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Integral mission

Integral mission or holistic mission describes an understanding of Christian mission that embraces both evangelism and social responsibility. With origins in Latin American, integral mission has influenced a significant number of Protestants around the world through the Lausanne Movement.[1][2]

Terminology edit

It is generally known in Spanish as misión integral, coined in the 1970s by members of the Protestant group Latin American Theological Fellowship (or FTL, its Spanish acronym). The word "integral" is used in Spanish to describe wholeness (as in wholemeal bread or whole wheat).[2] Theologians use it to describe an understanding of Christian mission that affirms the importance of expressing the love of God and neighborly love through every means possible. Proponents such as C. René Padilla of Ecuador,[3] Samuel Escobar of Peru,[4] Orlando E. Costas of Puerto Rico,[5] Vinay Samuel of India,[6] and John Stott from the UK,[7] have wanted to emphasize the breadth of the Good News and of the Christian mission, and used the concept of "integral" or "holistic" mission to signal their discomfort with conceptions of Christian mission based on a dichotomy between evangelism and social involvement.

The proponents of integral mission argue that the concept is nothing new. Rather, it is rooted in Scripture and wonderfully exemplified in Jesus’ own ministry. "Integral mission" is only a distinct vocabulary for a holistic understanding of mission that has become important in the past forty years in order to distinguish it from widely held but dualistic approaches that emphasize either evangelism or social responsibility.[2]

History edit

1960s–1980s edit

The process of defining integral mission and the journey of its acceptance by significant numbers of Protestants has taken place over a period of just over 40 years. Its progress can be observed through a number of significant international Evangelical congresses. In 1966, the Congress on the World Mission of the Church, held in Wheaton, Illinois, brought together Evangelicals from 71 countries. The Wheaton Declaration confessed that "we [Evangelicals] are guilty of an unscriptural isolation from the world that too often keeps us from honestly facing and coping with its concerns" and the "failure [of the church] to apply scriptural principles to such problems as racism, war, population explosion, poverty, family disintegration, social revolution, and communism."[8]

By contrast, that same year the World Congress on Evangelization in Berlin continued to emphasise a traditionally Evangelical conception of mission, as articulated by Billy Graham: “if the church went back to its main task of proclaiming the gospel and people converted to Christ, it would have a far greater impact on the social, moral and psychological needs of men than it could achieve through anything else it could possibly do.[9] However, the question of Christian social involvement came up repeatedly during the ensuing regional congresses.[10]

The International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne in 1974 is regarded by some as "the most important world-wide evangelical gathering of the twentieth century."[11] The Lausanne Covenant affirmed: "God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men from every kind of oppression ... we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive."[12]

Following the Lausanne Congress, support for the concept of integral mission grew amongst evangelicals, particularly in the Two-Thirds World. A number of declarations which emerged from international evangelical conferences in the ensuing years (some of them organized by the Lausanne Movement and chaired by John Stott) revealed similar concerns for a holistic understanding of mission. Of critical importance for the development of the theology of integral mission were the various Latin American Congresses on Evangelism (CLADE, their Spanish acronym—Congreso Latinoamericano de Evangelización). Beginning with the Second Latin America Congress on Evangelism, held in Peru in 1979, the CLADES (III, Quito, 1992; IV, Quito, 2000) were organized by the Latin American Theological Fellowship (FTL). [citation needed]

In the UK, the International Consultation on Simple Lifestyle in 1980 resulted in a document entitled "An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle," again affirming a commitment to justice within an Evangelical conception of mission.[13]

In 1982, the International Consultation on the Relationship of Evangelism and Social Responsibility concluded that the latter is a consequence of, a bridge to and partner of the former.[14] The document published maintained the primacy of evangelism, despite its affirmation that the two are in practice inseparable.[15]

In 1983, the Consultation on the Church in Response to Human Need in Wheaton, Illinois, led to the publication of "Transformation: The Church in Response to Human Need," perhaps the strongest evangelical affirmation of integral Mission.[11] It is explicit in its denunciation of injustice, and churches and Christina organisations who "by silence give their tacit support" to "the socio-economic status-quo."[16]

Since the 1990s edit

A commitment to integral mission is often reflected in particular concern for those living in poverty and a commitment to pursuing justice. The concept of integral mission is advocated largely by Evangelical Christians, many of whom are related to the Micah Network.[17]

In 1999 a global network of evangelical Christian organisations committed to Integral Mission was established and christened the Micah Network, which owes its name to the centrality of Micah 6:8 to the concept of Integral Mission: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." Their members represent approximately 600 Evangelical service organizations, churches and individual members around the world.[18]

References edit

  1. ^ Stanley, Brian (2013). The Global Diffusion of Evangelicalism: The Age of Billy Graham and John Stott. Grand Rapids, MI: InterVarsity Press. pp. 151–180. ISBN 9780830825851. from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  2. ^ a b c Kirkpatrick, David C. (2016). "The Widening of Christian Mission: C. René Padilla and the Intellectual Origins of Integral Mission". In Sexton, Jason S.; Weston, Paul (eds.). The End of Theology: Shaping Theology for the Sake of Mission. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. pp. 193–210. ISBN 9781506405926. from the original on 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  3. ^ Padilla, C. René (2010). Mission Between the Times: Essays on the Kingdom. Carlisle: Langham Monographs. ISBN 9781907713019. from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  4. ^ Escobar, Samuel (2003). A Time of Mission: The Challenge for Global Christianity. Carlisle: Langham Global Library. ISBN 9781907713026. from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  5. ^ Costas, Orlando E. (1974). The Church and its Mission: A Shattering Critique from the Third World. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN 0842302751.
  6. ^ Yung, Hwa (2008). "Mission and evangelism". In Sebastian C. H. Kim (ed.). Christian Theology in Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 259–261. ISBN 978-1-139-47206-7. from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  7. ^ Stott, John (2008). Christian Mission in the Modern World. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830834112. from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  8. ^ "The Wheaton Declaration". Evangelical Mission Quarterly. 2: 231–44. Summer 1966.
  9. ^ Graham, Billy (11 November 1966). "Why the Berlin Congress". Christianity Today. Vol. 11. p. 133.
  10. ^ Padilla, C. René (1985). "Evangelism and Social Responsibility: From Wheaton '66 to Wheaton '83". Transformation. 2 (3): 27–34. doi:10.1177/026537888500200311. S2CID 147790374.
  11. ^ a b Padilla, C. René (2002). "Integral Mission and its Historical Development". In Chester, Tim (ed.). Justice, Mercy & Humility: Integral Mission and the Poor. pp. 42–58.
  12. ^ Stott, John (1996). Making Christ Known: Historic Mission Documents from the Lausanne Movement, 1974–1989. Carlisle: Paternoster. p. 24.
  13. ^ Sider, Ron, ed. (1982). Lifestyle in the Eighties: An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle. Philadelphia: Westminster.
  14. ^ Stott. Making Christ Known. p. 182.
  15. ^ Nichols, Bruce (1986). In Word and Deed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. p. 81.
  16. ^ Samuel, Vinay; Sugden, Chris (1987). The Church in Response to Human Need. Oxford.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ^ "Topics | Micah Network". from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  18. ^ "Members". Micah Network. from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.

integral, mission, holistic, mission, describes, understanding, christian, mission, that, embraces, both, evangelism, social, responsibility, with, origins, latin, american, integral, mission, influenced, significant, number, protestants, around, world, throug. Integral mission or holistic mission describes an understanding of Christian mission that embraces both evangelism and social responsibility With origins in Latin American integral mission has influenced a significant number of Protestants around the world through the Lausanne Movement 1 2 Contents 1 Terminology 2 History 2 1 1960s 1980s 2 2 Since the 1990s 3 ReferencesTerminology editIt is generally known in Spanish as mision integral coined in the 1970s by members of the Protestant group Latin American Theological Fellowship or FTL its Spanish acronym The word integral is used in Spanish to describe wholeness as in wholemeal bread or whole wheat 2 Theologians use it to describe an understanding of Christian mission that affirms the importance of expressing the love of God and neighborly love through every means possible Proponents such as C Rene Padilla of Ecuador 3 Samuel Escobar of Peru 4 Orlando E Costas of Puerto Rico 5 Vinay Samuel of India 6 and John Stott from the UK 7 have wanted to emphasize the breadth of the Good News and of the Christian mission and used the concept of integral or holistic mission to signal their discomfort with conceptions of Christian mission based on a dichotomy between evangelism and social involvement The proponents of integral mission argue that the concept is nothing new Rather it is rooted in Scripture and wonderfully exemplified in Jesus own ministry Integral mission is only a distinct vocabulary for a holistic understanding of mission that has become important in the past forty years in order to distinguish it from widely held but dualistic approaches that emphasize either evangelism or social responsibility 2 History edit1960s 1980s edit The process of defining integral mission and the journey of its acceptance by significant numbers of Protestants has taken place over a period of just over 40 years Its progress can be observed through a number of significant international Evangelical congresses In 1966 the Congress on the World Mission of the Church held in Wheaton Illinois brought together Evangelicals from 71 countries The Wheaton Declaration confessed that we Evangelicals are guilty of an unscriptural isolation from the world that too often keeps us from honestly facing and coping with its concerns and the failure of the church to apply scriptural principles to such problems as racism war population explosion poverty family disintegration social revolution and communism 8 By contrast that same year the World Congress on Evangelization in Berlin continued to emphasise a traditionally Evangelical conception of mission as articulated by Billy Graham if the church went back to its main task of proclaiming the gospel and people converted to Christ it would have a far greater impact on the social moral and psychological needs of men than it could achieve through anything else it could possibly do 9 However the question of Christian social involvement came up repeatedly during the ensuing regional congresses 10 The International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne in 1974 is regarded by some as the most important world wide evangelical gathering of the twentieth century 11 The Lausanne Covenant affirmed God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men from every kind of oppression we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive 12 Following the Lausanne Congress support for the concept of integral mission grew amongst evangelicals particularly in the Two Thirds World A number of declarations which emerged from international evangelical conferences in the ensuing years some of them organized by the Lausanne Movement and chaired by John Stott revealed similar concerns for a holistic understanding of mission Of critical importance for the development of the theology of integral mission were the various Latin American Congresses on Evangelism CLADE their Spanish acronym Congreso Latinoamericano de Evangelizacion Beginning with the Second Latin America Congress on Evangelism held in Peru in 1979 the CLADES III Quito 1992 IV Quito 2000 were organized by the Latin American Theological Fellowship FTL citation needed In the UK the International Consultation on Simple Lifestyle in 1980 resulted in a document entitled An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle again affirming a commitment to justice within an Evangelical conception of mission 13 In 1982 the International Consultation on the Relationship of Evangelism and Social Responsibility concluded that the latter is a consequence of a bridge to and partner of the former 14 The document published maintained the primacy of evangelism despite its affirmation that the two are in practice inseparable 15 In 1983 the Consultation on the Church in Response to Human Need in Wheaton Illinois led to the publication of Transformation The Church in Response to Human Need perhaps the strongest evangelical affirmation of integral Mission 11 It is explicit in its denunciation of injustice and churches and Christina organisations who by silence give their tacit support to the socio economic status quo 16 Since the 1990s edit A commitment to integral mission is often reflected in particular concern for those living in poverty and a commitment to pursuing justice The concept of integral mission is advocated largely by Evangelical Christians many of whom are related to the Micah Network 17 In 1999 a global network of evangelical Christian organisations committed to Integral Mission was established and christened the Micah Network which owes its name to the centrality of Micah 6 8 to the concept of Integral Mission What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God Their members represent approximately 600 Evangelical service organizations churches and individual members around the world 18 References edit Stanley Brian 2013 The Global Diffusion of Evangelicalism The Age of Billy Graham and John Stott Grand Rapids MI InterVarsity Press pp 151 180 ISBN 9780830825851 Archived from the original on 2020 08 05 Retrieved 2016 10 20 a b c Kirkpatrick David C 2016 The Widening of Christian Mission C Rene Padilla and the Intellectual Origins of Integral Mission In Sexton Jason S Weston Paul eds The End of Theology Shaping Theology for the Sake of Mission Minneapolis MN Fortress Press pp 193 210 ISBN 9781506405926 Archived from the original on 2021 05 21 Retrieved 2020 11 12 Padilla C Rene 2010 Mission Between the Times Essays on the Kingdom Carlisle Langham Monographs ISBN 9781907713019 Archived from the original on 2017 10 12 Retrieved 2016 10 20 Escobar Samuel 2003 A Time of Mission The Challenge for Global Christianity Carlisle Langham Global Library ISBN 9781907713026 Archived from the original on 2020 08 04 Retrieved 2020 09 29 Costas Orlando E 1974 The Church and its Mission A Shattering Critique from the Third World Wheaton IL Tyndale House Publishers ISBN 0842302751 Yung Hwa 2008 Mission and evangelism In Sebastian C H Kim ed Christian Theology in Asia Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 259 261 ISBN 978 1 139 47206 7 Archived from the original on 2021 10 23 Retrieved 2019 02 28 Stott John 2008 Christian Mission in the Modern World Downers Grove IL InterVarsity Press ISBN 9780830834112 Archived from the original on 2021 10 23 Retrieved 2019 02 28 The Wheaton Declaration Evangelical Mission Quarterly 2 231 44 Summer 1966 Graham Billy 11 November 1966 Why the Berlin Congress Christianity Today Vol 11 p 133 Padilla C Rene 1985 Evangelism and Social Responsibility From Wheaton 66 to Wheaton 83 Transformation 2 3 27 34 doi 10 1177 026537888500200311 S2CID 147790374 a b Padilla C Rene 2002 Integral Mission and its Historical Development In Chester Tim ed Justice Mercy amp Humility Integral Mission and the Poor pp 42 58 Stott John 1996 Making Christ Known Historic Mission Documents from the Lausanne Movement 1974 1989 Carlisle Paternoster p 24 Sider Ron ed 1982 Lifestyle in the Eighties An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle Philadelphia Westminster Stott Making Christ Known p 182 Nichols Bruce 1986 In Word and Deed Grand Rapids MI Eerdmans p 81 Samuel Vinay Sugden Chris 1987 The Church in Response to Human Need Oxford a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Topics Micah Network Archived from the original on 2016 06 30 Retrieved 2016 05 25 Members Micah Network Archived from the original on February 1 2017 Retrieved January 20 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Integral mission amp oldid 1134362618, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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