History was made at a conference held outside Nairobi, Kenya Nov 6-9, 2007, according to people who were in the know. The 250 church leaders were present from more than 70 countries and dozens of churches and organisations ranging from African Instituted Churches and Pentecostals all the way through Protestant and Anglican to Roman Catholic and various groups of Orthodox. They represented some of the newest Christians in the world, some of the most remote and those stretching all the way back to near biblical lands who still use the language of Jesus Christ. Around 40 % were from Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, many from the global south. Organisers claimed it was the most diverse group of church leaders ever assembled.
This was truly a global gathering, building on a decade long process which has run several regional conferences where its innovate efforts at ‘transforming ecumenism’ (to quote the official book title, Global Christian Forum: Transforming Ecumenism edited by Richard Howell, published by Evangelical Fellowship of India, New Delhi, 2007 – see also http://www.globalchristianforum.net/) were honed. Veterans of the development as well as newcomers praised the method used for its effectiveness at building respect and trust, breaking down ignorance and prejudice, and recognising diversity.
The secret to this process is the focus on sharing by the participants of their personal journey with Jesus Christ—their initial faith, Christian development and in this case, especially their calling into ministry. Apart from the opening preliminaries, this sharing is the first thing that is done in the conference, before any other business or activity is conducted. In smaller conferences it can done in one group so that every one hears the stories of all the participants, each one taking up to ten minutes, but in the Kenya conference, for convenience, it was in groups of thirty. It is noticeable that people from very different backgrounds could easily relate to others who had similar elements to their story, and that similar faith and experience were easily recognised even though terminology or worship patterns (and of course language) were extremely varied. Each person’s story and faith was given the same attention, and typically, first name terms were used, whatever the person’s background or status. The deep fellowship thus created provided a radically effective basis for the discussion of the business of the conference which was mostly conducted in the same group setting. It also created fertile ground for informal personal networking and many serendipitous (providential?) surprises as people discovered vital aspects about each other, many of whom they would not be likely to see, much less get to know, in normal circumstances. It also paved the way for much better appreciation of the worship of other traditions which was conducted morning and evening by representatives of the confessions present, from Orthodox through to African.
Only two plenary papers were given at the Kenya GCF—both by Pentecostals, both emphasising the new face of Christianity with its strength and vitality in the global south and east. The main achievement of the conference was drawing together such a wide range of Christians, considered to be of historic proportions. The main business was the future of the movement.
GCF had its genesis in the 1990s when it was realised by the ecumenical movement that something should be done to reach out beyond their existing constituency—the mainline Protestant churches and the Orthodox churches (comprising about 400 million) with the Roman Catholic church (about one billion), not a member but in a close working partnership. They realised that outside this stood the large and rapidly growing Evangelical and Pentecostal groups in particular, some denominations and many other independent churches who together were numbered in excess of 700 million. Although very fragmented and fissiparous, many of those outside the ecumenical mainstream had a keen sense of spiritual unity, as expressed in movements like the Evangelical Alliance, Lausanne and mission bodies, student ministries, evangelistic organisations and other parachurch groups. This conviction about spiritual rather than organisational unity had meant that many of them had had no previous part in the ecumenical movement—indeed some were suspicious or even hostile towards it. ‘Evangelical’ and had been opposed to ‘ecumenical’ as polar opposites.
In a bold move, preliminary steps were taken to explore ways of creating a new ‘open space’ where these groups could meet with others of their kind and with those already ecumenically involved. So began a series of ‘forums’ based on the principle that this was a new movement, separate from existing ecumenical bodies. It would have participants only (not members) and with the smallest possible organisation and infrastructure. Sharing participants’ journey with Jesus was embedded in the process as the basis for all further relationships, discussions, prayer and Bible study. From 2004, forums were held in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
At first it was hoped that the forum could be truly ‘global’ from an early point, but it took time for this to occur—in fact, 9 years! But when it did, at Limuru Kenya in Nov 2007, it was judged to be an overwhelming success, achieving the kind of ‘open space’ where all could feel welcome and accepted and where genuine fellowship could occur. By then, much had been achieved in the regions where earlier forums had been held, and those who had been at arm’s length to the ecumenical movement had begun to see the possibilities of this new approach. Evangelicals and Pentecostals had come into the planning, recognising that this was indeed a ‘new table’ where they were regarded as equal partners with others, and so they made a major contribution to the shape of the Forum. It represented a new approach from the ecumenical side, but also many changes had been taking place on the evangelical and Pentecostal side where sharing with others had become more acceptable and the old suspicious of social responsibility had been turned around into bold new initiatives in ‘transformational mission’ such as the Micah Challenge.
Evangelical and Pentecostals resonated to the theme which GCF had developed ‘Following Jesus’, and they were comfortable with the mission statement: ‘To create an open space wherein representatives from a broad range of Christian churches and interchurch organizations,which confess the triune God and Jesus Christ as perfect in His divinity and humanity, can gather to foster mutual respect, to explore and address together common challenges.’
The main ‘business’ at Limuru, apart from building relationships on such a wide basis, was a consideration of the future of the process. As the official statement released at the conclusion of the Forum indicated (http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=1518), there was widespread agreement about the value of the sharing process and the contribution it could make to Christian life and mission at the grass roots if it could be replicated at regional, national and local levels around the world. There was also seen to be value in occasional large gatherings at the global level to model the process and experience. One anticipated outcome of sustained experience of these forums is that there is likely to be a level of trust and respect of familiarity that would permit Christians to be able to tackle some of the more difficult questions of church life and fellowship which have so far proved so intractable.
But the sceptic may ask—is this development really so unique? Will it last and provide the anticipated break through in the long haul? Will its benefits filter down to the local level? Is it only the old ecumenism in a new guise, a roundabout way of getting those who have been uninterested or opposed to come on board?
We may accept the ‘official’ answer to the last question at face value. Although it was the then General Secretary of the World Council of Churches who took the initial steps in forming the GCF process, and the WCC has helped to fund and support it, there is no official link with the WCC. There are no ‘members’ of GCF (only participants) and it has only the most basic organisation—sufficient to plan the next conference. Its process and structure is slated for a thorough review in the next few months.
A casual examination of the process and features of the process clearly indicate that something quite new is in fact taking place. The high value given to the narratives of participants and personal networking alone point to a new approach that exudes the atmosphere of the postmodern world.
In the official book on the GCF released at the Kenya event, historian and theologian of the movement Sarah Rowland Jones, provides further insight into this development. Other speakers and participants at Limuru reflected the same perspective.
With the prominence given to questions of ‘Faith and Order’ the old ecumenism focuses on structural unity and doctrinal agreement—issues which are likely to be divisive, and the preserve of academic interests and ecclesiastical leadership, not the grass roots where there is often found a very different dynamic of practical cooperation expressed in active faith and committed, sacrificial service. In some ways, existing ecumenical initiatives seem to have run their course, and place heavy time and resources pressures on their constituency. But even so, there have been some developments towards processes that feature convergence and consensus rather than the older harsher ‘for and against’ mode of decision making.
All this underlines the felt need that is emerging calling for the reconfiguration of ecumenism as the modern age gives way to the postmodern. The GCF process represents this hope of a ‘transformed ecumenism’ because it gives a different context in which to address the diversity and differences which exist within the worldwide Christian family. Already there have been highly encouraging results in some of the regional areas where conferences have been held, such as Asia, Africa and North America, as reported at the Kenya event. It is evident that Christians in many parts of the non-western world are ready to discard the unneeded historical baggage they have inherited—including denominational divisions and the artificial opposition of evangelism and social responsibility.
But even more, Jones proposes that GCF represents a ‘renewed theology’ because it returns the focus to God rather than our doctrinal understanding, and therefore emphases our engagement with him and with each other as disciples of Christ rather than abstract propositions about God. This orientation has important consequences such as the undermining of privilege, power and professionalism as we acknowledge our Lord as the ‘servant king’. It also means we have an openness to learning from others rather than an unwarranted dogmatic confidence in our own received traditions, and the development of a dynamic approach to faith and doctrine rather than a static one. It envisages a flexible network suited for mission rather than a rigidly ordered structure. What this means is that we see ‘truth’ as far more than some doctrinal statement (important as these are in themselves); instead we see it in terms of a holistic embracing of the emotional, spiritual, physical, social aspects of life as well as the intellectual, so that there is a proper place given to the affective dimension in our relationship with God and with others. This will restore matters such as prayer and worship to centre stage and so provide a means of enriching and balancing theological reflection; it will also put questions of church order in a more healthy perspective.
The danger of GCF is that it will become simply another talkfest, but its advocates are determined to avoid that. The crucial test is whether it can lead to changes at the local level in the life and mission of the church, and provide a process that will assist in the ongoing resolutions of difficulties. There is plenty of evidence that Christians at the grass roots are working together in all kinds of ad hoc ways despite the pronouncements, successes, delays and failures at the official ecumenical level. It is significant that GCF has brought together two of the most obvious contemporary trends—the ecumenical movement as the ‘great new fact of our time’ (Temple) and Pentecostalism often called ‘the third force’ of Christianity (van Dusen). This principle of ‘renewed theology’ and the GCF process may just provide the means needed for ordinary Christians to ground and expand their efforts Those involved in the World Evangelical Alliance whose mission is ‘to foster Christian unity and to provide a worldwide identity, voice and platform to Evangelical Christians’ should look carefully at this development.
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Transforming Ecumenism? The Global Christian Forum
History was made at a conference held outside Nairobi, Kenya Nov 6-9, 2007, according to people who were in the know. The 250 church leaders were present from more than 70 countries and dozens of churches and organisations ranging from African Instituted Churches and Pentecostals all the way through Protestant and Anglican to Roman Catholic and various groups of Orthodox. They represented some of the newest Christians in the world, some of the most remote and those stretching all the way back to near biblical lands who still use the language of Jesus Christ. Around 40 % were from Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, many from the global south. Organisers claimed it was the most diverse group of church leaders ever assembled.
By: David Parker
Executive Director World Evangelical Alliance Theological Commission
Executive Director World Evangelical Alliance Theological Commission
Monday, 26 November 2007, 11:18 (EST)
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