Who actually carries the missionary calling in the congregation? Is that a committee? An evangelisation elder? Or is it a few passionate congregation members? But then where is the congregation as the "body of Christ" as Paul calls it? Missionary-ness is calling of the Christian congregation.
When you meet people from the Middle East, it is immediately noticeable: they are very focused on their families. You can tell by the way they mourn and celebrate. An Iranian Christian told me how: 'When we celebrate something, it is important that we include each other in the celebration. For example, Dutch people often sit together in a circle on a birthday. You mainly talk to the people right next to you. We Iranians actually find that very boring. Because when you celebrate something together, you have to laugh and dance together. And when there is grief due to someone dying, you have to loudly express your grief. Everyone joins in and makes each other cry. We don't need to go to the psychologist with unprocessed grief; everyone screams and cries themselves silly.'
Dance and lament
I was quiet for a moment; how different from my Dutch upbringing! But I should have known: this is about life in the Middle East that we find everywhere in the Bible. The Lord Jesus is talking about daily life around Him when He says: 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance; we sang lamentations for you, but you did not mourn.' (Mat 11:17)
'What feels right'
As Western people, we have become thoroughly individualistic. If there is one point, where secularisation has gripped us, it is this. This has a lot to do with the history of the Western world, in which the 'I' became increasingly important, at the expense of the 'we'. The Enlightenment of the 17th and the Romanticism of the 19th century are movements that contributed a lot to this. Romanticism in particular was about searching for your 'deepest self' and living according to your authentic, individual feelings. You can also notice this in the church, when people talk a lot and often about something that does or does not 'feel right'. You notice it in interviews by journalists, who every so often ask questions like "what went through your mind?", "how does that feel?", "what does that do to you?
Single-headed body
In the church, we must learn to think and speak of 'we', and not just 'I'. Paul paints the picture of the Christian congregation as a body under one Head: Christ. The members are 'baptised by one Spirit into one body' (1 Cor. 12:13). The parts of the body need each other, without each other they form at best a mutilated body and without obeying Christ the congregation is a decapitated corpse.
Practising living together
Why now so much emphasis on this 'we'? What does that have to do with the missionary vocation? Because it is precisely living together in love with each other as the 'body of Christ' that shows outwardly what the Gospel means. This living and working together connects doctrine and life, and is of course noticeable to unbelieving people around us. We may not realise it sufficiently, but the Christian congregation is special! Where else do you find all kinds of people of all ages practising living together? In a culture where self-centredness and loneliness make their mark, that is a downright miracle of the Spirit!
Love
This is also how the first church lived together in love, and this naturally radiated outwards: 'And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and properties and divided them among all, according to that each needed. And they continued to meet in the temple daily in unison, and as they broke bread from house to house, they took food to themselves together, with joy and in simplicity of heart; and they praised God and found favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the congregation daily those who were being blessed. (Acts 2:44-47)
Question
From South America, I heard of a congregation that set up an orphanage. The community was served by the love that church members collectively give in this. What difference could your/your congregation make in the community?
Rev. Peter L.D. Visser
missionary consultant
