Editorial: Living out our confession of faith in our pursuit of justice and peace

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

      Taiwan Church News

      3050 Edition                        

      August 9~15, 2010

                                   

       

      Editorial: Living out our confession of faith in our pursuit of 
justice and peace

       

      Translated by Lydia Ma

       

       



      “We believe that the Church is the fellowship of God's people, 
called to proclaim the 

      salvation of Jesus Christ and to be ambassador of 
reconciliation. It is both universal and 

      rooted in this land, identifying with all its inhabitants, and 
through love and suffering 

      becoming the sign of hope.”

       



      These words are taken straight from PCT’s confession of faith 
and they reflect the 

      uniqueness of PCT as a Christian denomination. They are not 
only confessions of what 

      we believe in, but also blueprints for our actions. They are 
declarations of how we must 

      act as a church and they remind local churches to strive toward 
becoming the kind of 

      church that reflects these ideals.

       



      We all have our own ideas of what a church should look like or 
how it should operate. In 

      reality, we seldom use PCT’s confession of faith and what it 
says about churches as a 

      blueprint for our church ministries. 

       



      In an age that touts diversity, we’ve become afraid of voicing 
our core values for fear that 

      we might lose our “multicultural” badge of honor. This fear is 
best illustrated by churches 

      shying away from speaking out on justice, taking a stand, or 
talking about politics for fear 

      that broaching these issues might offend those who sit on their 
pews.

       



      In the 1970s, two movements with irreconcilable differences 
spawned within local 

      churches, namely the “charismatic movement” and the “street 
movement”. These two 

      movements later birthed their own ministries and their 
adherents stayed out of each 

      other’s hairs, but the tension between these two movements is 
still felt today.

       



      In this day and age, our hearts have grown cold and distant. We 
no longer care about 

      many things happening inside and outside church buildings. We 
are no longer willing to 

      spend time understanding and reaching out to people around us, 
opting instead for things 

      that will produce tangible results with the least amount of 
time and cost. We actually buy 

      that church ministries should be cost-effective above all else.

       



      But when we look at Jesus, we see a man that didn’t concern 
himself with the local street 

      movements of his time. Instead, he cared more about “heart” 
issues such as repentance, 

      prayer, and fellowship with God. But Jesus didn’t live like a 
monk in reclusion, either. He 

      rebuked sin and rigid religious traditions and reached out to 
marginalized people of his time. 

       



      Jesus proved with his life and actions that transforming a 
heart and transforming a society 

      are inseparable and must achieve a delicate balance. Whenever 
he was faced with 

      challenges, he’d draw strength from his intimate relationship 
with his Abba to flee 

      temptation and sin.

       



      As we commemorate Church and Society Sunday on August 15, let’s 
urge one another to 

      examine whether our churches are modeling PCT’s confession of 
faith. Let’s use this 

      confession as our guide for staying rooted to this land. Let’s 
rekindle our passion, love, 

      and commitment for Taiwan and everything that’s happening here. 

       



      So, let’s turn our attention to Jesus and model how he cared 
for people’s hearts and 

      social justice, and draw inspiration from him when we reach out 
to Taiwanese people and 

      society. There are lots of things around us crying out for our 
attention and urging us to be 

      the ones who will plant seeds of justice and peace.

       



      We pray that PCT’s confession of faith will not just be a 
statement of what we believe in, 

      but a living document that will inspire and shape the direction 
of our churches and a guide 

      that will change and shape the foundation of Taiwan.

       



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