Immigration is still a subject that can spark heated debate. The 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech was marked by a number of investigations into the enormous changes brought about by immigration in the UK and Europe as a whole since the 1950s. Yet it wasn’t so long ago that the reverse was true. By 1915, 21% of Europeans lived outside Europe as a result of one ofthe largest migrations in recorded history, with much missionary expansion following in its wake. So how can we recognise and grasp missional opportunities provided by today’s migration phenomena?
This is just one of the topics examined in an excellent new book ‘Mission in the 21st Century’. Edited by Cathy Ross and Andrew Walls, with contributions from 17 authors around the world, this book is a key resource for anyone interested in exploring what modern, multi-cultural mission looks like. It examines global themes of discipleship, worship and cultural perspectives, as well as tackling topical issues such as migration. We asked Cathy to share some of the thinking behind the book, as well as giving us a preview of some of the issues and stories that it incorporates.
“Good ideas are common – what is uncommon are people who'll work hard enough to bring them about.” This could certainly be applied to ‘Mission inthe 21st Century’. With articles from authors in 15 countries, the fact that the book was completed within the required time frame is a testimony to the diligence of the contributors as well as the convenience of the internet!
The original concept for the book arose on a hot afternoon in Tim Dakin’ (General Secretary of CMS) office as a few of us were considering what type of mission related resources would be usefulfor a forthcoming conference. The ‘Five Marks of Mission’ seemed a good place to start as they describe a fairly comprehensive approach to mission. We also wanted to produce a resource that applied these marks in away that goes beyond our often narrow, western perspective. Through the testimonies and experiences of peopleserving God around the world, we have sought to offer a collection of reflections, both practical and theological, from diverse social and cultural contexts.
The Five Marks of Mission
- To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain the life of the earth
The seventeen essays are not intended to be either sleek or slick as practitioners have taken time out of their busy lives to write them – in English - usually their second, third or even fourth language. Consequently, they do have a smell of the earth about them and this is as it should be. Each of the articles is intended to be grounded and applied; urging us, disturbing us, encouraging us and challenging us. The voices themselves are not uniform - some speak in narrative, some in a tight prose, some in poetry and some in an English less familiar to our ears. I believe that this is part of the beauty and the power of the book, for this is the reality of the world as we have made it. This selection of essays grants us a taste of our world - with all its beauty and potential, as well as its despair and compromise.
The first part of the book uses stories and situations from around the world in combination with biblical exposition to elaborate on each of the five marks of mission. You will encounter a street mission in urban Kampala, a Brazilian middle-class pastor falling in love with the God of justice, a Bishop struggling to empower Christians in Congo and a community in Auckland, New Zealand, confronted with crime and domestic violence but ultimately transformed by a growing understanding of God’s love. The more traditional and widely perceived problems of discrimination, poverty and injustice are covered, while at the same time there are stories of people struggling with the effects of the misapplication of biblical doctrines or overly westernised interpretations of scripture. The situations described include the misunderstanding of the doctrine of retribution in parts of South Africa - leading to HIV being viewed as a punishment for an individual’s sin - and churches in Brazil and elsewhere that continue to endorse unhealthy and unjust status quos.
The second part of the book considers some current key issues in mission, such as: migration, the encounter with Islam, Bible reading in the non- Western church, education as mission, discipleship, worship and theological reflection. In order to whet your appetite, let me give you a vignette of one of the articles, looking at the topical issue of migration – ‘Migration and Mission: the Religious Significance of the North-South Divide’ by Jehu Hanciles from Sierra Leone. Jehu begins by exploring the great European migrations of the 19th century, as well as those caused by Western policies such as the slave trade. The missionary impulse was perhaps greatest during this time with paradoxical implications. Jehu explains, “… missionary action became fettered to political aggression and economic exploitation; … the missionary project was blighted by attitudes of racial and cultural superiority.” He goes on to argue that migration is one of the reasons why missions and colonialism “largely coincided in geographical extension and historical existence.” Did you know that at the height of British colonial rule Queen Victoria had more Muslim subjects than any Muslim ruler? An interesting conundrum! In turn, this opened up Britain to Muslim migration and settlement from late in the 19th century. Now we are seeing what Jehu refers to as “the great reversal”. Since the 1960s migration has been mainly from areas which are weaker, economically and politically, to the centres of global dominance. This also “coincides uncannily with the onset of population stagnation and decline in Western societies.” The South-North migration movement has become a dominant element in international migration and in migration studies. Europe and North America are experiencing waves of non-Western migrants who are often met with hostility, resentment and knee-jerk governmental measures to curb what is perceived as detrimental immigration.
What then are the religious implications of this? How are these new migrants impacting religious life? According to Jehu, Islam now represents Europe’s fastest growing religion, largely thanks to immigration. At the same time, our churches are increasingly full of non-Westerners with an infectious faith. What implications does this have for mission and the missionary enterprise? We know that the heartlands of Christianity have shifted to the global South where most of these migrants come from – what does this mean for world Christianity? Jehu notes: “It is intriguing that this historic shift in global Christianity’s centre of gravity coincides with the equally momentous change in the structure and composition of global migrations.” So, what do these changing migratory flows mean for the future of Christianity and for the future of mission? You will need to read the rest of his essay to find out!
Other questions addressed include: “Whose religion is Christianity?”, “How does reading the Bible from an Asian perspective critique and challenge a western mindset?”, “How can Christian educational institutions become alternative communities of learning?” and much more. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as Andrew Walls and I did in compiling it.
Cathy Ross, CMS
‘Mission in the 21st Century’ is available from CMS or from the Global Connections shop at a special member’s price of £10.
