Owning the Gospel

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Global Episcopal Mission Network conference in Seattle.

GEMN (gemn.org) is an association of Episcopalians who are active in mission work in other cultures.

I did not agree with everything I heard there. But that's to be expected whenever imperfect human beings get together. But what really impressed me was the sincerity of everyone at the conference, each of whom is earnestly and intensely attempting to move beyond our own cultural constraints (church walls, if you will) and to discern what is truly the essence of the Christian message.

In the past the Church has failed to do that very well. More often than not, missionaries sought to transform the people they encountered, and the cultures in which they found them, into versions of ourselves. Our predecessors sought to “Westernize” other parts of the world, with rather predictable long-term effects.

Personally, I distrust linguistic politics. I resist-- and urge others to resist-- the tendency to put more energy into policing words than into to changing the underlying situations represented by those words. Otherwise, there is no real progress, merely new terminology that will soon be found to be as wanting as what it replaced. Nevertheless, having said that, I think that the term “missionary” (and I am one) is completely bankrupt. Outside of church walls, and even within them, the term carries with it the heavy baggage of cultural conquest and self-righteous (and self-centered) notions of religious and moral supremacy. We would do well to distance ourselves from that aspect of church history while at the same time honoring the positive contributions made by missionaries over the years. In order to do so, I think we may very well need a new term to describe those of us called to serve in other cultures.

What we are seeking to do today is radically different from what missionaries did in the past. Nevertheless, all ideas are not equal; there are some very bad ideas floating around out there, and not just within church walls. As Christians, and specifically Episcopalians, I feel that our duty when we cross cultural borders is to identify and make common cause with the good ideas that we encounter, and the people who espouse them. This isn't syncretism; it's growth. By the same token, we should join others in resisting the bad ideas that we encounter. This isn't elitism; it's integrity. We have much to learn from other cultures and experiences, and I think it is important to remember that we don't own the Gospel. Even Jesus doesn't claim to own the Gospel. Instead, He seeks through the Church to reconcile everyone to God.

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Peace,
Brad