Unity and Mission

ISBN O 86981 313 7

Background

The Integration of the International Missionary Council (IMC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) The growth of the ecumenical movement in the twentieth century has been called "the great new fact of our era" (Archbishop W. Temple). The important contribution of mission to the growth of the ecumenical movement is generally acknowledged. Yet the expression of the relationship between unity and mission in the life of the churches and of the ecumenical movement created many problems. This is illustrated, for
example, in the search for the right relationship between the IMC and the wee. These two organizations existed side by side for some time, perhaps creating the (superficial) impression that the unity of the Church and its mission could be pursued in (at least) organizational isolation. Yet, that, within the whole ecumenical movement, the IMC stands for mission and the WCC for unity..... From the Edinburgh Conference onwards the IMC has been profoundly concerned about unity. No stronger call for visible reunion has come from any meeting than those which were given by the IMC conferences at Tambaram in 1938 and at Willingen in 1952.... And on the other hand, the World Council of Churches has from the beginning concerned itself deeply with the missionary task - as witness the work of the Second Commission at Amsterdam."1 It is selfevident therefore why the IMC and the WCC from 1948 till 1961 existed "in association with" each other. It is equally clear, though, that this state of affairs could not continue indefinitely. If unity was such a
strong concern in the ranks of the IMC, and mission was an equally strong concern in the ranks of the WCC, why should they not be merged
into one ecumenical organization, expressing a concern for both unity and mission? Furthermore, such a merger would not only bring organizational benefits, but would give better expression to the intrinsic connectedness of unity and mission in the heart of the Gospel. 2 Against this background, the IMC decided at its meeting at Achimota, Ghana in 1958, to integrate with the WCC, an act which was carried out formally at the Third Assembly of the WCC at New Delhi in 1961. This was indeed an event with immense significance for the world mission of the Church. In the words of Neill, "if the theological significance of this action was realized, this was indeed a revolutionary moment in Church history. More than two hundred Church bodies in all parts of the world, assembled in the persons of their official representatives, had solemnly declared themselves in the presence of God to be responsible as Churches for the evangelization of the whole world. Such an event had never taken place in the history of the Church since Pentecost. "3
Goodall comments on the integration in the same vein as follows: "In so far as the World Council of Churches is a symbol and embodiment of the ecumenical movement, it can now be affirmed that in structure, purpose and intention 'mission lies at the heart of the movement.' "4 If these commentators are correct in their assessment of the importance of this event, it seems necessary to study the later history of the ecumenical movement to ascertain whether these expectations about the interrelatedness of the unity and the mission of the Church did indeed materialize. This is one of the motivations for the present study.

Contents

Preface ix
Introduction
Notes 6
Chapter one:
Unity and mission: development of an interrelationship 8
I. The encounter between mission and church 9
2. The common search for a new interrelationship 13
3. Conclusion 18
Notes 18
Chapter two:
Unity and mission in the light of the cosmic kingship of Christ 21
I. New Delhi 21
2. Mexico City 26
3. Evaluation 28
4. Conclusion 31
Notes 31
Chapter three:
Unity and mission in the perspective of the unity of mankind 33
I. Background 33
2. Preliminary developments of the study project 34
3. Uppsala 36
4. Bangkok 44
5. Evaluation 47
6. Conclusion 52
Notes 52
Chapter four:
Unity and mission: the voice of Rome 56
I. Background 56
2. Vatican II 58
3. Developments after Vatican II 67
(vii)
4. Evaluation 70
5. Conclusion 72
Notes 72
Chapter five:
Unity and mission: an evangelical alternative? 74
1. The Wheaton Congress 74
2. The Berlin Congress 78
3. Lausanne, 1974 81
4. General assessment of the evangelical alternative 85
5. Conclusion 86
Notes 87
Chapter six:
Unity and mission in eucharistic perspective: the contribution of the Orthodox
churches 90
1. Introduction 90
2. The Orthodox concept of unity 91
3. The Orthodox concept of mission 96
4. The interrelationship between unity and mission 99
5. Evaluation IOI
6. Conclusion 102
Notes 102
Chapter seven:
Unity and mission: the road ahead
I. Nairobi - a new direction?
2. Guidelines for the future 112
3. Conclusion 127
Notes 127
Bibliography 131