Christopher Duraisingh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Christopher Duraisingh
International Review of Mission, Jul 1, 1997
This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation org... more This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation organized by Unit II on Churches in Mission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Bangalore, India in May 1996. The purpose of the consultation was to bring together the results of the work of the unit during a period of more than three decades on promoting responsible relationships in mission. The lead essay in this issue is by John Brown, who sums up years of development of ecumenical missionary thought and practice of several churches around the world. It is an invaluable contribution. The quest for responsible relationships in mission, both locally and globally, arises out of two inter-related aspects of the life and vision of the churches. It is an outcome of both a practical desire for co-operation in mission for greater effectiveness, and of an ecumenical understanding of mission essentially as witness to God's ultimate purpose: uniting all people and all things to one another and to God's self in Christ Jesus. The practical quest for meaningful cooperation and responsible partnership in mission lies at the very birth of the modern ecumenical movement. Almost every conference on world mission and evangelism has called for ways and structures for mission that will tangibly witness to the purpose of God in uniting all human beings to God and to one another in Christ. It is worthwhile to hear again what the San Antonio conference in 1989 states on this vital concern. It first noted that "for more than a quarter of a century the quest for new models to express genuine partnership has been on the agenda of the WCC. Many excellent ideas have been expressed but not a great deal has happened." Then it moved on to state: As we search for models to incarnate our vision of renewed missionary relations, we affirm some guiding principles which could inspire attempts at practical application: * commitment to acting together wherever a common approach is required; * priority to relations from church to church rather than from church to missionary agency to agency; * promotion of global vision of mission in which the fullness of the reign of God is proclaimed and genuinely experienced; * transparency in relations and in the sharing of responsibilities; and * promotion of power-sharing and genuine reciprocity in all decision making. It continued to assert, "We are looking for models which reflect the guiding principles outlined above, for example, transformation of a missionary society through the transfer of power and funds to a common governing body in which all the partners - in both north and south - can share on a footing of real equality." I have quoted extensively from San Antonio for it sums up the sort of concerns that have guided an aspect of the work of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, and at present the Unit II of the WCC. In fact, since the early 1970s a full time staff person had been appointed with the primary responsibility of encouraging churches and mission agencies in the promotion of authentic styles of partnership in mission. Much has happened. Changes, even radical structural alteration, have taken place in many churches in their practice of mission. There is reason for rejoicing. Many churches in the south have themselves become missionary churches. Some of them have developed elaborate structures for mission; several mission agencies in Korea and India, for example, send out missionaries in large numbers. We recognize that churches around the world are responding in new ways to their missionary calling. New forms of missionary obedience is discerned. We cannot but thank God for this development. But this very development also intensifies the challenge for responsible mission and renders it all the more urgent and critical. For in many instances, these agencies from the south, as many more from the north, have not been sensitive to the presence or the concerns of the local churches in the places to which they go to work. …
International Review of Mission, 2002
... Christopher Duraisingh . Article first published online: 25 MAR 2009. ... Author Information... more ... Christopher Duraisingh . Article first published online: 25 MAR 2009. ... Author Information. * Dr Christopher Duraisingh is a presbyter of the Church of South India and a former director of the World Council of Churches' Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. ...
International Review of Mission, 1990
International Review of Mission, 1987
The Council for World Mission (CWM) came into being ten years ago. It was one of the few early si... more The Council for World Mission (CWM) came into being ten years ago. It was one of the few early signs of the end of an era and of the emergence of the new in mission. The 1970s, the years which initially nurtured CWM, are perhaps the most momentous years in Christian mission in the past few centuries. The significant missiological explorations and ecumenical thinking of the sixties, particularly between the New Delhi and the Uppsala assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC), had a revolutionary impact on the very direction of the mission of the church. Most potent among such explorations was the study on the missionary structure of the congregation by the WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism These ecumenical and missiological explorations, on the one hand, brought an ethos of radical restlessness, genuine frustration and even anger over the ways in which mission had been understood and practised by many western mission boards; on the other hand, they led many churches to a painful search for new ways of being together in mission with mutual responsibility and interdependence. The world mission conference in Bangkok was yet another moment of powerful protest against the present and of birthpangs of the emerging new. SIGNS OF THE NEW ERA IN MISSION Writing in 1975, C.S. Song described his book, Christian Mission in Reconstruction-An Asian Attempt, as a "celebration of the end of foreign missions of the Church in the West." He adds: We formally bring to a close the era of Western foreign missions... .It should take place in the midst of rejoicingrejoicing that the Church in the Third World has at last come of age, rejoicing that now she is bold enough to declare that the final chapter of Western foreign missions has been written... .Indeed, the celebration signals radical changes within the Church in the Third World. She makes demands for entirely new relationships with the Church in the West .... Consequently, a new chapter in the history of Christian mission will begin. * CHRISTOPHER DURAISINCH is the present general secretary of CWM. He is on leave from the United Theological College, Bangalore, India, where he is a professor of systematic theology.
International Review of Mission, 1992
At the heart of this essay lies a passionate longing for the church to be the church, to become t... more At the heart of this essay lies a passionate longing for the church to be the church, to become truly a community that mediates the liberating presence of God in the world in Jesus Christ. Central to it is a desire to see the re-birthing of the local congregations of our churches as ...
International Review of Mission, 1995
The next conference on world mission and evangelism, in the great tradition of mission conference... more The next conference on world mission and evangelism, in the great tradition of mission conferences beginning with Edinburgh (1910), will take place in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil from 24 November to 3 December 1996. Representatives of the churches around the world and persons committed to the mission of the church will gather to celebrate the love of God in Jesus Christ, to explore the shape of Christian witness in the next decade, nay the next millennium, and to recommit themselves for the singular cause of the expansion of the rule of God on Earth. The theme of the conference is Called to One Hope: The Gospel in Diverse Cultures. Several of us, including the editor, have been considering a possible focus for the conference since early 1991. That the major focus of the conference should be the relation between the gospel and cultures became clear to some of us as early as February 1991. The earliest occasion in fact was during a difficult and inconclusive discussion that took place at the WCC assembly in Canberra that was evoked by the provocative manner in which the theme of the assembly was presented by Professor Chung Hyun-Kyung. Immediately after that frustrating session, the editor, then director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, suggested to Emilio Castro, then general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the possibility of a fresh and long term study on the issue of gospel and cultures, leading up to its culmination at the next world mission conference. By mid-1992 it was clear that the major focus of the world mission conference would be the relation between the gospel and cultures. Consequently, a study process was actively
Anglican theological review, 2000
Cet article commence par reconnaître qu'une herméneutique inter-culturelle est une nécessité... more Cet article commence par reconnaître qu'une herméneutique inter-culturelle est une nécessité dans un monde qui se diversifie de plus en plus et que le but principal de l'Eglise est de coopérer avec Dieu en faisant de l'«oikoumene» un «oikos», une famille d'hommes et de femmes ...
The Indian Journal of Theology, 1981
Religious traditions other than the Christian constitute part of the Indian-Christian existential... more Religious traditions other than the Christian constitute part of the Indian-Christian existential as well as hermeneutical context. Both the questions posed and possibilities offered by extra-Christian religions of the world cannot but become the essential data for our theological reflection today. If our theology is to do with the day to day faith experience and praxis of our communities of faith it cannot but be a responsive theology formulated in conscipus response to the richness of other religious traditions, not simply on a theoretical level but in the concrete hopes and aspirations of Indians as well. However, one wonders whether thousands of Indian-Christians may not find it difficult to say with Fielding's parson Thwackum, When I mention religion, I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion but the Protestant religion ; and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England.l (Of course, for some others it may be another Protestant or a Roman or Orthodox tradition.) Even when other religious traditions and their truth claims are taken into consideration, often our interest seems to turn around the nature of the missiological and apologetic approaches of the Church to non-Christian faiths. Serious attempts to rethink and reformulate the central Christian faith affirmations are few and_far between. The Christian claim for the finality of Christ is one such central construct that needs to be examined and reconstrued as we encounter corresponding claims for universality in several other religions. This paper is a tentative attempt to do so. Its primary concern is meta-theological and formal, though a brief indication of the structure of a responsive Christo logy in the context of world religions is also attempted. In the first part, it attempts to grapple with the phenomenon of religious pluralism and multiple truth claim~ ; part 2 describes
Anglican theological review, 2000
Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics: A Call One of the great and exciting facts of our times is that the ... more Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics: A Call One of the great and exciting facts of our times is that the Church has truly become global. "The whole of Christianity is undergoing a rapid `de-Europeanization,' a jarring demographic metamorphosis that is dismantling the thousand-year old idea of `Christendom.1But the change is not merely demographic. Christianity has become truly polycentric. In spite of the continuing financial power of the Western churches, the creative theological strength and the vitality of Christian faith in areas outside the traditional Christendom are remarkable. The theological voices from Third World countries are increasingly loud and clear. Cultures around the world have come to shape the human voices that answer and articulate the voice of Christ in hitherto unheard-of ways. It is also the case that when there is a clear lack of confidence in the gospel in the West and churches are increasingly marginalized, the gospel is lived out and witnessed to vibran...
The July 1995 issue of the International Review of Mission was a general introduction to the them... more The July 1995 issue of the International Review of Mission was a general introduction to the theme of the forthcoming conference on world mission and evangelism. The theme is Called to One Hope: The Gospel in Diverse Cultures. I indicated also that the theme will be explored in four sections at the conference, and offered a brief description of each of the four sectional themes. Each sectional theme seeks to highlight a particular aspect of the relation between the gospel and cultures. These four foci are intended to help churches and individual Christians explore the single theme of the conference from missiological, liberational, local-congregational and ecumenical vantage points. The first sectional theme is Authentic Witness Within Each Culture. The essays in this issue of the IRM seek to make a contribution to the ongoing reflections upon the theme of section one. That the theme of the first section is authentic witness within each culture is no surprise. For, a central purpose...
International Review of Mission, 1989
The following is a presentation by Christopher Duraisingh, the Director-designate of the Commissi... more The following is a presentation by Christopher Duraisingh, the Director-designate of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), during the final plenary session of the World Mission Conference in San Antonio. This is Dr Duraisingh's impromptu response to the conference in the light of his perception of the role of CWME in world mission; initial comments of a more personal nature have been omitted here.
Anglican theological review, 2010
Though the missional calling of the church is acknowledged by all, often mission remains just a f... more Though the missional calling of the church is acknowledged by all, often mission remains just a function among many other more pressing tasks in congregations. This paper tentatively explores the ecclesiological and theological re-visioning necessary for a move from "church-shaped" missions to a "mission-shaped" church. After identifying some clues to missional thinking from the work of Asian theologians, the essay argues that the classical term concursus Dei is far more effective than the more recent missio Dei for such a transformation into missional congregations. Developing the notion of concursus Dei as the continuous accompaniment of God in creation or the "God-movement" in judgment and grace, it then briefly turns to a consideration of the marks of leadership for such a mission-shaped church that is keeping in step with God's already up-and-running movement in creation. "There is no participation in Christ without participation in His mi...
International Review of Mission, Jul 1, 1997
This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation org... more This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation organized by Unit II on Churches in Mission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Bangalore, India in May 1996. The purpose of the consultation was to bring together the results of the work of the unit during a period of more than three decades on promoting responsible relationships in mission. The lead essay in this issue is by John Brown, who sums up years of development of ecumenical missionary thought and practice of several churches around the world. It is an invaluable contribution. The quest for responsible relationships in mission, both locally and globally, arises out of two inter-related aspects of the life and vision of the churches. It is an outcome of both a practical desire for co-operation in mission for greater effectiveness, and of an ecumenical understanding of mission essentially as witness to God's ultimate purpose: uniting all people and all things to one another and to God's self in Christ Jesus. The practical quest for meaningful cooperation and responsible partnership in mission lies at the very birth of the modern ecumenical movement. Almost every conference on world mission and evangelism has called for ways and structures for mission that will tangibly witness to the purpose of God in uniting all human beings to God and to one another in Christ. It is worthwhile to hear again what the San Antonio conference in 1989 states on this vital concern. It first noted that "for more than a quarter of a century the quest for new models to express genuine partnership has been on the agenda of the WCC. Many excellent ideas have been expressed but not a great deal has happened." Then it moved on to state: As we search for models to incarnate our vision of renewed missionary relations, we affirm some guiding principles which could inspire attempts at practical application: * commitment to acting together wherever a common approach is required; * priority to relations from church to church rather than from church to missionary agency to agency; * promotion of global vision of mission in which the fullness of the reign of God is proclaimed and genuinely experienced; * transparency in relations and in the sharing of responsibilities; and * promotion of power-sharing and genuine reciprocity in all decision making. It continued to assert, "We are looking for models which reflect the guiding principles outlined above, for example, transformation of a missionary society through the transfer of power and funds to a common governing body in which all the partners - in both north and south - can share on a footing of real equality." I have quoted extensively from San Antonio for it sums up the sort of concerns that have guided an aspect of the work of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, and at present the Unit II of the WCC. In fact, since the early 1970s a full time staff person had been appointed with the primary responsibility of encouraging churches and mission agencies in the promotion of authentic styles of partnership in mission. Much has happened. Changes, even radical structural alteration, have taken place in many churches in their practice of mission. There is reason for rejoicing. Many churches in the south have themselves become missionary churches. Some of them have developed elaborate structures for mission; several mission agencies in Korea and India, for example, send out missionaries in large numbers. We recognize that churches around the world are responding in new ways to their missionary calling. New forms of missionary obedience is discerned. We cannot but thank God for this development. But this very development also intensifies the challenge for responsible mission and renders it all the more urgent and critical. For in many instances, these agencies from the south, as many more from the north, have not been sensitive to the presence or the concerns of the local churches in the places to which they go to work. …
The forthcoming conference on world mission and evangelism will explore the theme Called to One H... more The forthcoming conference on world mission and evangelism will explore the theme Called to One Hope: Gospel in Diverse Cultures in four sections. The October issue of the International Review of Mission was devoted to the work of the first section. With the theme, "Authentic witness within each culture," section one will address the central missiological question regarding the content and message of the gospel in relation to cultures in particular contexts. The key issues will be related to the contextual proclamation of the gospel, as well as the transforming power of the gospel in any culture. A primary concern in section one will be with the cognitive content and meaning of the gospel in the light of cultural symbols. But culture is not only the publically available symbolic forms through which people experience and express meaning; it is also the symbolic structures of relations, the social processes of behaviour, by which people express relationships of power and sta...
International Review of Mission, 1995
International Review of Mission, Jul 1, 1997
This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation org... more This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation organized by Unit II on Churches in Mission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Bangalore, India in May 1996. The purpose of the consultation was to bring together the results of the work of the unit during a period of more than three decades on promoting responsible relationships in mission. The lead essay in this issue is by John Brown, who sums up years of development of ecumenical missionary thought and practice of several churches around the world. It is an invaluable contribution. The quest for responsible relationships in mission, both locally and globally, arises out of two inter-related aspects of the life and vision of the churches. It is an outcome of both a practical desire for co-operation in mission for greater effectiveness, and of an ecumenical understanding of mission essentially as witness to God's ultimate purpose: uniting all people and all things to one another and to God's self in Christ Jesus. The practical quest for meaningful cooperation and responsible partnership in mission lies at the very birth of the modern ecumenical movement. Almost every conference on world mission and evangelism has called for ways and structures for mission that will tangibly witness to the purpose of God in uniting all human beings to God and to one another in Christ. It is worthwhile to hear again what the San Antonio conference in 1989 states on this vital concern. It first noted that "for more than a quarter of a century the quest for new models to express genuine partnership has been on the agenda of the WCC. Many excellent ideas have been expressed but not a great deal has happened." Then it moved on to state: As we search for models to incarnate our vision of renewed missionary relations, we affirm some guiding principles which could inspire attempts at practical application: * commitment to acting together wherever a common approach is required; * priority to relations from church to church rather than from church to missionary agency to agency; * promotion of global vision of mission in which the fullness of the reign of God is proclaimed and genuinely experienced; * transparency in relations and in the sharing of responsibilities; and * promotion of power-sharing and genuine reciprocity in all decision making. It continued to assert, "We are looking for models which reflect the guiding principles outlined above, for example, transformation of a missionary society through the transfer of power and funds to a common governing body in which all the partners - in both north and south - can share on a footing of real equality." I have quoted extensively from San Antonio for it sums up the sort of concerns that have guided an aspect of the work of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, and at present the Unit II of the WCC. In fact, since the early 1970s a full time staff person had been appointed with the primary responsibility of encouraging churches and mission agencies in the promotion of authentic styles of partnership in mission. Much has happened. Changes, even radical structural alteration, have taken place in many churches in their practice of mission. There is reason for rejoicing. Many churches in the south have themselves become missionary churches. Some of them have developed elaborate structures for mission; several mission agencies in Korea and India, for example, send out missionaries in large numbers. We recognize that churches around the world are responding in new ways to their missionary calling. New forms of missionary obedience is discerned. We cannot but thank God for this development. But this very development also intensifies the challenge for responsible mission and renders it all the more urgent and critical. For in many instances, these agencies from the south, as many more from the north, have not been sensitive to the presence or the concerns of the local churches in the places to which they go to work. …
International Review of Mission, 2002
... Christopher Duraisingh . Article first published online: 25 MAR 2009. ... Author Information... more ... Christopher Duraisingh . Article first published online: 25 MAR 2009. ... Author Information. * Dr Christopher Duraisingh is a presbyter of the Church of South India and a former director of the World Council of Churches' Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. ...
International Review of Mission, 1990
International Review of Mission, 1987
The Council for World Mission (CWM) came into being ten years ago. It was one of the few early si... more The Council for World Mission (CWM) came into being ten years ago. It was one of the few early signs of the end of an era and of the emergence of the new in mission. The 1970s, the years which initially nurtured CWM, are perhaps the most momentous years in Christian mission in the past few centuries. The significant missiological explorations and ecumenical thinking of the sixties, particularly between the New Delhi and the Uppsala assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC), had a revolutionary impact on the very direction of the mission of the church. Most potent among such explorations was the study on the missionary structure of the congregation by the WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism These ecumenical and missiological explorations, on the one hand, brought an ethos of radical restlessness, genuine frustration and even anger over the ways in which mission had been understood and practised by many western mission boards; on the other hand, they led many churches to a painful search for new ways of being together in mission with mutual responsibility and interdependence. The world mission conference in Bangkok was yet another moment of powerful protest against the present and of birthpangs of the emerging new. SIGNS OF THE NEW ERA IN MISSION Writing in 1975, C.S. Song described his book, Christian Mission in Reconstruction-An Asian Attempt, as a "celebration of the end of foreign missions of the Church in the West." He adds: We formally bring to a close the era of Western foreign missions... .It should take place in the midst of rejoicingrejoicing that the Church in the Third World has at last come of age, rejoicing that now she is bold enough to declare that the final chapter of Western foreign missions has been written... .Indeed, the celebration signals radical changes within the Church in the Third World. She makes demands for entirely new relationships with the Church in the West .... Consequently, a new chapter in the history of Christian mission will begin. * CHRISTOPHER DURAISINCH is the present general secretary of CWM. He is on leave from the United Theological College, Bangalore, India, where he is a professor of systematic theology.
International Review of Mission, 1992
At the heart of this essay lies a passionate longing for the church to be the church, to become t... more At the heart of this essay lies a passionate longing for the church to be the church, to become truly a community that mediates the liberating presence of God in the world in Jesus Christ. Central to it is a desire to see the re-birthing of the local congregations of our churches as ...
International Review of Mission, 1995
The next conference on world mission and evangelism, in the great tradition of mission conference... more The next conference on world mission and evangelism, in the great tradition of mission conferences beginning with Edinburgh (1910), will take place in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil from 24 November to 3 December 1996. Representatives of the churches around the world and persons committed to the mission of the church will gather to celebrate the love of God in Jesus Christ, to explore the shape of Christian witness in the next decade, nay the next millennium, and to recommit themselves for the singular cause of the expansion of the rule of God on Earth. The theme of the conference is Called to One Hope: The Gospel in Diverse Cultures. Several of us, including the editor, have been considering a possible focus for the conference since early 1991. That the major focus of the conference should be the relation between the gospel and cultures became clear to some of us as early as February 1991. The earliest occasion in fact was during a difficult and inconclusive discussion that took place at the WCC assembly in Canberra that was evoked by the provocative manner in which the theme of the assembly was presented by Professor Chung Hyun-Kyung. Immediately after that frustrating session, the editor, then director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, suggested to Emilio Castro, then general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the possibility of a fresh and long term study on the issue of gospel and cultures, leading up to its culmination at the next world mission conference. By mid-1992 it was clear that the major focus of the world mission conference would be the relation between the gospel and cultures. Consequently, a study process was actively
Anglican theological review, 2000
Cet article commence par reconnaître qu'une herméneutique inter-culturelle est une nécessité... more Cet article commence par reconnaître qu'une herméneutique inter-culturelle est une nécessité dans un monde qui se diversifie de plus en plus et que le but principal de l'Eglise est de coopérer avec Dieu en faisant de l'«oikoumene» un «oikos», une famille d'hommes et de femmes ...
The Indian Journal of Theology, 1981
Religious traditions other than the Christian constitute part of the Indian-Christian existential... more Religious traditions other than the Christian constitute part of the Indian-Christian existential as well as hermeneutical context. Both the questions posed and possibilities offered by extra-Christian religions of the world cannot but become the essential data for our theological reflection today. If our theology is to do with the day to day faith experience and praxis of our communities of faith it cannot but be a responsive theology formulated in conscipus response to the richness of other religious traditions, not simply on a theoretical level but in the concrete hopes and aspirations of Indians as well. However, one wonders whether thousands of Indian-Christians may not find it difficult to say with Fielding's parson Thwackum, When I mention religion, I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion but the Protestant religion ; and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England.l (Of course, for some others it may be another Protestant or a Roman or Orthodox tradition.) Even when other religious traditions and their truth claims are taken into consideration, often our interest seems to turn around the nature of the missiological and apologetic approaches of the Church to non-Christian faiths. Serious attempts to rethink and reformulate the central Christian faith affirmations are few and_far between. The Christian claim for the finality of Christ is one such central construct that needs to be examined and reconstrued as we encounter corresponding claims for universality in several other religions. This paper is a tentative attempt to do so. Its primary concern is meta-theological and formal, though a brief indication of the structure of a responsive Christo logy in the context of world religions is also attempted. In the first part, it attempts to grapple with the phenomenon of religious pluralism and multiple truth claim~ ; part 2 describes
Anglican theological review, 2000
Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics: A Call One of the great and exciting facts of our times is that the ... more Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics: A Call One of the great and exciting facts of our times is that the Church has truly become global. "The whole of Christianity is undergoing a rapid `de-Europeanization,' a jarring demographic metamorphosis that is dismantling the thousand-year old idea of `Christendom.1But the change is not merely demographic. Christianity has become truly polycentric. In spite of the continuing financial power of the Western churches, the creative theological strength and the vitality of Christian faith in areas outside the traditional Christendom are remarkable. The theological voices from Third World countries are increasingly loud and clear. Cultures around the world have come to shape the human voices that answer and articulate the voice of Christ in hitherto unheard-of ways. It is also the case that when there is a clear lack of confidence in the gospel in the West and churches are increasingly marginalized, the gospel is lived out and witnessed to vibran...
The July 1995 issue of the International Review of Mission was a general introduction to the them... more The July 1995 issue of the International Review of Mission was a general introduction to the theme of the forthcoming conference on world mission and evangelism. The theme is Called to One Hope: The Gospel in Diverse Cultures. I indicated also that the theme will be explored in four sections at the conference, and offered a brief description of each of the four sectional themes. Each sectional theme seeks to highlight a particular aspect of the relation between the gospel and cultures. These four foci are intended to help churches and individual Christians explore the single theme of the conference from missiological, liberational, local-congregational and ecumenical vantage points. The first sectional theme is Authentic Witness Within Each Culture. The essays in this issue of the IRM seek to make a contribution to the ongoing reflections upon the theme of section one. That the theme of the first section is authentic witness within each culture is no surprise. For, a central purpose...
International Review of Mission, 1989
The following is a presentation by Christopher Duraisingh, the Director-designate of the Commissi... more The following is a presentation by Christopher Duraisingh, the Director-designate of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), during the final plenary session of the World Mission Conference in San Antonio. This is Dr Duraisingh's impromptu response to the conference in the light of his perception of the role of CWME in world mission; initial comments of a more personal nature have been omitted here.
Anglican theological review, 2010
Though the missional calling of the church is acknowledged by all, often mission remains just a f... more Though the missional calling of the church is acknowledged by all, often mission remains just a function among many other more pressing tasks in congregations. This paper tentatively explores the ecclesiological and theological re-visioning necessary for a move from "church-shaped" missions to a "mission-shaped" church. After identifying some clues to missional thinking from the work of Asian theologians, the essay argues that the classical term concursus Dei is far more effective than the more recent missio Dei for such a transformation into missional congregations. Developing the notion of concursus Dei as the continuous accompaniment of God in creation or the "God-movement" in judgment and grace, it then briefly turns to a consideration of the marks of leadership for such a mission-shaped church that is keeping in step with God's already up-and-running movement in creation. "There is no participation in Christ without participation in His mi...
International Review of Mission, Jul 1, 1997
This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation org... more This issue of the International Review of Mission presents the report of a major consultation organized by Unit II on Churches in Mission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Bangalore, India in May 1996. The purpose of the consultation was to bring together the results of the work of the unit during a period of more than three decades on promoting responsible relationships in mission. The lead essay in this issue is by John Brown, who sums up years of development of ecumenical missionary thought and practice of several churches around the world. It is an invaluable contribution. The quest for responsible relationships in mission, both locally and globally, arises out of two inter-related aspects of the life and vision of the churches. It is an outcome of both a practical desire for co-operation in mission for greater effectiveness, and of an ecumenical understanding of mission essentially as witness to God's ultimate purpose: uniting all people and all things to one another and to God's self in Christ Jesus. The practical quest for meaningful cooperation and responsible partnership in mission lies at the very birth of the modern ecumenical movement. Almost every conference on world mission and evangelism has called for ways and structures for mission that will tangibly witness to the purpose of God in uniting all human beings to God and to one another in Christ. It is worthwhile to hear again what the San Antonio conference in 1989 states on this vital concern. It first noted that "for more than a quarter of a century the quest for new models to express genuine partnership has been on the agenda of the WCC. Many excellent ideas have been expressed but not a great deal has happened." Then it moved on to state: As we search for models to incarnate our vision of renewed missionary relations, we affirm some guiding principles which could inspire attempts at practical application: * commitment to acting together wherever a common approach is required; * priority to relations from church to church rather than from church to missionary agency to agency; * promotion of global vision of mission in which the fullness of the reign of God is proclaimed and genuinely experienced; * transparency in relations and in the sharing of responsibilities; and * promotion of power-sharing and genuine reciprocity in all decision making. It continued to assert, "We are looking for models which reflect the guiding principles outlined above, for example, transformation of a missionary society through the transfer of power and funds to a common governing body in which all the partners - in both north and south - can share on a footing of real equality." I have quoted extensively from San Antonio for it sums up the sort of concerns that have guided an aspect of the work of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, and at present the Unit II of the WCC. In fact, since the early 1970s a full time staff person had been appointed with the primary responsibility of encouraging churches and mission agencies in the promotion of authentic styles of partnership in mission. Much has happened. Changes, even radical structural alteration, have taken place in many churches in their practice of mission. There is reason for rejoicing. Many churches in the south have themselves become missionary churches. Some of them have developed elaborate structures for mission; several mission agencies in Korea and India, for example, send out missionaries in large numbers. We recognize that churches around the world are responding in new ways to their missionary calling. New forms of missionary obedience is discerned. We cannot but thank God for this development. But this very development also intensifies the challenge for responsible mission and renders it all the more urgent and critical. For in many instances, these agencies from the south, as many more from the north, have not been sensitive to the presence or the concerns of the local churches in the places to which they go to work. …
The forthcoming conference on world mission and evangelism will explore the theme Called to One H... more The forthcoming conference on world mission and evangelism will explore the theme Called to One Hope: Gospel in Diverse Cultures in four sections. The October issue of the International Review of Mission was devoted to the work of the first section. With the theme, "Authentic witness within each culture," section one will address the central missiological question regarding the content and message of the gospel in relation to cultures in particular contexts. The key issues will be related to the contextual proclamation of the gospel, as well as the transforming power of the gospel in any culture. A primary concern in section one will be with the cognitive content and meaning of the gospel in the light of cultural symbols. But culture is not only the publically available symbolic forms through which people experience and express meaning; it is also the symbolic structures of relations, the social processes of behaviour, by which people express relationships of power and sta...
International Review of Mission, 1995