Inspire, Spring 2005

W h a t ’ s t h e W o r d ? Describe a missionary. What images come to mind? Through most of the 19th and 20th centuries, single missionaries or missionary families worked alone in interior rural or tribal areas, and their ministry was primarily public preaching. They were almost exclusively white and from the United States or Europe. They went to places that generally welcomed Westerners and/or missionaries. Contrast that to 1996, when my family and I left the mission field. As team leaders, my wife, Peggy, and I were part of a ministry team in a restricted access nation in South Asia. Our team included couples from the United States, Great Britain, Indonesia, Australia, and Korea. While the team members were missionaries, they also practiced architecture; medicine; civil, industrial, and electrical engineering; and education. Peggy was the visa-holder as an educator in an international school. I was seminary-trained for ministry. The context was urban. During the day we exercised our professions. In doing so, we cultivated relationships that led to opportunities to invite others to become followers of Jesus. Our ministries were diverse, yet we shared a common vision. We met together regularly for prayer, encouragement, and strategic development. Key national brothers were partners, and their insights shaped the contours of the ministry. Times have changed. Mission has and must continue to be dynamic. A mission curriculum must prepare future missionaries to respond thoughtfully and critically to the issues and challenges of the day. What are the issues and challenges of our time, and how should they shape how we conceive of, carry on, and so educate for mission involvement? I would like to outline three key challenges to which missionaries must respond: pluralism, the city, and globalization. In my opinion, religious pluralism is the greatest challenge at the front end of the new millennium. This challenge comes in different forms: “How can Christians claim to hold the only way of salvation? Why do you think that you have a ‘God’s eye view’ on matters of religion? Don’t all religions have a facet of the truth, and are they not just different ways to the same goal?” The issue is paralleled by the celebration of diversity and quirked notions of tolerance. Pluralism is also shaping the attitudes of believers. Three years ago in a freshmen-level Bible class, I took an informal survey of my students, asking them to respond to the question, “Can the sincere practitioner of a non-Christian religion be saved?” Twenty-five percent of my students answered yes. The exclusivism of the teaching of Jesus may be viewed not only as a thing of the past, but as morally reprehensible and worthy of the dustbin of misguided fundamentalisms. Religious pluralism, whether CU and Mission in the New Millenium by Dr. Donald C. Grigorenko, Assistant Professor of Bible affirmed or denied, impacts mission. Pluralism has affected access. The world of nations is closing to missionaries. Missionaries today need to be creative to gain access to a growing number of limited access nations and often carry with them a profession desired by the host nation. Thus an increasing number of missionaries are bivocational. This raises both training and identity questions for missionaries. Pluralism also impacts strategy. Missionaries are taking a more dialogical and relational approach to sharing their faith. The gospel has not changed, but its packaging has. Another challenge of our time is the city . Higher proportions of our global population live in urban areas. In the year 2000, fifty percent of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2010, that percentage may rise to ninety percent. The social dynamics of the big cities are very different from the rural or tribal worlds which were the focus of much of 19th and 20th century mission. Many missionaries going out from the West are the product of middle and upper-class white families from the suburbs. The life of the city represents a quantum cultural leap, and therefore, learning of the life and way of the city must get focused attention. Another factor impacting mission is globalization . Globalization is a consequence of the mass movements of information, ideas, commodities, and people around our world. This movement is complex and multidirectional; it is no longer from the West to the rest. Although channels of global connectedness are the product of technological advances and so may be considered from that perspective neutral, what moves through this global network is not. It has been labeled “the new colonialism” and cultural imperialism. By being connected to the global, the local may be relativized and devalued. What, where, and how much moves through this infrastructure deeply impacts life locally, its values, economy, culture, and religion. For some, the impact is positive; for others it is not. Globalization has caused some to be fearful of domination. The tragedy of September 11, 2001 may be in part interpreted as a response to globalization. From the early chapters of Genesis to the close of Revelation, the God of the Bible has concerned Himself with the whole world, and His people in this age have the commission to penetrate the globe and make disciples of all nations. Our gospel, calling for repentance and faith in Jesus as the only way of salvation, is anything but neutral and may consequently be viewed as a threat. On the up side, technology allows missionaries and mission resources to move to all corners of the globe quickly and cheaply. Missionaries are able to easily network and exchange ministry notes and strategies over great distances. Global research has identified areas and peoples of the greatest need. Yet missionaries must be aware of the 16 Spring 2005