Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Building a Solid Theological Foundation for Mission Policy and Praxis
May 2008
1. Gospel Content
The Covenant begins with a restatement of theological convictions that are characteristic of evangelicalism. It starts with a trinitarian confession, a statement about the purpose of God, the authority of the Bible, and an expression about the uniqueness and universality of Jesus Christ.
These points have to do with the content of the message that missionaries and evangelists proclaim (Par. 1-3). It is in paragraph one that, after stating God´s initiative in the sending of his people to mission, a confession comes: “We confess with shame that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission, by becoming conformed to the world or by withdrawing from it” (Par. 1).
Within the postmodern trends of Western culture that are promoted at a global scale by the media, one way of conforming to the world is to water down the message in those aspects that are contrary to the “spirit of the age.” This watering down provides a “user friendly gospel” such as the popular formulas of the so-called “prosperity theology,” which is administered according to the practices of the great business corporations.
The person and work of Christ are central in the gospel. Every missionary and evangelist must be possessed by the Spirit of the Lord that in turn makes the person of Christ real to us here and now. Without a Christ-centered gospel there is no Christian mission.
2. Holistic Mission
The Covenant also expresses the concept of a holistic mission that retains the evangelical emphasis on proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ while also describing the kind of missionary presence it requires, and the call to discipleship and incorporation into the Church:
In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his Church, and responsible service in the world. (Par. 4)
We find here self-criticism of the type of dualistic spiritualization that had come to be prevalent in the practice of evangelical missionaries:
We express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive… both are necesary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbor and our obedience to Jesus Christ.
Today, the number of missionary projects that practice holistic mission has increased significantly. There are also many mission fields in which the only way to enter is through projects of service to desperate human needs. The challenge continues to be how to keep a balance. We cannot serve in the name of Christ without at some point offering a reason for our commitment and pointing to the source of our motivation and the strength and power that keeps us going.
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Samuel Escobar was born in Peru and ministered in Latin America under the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. He was chair of missiology at Palmer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, USA. He spoke at Lausanne 1974 and was a member of the committee that drafted the Lausanne Covenant. Presently he lives and teaches in Spain. |