Contents
The Church as a globalizing agent[10]
“Globalization and the Mission of the Church stand out as a uniquely penetrating theological contribution to questions surrounding the role of the Church in terms of values that speak to the twenty first century context” (Gasper LoBiondo). In the world characterized by Sans Frontieres, Pluralism, Fundamentalism, Empire and Power Shift, the Church finds herself asking many existential questions like where are God’s people currently at work in the world? Who are the contemporary missionaries? Who are our neighbours and how do we reach them? What is going on in our world and how should it affect the way we share the Gospel with the various cultures? What compels us to mission? We should note that the church is and always has been a globalizing force in the world, a force as significant as global capitalism and geo-political power. The church has incredible resources, organizations, manpower and institutional apparatus and in different moments in her history she has played significant roles in the making of history. Consider for instance the recent explosion of domestic and international mission and humanitarian organizations. While Christian missionary boards and agencies have existed for a long time, modern para-church, humanitarian and mission networks/organizations have mushroomed in past and recent years. Organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Youth with a Mission, World Vision, Focus on the Family, Compassion International, the Fuller School of World Mission and the Christian Broadcasters Network are some of the largest and most visible of African, Asian, European and American Evangelical and missionary organizations. There can be no doubt that Christian monotheism and its fruit (missionary movements, acts of charity and concern for the welfare of the entire creation), have been a primary driver of globalization throughout history. From its inception in the missionary mandate of Jesus (cf. Matt 28:18–20), Christianity has had a global dimension to its mission. Christianity is not a spectator to globalization but one of its agents, one of the forces at work which have extended interconnection between peoples, shared ideas and promoted social, political and cultural links.
Globalization is not limited to the political or economic spheres. There are multiple disciplines that are globalized and that are still globalizing, and that exert influence on the worldview of cultures and societies around the world. Religion, although not always included as a major player in globalization discussions, is in fact one area of global society that has great influence on the worldview of any given culture. A large challenge for the Church is how to integrate the influence of the Gospel with the other influence carriers in the globalization process. If this can be achieved, then, the Gospel will have a greater impact on society than it has in recent history. This would be a holistic mission.[11]
Mission
In his post-resurrection command, Jesus said to the Eleven disciples “all authority (exousia) in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, until the end of age” (Matt 28:18–20). This is the best practical definition-description of mission given by Jesus. From the foundation of the total and universal authority of the Resurrected, springs the imperative of mission to the Gentiles. The imperative “make disciples” encloses the sense and the scope of the mission. In contrast to the Rabbi who led people to the Torah, Jesus makes himself the centre of the discipleship and as the scope of the mission of the disciples. The expression “all the Gentiles” (panta ta ethnē) delineates the boundary of the mission, which in the light of the Paschal mystery, is no more limited only to the Israelites (cf. instead Matt 10:5b‑6), but is now extended to the entire universe. By commanding them to extend their mission to all nations, Jesus enlarged the geography of the mission. In such globalised epoch, how did the disciples propagate the Gospel – the message of salvation?
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles is the fruit of the missionary activities of the apostles. In other words, it is an accurate documentation of the missionary activities of the Twelve disciples in a globalised context of the time, given Jesus command to extend the Gospel to all ethnic groups. In this unique documentation, Luke shows how the Gospel spread rapidly from Jerusalem to the whole Roman Empire, and from its Jewish root to the Gentile world. One among the purposes of Acts of the Apostles is to demonstrate the unstoppable progress of the Gospel. Such progress is both geographical and ethnic. That is, it is global within its context. The author seeks to show how the Message was propagated in a globalised context. His overriding purpose is to demonstrate that the advance of the church is the work of God and the fulfilment of his plan to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. The church, which comprised Jews and Gentiles, empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit, represents the people of God in the present age. In this evangelical expansion, the Twelve, Paul and others, made use of the then global languages and opportunities. How?
The Global nature of Acts 2
On this day, the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other tongues/languages (glōssais) as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4). …each one heard them speaking in his own language (Acts 2:6). The people wondered and questioned …how is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language – dialektos? (Acts 2:8). Again, they said …we hear them speaking in our own tongues/languages (glōssais) about the great deeds God has done (Acts 2:11). What happened in Acts 2 is not a form of abracadabra or hocus-pocus. It was a fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to the apostles as recorded in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. How should the apostles bear witness in the context of globalized Jerusalem? The miracle in Acts 2 does not consist in the fact that the apostles mesmerized their audience by speaking in foreign languages or that they uttered indecipherable expressions. On the contrary, the miracle consists in the fact that as they spoke, people of various tongues (languages) and from various nations who gathered in Jerusalem understood them clearly in their own native languages (dialects). That is, they received the word of God in their own languages. This was the miracle. The miracle of the proclamation and spreading of the Gospel message, the message of salvation. The apostles did not speak in order to display their capacity to impress the people, or to make themselves center of attention and attraction. What was at the center was not their capacity to speak languages they never studied, but the fearless proclamation of the Word of God to all, and the Holy Spirit made it possible that they do that in languages they never studied, but which were understood by those who spoke those languages and dialects. The command to proclaim the Gospel to all nations is clearly exhibited in this event.
Therefore, the book of Acts does not recount primarily the success of the “enthusiastic” manifestations but the success of the message of the Gospel stimulated and accompanied by the Holy Spirit. Given the globalised nature of Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to make known to the many nations, the message of salvation. What happened in Acts 2 is not glossolalia but speaking in other tongues, where by tongues is meant languages. While glossolalia is speaking in tongues in the sense of an ecstatic or incomprehensible speech, the incident of Acts 2 is quite different. We can also say that the apostles spoke in tongues where by tongues, is meant languages, the languages of those present. In this sense, the Holy Spirit devised a method for proclaiming the Gospel in the then globalized world. As the text says, those present understood the languages the apostles spoke. This is quite different from the present day emotional hysteria of the Charismatics and the Pentecostals, which does not in any way bring about solid and mature faith. The descent of the Power from on high dispelled the apostles’ fear, and instilled in them the spirit of courage and the zeal to announce the deeds of God. Let us not forget that the only reason for the gift of the Holy Spirit on these apostles was to proclaim without fear or favour the great deeds God has done in and through Jesus the Christ (Acts 2:11). Globalisation or any other phenomenon, should not hamper this mandate.
Mission and ICT
Our century is characterized by the mass media or means of social communication, and we cannot do without these means. The development of the information technology gave the people greater and faster access to information. Rapid flow of information allowed greater awareness of people on various ideas, cultures, technologies and events that affect the global community. ICT includes a wide range of hardware and software, and supportive knowledge and ideas. Within few years, the truly ignorant will no longer be those without academic certificates, but the ICT illiterates. Whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not, whether we accept it or not, ICT has deeply conditioned, is conditioning and in fact, will continue to condition our existence, including the spreading of the Gospel. Even the Church accepts and acknowledges that these means of social communication (the internet, the press, radio, television and others), “…influence not merely single individuals but the very masses and even the whole of human society.”[12]
In this case, what do we do? ICT is a new form of the Greek “Areopagus” (a hill in Athens where the supreme tribunal met) in our world. What is this Areopagus? After proclaiming the Word of God in many places, Paul went to the city of Athens, where he visited the Areopagus[13] and proclaimed the Good News in language appropriate to and understandable in those surroundings.[14] The means of social communication have become so important as to be for many the chief means of information and education, of guidance and inspiration in their behaviour as individuals, families and within society at large. In particular, the younger generation is growing up in a world conditioned by the mass media. ICT is a “new culture” which involves new ways of communicating, with new languages, new techniques and a new psychology. Every missionary is supposed to be at home with these new languages and techniques of communication.
Social Networking[15]
The theme of mission and mission in the context of globalization cannot be concluded without reference to the social networking sites and applications. Again, it might even be an oversight for a serious and committed missionary to ignore this global and ever-growing ways of communication. Granted there are positive and negative sides of these sites and applications, but we cannot because of the negative use or effect, ignore the immense contributions of these sources to the proclamation and diffusion of the Gospel. Wisdom and discernment is all that are required on the part of those concerned.
Below are the graphs of the top social networking sites in the world as at the time of writing this paper. As could be observed, Facebook is leading the pack with a huge margin in front of Youtube. Then there is another gap of similar size to Instagram on the third place.
Again, we can also use the visual size to explain further the immensity of these social networking sites. On the visual graph, we find the three large circles dominating the rest. Only Twitter and Reddit seem to come close to the top three. However, in Russia VK has a huge penetration, dominating the Russian speaking world as Facebook does globally. The work of evangelization cannot ignore these avenues.
With the growing popularity of mobile social networking, it is also important to glance at the list of some global leading social applications. These applications are in fierce competition with the main social sites already given above. The picture here is a bit different if we look at the brand names. WhatsApp and Messenger are in a close race for the top position. Both applications are owned by Facebook. Hence, the competition may not be as fierce as between completely separate companies. Then, there is a lot of Asian applications and then on the sixth spot is Instagram, also owned by Facebook.
These sites and applications are of American, European and Asian origins. Where is Africa? Where is the Church in Africa? Where is the Church in Nigeria? Where is the Church in Igbo land? Where is the Church in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province? The Western and Asian Churches have customized applications and software for use in the Church. How many of these applications and software do we have in Africa, in Nigeria, in Igboland and in our Province? Next page