Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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eaches out to those who desperately need the presence of God'sliberating love and justice in their lives. The Book of Discipline setsforth this dual aspect of this process for carrying out our mission:We make disciples as we:—proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into thebody of Christ;—lead persons to commit their lives to God through Jesus Christ;—nurture persons in Christian living through worship, baptism,communion, Bible and other means of grace;—send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants ofChrist by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger,freeing the oppressed, and working to make social structuresconsistent with the gospel, and—continue the mission of seeking, welcoming and gathering personsinto the community of the body of Christ. 14What is necessary to foster this process? I will mention three issueswhich I think are important.1. Rediscovering the power of the gospel. We often wonder how wewill be able to communicate the message of the gospel to thoroughlysecularized people. The first step, I think, should always be to askourselves whether we ourselves really live from the gospel and rely onits power. We can offer to others only the food we ourselves are livingfrom. I am convinced that when we are really moved by thegospel—as church and as individuals—it will be much easier toinclude other people within our faith. The love of God which fills ourhearts will transform into the love of those who still do not know thegospel. Paul once disclosed as the key to his missionary "success" hisdetermination "to share with you not only the gospel of God but alsoour own selves, because you have become very dear to us" (1 Thess.2:8).2. Reclaiming our connection as a community of those who togetherfollow Jesus. This means that we are a community of those who seekand those who believe, of those who learn and those who teach. Weunderstand that we will not all be at the same place in this process oflearning and that we will have to change sides from time to time. Thisprocess should begin on the local level where we still need more smallgroups (classes, discipleship groups, house churches), where peoplecan speak openly and confidentially about questions and sorrows, andwhere all search for answers from God's word. This process shouldcontinue in our Annual Conferences and throughout the whole32 QUARTERLY REVIEW / SPRING <strong>1999</strong>
connection. How can we as a whole denomination be a community ofmutual learning and support? That biblical words such as confessing,reconciling, and transforming have become partisan slogans is not agood symptom of the situation of our common discipleship.3. Regaining our call to those who are outside our precincts. We aresent to the poor and to all people who do not fit into the patterns ofsuccess or efficiency which are valid in our society. The EpiscopalInitiative on Children and Poverty or the Special Program onSubstance Abuse and Related Violence may help us as a denominationto work within this perspective. But general programs are not enough.We still have to identify the groups in our local or regional contextthat most need our attention and care. In my country, Germany, thosewho come first to mind are unemployed young people (from unskilledlaborers to fully educated academics) who are in danger of becominga lost generation.I would like to close with some questions following Rom. 1:13-17.In v. 14, Paul says that he has a responsibility to bring the gospel to allpeople: "1 am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to thewise and to the foolish." To account for his "eagerness to proclaim thegospel" to the people of Rome, Paul says, "It is the power of God forsalvation to everyone who has faith" (v. 16). Paul adds that this is trueof "the Jew first" and also of the Greek. How do we experience in ourown lives the saving power of the gospel? Does our experiencemotivate us to include others in our faith and invite them to bedisciples of Christ? Let us continue to look for those people to whomwe are eager and unashamed to say that the saving power of thegospel is also meant for them.Notes1. Cf. The Book of Discipline 1996, chapter 1, sec. I (p. 114) and para. 401.2. Minutes of Several Conversations between the Rev. Mr. Wesley and Others. TheWorks of John Wesley, 3rd ed. repr. 1984, Vol. 8:310.3. Ibid., 299.4. The Book of Discipline 1996, 115.5. Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 7:50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42.6. Cf. Luke 8:12; Acts4:12; 1 Cor. 1:18 and often.PROCLAIMING SALVATION—MAKING DISCIPLES 33
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Kenneth G. DavisStill Gringo after
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into the light of these luminarias.
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ecause I cannot be other than what
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one might choose to look at the som
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Jesus was not, however, a crowd-ple
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coming of the kingdom (9:35), they
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about Jesus has been forever known
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(16:18-19) was vying for recognitio
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July 18,1999—Eighth Sunday after
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Matthew's "little apocalypse" descr
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Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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