I was reading an article that had been put on Academia.edu. The title of the article is “New Paradigm for Christian Mission: Mission as Christian Presence” by Arun P. John as a project for a course at India Bible College and Seminary.
As I was reading it, I saw a quote I rather liked:
“The focus on missions as expressing God’s love through personal presence in the world is nice but wholly inadequate. But so was missions that embraced proclamation of the Word without Christian service. Maybe the two sides could have learned and grown from each other.”
I found it interesting and so I looked up the source of the quote. It ended up being: “Missions Theology and the 60s.” MMM—Munson Mission Musings: Thoughts and Articles on Christian Missions Today. Last modified February 10, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2020. https://munsonmissions.org/tag/christian-presence.
So I found out that I like my own quotes apparently. But this wasn’t the only quote I liked from the article. Therefore, I will add two more.
“Mission encompasses proclamation, service, and advocacy for justice. Mission as proclamation is an attempt by every Christian to tell and interpret the gospel story in his/her context as a way to discover God’s saving action and meaningful presence in the world. Mission as service highlights the diaconal dimension of a faith active in love, working for the empowerment and liberation of those in need. Mission as advocacy for justice denotes the church’s praxis in the public arena as affirmation and reaffirmation of the dignity of human life, both as individual and as community, as well as a widened sense of justice, encompassing the economic, social, and ecological spheres.”
Lutheran World Federation Consultation on Churches in Mission Report, Nairobi, 1998, p. 20
With this, mission is identified in three broad areas: Proclamation, Service, and Advocacy. The Anglican Communion has five broad areas: (1) Proclaim the Good News, (2) Teach and Nurture, (3) Respond in Loving Service, (4) Fight Injustice, and (5) Safeguard Creation. The three from the Lutherans are generally included in the five of the Anglicans. They add teaching/nurturing and creation care. I am not totally sure that Creation Care should be considered part of missions… but it is certainly part of someting in terms of Christian ministry.
The final quote is from the author, Arun P. John. It is the Conclusions:
This paper has accessed different areas of mission as Christian Presence. The gospel needs to be imparted to the people by demonstrating the Christian values in the society through the life of the Christians. The world reads the 5th Gospel which is our life. The mission as Christian presence also includes being present with the poor and the voiceless people and to become as a voice for them. The church also has a great role in participating in the mission by fulfilling the commandment of Jesus. The church needs to be a sign of presence of God ’s mission in the world.
The danger of this approach is that when the mission exists only as ‘Christian presence’ without proclamation it becomes the betrayal of the Gospel. Therefore, the presence and proclamation needs go parallel to each other.
Aron P. John, “New Paradigm for Christian Mission: Mission as Christian Presence,” p. 7. Available at https://www.academia.edu/42220888/_New_Paradigm_for_Christian_Mission_Mission_as_Christian_Presence_Subject_Contemporary_Issues_and_Trends_in_Christian_Mission_and_Evangelism
