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Q: What is your vision for the global church today?
A: The church, the people of God, have to have a united relationship—dynamic, harmonious and interconnected. Before, people would plan and act independently of one another; I say no more of that. Jesus prayed John 17:20-23, “that they may all be one, so that [emphasis added]…” There’s a response: “…the world may believe.”
Our unity is not a theoretical unity, but it has a functional, missional component. It’s the same unity that the Father, Son and Spirit have—a dynamic, active unity. You have the Father, Son and Spirit linking arms. There’s movement, rhythm, joy and vitality. One member cannot move without the others moving.
Q: Could you describe the WEA’s relationship with the global church?
A: We’re not trying to create a super-structure, we’re trying to facilitate relationships in which the body of Christ can move in a new level of harmony and joy, where there’s trust with one another. The consequence of that is synergy; the interconnectedness is greater than the sum of the parts.
If we’re really thinking, “Take the gospel to the ends of the earth,” we need to realize that the church today is a church of Indians, Indonesians, Congolese, Brazilians, Swedes…It’s very much a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic church.
There’s a proverb in West Africa, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” It’s very appropriate for the Western church. Many times we’ve taken the fast route, we’ve gone alone, but have not been able to go far.
Q: What social dynamics could affect the church “going together?”
A: The movement of the gospel is in cultures influenced by Buddhism, animism, secularism, Islam and Hinduism. We need to realize that a response to Jesus is as much a social as a spiritual decision. People are saying, “You talk about bringing life, freedom and wholeness to us.” These communities have a way they structure society. A person knows that they’ll be loved and cared for. They know where to go when they have problems, need wisdom and counsel.
The issue of Christianity is, “Can you show me a community that is better or equal to the one you’re asking me to leave?” So, it’s as much a social as a spiritual decision.
Q: Where have you seen these social dynamics at play?
A: I’ve traveled to India, the Middle East, Europe, West Africa, Eastern Europe… Grinding poverty, social decay and hope is a real issue in these cultures. Do we realize that Jesus loved people as whole people? We can’t reduce the gospel down to a spiritual salvation because the compassion, love and power of God touches us in our wholeness.
God in his great wisdom has raised up incredible diversity in skills and specialization. He’s saying to us, “This is the body, diverse members, but one body.” Let’s learn how to move and operate together as one. In so doing we’ll present a clear picture of God.
Q: What will operating “as one” look like?
A: In Turkey, for example, there are 1,500 to 2,000 known evangelical Christians. The church in Turkey has a huge desire to grow, to rise up its own national leaders. It’s new, fledgling. Other members of the body can come alongside to say, “We’ll be there to help mentor a new generation so it can stand up on its own strength.” We need to ask, “How can we connect the body of Christ so that the Turkish church can initiate a church planting movement within its own nation?”
I sat with a group of ten Kabyle Berber church leaders in Algeria. They believed God had called them to see a church planted in every town in Algeria. What impacted them to follow Christ? They said they saw Christians working in their land who knew each other by name, who spoke well of each other, and actually did things together in loving ways.
Sometimes we think about unity in high concepts. We need to boil it down to knowing each other by name and speaking well of each other. Then we can explore how we can work together.
August 23, 2002