December 30, 2006
The Open Secret by Lesslie Newbigin Book Summary – Part VI
Series: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII
Knowing that it is essential for our faith to work out in how we care about the public affairs of the world, we now move onto a discussion on the nature of church growth and its relation to culture. Of course, there is no doubt that a community that is committed to the way of Jesus should rejoice from growth in numbers (124). However, Newbigin argues that while we should have concern for this, “one must also observe that the rest of the New Testament furnishes little evidence of interest in numerical growth…the primary concern is with their faithfulness, with the integrity of their witness.” (125) He also gives warning that when we focus on numerical growth we can too easily get caught up in militaristic campaign language that is not helpful for the gospel. He also gives encouragement to focus on discipling those who come to faith.
In regards to the church’s relation to culture he has a very difficult discussion on what to do when we enter a culture that has pagan elements (religious or cultural) that seem to go against the biblical narrative. He argues that in some cases we will have to allow them to exist and, in fact, the gospel would not be able to go forward in that culture if we take them away. In other cases, he admits that the gospel is often called to change the particular culture in order for it to succeed.
This is not a tension that is really able to be resolved easily. He writes, “the day to day worship and word and witness of the local church has to be developed in relationship to all these is such a way that it becomes credible to the inhabitants of the local culture as a sign, instrument and foretaste of that one universal reign of God that is the true origin and goal of this and every human culture. It must communicate in the idiom of that culture both the divine good that sustains it and the divine purpose that judges it and summons it to become what it is not yet.” (150) As we see, this does not mean coming into a culture with a preconceived notion of how the church culture should look. This is not something that is easily done by those of us who come from the Western world because we have a hard time believing that we are not the pinnacle of civilization and that all cultures should look like ours.
11.2.08
By: Wasihun Senbeta Gutema
Dear sir,
I really liked your scholarly reflections but I here add a few items in my contextual understanding.
The Church in Mission
As I read the book by Newbigin,Guder& BrueggemmanI became speechless. Newbigin discusses the nature of church growth and its relation to culture. Of course, there is no doubt that a community that is committed to the way of Jesus should rejoice from growth in numbers. However, Newbigin argues that while we should have concern for this, “one must also observe that the rest of the New Testament furnishes little evidence of interest in numerical growth…the primary concern is with their faithfulness, with the integrity of their witness.” He also gives warning that when we focus on numerical growth we can too easily get caught up in militaristic campaign language that is not helpful for the gospel. He also gives encouragement to focus on discipling those who come to faith.
Agreeing with what Newbigin says, I do not escape without forwarding a critique. Newbigin believes in what the Scripture affirms of making those who come faithful disciples. The question is what are the fruits of a true disciple? In my opinion one among the fruits of a true disciple is not to become an “idiot”. Jesus did not have “idiot” disciples. He had disciples committed to winning souls for the kingdom. A church that has faithful disciples grows in every dimension whether financially or numerically otherwise; there is an abnormality. History depicts that the church grew during the period of Constantine, times of North West European conversion and the time of the Spanish conquest of Latin& Central America. I have certain questions with regard to the conversion of this time because it was obvious that the times were times of nominal conversion just because they were aimed at converting them either by force as the Spanish conquistadors did or worldliness from the seemed converts and the converting group of the time.
Conversion is from the inside out. Conversion is total transformation. When there is such conversion, believers grow in number committing them selves for the call. A called disciple is not silent; he/she works on winning souls and makes them faithful. “Silence,” as Brueggemann clarifies does not work. He says that the church must “stop imposing her texts & the God of her texts” which I also agree with. Brueggemann’s idea of “silence “for the twenty-first century Christians has its short comings in making the faithful believers uncommitted for their call. I know that God works in silence but we should not be silent for the sake of tolerance in a globalized world. This makes religious relativism and secularization of God ordained mission.
An important point that Guder says, “When the church in North America discards the Christendom mind-set it can become truly apostolic. To be apostolic is, literally, to be sent out. This implies a distinction between the church and that to which it is sent. The church exists as community, servant, and messenger of the reign of God in the midst of other kingdoms, communities, and powers that attempt to shape our understanding of reality. The world of those kingdoms, communities, and powers often opposes, ignores or has other priorities than the reign of God. To that world, the missional church is apostle—sent out on behalf of the reign of God.” As one can read this he/she comes to the understanding that the church is married to the world forgetting her apostolic mission. Thus, she lives like the world, being “captivated by the powers, the spirits, the institutions and the authorities of the world.” The church inherited “the mind of the modern world that has no place for evil.” There is evil and the church must be apostolic to triumph over evil and its mechanisms. The church should know to whom it pays allegiances. The churches choice of allegiance is to the Holy God as separated for Christ. When the church knows her true allegiance to God she lives in the world but have a dual citizenship. The church then stands against any powers of evil, immorality and injustice. The church lives in the world but not like the world because she has “an alternative culture” but living in the culture of the world with nonconformity.
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1.Lesslie Newbigin, the Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 124.
2. Newbigin, The open secret, 125.
3. Newbigin, The open secret, 126.
4. Waltee Brueggemann, Hope for the world: missional in a global context (Louisville: John Knox press, 2001), 103.
5.Darrell L. Guder, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 110.
6. Guder, Missional Church, 113.
7. Guder, Missional Church, 113.
8. Guder, Missional Church, 119.