10.08.2004

Globalization and “empire”: a challenge to Christian mission

Threats to the earth and its poorest inhabitants mean the church must rethink its mission, a worldwide gathering of Reformed Christians said in a report issued Tuesday in Accra, Ghana.

“The groaning of creation and the cries of the poor and the marginalized are calling us to conversion for and recommitment to mission,” says the statement accepted by the 24th general council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC).

“Economic globalization challenges Christian mission and the integrity of the church. However, globalization is no longer an adequate term to describe the threat to life in fullness.

“As we look at the consequences of globalization for the most vulnerable and for the earth community as a whole, we have begun to rediscover the evangelical significance of the biblical teaching of empire,” the report states.

Much of the council’s debate on the paper centred on the notion of empire, which it defined as “the convergence of economic, political, cultural and military interests that constitute a system of domination in which benefits flow primarily to the powerful.

“Centred in the last remaining superpower, yet spread all over the world, empire crosses all boundaries, reconstructs identities, subverts cultures, overcomes nation states and challenges religious communities.”

While a number of delegates from Europe expressed concern over use of the word empire, it received the blessing of some delegates from Latin America and North America.

Bastiaan Plaisier of the Netherlands said the council may be creating a new kind of activism and fundamentalism by speaking about empire so bluntly. “Using those words, we are not a far cry from being a fundamentalist body.”

However Chris Ferguson of Canada said the language was important both for the current context of mission and the mission of Jesus in his context. “We can’t understand Jesus’ teaching, healing and proclaiming if we don’t do it in the context of empire.”

Swedish delegate Jenny Dobers raised concerns about the document’s characterization of globalization as only a negative force, reminding delegates it allows churches from around the globe to stay in touch with each other.

However, Noberto Spengler of Argentina did not want to see the references to empire or globalization watered down in the statement. On the contrary, he said, “We want to speak more strongly.”

Churches and their members have been hit by empire in a variety of ways, the report states. Some have been attacked because they have been identified as part of empire. This is compelling churches to take a stand against empire and work in new ways.

“We need to draw a clear distinction between Christian mission and the forces of domination, patriarchy, racism and institutional injustice that are associated with empire,” the statement says.

“This will involve a new Christian vision, rooted in apostolic faith, that stands for the fullness of life in a world of worsening poverty, environmental degradation, the HIV/Aids pandemic, terrorism and war.”

The report talks about Jesus as a prophet who resisted empire and it traces some of the biblical stories about empire found in the story of Exodus, the Babylonian and Roman empires.

The challenge of globalization and empire should prompt churches to ask if their own approaches to mission are fair, effective and multilateral. Mission efforts need to be more about sharing love and less about power.

And the threats ought to bring churches closer together, the report states. “Our common calling moves us to pray that we might grow into fuller communion with one another, in obedience to the God who calls us to be in mission.”

Globalization and empire should also mean better collaboration with other faiths, the statement says. “In a world of globalization and empire, we need interfaith solidarity in mission so that we can work together on issues that affect us all.”

John Asling, August 10 2004