Transforming Mission_New Testament models of Mission and Historical paradigms of Mission

Transforming Mission

 

New Testament Models of Mission

1. Reflections on the New Testament as a Missionary Document

Mission is the mother of theology. Theology began as an accompanying manifestation of the christian mission. In the old testament era, God's concerned with the nations as with Israel. And we also have some gap with first church in bible. New testament is the missionary's document. Jesus has came to put an end to poor's misery. Besides his ministry was the inclusiveness mission in Israel, the poor, rich, oppressed, oppressor, sinner, devout and also even the gentiles. They need to receiving forgiveness and accepting the reality of God's reign. When I study New testament I know that mission will might mean today.

 

2. Matthew: Mission as Disciple-making

When we know writer and his community we could know his meaning of mission truly. Matthew had a point that Israel's rejection of its Messiah has become a paradoxical impulse to a new life-giving stage in God's plan of history. "From the death of Jesus comes the birth of a resurrection community; from the failure of the mission to Israel comes the opening to the gentiles". The risen Jesus sends his followers to disciple "all nations". Matthew's great commandment is his understanding of mission. Without his cross the instruction on the Mount remains an eloquent but hollow sermon. The instruction on the Mount is the various aspects of Jesus' mission. In Matthew's view, Christians find their true identity when they are involved in mission. And a missionary community is one that understands itself as being both different from and committed to its environment.

 

3. Luke-Acts : Practicing Forgiveness and solidarity with the poor

Luke want to disclose the relationship between the mission of Jesus and the mission of the church. Nazareth episode has a clearly Gentile mission orientation and serves to highlight this fundamental thrust of Jesus' entire ministry at this very first appearance in public. As life Matthew, Jesus has entrusted the Gentile mission to the apostles. The Gentile mission is not secondary to the Jewish mission. The Gentile mission is coordinated to the Jewish mission. Luke may be as the Theologian of the Holy Spirit. The ministry of the earthly Jesus is already portrayed in terms of the initiative and guidance of the spirit. The gift of the gift of becoming involved in mission, for mission is the direct consequence of the outpouring of the Spirit. And his pneumatology excludes the possibility of a missionary command. Witness means are continuously dependent upon empowerment by the Spirit. Also his Gospel are built on the expectation of response.

 

4. Mission in Paul : Invitation to join the eschatological community

Paul is a missionary. Paul the theologian cannot be understood unless he is seen primarily as paul the missionary. He must aim at regaining "the unity of theology and evangelism, and of justification by faith and world mission. The church as New community. It have come into existence as a consequence of Paul's mission find themselves in a world divided culturally, religiously, economically and socially. And Paul thought mission in the context of God's imminent Triumph. The issue of the relationship between church and world and the question whether apocalyptic eschatology has anything to say about the church's calling in society. Mission complete in the situation of weakness by the Lord. The aim of mission is set apart for the service of the gospel by Jesus, through whom he has received the privilege of a commission in his name to lead to faith and obedience men in all nations.

 

Historical paradigms of Mission

5. Paradigm Changes in Missiology

The Christian church in general and the christian mission in particular are today confronted with some issues. We need the perspectives of the past in order to appreciate the scope of the present challenge and to be able really to understand the world today and the christian response to its predicament. We reflect on the past not just for the past's own sake; rather, we look upon it as a compass-and who would use a compass only to ascertain.

 

6. The Missionary Paradigm of the Eastern church

Eastern Orthodoxy, represent a paradigm very different from that of primitive christianity. The Christian traditions was reworked form the bottom up, and the end result was a way of theologizing that made sense to the Greek mind. Eastern church had that role of religion in society is that of both stabilizer and emancipator; it is both mythical and messianic. In the Eastern tradition the church tended to express the former of each of these pairs rather that the later. The emphasis was on conservation and restoration, rather than on embarking on a journey into the unknown. The key words were tradition, orthodoxy, and the Father. Orthodox churches tended to become ingrown, excessively nationalistic, and without a concern for those outside.