Eco-Justice Mission and the Unity of the Church

Kinurung Maleh Maden 장로회신학대학교 세계선교연구원 2013 선교와 신학 Vol.32 No.-

This study discusses the WCC (World Council of Churches) commitment on eco-justice mission. The significance of this study is to re-echo all churches and Christians the fact that justice and love to all creation is already at the heart of Mission. The WCC, based on biblical theological consideration, confesses that eco-justice mission is Triune God’s mission. Thus, the WCC has persistently called the churches in unity to promote and exercise the eco-justice mission to and with all creation. To achieve this purpose, the writer revisit and reflect on various commitments of WCC from the official conciliar statements, assembly reports, conference meetings, website accounts, and others. Four areas need to be revisited in order to get wide-ranging reflection of WCC commitments on eco-justice mission: the historical review, cultural context of changing ecological landscape, theological consideration on Triune God, and eco-mission in practice. Historically, the organized and global commitment of WCC on mission to all creation has been for more than two decades. Theologically, the biblical foundation has been intensively constructed. Missionally, the global and various enterprises have been well programmed. So the vision and mission for the justice of the earth is not something new. However, the question is: why is the eco-injustice persistently haunting us? The poverty and oppression are still present directly related to the unjust natural resource distribution, economic international system, and consumerist lifestyle. In fact, within 20 years the changing ‘earth’ landscape is worse; the climate change has affected suffering both to billion of human and non-human. This situation asks the WCC and her members again and again of his missional role as the agent and instrument of God’s mission. By revisiting and reflecting the WCC commitment on eco-mission, this paper is significant to maintain the unity of all churches in promoting and exercising consistently the eco-justice to all creation.

Eco-Justice Mission and the Unity of the Church: A Reflection on the Ecumenical Conciliar Commitment of WCC

이현모 장로회신학대학교 세계선교연구원 2013 선교와 신학 Vol.32 No.-

This study discusses the WCC (World Council of Churches)commitment on eco-justice mission. The significance of this study is to re-echo all churches and Christians the fact that justice and love to all creation is already at the heart of Mission. The WCC, based on biblical theological consideration, confesses that eco-justice mission is Triune God’s mission. Thus, the WCC has persistently called the churches in unity to promote and exercise the eco-justice mission to and with all creation. To achieve this purpose, the writer revisit and reflect on various commitments of WCC from the official conciliar statements, assembly reports,conference meetings, website accounts, and others. Four areas need to be revisited in order to get wide-ranging reflection of WCC commitments on eco-justice mission: the historical review, cultural context of changing ecological landscape,theological consideration on Triune God, and eco-mission in practice. Historically, the organized and global commitment of WCC on mission to all creation has been for more than two decades. Theologically, the biblical foundation has been intensively constructed. Missionally, the global and various enterprises have been well programmed. So the vision and mission for the justice of the earth is not something new. However, the question is: why is the eco-injustice persistently haunting us?A Reflection on the Ecumenical Conciliar Commitment of WCC The poverty and oppression are still present directly related to the unjust natural resource distribution, economic international system, and consumerist lifestyle. In fact, within 20 years the changing ‘earth’ landscape is worse; the climate change has affected suffering both to billion of human and non-human. This situation asks the WCC and her members again and again of his missional role as the agent and instrument of God’s mission. By revisiting and reflecting the WCC commitment on eco-mission, this paper is significant to maintain the unity of all churches in promoting and exercising consistently the eco-justice to all creation.

로잔세계복음화운동에 나타난 주요 선교신학적 주제들의 고찰 : 로잔언약, 마닐라선언, 캐이프타운 헌신을 중심으로

홍기영 한국기독교학회 선교신학회 2013 선교신학 Vol.34 No.-

World evangelization needs to be conducted by both older churches (sending churches) and younger churches (receiving churches) because the distinction between the former and the latter has disappeared. God uses great resources from the younger churches for world evangelization.The church, defined as all Christian churches without regard to denominational distinction, needs to understand the urgency of the evangelistic task. More than two-thirds of mankind have yet to be evangelized and there is a great receptivity to the gospel in many parts of the world. The church should be ashamed that so many souls have been neglected and unreached for Christ.The church needs to understand the significance of evangelism as it relates to different world cultures. Missionaries need to be sensitive to different cultures through which the gospel can be effectively communicated to different people groups. The gospel message needs to be presented in such a way that it can be meaningful to the people.The church needs to develop indigenous leadership to enable native leaders in every country to evangelize their people, plant the indigenous churches according to their needs, and extend God's kingdom. Christian leaders are not born but made through appropriate training and education. The church needs to follow Jesus Christ in terms of making disciples of all nations.The church needs to understand the spiritual conflict involved when the church is active in world evangelization. Churches are engaged in constant spiritual warfare with the principalities and powers of evil seeking to overthrow the Lord's church and frustrate its mission of world evangelization. The church needs to equip itself with the word of God and prayer.The church needs to understand the importance of religious freedom and the seriousness of religious persecution throughout the world. The church needs to pray for world leaders and call upon them to guarantee freedom of thought, conscience, and freedom to practice and propagate religion according to God's will. The church needs to understand the power of the Holy Spirit and to believe the Holy Spirit will help the church to effectively carry out world evangelization. World evangelization calls for conviction of sin, faith in Christ, a new birth, and Christian growth. The church needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit to become the true missionary church.The church needs to believe in the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ to consummate His salvation and His judgement. The church needs to remember that God will perfect His kingdom which anticipates the new heaven and new earth where righteousness will dwell and God will rule forever.The Lausanne Movement for World Evangelization is based on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The Lausanne theology of missions is based upon the Lausanne Covenant, the Manila Manifesto, and the Capetown Commitment which were officially adopted as the promise, the declaration, and the devotion of the church to carry out the world evangelization until the return of Jesus Christ.

로잔복음화 운동과 한국교회 ; 로잔세계복음화운동의 선교신학적 고찰 (상) -로잔언약, 마닐라선언, 케이프타운헌신을 중심으로

홍기영 ( Ki Young Hong ) 한국복음주의선교신학회 2013 복음과 선교 Vol.22 No.-

This paper was designed to help the Korean church to understand what Lausanne Movement for World Evangelization is all about. In other words, it was written to encourage the Korean believers to grasp what the Lausanne movement seeks to achieve in the midst of secularism, postmodernism, and pluralism based on the Enlightenment in the 18th century. In fact, Christianity was greatly challenged by humanism, science, materialism, and various ideologies. Some great Christian leaders were awakened to recover the passion of the early church to follow the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as the legacy of the apostles like the apostle Paul. Lausanne Movement has followed the tradition of missions carried on by the Reformation, Moravianism, the Great Awakening Movement, the Great Century, and Church Growth Movement. Lausanne Movement has developed along the following theological axioms. 1. The authority of the Scriptures 2. The loss of those who are apart from Jesus Christ 3. The salvation possible only in Jesus Christ 4. Witness in word and deed 5. The necessity of evangelization The evangelical theological axiom is constant while cultural context is always changing. The Lausanne Covenant has maintained this principle from the beginning to the present. Considered theologically and historically, the Lausanne Covenant has been consistent with the Manila Manifesto and the Capetown Commitment in terms of theological positions and practical missions where Lausanne Movement for World Evangelization has sought its aim in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Lausanne documents (LC, MM, and CC) clearly reveal that God``s ultimate purpose is the salvation of humans who are lost: they believe the authority of the Bible which is God``s revelation and leads us to eternal life. Also, the Lausanne documents clearly state the belief in the uniqueness and universality of the Jesus Christ through whose name humans can be saved. They believe that evangelism was finally committed to the disciples of Jesus Christ to evangelize the whole world until He comes again. The Lausanne documents affirm social responsibility of Christians while emphasizing evangelism in terms of priority. In the same vein, they stress the importance of evangelism of local churches to extend God`s kingdom. In doing so, all the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ need to cooperate with each other. The Lausanne World Evangelization Movement has progressed on a solid healthy biblical and theological foundation. All the Christian churches need to transform the world into the kingdom of God through effective evangelism across different cultures in the power of the Holy Spirit and through the guidance of the Holy Bible.