Working Together in a Community Garden: Justice in CTC,EG, TTL

From the context of ministry in Guatemala, the author explores themes of injustice and loving service, need and promise in the Lausanne Movement document known as The Cape Town Commitment, the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, and the ecumenical text on mission and evangelism Together towards Life, with a particular focus on justice and Christian mission. Common elements are depicted through the image of a community garden exhibiting biodiversity and requiring a diversity of talents to flourish.     

A Catholic Missiological and Ecumenical Appreciation of Together towards Life

The new mission statement Together towards Life does not so much propose new teachings about mission as point out pertinent reminders and reconfirmations of some of our beliefs and convictions about God's mission (missio Dei) in and for the world. The author suggests that among the many challenges expressed in the statement, three merit special attention: (1) the proposal to shift the mission concept from “mission to the margins” to “mission from the margins”; (2) the necessity to underline the intrinsic link between humanity and creation; and (3) the temptation to consider “mission” as at the service of the interests and aggrandizement of individual churches instead of the contrary. He concludes that this statement is an invitation to walk “together towards life” for the benefit of both humanity and the whole of God's creation, and that the urgent challenge is to forge concrete means to make this dream a reality, even in the face of paying the “cost of discipleship.”     

Evangelism in Evangelii Gaudium,The Cape Town Commitment,and Together towards Life

The term “evangelization” has a very broad meaning in Evangelii Gaudium, encompassing everything that is subsumed under “mission” in The Cape Town Commitment and Together towards Life. For those two documents, “evangelism” is just one aspect of mission, namely the verbal communication of the gospel message. In their underlying theological propositions, the three documents are very similar. There is one fundamental difference, though: Evangelii Gaudium focuses on affective transformation, while the other two stress ethical renewal.     

Missionary Discipleship as the Innovation of the Church in Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium

Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium talks about discipleship in a framework of mission and evangelization. Rather than concentrating on the discipleship as such, it uses as a lens the spiritual commitment of conversion to missionary discipleship, challenging all Christians and the whole Church, including institutional structures, to this conversion. In common with the World Council of Churches’ document Together towards Life, Evangelii Gaudium emphasizes a need for Christians to focus on the heart of the Gospel, the love of the trinitarian God, in order to find trustful, dynamic, and transformative mission for the “changing landscapes” of today's global and local phenomena. This article deals with the concept of missionary discipleship in Evangelii Gaudium. To this end it discusses discipleship and its underlying structure of continual conversion as it is represented in both Evangelii Gaudium and the WCC's mission document Together towards Life.     

Evangelii Gaudium and the Prospects for Ecumenical Mission

Evangelii Gaudium (EG) is addressed to the “bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and the lay faithful” of the Catholic Church. It comes out of an internal discussion of “the new evangelization” and devotes considerable space to particular concerns of the Catholic Church, such as its pastoral activity, preaching ministry, and devotion to Mary. Out of 288 sections, it devotes only three near the end to “ecumenical dialogue.” So it would not seem at first sight to offer much prospect for ecumenical mission. However, this impression is deceptive. This article compares EG with the main concerns of the World Council of Churches’ statement on mission and evangelism in changing landscapes, Together towards Life (TTL), which was published earlier the same year, and finds a remarkable extent of common ground. It also finds that both documents share an inclusive and holistic understanding of mission/evangelization.     

“Blessed Are You Who Are Poor”: The Poor in Together towards Life,The Cape Town Commitment,and Evangelii Gaudium

The present article explores the issue of the poor in three recent major documents on mission and evangelism/evangelization – Together towards Life (TTL), The Cape Town Commitment (CCT), and Evangelii Gaudium (EG) – arguing that they have several commonalities, as well as differences, with regard to mission and the poor. In convergence, they acknowledge a central place of the poor in Christian mission; address personal and structural aspects of poverty; and perceive the poor in close relation to other disadvantaged groups. But they diverge in emphases: TTL focuses on the role of the Spirit of God in empowering the poor/marginalized, acknowledges the agency of the poor/marginalized, and sees them in close relation to the earth/creation in their cry for justice; CTC introduces the issue of poverty in the framework of the spiritual warfare discourse, addresses the challenging topic of the prosperity gospel, and reasons biblically for the cause of the poor; and EG critiques contemporary socio‐economic realities, emphasizes that the church as a whole must champion the poor, and warns against peace efforts becoming a pretext for neglecting the poor. This article argues that a “synoptic” reading of the three documents on the topic allows us to benefit from the rich ecclesial and theological traditions behind the texts, and can engender more appropriate responses for both missiology and mission on this important issue.     

From Busan to Arusha,and beyond

A new World Council of Churches (WCC) mission statement was presented to the member churches of the WCC at the assembly in 2013 in Busan, South Korea. The document, Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL), was said to be pneumatological. From God’s mission, missio Dei, there was a shift toward the mission of the Spirit, missio Spiritus. The ecumenical world was introduced to a new mission concept: “mission from the margins,” according to which the Holy Spirit was empowering those in the margins. Five years later, in 2018, in Arusha, Tanzania, the WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism officially adopted a short mission document entitled “The Arusha Call to Discipleship” and another document, “The Arusha Conference Report.” The conference was said to have been influenced and inspired by TTL. However, in the conference documentation, the missio Spiritus seems to have been left aside. Thus, it would seem that in recent ecumenical missiology, there has been a shift from pneumatology toward Christology as the basis of individual and communal Christian life. In light of this, this article intends to compare the WCC mission documents of 2013 and 2018 and to show that there has been a shift toward the “Christ-connected way of life” of the disciple and how this Christ-connected discipleship is vulnerable and wounded, as it connects with the concept of kenosis.     

Missional Formation for Transforming Discipleship

Mission – in the larger sense, beyond the mission of the institutional church – in the 21st century is an urgent and decisive issue. We need to prepare for a transforming mission with transforming discipleship. Together towards Life, along with Evangelii Gaudium and Laudato Si', offer paradigm shifts to consider as we envision mission formation with other parameters – with a different theological and ministerial education. Participation in the world is necessary for any true transformative mission: it is there that we learn and practise the true challenges to abundant life for everyone and for all. Practice alone is not enough: we must always question our own praxis, reviewing it in the light of the gospel.     

Linking Mission and Networks

The Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is a network of churches and Christian organizations promoting people’s access to water around the world. There are many actors on advocacy for water justice; the EWN was formed to make a Christian witness be heard in the present debate on water issues. This article reflects on the meaning of spirituality for the EWN as an organization and on the relationship the EWN has with other actors in the field of water justice. This reflection is intended to ponder the questions which the EWN places at the core of its mission: “why we do, what we do?” Answering these questions contributes to theories and practices on mission and diversity and provides a stimulus to the manner in which organizations for mission and water justice deal with diversity. The perspectives derive from theology, mission studies, management sciences, and social anthropology.     

Case Study on Together towards Life and Ministerial Formation

When asked over the years why I believe the World Council of Churches is so important to the life of the church, my response has been not so much because of what its programmes do but because of its work in building a common ecumenical vision and bringing the diversity of the world church around that vision. This has been so valuable in shaping the life and ministry of the church ecumenical at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. Together towards Life gives us a fresh opportunity to do this again in the area of mission and evangelism.     

Mission and Reconciliation in the Orthodox Church

This article examines the Orthodox view on reconciliation as reflected in the famous patriarchal and synodical encyclicals early in the last century and in more recent official documents: the Messages of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches, the approved documents of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s official statements. These are looked at in reference to (i) the mission statement of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, Together towards Life, and (ii) the papal encyclicals Unitatis redintegratio and Ut unum sint. The article further examines the need for a common Christian witness and the reactions within the Orthodox world from a tiny but vocal anti-ecumenical minority. It underlines the importance of a Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities along with the existing Universal Declaration of Human Rights to address the ecological problem and inequities of the current world economic system, based on the interrelatedness of economy and ecology and the consolidation of the interfaith dialogue for a wider reconciliation. The article also underlines the highest priority of the theological dialogues at all levels and by all bodies of the Orthodox ecclesial reality as a necessary step to promote reconciliation. Finally, the article assesses (i) the dialogue aiming to achieve the visible unity of the church; (ii) dialogues generally focusing on Christian unity, or even unity with other faithful; (iii) dialogues aiming as much as possible at common Christian witness; and (iv) dialogues focusing on the church’s responsibility toward society and the integrity of creation.     

The Church in the Contemporary Ecumenical‐Missional Moment: Together towards Life in Dialogue with The Cape Town Commitment and Evangelii Gaudium

The doctrine of the church has always been important to developments in mission and ecumenism – a fact that has been true since the birth of the modern ecumenical movement and is no less so today. This article compares three recent documents – the WCC's Together towards Life (2013), the Lausanne Movement's Cape Town Commitment (2011), and Pope Francis' exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (2014) – in light of the rise of a prominent new way of expressing the role of the church in the mission of Christ (missio Dei). This theological development has significantly impacted mission and ecumenical thinking and practice in recent decades, requiring us to consider the church's relationship to mission in a new and important way. The article reveals various aspects of missio Dei theology at work in all three of these documents, and finally looks at the visionary leadership of Pope Francis in calling the Catholic Church to a joyful expression of the gospel of Christ through both words and deeds. EG does not so much address the doctrine of the church as it assumes it. Its concern is far more pastoral: “How do we more effectively and powerfully communicate the gospel in our time?”     

Together towards Life

Which are the convincing ways of evangelism in the secular, multicultural countries of western Europe? Does the new mission affirmation Together towards Life offer relevant contributions to this debate? This article explores recent developments in western Europe. It starts by reviewing the secular nature of these countries and then explains how migration has tested the secularization thesis. The transformation of western European cultures from secular toward secular/multi‐religious reopens the debate on secularism and religion. The article also reflects on the question of what the central ideas in the new mission affirmation – the affirmation of life, the power of the Holy Spirit, mission from the margins, and authentic evangelism as discipleship – may mean in these changing secular cultures. The author concludes that discipleship, provided it is authentic, may help to move beyond the apparent contradictions between secularism and religion and may help to find new ways of bringing forth the good news.     

The Pentecostal Church in Slovakia and the Common Witness of Evangelical Churches in the Spirit of Partnership and Cooperation

This study aims to describe the Pentecostal Church in Slovakia in the scope of current ecumenical cooperation and dialogue. The Apostolic Church is a member of the Union of Evangelical Churches in Slovakia, which established the Department of Theology and Christian Education (DETM) at the University of Matej Bel. Since 1994, individual churches have continued together in ecumenical cooperation in the education of their young spiritual workers. The curriculum includes academic interpretation and missiological reflection on selected parts of mission. It offers the practical efforts of the teachers and students, especially from the viewpoint of the churches' common witness in diversity. The curriculum of the study programme for theologians interprets the two mission documents Together towards Life (TTL) and The Cape Town Commitment (CTC) from a Slovakian evangelical theological view and applies it practically in context. This paper introduces DETM's educational programme in mission and ecumenism and examines how it embodies the values and concepts of those two mission documents through its activities. Special interest is focused on the topic of the practice of common witness in a spirit of partnership and cooperation.     

Moving in the Spirit

Together towards Life (TTL) holds together a theology of the God of life and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit with the renewal and transformation that begins with a commitment to justice and peace at the margins and anticipates the eschatological vision of the renewal of the whole creation. The theme of the forthcoming World Mission Conference in 2017 in Arusha (Tanzania), “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship,” marks the intersection between TTL and the Busan call for the pilgrimage of justice and peace. The theme invites participants to advance reflection on the life‐giving power of the Holy Spirit and the role of transformative communities moving together in hope of God's reign to come. The example of the World Council of Churches’ work on a Theology of Life shows that choosing this direction has implications for the practices of doing theology and even the organization of the forthcoming World Mission Conference. A fascinating task indeed!     

Together towards Life,Missional Formation,and Transforming Discipleship

Adoption of Together towards Life as a new mission statement of the World Council of Churches was a moment pregnant with possibility. Will this ground‐breaking document have a transformative impact on individual lives, on community life, on national life, on international life? The answer, to a great extent, will depend on how far it comes to be used as a resource in education and formation. For it to be used in a relevant and effective way, it will need to be considered contextually. A project has been under way to create a pedagogical guidebook to support the deployment of Together towards Life in missional education and formation. This will promote academic rigour, but will also go further to engage the spiritual level and the challenge of discipleship.     

Witnessing to Christ Today

The global health situation at the beginning of the third millennium is alarming. 1 While countries in the global North spend huge amounts of money providing high‐tech medicine for their citizens, many people in resource‐limited settings still do not have access to basic health care. These people bear an unjust burden of disease, and tens of thousands die every day of diseases that can be treated and often cured. In this regard, the contribution of Christian churches to health care is sorely needed. Already, churches and faith‐based organizations are important health providers in many countries. This is especially the case with regard to people in remote areas and in resource‐limited settings, and with marginalized groups in these and other places. In addition to the engagement by Christian bodies in health care, in many churches, especially the fast‐growing churches of the global South, spiritual healing is becoming increasingly important. These churches seek to provide healing through prayer, blessing, the laying on of hands, and anointing with oil. However, many inside and outside the churches are not so confident that the churches' engagement in the field of health and healing is essential to their mission. Some argue that the churches should only be involved in health care provision if there are no secular health providers available. Also, whilst others insist on the use of exclusively “spiritual” means to overcome illness, many question whether Christians today should still seek to overcome illness through this approach. Against this background, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the German Institute for Medical Mission (DIFAEM) wish to contribute to an understanding of the healing mission of the church today. Both organizations are engaged in the field of mission and healing, and have a long history in dealing with questions about the Christian healing ministry. 2 Since its inception, the WCC has regarded issues related to health as part of its core work. Health care and theological questions on health and healing have been on the agenda of WCC programmes on mission, as well as those dealing with justice and diakonia. For many years, the WCC's Christian Medical Commission guided the organization's work on health and healing. DIFAEM has been a partner with the WCC in worldwide discussions on the healing mission of the churches since the mid‐1960s, and a leader in the promotion and implementation of the concept of primary health care. In 2005, the world mission conference in Athens, Greece, considered the theme, “Come Holy Spirit, Heal and Reconcile: Called in Christ to Be Reconciling and Healing Communities,” and strongly reaffirmed the healing mission of the church. In 2007, the WCC and DIFAEM jointly called for a “study group on mission and healing” to follow up the Athens mission conference. This study group was subsequently mandated to work on the Christian understanding of the healing mission of the church, and to promote Christian engagement in the field of health. The members of the group are theologians and medical professionals from four continents and various denominations. 3 The objectives of the group include:

• to clarify the holistic and integrated nature of Christian mission and healing, based on biblical theology;
• to demonstrate ways in which Christian communities can contribute towards health and healing in contemporary contexts.

In this article, the study group offers a summary of the ecumenical discussions on health, healing and wholeness that were documented in WCC publications issued between 1965 and 2005. The main insight of these discussions was that health is not only physical and/or mental well‐being but includes the social and spiritual and other dimensions as well. This is reflected in the definition of health approved by the WCC in 1989: “Health is a dynamic state of well‐being of the individual and society, of physical, mental, spiritual, economic, political, and social well‐being – of being in harmony with each other, with the material environment and with God.” 4 This expanded definition of health leads us to the Christian understanding that healing is not only and not primarily medical. Healing then includes, for instance, addressing the spiritual needs of sick persons as well as working for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Moreover, the role of congregational and non‐congregational communities and faith‐ based and governmental organizations as well as individual Christians in the field of health and healing becomes obvious. Faith communities/congregations in particular are called to practise healing in various ways. They contribute to healing as social networks, as places of teaching and learning together, and as advocates for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Healing is practised in liturgical acts and through nurturing and practicing charismatic gifts, through counselling and caring, and through creating safe and open spaces. Faith communities have a role in promoting primary health care, and can become vital partners of the formal health sector. This contribution aims to reaffirm the healing mission of the church, and to encourage churches, plus Christian communities and organizations, to engage in this ministry, and thus take part in God's mission of transforming the world. 5 Beate JAKOB     

Korean Christian Zionism: A Sociological Study of Mission

From the perspective of the sociology of missions, this study explores the Korean Christian Zionists' mission work after 9/11. The current Pentecostal success in South Korea has spurred the nation to send more missionaries abroad than any other country except the United States. As America has been losing the trust of the world since 9/11, some evangelical fundamentalists argue that Korea should take over the initiative of world mission from the United States. The Jerusalem Jesus March in 2004 and the South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan in 2007 have served to admonish Korean churches to hastily reconsider coercing their missionaries to proselytize in dangerous areas such as Islamic lands. This study unfolds issues such as “spiritual subjectivism” and “Korea‐centrism”, illustrated by the Jesus March incident and the Afghan controversy, and suggests that the expansionism of Korean Pentecostal/evangelical missionaries taken up with the idea of “global spiritual conquest” is a manifestation of “Korean Christian Zionism”.     

The Holy Spirit in EG,TTL, and CTC: The Pneumatological Impulse for Christian Mission

This article examines the correspondence in the pneumatological impulse for mission among three documents: Evangelii Gaudium (EG), Together towards Life (TTL), and The Cape Town Commitment (CTC). This consonance in EG, TTL, and CTC is significant given the dissonance on theological and missiological perspectives across the representing ecclesial bodies since the mid‐20th century. Following a review of pneumatology in these three documents, the paper proposes a forward‐looking trajectory to a more expansive view of the Spirit's ever‐mysterious operations in the church, in missions, and in the world.