Endorsed by the Internet Evangelism Coalition The Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC) has long desired to assist online evangelism initiatives in languages other than English. However, its member organizations operate mostly in English.
At its September 2005 meeting, the IEC executive committee and VisionSynergy (www.visionsynergy.net) partnered to bring into being this international Internet evangelism network. According to Dr. Sterling Huston, chairman of the IEC executive committee, “The rapid growth, broad international reach and economical cost of the Internet offers individuals, churches and ministries an unprecedented opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ worldwide. The IEC is enabling the church in fulfilling its mission by creating and communicating Internet resources for evangelizing our world. It has voted to establish a relationship with VisionSynergy and wants to help facilitate this initiative. The IEC is cooperating with VisionSynergy on this effort”.
In this excerpt we see that the purpose of IIEN is to advance the Gospel and to respond to the desire of God’s heart by creating a community and fostering unity. This corresponds very clearly to Christ’s prayer in John 17 whereby the world was going to know Christ and His love relationship with His Father, i.e. that the disciples would live in loving community with one another, and thus display to the world (here is the glocal effect) Christ’s love. Therefore, as community, collaboration and mutual encouragement are developed, Christian unity is practiced and demonstrated to the world in the most powerful way.
Let us consider a second example of global partnership. After the most recent earthquake in Haiti and the immense losses experienced by the poorest country in the northern hemisphere, a desire to help sprang up from people, cities, churches and communities all over the world. A creative mission agency in the U.S., New Generation, seeing the need for encouragement, consolation and uplift within the Haitian church and the Haitian communities, devised a plan. Acknowledging their lack of language facility and team preparation, they realized that a better option would be to find Francophone African Christians (in this case Ivorians) trained as counselors and who were willing to go to Haiti to encourage the church there. In that these trained counselors had more experience in dealing with challenging situations due to almost ten years of war and civil unrest in Côte d’Ivoire, the cultural shock would not be as great for them as it would be for American teams. They also spoke French and represented the ancestors of the African slaves deported to Haiti. Having heard of this plan, a small group of Ivorian ladies led by a school administrator decided to go to several schools that they knew, raising money for the counselors preparing to go to Haiti. Churches and several Ivorian Christian agencies are creatively organizing concerts and other events to encourage those who will be leaving for Haiti.
One of the major lessons that can be drawn from this example is that ‘global’ can also mean ‘historically global’. As representatives of those nations whose people were deported into slavery, this group of African Christians is actually remaking history by leaving their own people to serve willingly those that initially went to Haiti as slaves. Thus partnering globally also means rewriting history. Similarly, we now have mission agencies from Nigeria and several other African countries partnering to develop mission teams to go to serve in Europe and the U.S. As Oscar Muriu wrote for Urbana 2006 (4) while urging the churches to aim at maturity in global outreach: “the purpose of maturity is not independence, but interdependence”. Global partnerships will thus look at a shared vision triggered by divine love, creatively investing local and communal resources in order to serve interdependently each other’s communities.
A third example of global partnership can be witnessed in the Gospel for Asia movement (GFA - www.gfa.org). This missionary organization was started by an Indian brother, K.P. Yohannan, who had a burden to reach India and Asia for Christ, not by developing missions teams that were global, but by training local Indian
and Asian Christians to become missionaries on their own continent. How is this organization a powerful example of global partnerships? Its administrative offices are based in the United States with other offices in all the other continents. They are creatively using numerous fundraising approaches, including partnerships with a number of lay organizations that give to charities. Their “Get Involved” page (http://www.gfa.org/getinvolved/) has dozens of ideas to raise funds for GFA, and promotes a variety of opportunities to partner with missionaries serving with GFA. The partnerships extend beyond the global church in using a number of secular venues to develop funding. Most impressive is K.P. Yohannan’s unrelenting call for a sacrificial life founded on Christ’s values, on prayer, and on a life of undisputable integrity.
GFA’s example of global partnership demonstrates that, like the Israelites leaving Egypt with Egypt’s jewelry and goods, one can become extremely creative in using today’s available technology and the opportunities of some of our states and governments to work and serve globally, while focusing on outreach in specific local communities. K.P. Yohannan’s passion is still the saving of souls. Even though his organization has grown very large, his initial vision has not changed, perhaps, amongst other reasons, because numerous missionaries from his organization still suffer today and are martyred for the name of Christ. Sacrifice and martyrdom seem to keep the Church and GFA dependent and focused on Christ alone.
Assets and Challenges for the Development of Global Partnerships
Let us now reflect on the specific characteristics of our twenty-first century world – its assets and challenges for the development of global partnerships to extend Christ’s kingdom on earth.
Some of our century’s assets undeniably reside in the development of cyberspace and how it can be used effectively to communicate, support, develop and create an incredible variety of partnerships. Never in the world’s history has there been a capability to communicate efficiently worldwide as we see today. Since communication is one of the key components of effective partnerships, we are blessed if we can access these resources. However, statistics show that only 26.6% of the world has Internet access.(5) Since most of the global partnerships are based on Internet access, can we really talk about ‘global’ partnership if three quarters of the world do not have access to that kind of communication? Does ‘global’ mean ‘worldwide geographically’ or ‘access to global resources’ for the whole Church? The areas where the Church is exploding are those that have the least access to cyberspace, i.e. Latin America, Asia and Africa. Therefore, how can we, in an honest and fair way, talk about global partnerships when the areas where Christianity is exploding are those that are the least covered by cyberspace access? How can and will the global church deal with this divide?
Secondly, global partnerships will need to take into account the increase in urban immigration.(6) For example, “between 2000 and 2030, the urban population in Africa and Asia is set to double. Asia’s urban population will grow from 1.4 billion to 2.6 billion. Africa’s will surge to more than twice its size, from 294 million to 742 million. Latin America and the Caribbean will see its urban population rise from 394 million to 609 million. By 2030, 79 percent of the world’s urban dwellers will live in the developing world’s towns and cities. And Africa and Asia will account for almost seven in every ten urban inhabitants globally”(7). What will that mean for the development of global partnerships when reaching out for Christ to the whole world? Is the church equipped to think globally and “urbanly” enough to develop “glurban” partnerships that will address the challenges and the potential of the urban immigration movements in the coming years? How can the global church influence effectively the development of these global cities that are mainly situated in the economically more needy areas of the world?
Finally, we need to address an issue that Ralph D. Winter called “the largest stumbling block to leadership development in the global church (8)”. In his paper, Winter noted the church’s traditional perspective on formal leadership training and appealed for a rethinking of church leadership training, by broadening the access to theological education for church leaders without disconnecting them from their social communities and responsibilities. As Winter insisted, the global church needs to rethink its ways of approaching biblical and/or theological education. What global partnerships, for instance, would actually support the theological education of the African Initiated Churches? Would the global church be ready to disconnect from the world’s most recognized patterns of accreditation of theological education that are modeled after the secular? Is the global church willing to partner and take the time to create non-discriminatory opportunities for all church leaders, especially in the developing nations, to have access to theological education without removing them from their communities and sources of income? What kind of global partnerships could creatively address this concern?
There are many more assets and challenges that could be cited regarding the development of global Christian partnerships. One major fear in developing global Christian partnerships is that the movement may become another subtle way of ‘colonializing’ church movements in the developing world such that the power remains on the side of those who have the financial resources. Are church leaders from developed countries willing to give up their power and view the intellectual and spiritual assets of their developing countries counterparts as more important than the material resources that are available? Are church leaders from the developed countries willing to LISTEN to what the global leaders from the south are communicating? As we creatively assess our contributions to global partnerships worldwide, let us not forget that the measure of excellence in these partnerships is found in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –think about such things” and ultimately in Christ’s sacrifice at the Cross to draw ALL men (humanity, i.e. all people groups and nations) to Himself (John 12:32).
© The Lausanne Movement 2010
Keywords: Partnership, global, cyberspace, trust, love, Trinity, Internet, glocal, global, VisionSynergy, Gospel for Asia, Internet Evangelism Coalition, International Internet Evangelism Network, Haiti, urban, theological education
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United States
Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a world where the Christian church would trust the Christian church? We find it hard to create partnerships because of lack of trust. Even in local communities, I find churches not really trusting other churches. I think for global partnerships to work, we must be willing to support churches and groups without putting our agendas on them. We can partner with groups like the "Gospel for Asia," supporting them and letting them figure out how to do the work. As one below commented, we can partner with individual churches and get to know them one-on-one.
We need to create partnerships. Just as in the biblical examples, we may fail sometimes, but we need to do all we can to make sure the gospel is carried around the world.
11.12.2011
United States
One of the results of recent technological innovations is the effective shrinking of global communication. Instantaneous, simultaneous, multinational conversations happen everyday. Many churches are imagining ways in which this communication might be leveraged to form new global partnerships. Audéoud and Pohor examine what needs to happen in order for these partnerships to be a benefit to all parties.
Early in the paper, they identify the need for partnerships to be based in "100% trusting, mutual, and intimate relationship that gives adequate security for an exchange or resources and services." They then go on to cite some biblical examples of such partnerships and then address the assets and challenges of developing such partnerships on a global scale.
Of particular interest to me was their fear that such partnerships "may become another subtle way of ‘colonializing’ church movements in the developing world such that the power remains on the side of those who have the financial resources." This temptation is especially true to those initiating partners in the global north and west. Often, out of the richness of blessing, faithful churches endeavor to "spread the wealth" by partnering with churches internationally in an attempt to help them overcome (mostly financial) obstacles to reaching their communities for Christ.
Audéoud and Pohor emphasize over and over again that there must be mutuality present in these relationships. Even though the partnerships may not be on equal ground financially, there is still and abundance of teaching and learning each side can impart to the other. Humility and wealth are strange bedfellows. Yet this is exactly what is required if churches of great financial means wish to have sustainable, equitable partnerships with their brothers and sisters around the globe. How might a church enter into one of these partnerships with hands facing up - to give of her means and to receive blessing?
16.10.2010
France
Hi Martine
Thanks for this stimulating paper. It would be good to be able to correspond on a project that I am involved with called ’OIKOS’, based in France, which has as its goals bilateral partnerships between France and French-speaking Africa. We already have links with a bible institute in Korhogo, working along lines very similar to those you describe. Our association intends to send, receive and train across and through the multicultural context we live in. One of our key biblical attitudes is that described in Romans 1.11-12
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
We notice in these verses a key shift - inspired by the Holy Spirit - in Paul’s attitude.
In verse 11, Paul, the great apostle, is the giver, the one who imparts a spiritual gift to strengthen the receivers, the Roman church. In verse 12, he stops, reconsiders and rephrases his intention : it becomes clear that the relationship between people on God’s mission is always a mutual encouragement by each other’s faith, bilaterally and in mutual service.
We in the West are on the hinge between verse 11 and verse 12. May God give us the humility to inhabit verse 12 fully.
14.10.2010
Italy
Thank you for the encouraging examples of partnership and provoking questions on how to move forward. May the Lausanne Movement be a platform of many more to come!
13.10.2010
United Kingdom
In the section which highlights some contemporary examples of global partnership using the example of Gospel for Asia who focus on “training local Indian and Asian Christians to become missionaries on their own continent.” This incarnational approach to evangelism reminded me of my limited understanding of the work of Hudson Taylor and his focus on British missionaries integrating into Chinese culture through language, clothing and custom and focussing on the development of home-grown missionaries to reach their friends and communities.
Certainly my experience in youth ministry is that young people are much better placed to reach their own friends than I or my other leaders are.
09.10.2010
United States
Africa Rural Trainers, operated by Wainaina Njuguna, is an excellent example of how church leaders are being trained in their local contexts.
http://africaruraltrainers.org/Africa_Rural_Trainers/Welcome.html
07.10.2010
United States
I appreciated your highlighting of Gospel for Asia. I love what they’re doing and how they’ve done it.
07.10.2010
United Arab Emirates
I appreciated your warning that me must be careful to avoid a new colonializing of church movements. Your concern was those financing ventures will unduly influence those receiving finances. While your concern is certainly valid, I am personally more concerned with the danger of cultural colonialism.
I am so pleased at all that benefits and blessings of expanded communication due to the internet. But most web-content is developed in the West, by Westerners, with the Western church in mind and then merely translated into other languages.
Truly I have been very blessed by the increase of Christian materials and programs as English books are translated and programs are dubbed into Arabic. But, as you caution, we must keep our eyes open to the potential for another form of colonialism that assumes a Western perspective and Western audience. Often Eastern Christian leaders have already been so steeped in Western thought that they might not even recognize that there are whole areas of topics that would speak much more directly to the strengths and weaknesses of Eastern Cultures. If we major on translating Western materials we are missing a potential to resonate more clearly with the heartbeat of Eastern populations. I think most non-North Americans will already recognize that this cultural colonialism is an issue due to the dominance of North American web-content.
It is significantly more economical to translate an existing program or a best-selling Christian book into other languages, but we also need to give strong support to developing materials from within the recipient cultures. We must encourage local leaders and thinkers to fill in the gaps left by Western Christians speaking out of and to the Western Church. We must be willing to fund production of solid biblical media that comes out of Eastern cultural perspectives and has the Eastern culture in mind as the audience. In this way we can better avoid a new cultural colonialism.
06.10.2010
United Kingdom
Another potentially very fruitful example of global partnerships is a partnership between one local church and another. Our church in North East England has a partnership with another Anglican church in rural Kenya. We will be celebrating 25 years of our relationship next year. Members of both churches have travelled on visits to the other church, on many occasions over the years. We have helped them financially. They have helped us spiritually. On both sides, our loving friendship in Christ and our living experience of being brothers and sisters serving the Kingdom together has been and is a tremendous privilege that will live with us always. When the relationships are strong, we have the foundation from which to work through the many difficult questions that such partnerships inevitably throw up.
05.10.2010
Jamaica
I like the focus and the clarity of this presentation. Reference to the three biblical partnerships is powerful in itself with great scope for further development. I am sure there is much more information out there on partnerships within the Body of Christ that could be included - categorized and indexed and provided as a resource for participants. Finally, if we are talking global and incarnational then we need to talk some more about the Christ in us principle that will enable us to get things done and transcend barriers even. I would love to hear about prayer networks and the amazing things God is doing through regular people who sacrifice for the Kingdom and leave a legacy of depth of purpose behind - the planting on good soil that provides the basis for exponential increase.
24.09.2010
China
I appreciate very much the tone and focus of this paper. While there are many activites taking place under the name of "partnership" I wonder how many of them actually display the kinds of values and priorities outlined in your article?
Your last paragraph, I believe, addresses the real challenges in the area of partnership. The ideal nature of God-honoring partnerships does not seem to me to be especially difficult to describe. On the other hand, it is very very difficult to realize those kinds of partnerships in practice. If this Congress hopes to make a positive contribution towards improving the state of global partnerships in the church today, then we need to talk about real answers to these questions. Honest confessions, along with practicable "how tos" and best practices need to be shared across cultures. Those who have parntered need to speak up and tell of their failures and successes (see http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10727 for some stories about finance in partnership).
Thank you again for getting the conversation started!
12.08.2010
Cote d'Ivoire
@ Swells_in_the_Middle:
Yes, Swells, we hope that the discussions during the Congress with bring some pratical and tangible responses to some of those questions.
Deep down, however, I feel that there is the necessity to develop more and more Abraham’s attitude regarding material wealth and ’just’ to walk hand in hand with God, in His intimacy.
21.09.2010
United States
@ Swells_in_the_Middle:
Swells,
I suggest the book, Body Matters, by E. Addicott, for practical helps on forming and operating mission partnerships. Many practical ideas and a rather short book.
You can find it at www.betterpartnerships.net
Alex Araujo
24.09.2010
United Kingdom
Thanks for this thought-provoking paper.
I love the sentence: "Global relationships should not be sought because ‘we are living in a global world’, as is often said today, but because the Church’s heart beats with God’s heart in yearning to pursue deep, intimate, trusting relationships with other parts of the Church here on earth, thus prefiguring heaven when “God will be all in all” (2 Cor. 15:28)." Absolutely! This could and would make our partnerships so much more vibrant and dynamic.
Your three challenges at the end are indeed huge questions. I would love to see a way that more Christian leaders could be trained up within and alongside their current contexts in particular.
24.09.2010
United States
Thank you for an excellent paper. I appreciate that you started with Scripture noting three main partnerships, then showed the answer to all being the "major component" - complete, unconditional trust and intimacy in relationships; hearts filled with God’s Trinitarian love towards another, the expression Christ’s body. God will be all in all.
If we could all go back to the beginning of what God’s love did for us in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ - that He gave His Son unconditionally for our salvation, that we can do nothing to add to that love; then we would understand how we are to partner with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Unconditional love - thinking of others before ourselves; giving what we have without expectation of anything in return; trusting completely in that relationship and by doing so building an intimacy that only that trust can accomplish - this is partnership.
The question of "What kind of global partnerships could creatively address the non-discriminitory opportunities for all church leaders, especially in theological education without removing them from their communities and sources of income?" We have partnered with DAI (Development Associates International) over the past 10 years because, they are in our opinion, superior in their ability to do this very thing through their Masters Plan program, which allows the national pastor or leader to stay in their home location while they bring the instructors for their Master’s Degrees to them. This is done with tuition cost that is within their means, offset by partnerships with churches (like ours) to cover the last two years of the program. If we had more mentor/leadership programs like these, then our "poorer" brothers and sisters would receive the help that they need to complete the theology classes needed to build up the church within their areas of influence.
I feel that God gives to each of us those things He expects us to share with others. We are blessed to be financially (or in many other ways, ie. education) priveledged in the United States and being such should give substancially to our more underpriveledged brothers and sisters around the world. They in return would share with us the ability to live with the knowlege of, and feel completely blessed even in what they don’t have, knowing that in Christ, we have everything.
Thank you for letting me share my heart.
23.09.2010
Kenya
Thanks for this paper. Some comments:
1. The paper opens with an observation that many ethnicities are these days found in the West. Note that for there to be people from ‘everywhere’ in the West, is quite different to those people being ‘at home’. That is, if the foundation (as in Montreal) is ‘Western’, that is different to situations in which the foundation is not Western. I think our major concern is with the latter.
2. At the end, the authors ask if Northern leaders are ‘willing’ to listen to other Christians, or will they ‘dominate’ them? I think this way of asking the question – as if to question the genuineness of northern leaders’ humility – can be a bit misleading. Perhaps the question ought to be ‘can’ northern leaders listen? Inter-cultural translation is a very fraught exercise. No amount of humility can simply do away with foundational problems in translation and differences in people’s root ways of life.
3. Maudeoud advocates “completely unconditional trust”! Wow. Indeed, trust breakdown may be a problem, but that is asking a lot. Is it even possible?? I don’t think that is very realistic. Trust break-downs must and will occur inter-culturally, which is why dependence of a church on those of another ‘culture’ is unhealthy.
4. On sharing of resources; a case of inequitable sharing is reported on in 1 Corinthians 11. ‘Eat at home’ writes Paul.(vs 34). True partnerships, I suggest, need to leave out sharing of resources.
31.07.2010
Cote d'Ivoire
@ Jim_Harries:
Thank you for your comments, Jim. Here are some thoughts:
1. I am not sure that I understand what you meant. Could you please clarify?
2. The term ’dominate’ was not part of the paper in the last paragraph, as far as I remember. But I think I understand what you mean. We need to remember, though, that what seems impossible in human and cultural terms, is possible through the Holy Spirit and because of Christ’s work at the Cross like Eph. 2 points out.
21.09.2010
Cote d'Ivoire
@ maudeoud:
3. If God trusts us unconditionally, and if we have been given God’s life and all of God’s resources - why not? Are we not often dimming the essence of God’s life in us with our limited experiences?
4. You are right, sometimes the sharing of resources may not be needed. The building of unconditional and deep understanding of trusting relationship is foundational to partnerships, though. Material resources are not. I think that we, i.e. Christians, really need to view partnerships in light of eternity with Christ.
21.09.2010
Kenya
@ maudeoud:
Maudeoud, I will try and respond to your questions.
1. I am saying that a different approach is needed to someone who remains based in their own community. If I meet a Philipino who has come to live in the UK, for example, I think it is much more justifiable to relate to them ‘as a Brit’, and if need be using English. This is because they have left their community. Once someone has left their community, they are much less constrained by the ‘rules’ and traditions of the same. But, if you try to reach a Philipino in his (her) own community, then the Western-gospel will meet many more obstacles. What one learns in interacting with ethnic minorities ‘at home’ is not necessarily what one needs to know when one is at ‘their home’.
2. I am guessing a bit, as I read the above paper some months ago … I note your wanting to rely on the Holy Spirit. I addressed such an issue in this paper: http://www.jim-mission.org.uk/articles/providence-and-power-structures.pdf Sometimes ‘we’ Westerners want to rely on God’s Spirit in a foreign context in a way that we would never do ‘at home’, and such can be a copout / excuse for not wanting to get to understand, that may not be helpful to those people in the long term. In other words – yes, if we rely on God’s Spirit at home, then let’s do it when away, but if not, then let’s be cautious before we load Him with what is in effect our ignorance.
3. The problem with ‘unconditional trust’ as I was reading it, is that we (people) ‘trust’ according to our culture’s norms. Therefore, unconditional trust of someone from another ‘culture’ is going to get us into trouble, because they aren’t going to behave according to ‘my’ norms, and neither should I expect them to.
Speaking from practical experience as well, … I don’t think we can operate on ‘unconditional trust’, as neither can we ‘give’ without strings ( http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10758 ) because the day will come when we will cease to so trust, and it’s probably better just to be honest and concede that from the start.
4. Yes – I agree with you. Here I would add also – that in partnerships one needs to be ready to give give give give give. BUT – not of things – that is disruptive and quickly goes wrong. We give ourselves “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship.” (Ro. 12:1). That is; one must give (oneself) even to he who no longer seems to earn our ‘trust’.
21.09.2010
Argentina
Excelente presentación. Me impactan las preguntas planteadas: ¨¿Está dispuesta la iglesia mundial a asociarse y dedicar tiempo a crear oportunidades no discriminatorias para todos los líderes de la iglesia, especialmente en los países en vías de desarrollo, para que tengan acceso a la educación teológica sin sacarlos de sus comunidades y sus fuentes de ingresos? ¿Qué clase de asociaciones globales podrían abordar esta preocupación creativamente? ¿Están los líderes de iglesia de los países desarrollados dispuestos a renunciar a su poder y ver los recursos intelectuales y espirituales de sus homólogos en los países en vías de desarrollo como más importantes que los recursos materiales disponibles? ¿Están los líderes de iglesia de los países desarrollados dispuestos a ESCUCHAR lo que los líderes globales del Sur están comunicando?¨
Otro parrafo a destacar es: ¨asociarse globalmente también significa reescribir la historia. De forma similar, ahora tenemos agencias misioneras de Nigeria y varios otros países africanos que se asocian para desarrollar equipos misioneros para ir a servir en Europa y EE.UU. Como escribió Oscar Muriu de Kenia para Urbana 2006 , mientras instaba a las iglesias a apuntar a la madurez en el trabajo de evangelización global: “El propósito de la madurez no es independencia, sino interdependencia”. Por lo tanto, las asociaciones globales considerarán una visión compartida impulsada por el amor divino, invirtiendo recursos locales y comunales en forma creativa a fin de servir unos a las comunidades de los otros, en forma interdependiente.¨
13.08.2010
Cote d'Ivoire
@ MisionGloCal1Scott:
Thanks a lot for your response, Scott. I tried to understand the gist of it through Google Translator. I like the questions that you asked and will keep them in mind (i.e. on paper) for our discussions at CT and I do strongly agree with you that developing global incarnational partnerships also definitely means to rewrite history - with a divine perspective!
21.09.2010
Singapore
I especially appreciate your highlighting that the aim of global partnerships is "to bring the Church to a level of maturity where it will proactively and conscientiously seek to live in the light of the cosmological redemption that Christ has accomplished at the Cross, and thus become a transformational agent..." It is sometimes difficult to tell the way in which each global partnership will shape that journey towards maturity. In certain instances, it is, in fact, in the learning to love and serve one another in the midst of great diversity that the Body is matured.
17.08.2010
Cote d'Ivoire
@ Sharon_M:
Yes, it seems to me that this maturing is through partnerships is a divine and Spirit-led process - otherwise it won’t work!
21.09.2010
United States
Martine and Rubin, thanks for your words and thoughts. From my perspective, the most striking sentence in your paper was:
"In view of the biblical roots of global partnerships for Christ’s Church, a major component of these partnerships should be complete, unconditional trust and intimacy in relationships."
The extent to which people around the globe are willing to partner together in the context you mentioned above...I believe...will dictate their ability to have a successful partnership. I agree with Jim Harries that it might SEEM impossible, but The Most High has taken a sinner like me and RADICALLY changed my life. Truly, if He can change me, He can change anybody... especially His children...to have authentic intimacy in relationships.
Therefore, another critical question to be asked in your paper is, "Are their men and women from different cultures and backgrounds willing to seek complete, unconditional trust and intimacy in real, authentic relationships?" And then, "How is that fostered and formed?"
21.09.2010
Cote d'Ivoire
@ Matthew_Fries:
I really appreciate your last couple of questions, Matthew. They are critical, as you say and we will discuss them during our multiplex discussion in CT.
21.09.2010
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