John Stackhouse is one of the most stimulating and clear-thinking theologians writing on mission, culture and evangelical theology. His recent article in Books and Culture says important things about gospel faithfulness, cultural relevance, legitimate and effective innovation, and intellectual and theological humility. He is reflecting on what needs to be learned, and unlearned, by a church seeking to embody the call of Christ responsibly and with gospel integrity. The whole article can be read here.
I’ve quoted the last couple of paragraphs because (for me) they confirm my own underlying uneasiness at the increasing dependence on programme, technique,and ‘resourced mission’ where the resources seem increasingly dependent on human agency. Evangelistic fervour channelled into pragmatically driven activity and missional aspirations which sound more dependent on human energy than the divine work of the Holy Spirit invading and converting, calling and transforming, can easily replace that humble recognition that when allis said and done( by us), there is more to be said and done (by God). This is not to minimise the church’s missional imperative – it is to remind ourselves that it is God’s mission, in which we are invited to share – and the resources are God’s too, which we are invited to offer.
We have to unlearn, however, our tendency to rely on technical skill and relentless pressure, as if we can manufacture conversions by dint of expertise and enthusiasm. We especially have to discard the dangerous dictum, "Pray as if it all depended upon God, and work as if it all depended on you." That is simply nonsense—or, much worse, a recipe for arrogance, burnout, frustration, and finally hatred of both missions and the neighbors we are supposed to love when they do not yield to our benevolent barrage.
Conversion is the hardest work in the world, since fundamentally it means to change someone’s loves. (Have you ever tried to change your child’s values? Have you ever tried to change your own?) Such change is literally a miracle of transformation each time, and thus the special province of the Holy Spirit. Yes, let us marshal all the tools and skills and energy we can, but let us use them not anxiously nor proudly, but in the humble confidence that comes from doing God’s work in league with God’s Spirit, under his direction and in his own good time, in his truly global mission.
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