Hill Road Journal

1792 - William Carey and the Rediscovery of the Great Commission

Brian STANLEY

The English Baptist missionary in Bengal, William Carey (1761-1834), should be remembered, not so much as 'the father of modern missions', but more as a voice who called Christians of his day to remember that the task of bringing the gospel to all sections of humanity was one that was well founded in scripture and well supported by precedents throughout the history of the church. His famous pamphlet, An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792), grounded missionary obligation in the purpose of God for the world, and not simply in the so-called “Great Commission” of Christ. He reminds us of some important principles: that Christian mission derives its basis from the Trinitarian being of God; that Christianity cannot be confined within the limits of what was once Western Christendom; and that fruitful mission depends on bringing the serious study of the Bible into engagement with an informed study of the world in all its diversity.

1910 - New Partners in the Great Commission: Baptists from East and West at the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh

Brian STANLEY

The World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1910 is widely recognized as a turning point in the history of Christian mission, when Asian Christian voices first began to command the attention of Christians from Europe and North America. This article examines the contributions of the young Chinese delegate, Cheng Jingyi, and of six Baptist delegates from the non-Western world. Cheng Jingyi urged the conference to take seriously the Chinese Christian demand for a form of Christianity that would be free of Western denominationalism. Mark Christian Hayford, a pioneer of the Baptist movement in Ghana, was the only native-born black African delegate. John Rangiah, a Baptist missionary sent from South India to minister to Indian laborers in the sugar plantations of Natal in South Africa, reminds us that “South-to -South” mission is older than we may think.

1974-Redefining the Great Commission: The Lausanne Congress

Brian STANLEY

The Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization held in 1974 marks a turning point in evangelical approaches to world mission. Although convened by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association with the intention of countering the emphasis of the World Council of Churches on political liberation, the Congress turned out to be a platform for a new and more socially radical version of evangelicalism rooted in the experience of Christians in the southern hemisphere. This article examines the impact made on the Congress by three Latin American evangelicals – René Padilla, Samuel Escobar, and Orlando Costas – and by one Kenyan evangelical, John Gatu, who had made a controversial call for a moratorium on the sending of missionaries from the North for the sake of breaking the dependency of Southern churches on missionary personnel and external funding. The Lausanne Covenant, presented to the Congress by the Anglican leader, John Stott, reflected the influence of these new voices in its insistence on the holistic nature of Christian mission – an emphasis that is now widely accepted in many parts of the global evangelical movement.

The Biblical Foundations of Christian Mission

Brian STANLEY

The theme of God's loving mission to all humanity is present throughout the Bible — in the Old Testament as well as the New. The New Testament, however, shifts the emphasis from drawing the Gentiles in to the company of Israel towards sending the new Israel out to all peoples. Mission in the New Testament rests not simply on the so-called “Great Commission” of Matthew 28, but on the fact that Christians as part of the body of Christ share in his sending by the Father in the power of the Spirit into the world. Nonetheless, Matthew 28, when rightly understood, has much to teach us about Christian mission. It reminds us that “all authority” is given to Jesus, not “all dominion” to us, that our task is the making of disciples, and not simply of converts, and that in mission, those who teach themselves remain as disciples, those who are still learning from Christ; domination of converts is therefore ruled out.

What Has Evangelism to Do with the Evironment?

Brian STANLEY

Christians have only recently begun to accept that environmental concern and action should be regarded as integral to the mission of the church. There are still many conservative Christians who believe that the present earth is destined for complete extinction, and that therefore we can “forget the earth and evangelize for eternity.” Conversely, more liberal Christians tend to imagine that the church today should forget the Second Coming, and simply concentrate on just making the world a better place. In fact, the New Testament (and 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21-22 in particular) speaks, not just about heaven as the final destination of those who confess Christ as Lord, but also of God’s purpose to create “new heavens and a new earth." God's purpose is nothing less than an entire new creation, inaugurated by the resurrection of Christ. If the new earth that is coming is to be in organic continuity with (as well as markedly different from) the present earth, then Christians have a responsibility to participate in God's mission to restore the whole created order.

Dancing with the Missional Theology and Praxis: The Shifts from Lausanne Covenant 1974 to Cape Town Commitment 2010

Pak LOH

Lausanne 1974 provided a catalytic momentum that shaped the evangelical mission landscape, particularly in its missional theology and strategy. Firstly, from a theological perspective, there is no doubt that the greatest contribution of this conference to the world evangelical Christians is the Lausanne Covenant. Fifteen paragraphs of the Covenant was so well crafted that they managed to strike a balance between the aspirations of radical and conservative evangelicals. Secondly, in terms of the strategy, the conference gave a clear picture of the need to focus on the unreached people groups. Ralph Winter's impassioned presentation challenged the delegates to look beyond their geopolitical boundaries to the needs of the “ethne” (nations), which he defined as peoples with their own unique social ethno-linguistic culture and identity. This new definition of “ethne” marked a watershed moment for global mission. It triggered such a forceful missional alarm that it became the dominant theme of evangelical mission. It was also the impetus for a new missional drive called, “Frontier Mission Movement.” This movement, which occupied much of the attention and resources of evangelical missions in the 1980s and 1990s, promoted a mindset to finish the task of world evangelization by the year 2000. The broader frontier mission movement was immersed in the tasks defined by the newly coined term, “10/40 Window. ” Unfortunately, the evangelistic zeal was so intense that it wiped out many other theological perspectives and missional voices of the Lausanne Conference. In particular, the conviction of the integral mission which the Lausanne Covenant clearly promoted – “evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of Christian duty” - was totally ignored. It is true that great progress has been made in regard to reaching unreached peoples. Nevertheless, this dominance of the theology of closure and missional praxis to finish world evangelization by the year 2000 has brought forth deep frustration in many Latin American Christian leaders, for example, René Padilla and Samuel Escobar. The seven missional shifts highlighted in this paper provide brief vignettes of the missiological developments from 1974 to 2010, revealing the consequences of this zealous push for frontier missions.

The Nature and Scope of Paul's Sufferings for Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:23b-29 and Its Implications for Christians Today

Alexander Mak

There is a tendency among Christians to think of Christian suffering solely in terms of persecution for their faith. This is because quite a number of passages in the New Testament portray Christian suffering in terms of persecution. On the other hand, there are others who have too wide an interpretation of Christian suffering in that they interpret every misfortune that comes their way as suffering for Christ. The author avoids both extremes and seeks to detail the nature of Christian suffering and show how it is relevant to Christians today by providing a careful exegesis of 2 Corinthians 11:23b-29.

This essay argues that the sufferings of Paul listed in 2 Corinthians 11:23b-29 are in many ways relevant to Christians today, even for those who live in countries where there is religious “freedom”. The passage shows that any difficulty that Paul encounters as a result of his ministry for the gospel can be considered as suffering for Christ, even his labor for the gospel. It also shows that Paul's greatest suffering does not come from persecution, but from false brothers who mislead the Corinthian church, something which causes him great anxiety. Finally, this article also argues that Christian suffering is not meaningless because God has chosen it as a backdrop for the demonstration of the resurrection power of Christ, in such a way that a believer's life becomes a living witness of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Viewed from these perspectives, many Christians today do suffer for Christ in meaningful ways.

Transition, Transformation, and True Community: A Spirituality of Mentoring

Brian KB LAM

This article seeks to investigate a key issue in mentoring, namely, “How can we help others to grow?” by using the practical theology method suggested by Richard R. Osmer. The stories of three persons (William Bridges, James E. Loder, Jr., and Parker J. Palmer) are gathered and told in order to let us understand the process of how people change. Bridges' transition management theory gives us insights into why people resist even good and desirable changes. Loder's logic of transformation and four dimensions of being shed light on the work of the Holy Spirit in human growth. Finally, Palmer's practice of true community teaches us how to create a safe space for others' true selves to show up.

It is the thesis of this paper that questioning is the key tool in mentoring others. Through this interdisciplinary study of Bridges, Loder, and Palmer, we learn specific contents and contexts for questioning.