By Robert Reese
“During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “˜Come over to Macedonia and help us”” (Acts 16:9).Â
In Paul”s vision, a European begged him to share the gospel, which Paul was eager to do. Twenty centuries have passed since then. The world is much different, but has the church taken notice of just how different? What should the church be doing in today”s world?
If we had been living a hundred years ago, we would have a totally different view of the church*. At the Edinburgh Conference on World Mission in 1910, almost all the delegates were Western; most of the focus was on how to spread Christianity from Europe, seen as the homeland of Christianity, to Asia. The slogan was “the evangelization of the world in this generation,” but two world wars intervened, preventing achievement of the dream behind the slogan. By the end of those wars, the colonial empires of Europe were dying, and the world entered the postcolonial period.
In 2010, in commemoration of the Edinburgh event, several international mission conferences were held. At the first conference, held in Tokyo, there was a notable difference: the conference was organized and led by Asians, and a European delegate pleaded for Asians to bring the gospel back to Europe! So, in some ways, we have returned to Acts 16:9! Europeans are asking for help!
Christianity has shifted geographically through the centuries. It started in Jerusalem, then moved into Asia, Africa, and Europe. The rise of Islam had the effect of smothering the growth of the church in Asia and Africa, while bottling up Christianity in Europe. With the rise of European sea power, missionaries could finally bypass Islamic territories to reach the Americas, Africa, and Asia with the gospel.
Now the center of Christianity is in Africa. But notice that when the center of Christianity moves, its former heartlands often become non-Christian or secular, such as Israel and Europe today. So what are the characteristics of the church in today”s world?
The church is rapidly becoming more non-Western, as it was in the beginning.
When we read about those who were present on the Day of Pentecost, when the church first formed under the direct power of the Holy Spirit, we find its membership was from three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe. Acts 2:8-11 lists the places the new believers came from, yet they were all Jews originally from Asia. Christianity was originally non-Western.
The church has become more multicultural and urbanized.
The first such church was in Antioch. Acts 11:20 says men from Cyprus and Cyrene (in Africa) arrived in Antioch sharing the good news of Jesus with Greeks in addition to Jews. While this mixture was new and dynamic, it also created problems because Jews and Greeks were not used to fellowshipping together. Yet we also know Antioch became a lasting center for missions to Asia and Europe, sending out the most famous missionary duo of Paul and Barnabas for cross-cultural evangelism.
Today, for the first time in world history, more people live in cities than in rural areas. There is a rising need for multicultural churches in big cities, although Christian missions have traditionally lagged behind in this transition from rural to urban.
The church is more indigenous and independent.
In the New Testament period, Rome provided an early version of globalization, with a government that unified a vast area where many Christians lived. Despite the pervading Greco-Roman culture, the New Testament churches exhibited local problems as shown in the epistles of Paul. For example, the Corinthians brought too much Greek culture into the church, lifting up one preacher over another on the basis of Greek wisdom. Paul brought them down to earth, saying, “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Today”s churches are diverse, with some still depending on the former colonial powers for their very existence and some wanting nothing to do with the colonial powers. Authentic churches still preach Christ crucified and resurrected as the hope of the world, and they meet local needs by addressing local issues.
Despite globalization, churches need to reflect local values and culture in order to be authentic. Churches must not become captive to local culture, but maintain their ability to critique their own society from a biblical point of view.
The church is a poor and powerless minority.
After centuries of holding the reins of power since the days of the Roman Emperor Constantine, the church worldwide today has little political strength. Part of the reason is the church today is largely made up of marginalized people. Two hundred years of active missions resulted in millions of new converts in Africa, Asia, and even Latin America, most of whom are disenfranchised and poor.
The early churches were similar. Paul described the Corinthian church like this: “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27).
For almost 300 years, Christianity was not recognized as a valid religion in the Roman Empire, yet it grew dramatically. Without any political power or army, Christianity captured the Roman Empire. Today”s churches usually have few political connections, yet find they can thrive without them among the powerless and poor.
The church is becoming more intentionally mission minded.
For too long, churches have taken salvation as a privilege instead of a responsibility. Today, non-Western missionaries are about equal in number with Western ones, as newer churches realize their responsibilities for missions. Besides reaching the unreached with the gospel, churches have a responsibility to transform society through saved individuals. The church is the place to end racial prejudice and tribalism so that this Christlike attitude can spread beyond the church as well. The church is the place to end the abuse of women and children so that such attitudes may spread. The early church grew rapidly in the Roman world because it practiced openness in membership to any race or social class, it promoted the welfare of women and children, and it ministered to the sick. The early church believed in evangelism, using the powerful gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The church remains eternally the body and bride of Christ.
Paul liked to describe the church as Jesus” body, his hands and feet, eyes and ears. This picture explains the variety of spiritual gifts that different members have, and how they should be using these gifts for the benefit of those inside and outside the body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:7). Our image of the church as a spectator sport is not biblical, since each member should be busy as an active part of the body. We all need each other and we need to be directly connected to Christ as our head. Revelation 19:7 refers to the second coming of Jesus as “the wedding of the Lamb.” The church belongs to Jesus for eternity! No matter what our opinion of any particular church may be, the fact remains the future of the church is secure: Christ makes his bride holy.
The church is the only group on earth where humans also meet with God.
Human and divine mingle there, just as in the physical body of Christ. This means the church must remain distinct from the world or it loses its message. The church needs to give people solid biblical answers for their daily and long-term problems (1 Peter 3:15). We cannot rely on earthly wisdom or science to provide answers to the deepest questions humans face. God alone can supply that kind of wisdom and insight. If someone asks, “Why did my child die?” or “Must I stop praying to my ancestors?” or “What am I here for? What is my purpose in life?” we need a biblical answer. People need to make sense of life from God”s perspective. The church is much more than a social club or a humanitarian organization. It is where God meets with us as a group when we gather to praise him.
The church is central to God”s mission.
If we are to join in the mission of God, we need a view of the church that is as lofty as that held by Jesus and the apostle Paul. Jesus declared he would build his church, “and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). Besides describing the church as God”s temple, God”s family, and Christ”s body and bride, Paul also said God”s intent “was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:10). That wisdom is now being revealed in churches where people of diverse backgrounds are “members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6).
Although outwardly poor and powerless, the church is still equipped to “demolish strongholds” of Satan, not using the world”s weapons, but with divine power (2 Corinthians 10:4). The church is present on six continents and is the body of Christ on earth. The challenge we face today is simply to unite with fellow believers as the church, empowered by the Spirit of Christ, to impact a confused and needy world.
The church remains central to God”s mission today! How wonderful would it be if there were many more churches all over the earth, so that every human lived within walking distance of a Bible-believing, God-honoring, Spirit-filled church?
________
*In this article, in order to present a big picture in broad strokes, I use the terms Christian, Christianity, and church in their broadest senses, meaning all those who claim to be followers of Christ.Â
Robert Reese was a missionary in Zimbabwe from 1981 to 2002 and is currently associate professor of cross-cultural ministry at Mid-Atlantic Christian University in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Defining the church broadly as those who claim to be followers of Christ can then raise the issue of whether a church lives up to its claim. For nominal Christianity, in name and claim only, is prevalent, where the church is, as you say, often a spectator sport.
When the Lamb comes with his bride in the end, she is clothed with fine linen, which is the righteous deeds of the saints (Rev. 19:7-8). Yet most of the seven churches addressed in Rev. 2-3 are warned that their deeds are found wanting, and they need to repent (return to truly following Christ). Only those who “conquer” by doing what Christ wants will be part of his final bride.
So the future of a church is eternally secure only if it lives up to its claim. And, as in Rev. 2-3, churches that lack deeds of love, that listen to and support false prophets and revere great rulers and the prosperity they bring, are not being faithful as a pure bride. Most churches must still be warned that if they are spectating–or promoting the wrong mission–they are in danger of being spit out of Christ’s mouth (Rev. 3:16).