FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT ONTHE MISSIONAL NATUREANDCALLINGOF THEDUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
INTRODUCTION
The 2011 General Synod initiated its “confession” with the following: “The DRC thanks God for the chance to be His church in such challenging times, within the South African context, working together with other churches. God’s love and grace is undoubtedly wide and unfathomably deep. The DRC realises, and has learnt from history that we can only trulybe church of God if we are willing to sacrifice ourselves and follow Him wherever He may lead us. The Triune God sendsus into the world that He created to witness to the love that He has for His entire creation”.
What the possible implications of this confession could be for the DRC,is something that has been under serious considerarion over the past couple of years, with lots of research being done on the subject, resulting in the compilation of quite a few reports – e.g. at the abovementioned synod, specifically, four different reports that had to do with the nature of the church and the challenges that our context provide us with were tabled. The synod decided to combine all these documents into one, in order to provide the church with a framework that can assist it when working out the church’s missional polity – i.e. the report that you are now reading.
Because of this the DRC now has the chance to create new (missional) language and fresh opportunities, facilitating new conversations and imagining new possibilities for the future of the church.A creative process that the circumstances the church finds itself in demand.
1. COMMISSION OF, REASONS FOR, AND GOAL OF THIS REPORT
1.1 INSTRUCTIONFROM THE SYNOD
Over the course of the last couple of years different General Synods have all made decisions that have to be taken into consideration:
* 2002 General Synod (Acts 2002p. 542) and the 2004 General Synod (Acts 2004 p. 444).
* 2007 General Synod. “EKKLESIOLOGIE” (ECCLESIOLOGY)(Register of Resolutionsp.10):The General Synod approves the recommendations as amended by the Committee for Congregational Development (CCD):
1 The General Synod approves the document “'n Afgebakende en praktiese gemeentelike ekklesiologie” (A defined and practical congregational ecclesiology) as a document for leading discussion on this subject.
2 The General Synod requests the regional synods to handle the document in an appropriate manner.
3 The General Synod requests that theCommittee for Church Polity, in cooperation with CCD, study possible implications the document might have on the Church Order and then advise the General Synodwith appropriate recommendations.
4 The General Synod requests CCD– working together with Bible Media – to research suitable possibilities in which the issue at hand can be presented in published form.
VERDERE OMSKRYWING MISSIONÊRE-DIAKONALE GEMEENTES(FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF MISSIONAL-DIACONAL CONGREGATIONS) (Register of Resolutionsp. 11):
The General Synod appoints an ad hoc task team, made up of representatives from all the service groups,to create an integrated, practical congregational ecclesiology.
* The decision approved in 2011is as follows: “AANBEVELING (RECOMMENDATION) 15.2 (REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR SERVICE AND WITNESS (CSW)) The ad hoc task team recommends that recommendation 15.2.2 of the CSWReport (Agenda p. 58) be amended as follows:
15.2 The various research documents/reports– including reports on missional ecclesiology, the church and context, evangelism and diversity –must be combined into a single document that can serve as framework for the church in all its different contexts (General Synod, regional synods, presbyteriesand congregations). This document must not only be a theological reflection, but must also contain practical guidelines.
Thus the reports on missional ecclesiology, the church and context, evangelism and diversity provide the background for this report.
1.2 THE REASONS FOR THE REPORT
Over the past couple of years a very lively discussion on the missional nature and calling of the the church has been sustained.
At congregational level there has been serious reflection on the being and nature of congregations. In the DRC there is a growing number of congregations who describe themselves as missional congregations; with ideas like “sent congregations”, “community congregations” and “missional ecclesiology” being both widely discussed and used. Workshops and seminars are being presented, and partnerships made, that enable congregations to more clearly define their calling and become more actively involved in their communities.
Regional synods have been paying close attention to this conversation, and have taken the iniative where things such as church planting and/or new expressions of church are concerned. They have also invested time into the study of the challenges that our modern context confronts the church with.
This concern has also come under the attention of theGeneral Synodover the past decade in different ways and by way of various reports. In fact, at present, an intense conversation regarding the church’s calling in the world is taking place in both South Africa and Africa as a whole.At the 2007 General Synod the denomination was called upon to apply itself with renewed vigour, courage and determination – in the light of God’s work in the world (missio Dei),and the church’s missional calling and responsibility (missio ecclesiae) – tobe and do what the church was always meant to be and do. This same concern was also foundational to the idea ofa “confession” at the 2011 General Synod (refer to the above).
Within the wider circles of the DRC family this process and viewpoint is acknowledged and commended. The source document, which regulates the work of the United Ministry for Service and Witness (UMSW), also proceeds from the principle of the missio Dei andthemissio ecclesiae.
This very same concern also plays an important part in the ecumenical conversations/discussions that are taking place worldwide. As only one example of many such discussions and reports, a report delivered in November 2013 before the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Busan, South-Korea,is highlighted:
* Mission begins in the heart of the Triune God,from where it overflows onto humankind and the whole entirety of creation.
* God isa sending/missional God Who sent His Son into the world, and Who is still calling all the people who belong to Him and equipping them to be a community of hope. The church must celebrate the life that God gives, and must resist all onslaughts against this gift through the power of the Holy Spirit.
* The gospel is not only good news for the whole of humankind, but also for the whole of created reality; for every single element of this life and society. All Christians, churches and congregations are called to be carriers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is to humbly share this good news with faith and expectation.To do that is to communicate the whole gospel to the whole of humankind in the whole world. And to be able to share the gospel in this way is a gift through which the love, grace and peace that are in Christ are given to those who receive it.
* The church is God’s gift to the world for the exact purpose of helping to transform the world so that it becomes evermore a likeness of the Kingdom of God. The church’s mission is to bring new life and to announce the loving presence of God in the world.
By staying true to our reformed identity (ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda), the reformed church has now been brought before the challenge of adapting to the constantly changing context. Our ecclesiology and missiology was shaped in the crucible of a Christian society, an era where the church was the centre and lifeblood of almost all communities, and where it had a lot of influence because most people identified themselves as Christian. But the church today has to function and thrive in a post-Christian society, where the church has little to no influence and where Christians live surrounded by non-Christians (even post-Christians). This massive change in context demands that we re-examine the church’s ecclesiology and missiology, finding new and creative ways of thinking and being as Christians.
1.3 THE HOLY SPIRIT RENEWS THE CHURCH
From all of the above it is clear that the Holy Spirit is moving within the church and renewing it on all levels. The General Synod now has to face the challenge of startingto think in new and different ways, discerning the way forward while constantly being open and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us down the path that God has prepared.
1.4 THE GOAL OF THIS REPORT
This report’s goal is the creation of a language that can assist the church in its discernment process regarding the being, nature and calling of the church. This new language that we use has been developed to serve as a clear indication of the deeper, organic change that is taking place – only when a community discovers and starts using this new language together/in unity do new conversations and real change become realisitc possibilities. New words lead to new conversations, which lead to new insights about what is possible, so igniting the collective imagination.
1.5 PRACTICAL STEPS
Important to remember is that it is up to congregations, presbyteries and regional synods to take this new language (which has been created by the General Synod according to its polity) and transform it into practical activities and industries. It is for this reason that the report does not spend time on the development of comprehensive practical steps – it is for each congregations to create its own. But the document does make a few suggestions in terms of church polity, as this is the General Synod’s field of specialisation.
2. METHOD OF WORK
The four reports already mentioned – Missional Ecclesiology, Church and context,EvangelismandDiversity – that served before the 2011 General Synod were consolidated into one cohesive document, presented in this report.
3. THE IDENTITY OF THE DRC
3.1 A REFORMED CHURCH
It is of the utmost importance to remember that this entire conversation should always be understood against the background of a much larger conversation regarding the DRC’s history and identity. The DRC’s identity springs forth from, and is determined by, it’s reformed character and history.At the 2007 General Synod the nature/being and character of the church was described as follows: In reformed theology time and time again, with changing circumstances and contexts, the cornerstones that the Reformation laid have been revisited in order to assist the church in its creative/new interpretation of the essentials in terms of the life and beliefs of the church.
One of the cornerstones for the expression of the reformed identity, according to the General Synod, has always been viathe four “sola’s”; especially when each utterance is understood as a reaction to a belief that the reformers could not agree with or find peace in:
* Over and against the tradition as determined by polity pronouncements and strict church control of the exegesis and interpretation of the gospel, as well as the idea of natural knowledge of God, the principle ofsolascriptura (onlythe Bible).
* In contrast to mediation and intercession by the priestly order, the focus is on solus Christus (only Christ).
* In contrast to any idea of natural grounds forming the basis of God’s decision to redeem humankind, there is sola gratia (only grace).
* Over and against any form of the belief that good works can make you more acceptable to God, we findsola fide (only faith).
3.2 AN OPENNESS TOWARDS NEW WAYS OF THINKING AND EMBODIMENT
Another of the cornerstones of the Reformation was an ever-present willingness and openness toward new ways of thinking. A reformed church must always be in the process of reforming itself(ecclesia reformata semper reformanda). In this way, the church confirms its identity as a confessional church that, on the one hand, understands its identity in the light of, and in dialogue with, its relationship to the bigger Christian faith; but, on the other hand, is constantly rethinking itself and (when deemed necessary) changing its form (ecclesia semper formanda).
The church (which will be described in more detail throughout the rest of this document) is a missional church that must always take its context into consideration, and must constantly rethink its ministry in the light of the dynamic and ever-changing context that surrounds it. The WCC puts it so powerfully: “The church, as people of God, body of Christ, and temple of the Holy Spirit, is dynamic and always changing because of its participation in God’s mission (missio Dei)”.
3.3 A LIFE IN THE TRINITY
At its very heart the identity of the DRC is embedded in our understanding of God Himself. Our reformed identity places the DRC within the “life of the Triune God”. Any reflection on the identity of the church thus has to begin with consideration as to what it means to live in a relationship with God.It is to this that we turn our attention in the paragraphs to follow.
4. NEW INSIGHTS ON OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD
The church’s understanding of both itself and its mission in the world rests in its understanding of God.The following guidelines help us in this process:
4.1WE ONLY KNOW GOD THROUGH HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH US AND OUR WORLD
The Bible continuously refers to God being in a relationship with us: about God being for us (pro nobis). Where references to God Himself are concerned, we find only confessions that everything that is “unfathomable” and “inscrutable”in God (Rm 11:33) cannot be in conflict with what has been revealed to us.
4.2 AS THE TRIUNE ONE, GOD IS THE CREATOR, REDEEMER AND COMPLETION OF BOTH US AND OUR WORLD
God’s relationship towards us and our world is expressed in the church’s Trinitarian creed: The God that the Bible calls Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one God; but this God’s relationship with us takes on more than one shape, shapes that are connected to each other and that collectively and reliably reveal who God really is. As Father/Mother God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the source of all that exists, and the One Who, in His omnipotence, preserves all of creation, reigns over it and cares for it. AsSon or Incarnated Word God is the One who emptied Himself, became the man Jesus Christ, brought about our salvation and through this action also inducted the transformed and exhalted creation. As Spirit, Comforter and Advocate God calls, gathers, shapes, sends, inspires and empowers His church through the Word and the sacraments.
4.3 THE TRIUNE GOD’S CREATION WORK IS NOT DONE, BUT RATHER PRESSES ON TOWARDS ITS FINAL DESTINATION
The Triune God is not static, He has a mission. God created everything and maintains it all because He has a final destination (eschaton) in view –the Kingdom of God; a deep covenantal relationship; a new, exhalted heaven and earth in which God is all in all. Christ proclaimed the nearness of this Kingdom, and fulfilled this prophecy in everything that He did – He Himself was and is the Eschatos, i.e. the incarnation of God’s purpose for creation, the One in Whom the covenant is realised and the Kingdom comes. Christ reigns over His church through His Spirit.The Spirit is the one that leads the church down the road carved out by Christ towards creation’s final destination, also enabling it to be God’s lightbearer and compass while on the way.
4.4 GOD’S MISSION IS CARRIED OUT THROUGH THE SENDING OF CHRIST AND THE SPIRIT:THEMISSIO DEI
The church and the church’s mission is understood as being from the very being of God Himself. Mission isn’t some kind of human achievement, mission is a gift from God Himself. The Bible teaches us that God is a sending/missionalGod, which is why the missio Deiis so often referred to.Yes, the very life of God is a process of being sent/missional: the Father loved the world (creation) so much that He sent His only begotten Son to bring new life and hope;the Son then sent the Holy Spirit to accompany and empower the church; and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit sent (and are still sending) the church into the world (missio ecclesiae). Thus, it is not only a case of God doing the sending, but God in His very essence being a sending/missional God.So, in the same way that we say “God is love”, we can also say “God is a missional God”.The DRC’s mission departement states this sentiment as follows: “Mission is the salvific act of the Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – towards the world, through which He gathers to Himself a community by way of His Word and the Spirit from the entirety of humankind”.
According to the Scriptures, God is the One that always takes the initiative –the Father reaches out in love to humankind and sends His Son. The Son came to earth as the First to be sent to proclaim God’s salvific plan, as well as to set it into motion. When Jesus’ work here was finished, both He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to the world as an affirmation of God’s salvific work.