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Pioneering doesn’t have to be pushy
Our mission will be as surprising as Jesus himself, the original pioneer, says CMS General Secretary Tim Dakin. But pushing the boundaries of mission doesn’t mean pushing your own agenda.
In one of Jesus’ fascinating wisdom sayings, he thanks his Father that God reveals himself to infants but hides himself from the wise or prudent (Matthew 11:25). I don’t suppose many people thought CMS’s first attempts at mission were either wise or prudent.
The image of those first pioneers in pith-helmets muddiesthe waters
After all, most of the early missionaries packed their belongings in their coffins, such were their expectations of the missionary life.
Yet the pioneering spirit of the first CMS leaders and missionaries goes to the heart of the Gospel: it is a permanent priority to share the good news about Jesus globally – and to do that in fellowship with others locally. Sharing Jesus, changing lives.
And today that priority hasn’t changed. CMS is still committed to pioneering mission.
For some, the image of those first pioneers in pith-helmets, opening up new territories to the Gospel (and thus perhaps also to Empire), muddies the waters when it comes to pioneering mission today.
Isn’t the era of mission over? Surely now is the time for development, relief and social justice. We are in the new era of ‘international relations’: the co-operation between states to achieve progress through development.
On reflection, doesn’t this sound very similar to ‘mission partnership’ – co-operation between Christians to see the vision of the Kingdom of God break through into reality?
‘International relations’ may be a secular version of partnership, purged of religious values. But is it still pushing its own liberal-economic agenda under the banners of democracy and human rights?
It may not be obvious that the values of development are those of Westernglobalisation
At least the pioneer missionaries were clear and open about their values. There was never any doubt that they had a Gospel to proclaim and a commitment to build a community around values and a vision for society rooted in the Biblical tradition.
It may not be as obvious that the values of ‘the good life’ we hope to achieve through co-operative development are those of Western globalisation. Only when the World Bank or IMF enforce policy change on poor governments does this become apparent.
Our faith is not rooted in patterns of human progress but in “Jesus the pioneer of our salvation/faith” (Hebrews 2:10/12:2).
The Greek word translated pioneer is
archegos
. This is a leader who is also a founder: someone who breaks a path and establishes a way.
The
archegos
pioneers the way by becoming and living the new vision, not by ‘claiming new ground’ or imposing by force.
We discover God revealing himself to us in Jesus only as we follow the path and way of Jesus. Wise and prudent people would not have been able to work out, without revelation from God, that it was to be through suffering that Jesus would restore the glorious destiny of humanity and all creation.
Our pioneering mission today is to discover for ourselves that humanity of God in Jesus. This is what the CMS community is all about – working together all over the world to discover Jesus and live out the new vision for life he gives.
That’s truly pioneering.
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