November 2001
Campinas

Feet-on-the-Ground Missiology

Dear Partners in God’s Mission

We are approaching the first Sunday of Advent. I have been meditating on the meaning of this time for Christians in the south, north, east, and west after all that has happened since September 11. The mystery and message of Advent and Christmas is in a name—Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us" (Matthew 1:23). In first-century Palestine Joseph must have wondered, as we do today: How in this world of violence, oppression, and injustice is God is with us?

John answers: "and the word became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). The eternal divine Word relates to those created by becoming one of us, by taking on and sharing our flesh and bones, by living with us in history, and by identifying with a particular human culture. God’s redemptive mission is incarnational. The Son of God incarnates, en-fleshes, embodies human existence. God enters into solidarity with humankind. The Word, God’s Son, participates actively in history as a poor, marginal Jewish person.

What’s "incarnational" mission?

It is mission which follows the example of the Incarnation of Jesus and takes on the face of people. This means mission today has many faces. The church has many faces. Theology and liturgy have many faces. For centuries, the powerful Western face from the North Atlantic dominated Church and mission. After teaching for five years at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary that global mission leadership has shifted southward, I was delighted to represent the PC(USA) at the Third Brazilian Mission Congress October 15-19. I saw the Latin American face, commitment, and passion for mission. The theme, "Thy Kingdom Come Among All Peoples," provided a theological platform for the 600 participants of the interdenominational event. There were a few other "gringo" missionaries like me, but our role was to be observer-participants. The Brazilian missionary movement is owned by Brazilians in partnership with others.

The one thing that most impressed me personally in the congress was the consistent emphasis on partnership. There was shared sense that Christians must practice and model partnership and unity. Worldwide Ministries Division is following the signs of the times in affirming "Presbyterians Do Mission in Partnership." A publisher at the conference wants me to translate into Portuguese what I am writing in English on partnership.

I encountered another Brazilian face of church and mission at the National Pastors’ Conference of one of our partners, the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil. I was invited to give the closing plenary on "Spirituality for the Missional Challenge of the Church." Again, I found that partnership in mission is a theme.

What’s "ecumenical" mission?

The Christmas message is "good news of great joy for all the people" (Luke 2:10). The gospel which is incarnated in particular historical contexts is also universal. It is for all. The search for unity in mission resulted in the ecumenical movement, which brings together Christians around the world. (See my article "From Liberation to Evangelization: New Latin American Hermeneutical Keys" in the October 2001 issue of Interpretation, where I write about Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal approaches to Bible interpretation and how mission brings the different streams together.)

Two ecumenical institutes of post-graduate theological education in Brazil equip professors to teach in seminaries throughout Latin America. In my role as "theological education consultant" for South America, I will be researching theological institutions to assist WMD’s Office of Global Education and Leadership Development in elaborating strategies for our future collaboration. I started my research October 2-4 while attending special lectures at the Ecumenical Post-Graduate Course of the Methodist University of São Paulo, whose main objective is to prepare academics. Ten Protestant denominations are represented on the board of the Ecumenical Institute.

Approximately 100 students from Latin America attended this course. The Roman Catholic and Pentecostal presence enhances the invigorating ecumenical spirit. There is an extraordinary openness to religious pluralism and a strong commitment to contextual relevance in Latin American society and culture. The conversations and contacts with professors and students were stimulating for me. The participation of the PC(USA) in this course, particularly through Arch Woodruff, a PC(USA) mission co-worker who teaches there, contributes to theological education in Latin America.

After concentrating on Spanish studies in January and February, my focus in 2002 will be on theological institutions in other countries in South America, beginning with Chile and Columbia. Please pray for my language learning and preparation to teach a short course in Chile.

If you feel called to partner with me and contribute to my travel and logistical expenses, you can send checks to Central Receiving Service, Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289. Write the title ("Consultant for Latin American Seminaries") and the ECO number (#051807) on the subject line of the check and put it on your cover letter, too. Send a copy of the cover letter to the Office of Global Education and International Leadership Development at 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396.

Yesterday I attended an ecumenical service coordinated by the Brazilian Ecumenical Center for Pastoral Studies (CEBEP) in the chapel Ruben Alves provides above his office. The theme was: Peace Is Coming. I was invited to bless the wine after a Catholic priest blessed the bread. In the moments of sharing about peace, one person said: "I believe the theme for reflection this Advent and Christmas in our world is tolerance and intolerance, and we all have a lot to learn." Another person remarked: "Globalization is not one particular part of the world setting the economic rules for the rest of the world to follow. It is finding rules together which benefit all."

May the humility of the One who was born in a stable and the interdependent solidarity of the global church which is His Body be ours at this Christmas.

Sherron George