Twee dagen geleden, op donderdag 28 april, is er een Missional Manifesto gepubliceerd. Ik heb de indruk dat het een erg belangrijk document is voor de verdergaande bezinning op missionair kerk (missional church) zijn in de 21e eeuw. Een heel aantal mensen die hun sporen hebben verdiend op het gebeid van kerk en missie heeft er aan meegewerkt. Ik noem alleen even Tim Keller en Alan Hirsch.

[Een vertaling van het Missional Manifesto kun je hier inmiddels vinden.]

Het manifest begint zo (in de Preamble):

God is a sending God, a missionary God, who has called His people, the church, to be missionary agents of His love and glory. The concept missional epitomizes this idea. This manifesto seeks to serve the church by clarifying its calling and helping it theologically understand and practically live out God’s mission in the world today. Although it is frequently stated “God’s church has a mission,” according to missional theology, a more accurate expression is “God’s mission has a church” (Ephesians 3:7-13).

En deze passage licht ik er ook even speciaal uit:

The Church, therefore, properly encourages all believers to live out their primary calling as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) to those who do not know Jesus. The ministry of reconciliation is applicable to both its native culture and in cross-cultural ministry throughout the world. In this sense, every believer is a missionary sent by the Spirit into a non-Christian culture activating the whole of his or her life in seeking to participate more fully in God’s mission.

En uit de Affirmations haal ik dit even naar voren:

5. Church: The church is a sign and instrument of the Kingdom of God, birthed by the gospel of the Kingdom and tasked with the mission of the Kingdom. The church is a covenant community of imperfect but redeemed believers living in our world. Followers of Christ do not live out their mission in isolation, but rather the Spirit of God enfolds believers into local Christian communities, i.e. churches. It is in and through such community their mission in the world is enhanced.

6. Christocentric: We believe that Jesus is the center of God’s plan. By extension, the church as the body of Christ is the primary medium of God’s mission to His world.  We affirm that while God’s work and presence is not limited to the church, nonetheless the proclamation of the gospel of Christ comes through the church and believers everywhere. Members of the church, living by the power of the Spirit, are being conformed into the likeness of Christ in their attitudes and actions.

Lezen dus: Missional Manifesto.

Wie gaat dit document in het Nederlands vertalen?