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Mission: Theological Perspectives

Rev. Dr. Pablo A. Jiménezwww.drpablojimenez.net

+An Excellent Resource

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Introduction

+Introduction

Defining "mission" is as challenging as clarifying

the relationship between mission and

evangelism.

Christian believers have a double missionary

identity: we are both objects and subjects of the

mission. That is, we live between the continuity

provided by inherited missionary patterns and

the discontinuity motivated by the creativity of

the Spirit of God in a new missionary situation.

+Definition

Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi defines mission as

the participation of the people of God in the

divine missionary activity in the world.

In other words, all missionary activity is a

testimony to what God (not the Church,

denomination or missionary institution) does in

the world and how that testimony creates a new

relationship between God and creation.

+Participation in God’s Mission

“The Church that participates in God’s mission

in the world incarnates itself in the world to be

a sign of the Gospel of the Kingdom (as an

object of mission), to discern God’s missionary

activity outside its institutional reality, and to

be transformed, together with the world,

through participation in God’s mission (as

subject of the mission of God).”

Cardoza-Orlandi, Carlos F. Mission: An Essential Guide (P. 47)

+¿Mission or missions?

Traditionally, people confuse the term

"mission” with "missions". For many,

"missions” refers to the Church’s efforts to

communicate the Gospel to those nations or

ethnic groups who have not been

evangelized.

Therefore, the aim of “missions” is to reach

the “unevangelized” and the “unchurched” so

that they can become part of the Church.

+¿A limited view?

This definition limits the concept of “mission” in two

ways.

First, it limits missions to Church activity. It focuses

missionary activity on an institution, be it the Church,

a denomination or a missionary organization.

Second, it limits missions to activity directed to a

particular group of people, the “unevangelized”,

understood as people who do not know God and are

not committed to a Church.

+A Broader Vision

The term mission does include evangelism to

non-believers. However, it must also include the

recognition that all missionary activity belongs to

God and that such activity creates a relationship

between God, the missionaries and the world.

In other words, the mission of the Church is

God's mission. Those engaged in mission

should be in close relationship with God and

with the world.

+Evangelism

Evangelism is just one of the many

dimensions of mission.

Through evangelism, the Church proclaims

the Gospel to those people who consider

themselves as "non-believers”, inviting them

to have an encounter with the truth of God in

Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

+Missiology

Theological reflection upon mission has

created the field of study known as Christian

Missiology.

Missiology is, therefore, a theological

discipline that studies the Christian mission,

considering its theological, historical and

pastoral aspects.

+Criteria for a Theology of Mission

God is the protagonist of all missionary activity.

Mission is a communitarian activity, developed in

cooperation with the Trinity. Therefore, the

mission begins, develops and blossoms in

community.

The Church is both object and subject of

mission, through which it grows and is

eventually transformed.

+No mission no Church, given that the Church

discovers new dimensions of the Gospel through

participation in the missionary task.

All missionary activity takes place in the world

created by God. Therefore, the Church does not

lead the nations to God, given that the Creator

God is already present in every corner of the

world.

Missionary activity transforms both the

communities who hear the message as well as

the missionaries sent to serve them.

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Bible & Mission

+The Missionary Bible

Since the Christian mission emanates

from the character of God as it is revealed

in the Scriptures, the Bible is essential for

the development of a Theology of Mission.

Therefore, we must understand that the

whole Bible speaks about mission.

+The Main Element

Thus, we find that God’s Mercy is the

main element for the development of

mission.

Throughout the Bible, God is revealed

as the One who shows compassion for

the poor, the marginalized and the

oppressed.

+Hebrew Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, we can see such

divine mercy in:

The election of the people of Israel

(Deut. 4:32-38; 7:6-8.).

And in the liberation of God's people

from the yoke of slavery in Egypt (Ex.

20:2).

+Jesus’ Ministry

God’s mercy is definitively revealed in the ministry of Jesus. In the programmatic statement of Luke 4:16-21, Jesus declares that now is the time of grace.

Jesus revealed God’s mercy in his own life, acting on behalf of the marginalized.

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Divine Revelation Through History

+Revelation & History

The God of Jesus Christ is not an ahistorical

divinity; the Christian religion is not based on

a dream or a vision.

The basis of our faith is God's intervention in

history; first, in the history of biblical Israel

and, second, in the person, life and ministry

of Jesus Christ.

+The God who Acts

The God revealed in Scripture is the

One who makes new things among his

people.

He is the God who acts as showed in

the life of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) and in

the creation of the Church.

+Mission & History

Thus, the Christian mission is a task

thorough which the Church

participates in history.

This implies that the Church must take

into account the social, political and

financial reality of each community

that it wants to reach.

+Confession of Sins

We confess that sometimes the Church has

acted in a "triumphalist" way, oppressing

unevangelized nations and peoples.

Also, the Church has made the mistake of

identifying the culture of the missionaries with

the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which led to awful

sins, such as racism and even genocide.

Today, the Church rejects those sinful practices.

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The Witness of the People of God

+Witnesses

The Christian mission needs witnesses who

proclaim God's truth. Those witnesses must

communicate the faith not as a theoretical

utopia but as a personal experience with the

divine (I Jn. 1:1-3).

In the Hebrew Bible, the Suffering Servant of

Isaiah 53 embodies such witness. In the New

Testament, the witness par excellence is the

crucified Christ.

+Discipleship

Thus we find that following Jesus means not

only studying his teachings, but also

identifying with Christ’s suffering.

Why? Because it is precisely through

suffering that God has identified with

humanity.

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Conclusion

+A Divine Enterprise

We must emphasize that the Christian

mission is a divine enterprise. God is

the subject of mission. It is God who

empowers us and drives us to fulfill the

mission.

Therefore, God and humanity are

partners in mission (2 Cor 5: 18-20).

+A contingent enterprise

The concept, theologies and practices of

mission have changed and will continue to

change throughout the history of Christianity.

Therefore, theologies and practices of

mission must be contextual and temporal.

They should not be rigid or absolute.

+A Multicultural Enterprise

The missionary enterprise is linked to humanity

and creation as a whole.

Theologies and practices of mission have

greater vitality in contexts where missionary

efforts are intercultural and interreligious.

Where they are integrated to daily life,

Christian worship, Bible study and theological

reflection.

+Bibliography

Cardoza-Orlandi, Carlos F. Mission: En

Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon

Press, 2002.

Costas, Orlando E. Compromiso y Misión.

Miami: Editorial Caribe, 1979.

Escobar, Samuel. Cómo comprender la

misión. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Certeza

Unida, 2007.

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The End

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