Confluence:

a flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like; a coming together of people or things

When we reflect back over the course of history since the World Missionary Conference in 1910, we are hard-pressed to find an era without conflict and unrest. In this Discovering Missiology series, I purpose to highlight the emergence of missiology as a theological discipline and to demonstrate how missiological approaches are informed in and because of crazily changing contexts.

Previously, I defined Missiology as the study of the creating and redeeming works of God through the mission of God—the missio Dei and described the task of missiology as one of puzzle and surprise. I noted five aspects of missiology and zero in on the fifth in this post.

• Missiology creates unrest and resists complacency, challenges institutional impulses, heightens our senses, and invites us to join the work of the Spirit in our corner of the world.

Gleaning from history, we have discovered the watershed World Missionary Conference of 1910—the crescendo of the Great Century of Missions. Remarkably, some 1200 missionary delegates, mostly from the Western world, attended. In the years that follow this monumental gathering, new believers and churches, birthed in global contexts, raise questions and pose challenges never before faced by the Protestant missionary movement.

As Christian scholars and leaders in the west came together to serve the growing church around the world, not surprisingly, similarities and differences surfaced. Within a short amount of time the ecumenical and evangelical mission movements emerged and soon divided. Still today, both claim a stake in the WMC. In hindsight, these provocative differences caused missiologists and Christian leaders to engage in rigorous research and debate.

Ecumenical Stream

By the mid-twentieth century, contextualization and social justice became two of the most hotly debated topics in the Protestant movement. In fact, the WCC acknowledged the rapid expansion of the church in the Global South surfaced the need to rethink mission and the church in its various contexts.

The introduction of missional theology and the missio Dei, introduced in an earlier post, cites God as the source of mission and the church as the conduit through which the gospel is proclaimed across every social, political, and religious community in the world. Additionally, the emergence of Liberation Theology, introduced by Catholic philosopher, Gustavo Gutiérrez, intended as a call to all believers, raised awareness of God’s commitment to the poor. Among other important issues, this, in particular, served to dramatically affect the church’s approach to mission and evangelism.

Evangelical Stream

The evangelical stream, influenced by its revivalist drive and the neo-evangelical movement, gave birth to the Lausanne Movement and has maintained a steady commitment to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

The issues of contextualization and lack of social concern created divergence between evangelicals, which led to the Chicago Declaration of Social Concern (1973). The robust declaration yielded to the full weight of God’s authority and acknowledged the need to attend to both spiritual and physical needs of people. Despite this effort, the tension between the task of evangelism and social concern persisted, and persists today.

With relation to foreign and international missions, evangelicals responded by hosting various conferences in the 1950s and 1960s, which eventually led to the Lausanne Conference, attended by 2,300 people from 150 countries. The Lausanne Covenant (1974) acknowledges and commits to sharing God’s concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society, and God’s concern for the liberation of men from every kind of oppression.

Roman Catholic Developments Since the 1970s

In a previous post, I footnoted the Roman Catholic Church as a stream of mission indirectly influenced by the WMC. Significantly, the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) includes three major theological developments that have influenced a Missional Theology: a Trinitarian locus for mission; an expanded understanding of the missionary nature of the church; a call to better understand the nature of other religion

In 1975, Pope Paul VI anchored God’s mission in the concrete life and work of Jesus, emphasized gospel proclamation to those who have never heard, and called the people of God to live under the reign of God. He also highlighted the growing theological consensus connecting evangelization with humanitarian concerns and social justice.[1]

Conclusion

I am compelled by the historical development of these mission movements. Instructively, scholars and practitioners on all sides have worked through significant differences, engaged critically, and when necessary, and sometimes made important and necessary adjustments.

Surprisingly, a confluence of study and research comes together, and despite disruptions and fissures we learn from one another despite our differences.

Next time: Missional Theology—A Brief Introduction

Footnotes

[1] Catholic Church, Apostolic Exhortation: Evangelii Nuntiandi of His Holiness Pope Paul VI to the Clergy and to All the Faithful of the Entire World on The Evangelization of the Modern World (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1976), n.p.