wfn.org | Church remains a missionary body, according to theologian

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

May 8, 2002      News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
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NEW YORK (UMNS) - Although its members get distracted by other worthwhile
activities, the church of Jesus Christ "is essentially and fundamentally a
missionary body," according to a United Methodist theologian.

God's mission to reclaim the world is reflected in the Bible, and that
mandate is still the priority today, said the Rev. Scott Jameson Jones, who
holds the McCreless Chair in Evangelism at United Methodist-related Perkins
School of Theology in Dallas. He presented a May 7 mission lecture to staff
members of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Noting that the Methodist Church was born because of a controversy over
mission, not doctrine or polity, Jones pointed out that God has used the
denomination "in powerful ways" over the years. Reclaiming that focus on
mission is now essential, he said.

Part of the problem is that evangelism and social justice have become
separate issues rather than part of the whole. In local churches, for
example, mission committees "typically treat people as soulless bodies,"
Jones said, while evangelism committees "treat people as bodiless souls."

This doesn't need to be, he explained, because church doctrine offers "a
comprehensive understanding of the way to salvation" that fully integrates
evangelism and social justice. Any activity, from feeding the hungry to
mowing the church lawn, can be evangelistic as long as the intent is to
invite non-Christians to become practicing Christians.

In terms of interfaith relations, United Methodists must learn to be
neighbors and co-workers with those of other faiths but never give up on
inviting others to be Christians, Jones said.

Too many U.S. United Methodist leaders and congregations presume that they
live in a nation that is mostly Christian. "Even in the Bible Belt of Texas,
half of our communities are unchurched," he reported. Because the culture
does not foster Christian formation, congregations need to consider how to
initiate people into the faith.

"Every congregation ought to be a mission station," Jones said. But too
many, he declared, "have majored in the minors," wasting resources on other
interesting distractions.

He characterized the denomination's pastors as filling one of three
stereotypes - the chaplain who takes care of dying people; the church
bureaucrat working up the salary ladder; and the missionary who incorporates
the gospel into the context of his or her community. It is the missionary
who is needed, he contended, and laity also need to see their own vocations
as part of God's mission.

Seminaries must train clergy to be missionaries, and church agencies must
become the facilitators of missionary churches, rather than controllers of
mission, according to Jones.

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United Methodist News Service
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