11.24.2012
7.26.2012
7.19.2012
4.26.2012
11.01.2011
8.01.2011
Integrity and Partnership in Mission
Integrity and Partnership in Mission
http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/1436/08-2011
3.31.2011
3.21.2011
2.18.2011
2.08.2011
5.16.2010
5.14.2010
5.11.2010
Islamic Seduction of "Christian West"?
Islamic Seduction of "Christian West"?
http://conversation.lausanne.org/conversations/detail/10211
http://conversation.lausanne.org/conversations/detail/10211
3.30.2010
A New Chapter of the Acts of the Holy Spirit
A New Chapter of the Acts of the Holy Spirit
A time for gratitude
A church that experiences the work of the Holy Spirit
“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21).
To begin with, we want to give glory and thanks to God for the Iberoamerican church. It is a church that makes us think and reflect. It is a church that reflects what the Antioch church lived in Acts 11. They experienced the power of God, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. The church was established there because they spoke of Jesus Christ as the message of the good news of peace. Some people in Cyprus and Cyrene were bold enough to make a difference speaking with the Greeks, and not only the Jews. The church was established in Antioch as the result of a group of men and women without money, without plans, who left Jerusalem and headed to the coast, until they arrived at Antioch, sharing Jesus Christ.
A church that lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit is a church that edifies, is solid, has vigor and an effective testimony, and grows.
We give thanks to God that the Iberoamerican church has an evangelistic emphasis and and from it new churches are being formed. It is a living church that is growing, joyful, flexible, and has a young leadership with impetus and initiative. It is an enterprising and creative church. It is a united church that worships the Lord. It is a church that evidences the grace of God through its acts. It is a church that gives men and women opportunities.
In recent years, the church in Iberoamerica has been awakened to social responsibility. This characteristic has been one of the greatest contributions to Latinamerican theology: the emphasis on the reality of the kingdom of God.
The church has been established as a product of the work of the Holy Spirit and of missions work. Many men and women share their faith in Jesus Christ. Everything is very spontaneous. Iberoamerica loves the Lord. God is the one who causes others to know the Lord. The great hero in Iberoamerican missions is the Holy Spirit.
The nationalization of leadership in the first half of the 20th century and the rise of national churches, in the 1930s, were other decisive factors for the development of structures that were ecclesiastic, contextualized and effective. The Holy Spirit is working in the life of the church. It is working in these structures, to reform them and to renew their faithfulness to the mission. The significant thing, however, is not the structure but its mission.
There are different sources of information that confirm that the total in the evangelical community in Iberoamerica in 1900 was 50,000 believers. In the Edinburgh Congress in 1910, there wasn’t any representation from Latin America. During the last century, the growth is reflected in these numbers: 1916: 378.000; 1925: 756.000; 1936: 7.200.000; 1967: 14.746.200; 1973: 20.000.000; 1987: 37.432.000; 2000: 80.000.0001.
A church that begins to separate, recognizing those that are elected by the Holy Spirit:
We give thanks to God because many of the Iberoamerican churches have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, setting apart hundreds of Barnabases and Sauls for the work to which God has called them. We give thanks to God for the hundreds of obedient brothers and sisters in Christ who are obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who have left to preach the gospel, as John says in verse seven of his third letter: “because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing…”
We give thanks to God for the hundreds of brothers and sisters who have helped them to continue on their way, co-laborers with them in the Truth. As Paul expresses in Titus 3:13: “Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos (bi-vocational and career missionaries) on their journey (to the nations) with haste, that they may lack nothing. And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” We give thanks to God for the thousands of families that have helped cross-cultural workers.
This is our Iberoamerican experience, and now, as we are going to the nations, we maintain this faith: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21).
A time of dangers and risks
Acts 14:8-18 says, “Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying…‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!’ And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes…”
In Lystra a miracle takes place that leaves the crowd shocked: there was a paralytic, who was born lame, and who had never walked. Paul orders him, in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” The result of this miracle was that they treated the servants of God as gods. Paul and Barnabas tell them that they are only men, and that the people must return to God. With these arguments, they are able to dissuade the crowd.
The danger and risk that they ran in those days is the same that we have in Iberoamerica and in our cross-cultural fields. What happens is that people try to transfer their admiration and adoration that only belongs to God to the people that God has sent as messengers. The problem can be even greater if we stimulate these feelings. There are times in the life of the church when little empires are built. They attract followers of people or institutions, but not of Jesus Christ. The church in Iberoamerica has confronted various dangers like:
-Power and competition
Many times churches live a miserable fight for power, loving power instead of the power of love. Other times functionality has distanced them from Biblical principles. They search for results where people are valued for what they produce in their jobs in the least amount of time. This type of theology of productivity is affecting and creating a prejudice in the formation of pastors and missionaries. It tries to train them in the least amount of time possible. Ministerial success shows results and not a life of humility. The act of allowing Christ to grow, where we are invisible, doesn’t enter in this type of life. This type of living causes competition that demands production. Competition distances churches, and creates jealousy within itself. The unity of the body of Christ is affected by this structure. The consequences are seen: pressure and tension lived in the churches, pastors and missionaries. This can grow to create a secular and mundane environment.
We are not called to form business stereotypes based on utilitarianism, mercantilism and of numbers. Multiplication, numbers and percentages are not synonymous with transformation. We must not sacrifice the demands of the gospel on the altar of numbers. We are living in times that seem like some churches have clients, and like businesses, they are always right. It is the clients that are always content and are the center of everything. We want to encourage people to break these productivity schemes and think in kingdom terms. We want to encourage them to preach the Word of God and give a message that leaves us uncomfortable, causing us to examine our walk with Christ. The concept of success for Jesus was: “Father, I’ve done everything you told me to do.” The results are random. Jesus healed some and others not. He fed many, and others were not sustained. Denying ourselves, knowing Jesus Christ and being like Him in His death is transforming power (Philippians 3:10).
-Lack of teaching the Word of God
We have also observed that sometimes there is a lack of teaching the whole Word of God. In some cases, the practice of discipleship has been little and Bible studies make reference to isolated texts, fragments. Many times, too, we observe syncretism (the combination of differing doctrines), spiritual malnutrition, heresies, superstition, division, etc.
According to the comments of Bertil Ekström, the executive director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), we see that yes, we have grown statistically. But to grow in size is one thing, to grow in maturity is another. Mere numeric growth has changed the objective as such, and for many, the objective justifies the methods. When whatever method that helps grow the membership of the church is valid and the search is for the most effective strategies, the gospel has been minimized and puts Biblical principles at risk.
-Authoritarian leadership and form of government
Iberoamerican leadership sometimes follows the tendencies of global charismatic leaders (with a strong personality and the power to convince), principally centered on founding one’s own church. The authoritarian leadership of our history continues to be a reality. Diverse research has demonstrated that churches with autocratic and charismatic leaders are the ones that grow the most. At the same time, a new generation of leaders exists that are looking to work in teams, and are much more concerned about quality and a participative local church. The political democratization in our countries is reflected in the churches – and also in schools and other institutions – and individuals these days don’t accept, in the same way, the dogmatism of an autocratic leadership. The church needs to reflect on its form of government and the ways its leadership functions. The exercise of leadership in the life of local churches must be marked by the model of the suffering servant – which is not to be interpreted as weak, but that its lordship is under the auspices of the example and guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ – and evidences it in contrast to an authoritarian leader and other dangers caused by power abuse.
A time for profound challenges
Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”
From this story, we know that the church of Antioch played a very important role in the life of the universal church of the first centuries. It was a church that crossed social boundaries, built up broken lives, covered physical and spiritual needs, resolved interpersonal and doctrinal conflicts as described with the Jerusalem Council, had a shared leadership forming a pastoral team, and was willing to extend the limits of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
We wonder as a church: What will be the work for which the Lord has called us in the coming year, and the new challenges that He will place in our hands? What is the direction we must go, and how must we plan for it? How can we understand that we are a church on mission? Who must we appoint for the ministry? How will the next pastors and cross-cultural missionaries be? Antioch was an open door for the evangelization of the world. We as Iberoamericans are challenged to follow this model.
The church living in mission is a church that understands itself to be sent to the world. It is a church that looks for God’s purposes, participating actively in worship of the Lord, called to live a Trinitarian faith, a relational faith, a life in relation with God and with our neighbor; a relation of communion with one another, where our priority is in being, not doing.
As servants, we understand that when we are involved in the mission, we are sharing the mission of our missionary God, and we are not working for any personal project. We are in the service of the Missio Dei, and our mission is to share His. We listen, we discover and we obey the voice of the Lord, sending His servants to the work to which He has called them. This is the model to follow (Acts 13:1-3).
It is interesting when we study the book of Acts to observe how the church goes through stages; the church in Jerusalem was the initial center of the activity of the church, then Antioch. After the persecution, the action center moved from Antioch to Syria. Jerusalem had its moment, and now it was coming toward a new era in which it would be necessary to respond to the unreached, and it is then that the church in Antioch assumes this commitment. Luke talks about this congregation not because it is the richest or the most powerful, but because it knew how to accept the challenges of the moment.
Later when we read Acts 15 we find the difficulty that some Christians coming from Judea who visited Antioch had with Jews who were not circumcised and therefore believed they could not be saved. Paul, Barnabas, and some other believers sent by the church decided to resolve this conflict of values in the Council of Jerusalem. What is the reason that Paul, Barnabas and those that were with them could see what God was doing among the unreached, and, on the other hand, the Pharisees could not? They had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and participated in the life of the church. Where was the difference? The radical difference was in that, while the Pharisees had received the gospel, the church of Antioch, in addition to receiving it, had united with the mission of God in the world. And from there was thrust the missions endeavor. The Spirit was active in Jerusalem, but it was in Antioch where the Spirit was doing new things, opening doors and expanding horizons. There the church was subject to the impulse of the Spirit.
-The missions of all the people of God
Every Christian is called to participate and exercise the universal priesthood of believers. The mission has its place wherever it wants. Impelled by faith, the Christians crossed the border between those who believe and those who don’t believe, and on the other side of this border they gave testimony of their faith. Today, as a church, we are confronted with great challenges, like the 4,000,000 people who still do not know the Lord. The church in Iberoamerica must fully assume, without delay, its responsibility in world evangelization. It is a command, because there are millions of people that still do not have access to a clear presentation of the gospel. The church together is responsible for the evangelization of all people and races, of all languages. A universal faith, but one that is not a missionary faith, is nothing more than rhetoric without authority that makes it sterile. To complete the work demands that we cross geographic, cultural, social, linguistic and spiritual borders, and that we accept all the consequences that requires.
-Dimensions of a new missionary paradigm
The challenges also include great multicultural cities, the re-evangelization of the West, testifying in the world of religious plurality among unreached ethnic groups where they are found (whether that be in large cities or in restricted access countries); linguistics and translation, contextualization; being agents of reconciliation in a world of violence, of displaced people, of refugees, of immigrants, in the midst of religious persecution and an immense amount of suffering. More Christians died in the 20th Century than in the previous nineteen centuries.
We must assume our role in questions of the environment and all of God’s creation; this challenge implies also responsible and effective participation in Iberoamerican society; the deepening of Biblical knowledge through systematic teaching in local churches, and the maturing of leadership models that promote teamwork and active participation of believers. We need to have a real understanding of the unity of the people of God, a greater participation in the world missions movement, becoming participants in the universal church, sharing the global challenges in an integrated action of the gospel; a sincere search for cooperative models; and we need to understand missions as a process and not as a project.
-Missions mobilization
In the first COMIBAM (Iberoamerican Missions Cooperation) Congress in San Pablo, Brazil in 1987, they estimated the Iberoamerican missions movement to be approximately 60 organizations that sent some 1,600 cross-cultural missionaries.
Ten years later, in preparation for the second COMIBAM Congress in Mexico in 1997, a more systematic research was done with the goal of evaluating the missions movement of the past decade. It was concluded at that time that there was more or less 300 sending organizations and a little more than 4,000 cross-cultural missionaries.
According to statistics from 2008, Iberoamerica has more than 12,500 missionaries sent to other fields, and some 400 sending organizations. We give thanks and glory to God for this growth, but we are also conscious that missions mobilization continues to be one of our principle challenges.
We are a capable missions movement, but we are still not a missions movement that has come to a point of developing all of its potential to bless all nations. Despite the number of Iberoamerican evangelicals (70 millions), still we observe that there is not a correlation with a greater sending of missionaries to the least evangelized or unreached peoples. At the same time, there is a growing concern about the sending of missionaries without adequate training, without strong financial support, adequate pastoral care and provision for their return.
-Unity and cooperation
The Word of God encourages us to live worthy of the calling which we have received. We are challenged to live in humility, being kind, patient, and tolerant of one another in love. We are challenged to maintain unity in the bond of the Spirit. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:16). From the beginning, the Lord has challenged us to work in team. The mission could be the foundation for our unity. Cooperation in the practical task of missions is the first step towards a deeper unity. We will grow in our testimony based on the unity of Christ, that calls us all to participate in God’s mission.
But speaking of a global cooperation raises some questions that we must answer: Will we mutually help one another? How can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation? Should our structures be improved, changed or suspended? Should we rethink our missional understanding in order to better our missions dialog? What will be our participation in the sending of missionaries from the third world to other continents or the West? What principles and values must we follow? What is it that we must do? What is the cost that we must pay? What is our calling and what is our passion?
-Participate helping others through cooperation
The passion of the gospel must make us participate, cooperate and share (Philippians 1:5), and not to compete. We can speak of “communion,”– koinonia, the New Testament word translated as communion, sharing, contribution, or in common. What is clear is that the idea is of sharing something, a business, a purpose, an experience, money, whatever, but it must be shared. The apostle Paul says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Common faith must have an expression in practical participation and this participation has concrete consequences.
We are called to serve one another because of the passion we have for the gospel. We need each other (I Corinthians 12:21-22). We are members one with another. No one can say to another, “I don’t need you” (2 Corinthians 10:12, 17-18). This is sin and we must repent. Our problem, many times, is to think that we don’t need anyone, and we miss out on sharing with others.
So that cooperation can exist, there needs to be a level of trust that is difficult to build when someone seems to be self-sufficient. The beauty of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, being God, is that he humbled himself voluntarily, to be among us.
We ask ourselves: how can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation?
In theory, the answer we have is that we must relate to one another. The problem comes when we don’t appreciate the relationship we have with others. We must have unanimity with the Father’s plans (Luke 6:27-31). This unanimity with Him speaks to us about being like-minded and being of one accord (Philippians 2:1-11). We speak of forgiving one another, of humbling ourselves, of understanding our different cultures and mutually helping one another. There is no one who is better, no one inferior. It also means that we have to work on better communication, on face-to-face relationships. Our problem is that many times we don’t appreciate personal contact, and we say to ourselves, “Why am I going to go see him/her?” “Why waste the time?” As servants, our presence, our commitment, our flexibility and our cooperation and indispensable. Together with this, we must enrich the dialog among the body of Christ: the global church. There is no North or South, East or West, there is only one body. When we serve through cooperation we can say what the apostle said of Epaphroditus, “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).
The fact that we can decide together to do missions would be a sign of the defeat of Satan and evidence of unity and global cooperation. The fact of what we can do together with our differences in cultures, of wealth, of backgrounds; will require the help of the Holy Spirit and the willingness to sacrifice our own needs for the best of the mission. We are from different countries challenged to be citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and this reminds us that we have a future in common and the same identity.
What is our calling and what is our passion?
The problem that we have many times is that we lose our passion to participate, to cooperate, our passion for love and unity. Sadly, other times, we participate without passion, without love, without cooperation, and we cannot see with clarity the work to which God has called us. We must long for the church of Jesus Christ to be planted among all ethnic groups as an expression of the anticipated kingdom of God.
The counsel of the apostle is that we must behave in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27, Titus 3:8). This implies:
a. To be firm in the purpose to which we were called (Philippians 1:27)
b. To work in unity (Philippians 1:27)
c. To do it without fear of adversity (Philippians 1:28)
-How is your passion? How is your faith?
Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Satan wants to trick us. He tells us that we will have needs, difficulties, things that will trip us up. But the Lord says, “Do what I tell you to, and I will take care of you.” We must not serve God thinking of how to take care of ourselves, but we must work for God trusting in His resources (Philippians 4:19). He wants to do something with the little bit that we have in our hand, as he explains in Matthew 14:17-20. The signs follow those who believe, and not the opposite (Mark 16:20). We advance in faith and God will be present, because He is faithful and the mission is His.
The present condition of the world is marked by suffering (Romans 8:18-20). We are now being called to participate in His sufferings (Philippians 1:29, Philippians 3:10, Colossians 1:24, I Peter 4:13, 16). To know that is to participate in it. Our life is always full of surprises. We never know what is coming next. It is when we are available to leave behind all that it costs us, to leave for another place, and then to start over with a new assignment and to continue in obedience to the Lord. This is the cost. Is it difficult to be in the center of God’s will? This must be our passion. “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
As a church, we take part in the mission of God in the world announcing that: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). We will take the gospel to all nations until the Lord returns. This is our understanding of the mission, with the participation, with our eyes fixed on the kingdom of God.
Carlos Scott
Mision GloCal
1 Nuñez, E. & Taylor, W. Crisis and Hope in Latin America. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1996, p.161.
A time for gratitude
A church that experiences the work of the Holy Spirit
“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21).
To begin with, we want to give glory and thanks to God for the Iberoamerican church. It is a church that makes us think and reflect. It is a church that reflects what the Antioch church lived in Acts 11. They experienced the power of God, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. The church was established there because they spoke of Jesus Christ as the message of the good news of peace. Some people in Cyprus and Cyrene were bold enough to make a difference speaking with the Greeks, and not only the Jews. The church was established in Antioch as the result of a group of men and women without money, without plans, who left Jerusalem and headed to the coast, until they arrived at Antioch, sharing Jesus Christ.
A church that lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit is a church that edifies, is solid, has vigor and an effective testimony, and grows.
We give thanks to God that the Iberoamerican church has an evangelistic emphasis and and from it new churches are being formed. It is a living church that is growing, joyful, flexible, and has a young leadership with impetus and initiative. It is an enterprising and creative church. It is a united church that worships the Lord. It is a church that evidences the grace of God through its acts. It is a church that gives men and women opportunities.
In recent years, the church in Iberoamerica has been awakened to social responsibility. This characteristic has been one of the greatest contributions to Latinamerican theology: the emphasis on the reality of the kingdom of God.
The church has been established as a product of the work of the Holy Spirit and of missions work. Many men and women share their faith in Jesus Christ. Everything is very spontaneous. Iberoamerica loves the Lord. God is the one who causes others to know the Lord. The great hero in Iberoamerican missions is the Holy Spirit.
The nationalization of leadership in the first half of the 20th century and the rise of national churches, in the 1930s, were other decisive factors for the development of structures that were ecclesiastic, contextualized and effective. The Holy Spirit is working in the life of the church. It is working in these structures, to reform them and to renew their faithfulness to the mission. The significant thing, however, is not the structure but its mission.
There are different sources of information that confirm that the total in the evangelical community in Iberoamerica in 1900 was 50,000 believers. In the Edinburgh Congress in 1910, there wasn’t any representation from Latin America. During the last century, the growth is reflected in these numbers: 1916: 378.000; 1925: 756.000; 1936: 7.200.000; 1967: 14.746.200; 1973: 20.000.000; 1987: 37.432.000; 2000: 80.000.0001.
A church that begins to separate, recognizing those that are elected by the Holy Spirit:
We give thanks to God because many of the Iberoamerican churches have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, setting apart hundreds of Barnabases and Sauls for the work to which God has called them. We give thanks to God for the hundreds of obedient brothers and sisters in Christ who are obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who have left to preach the gospel, as John says in verse seven of his third letter: “because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing…”
We give thanks to God for the hundreds of brothers and sisters who have helped them to continue on their way, co-laborers with them in the Truth. As Paul expresses in Titus 3:13: “Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos (bi-vocational and career missionaries) on their journey (to the nations) with haste, that they may lack nothing. And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” We give thanks to God for the thousands of families that have helped cross-cultural workers.
This is our Iberoamerican experience, and now, as we are going to the nations, we maintain this faith: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21).
A time of dangers and risks
Acts 14:8-18 says, “Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying…‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!’ And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes…”
In Lystra a miracle takes place that leaves the crowd shocked: there was a paralytic, who was born lame, and who had never walked. Paul orders him, in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” The result of this miracle was that they treated the servants of God as gods. Paul and Barnabas tell them that they are only men, and that the people must return to God. With these arguments, they are able to dissuade the crowd.
The danger and risk that they ran in those days is the same that we have in Iberoamerica and in our cross-cultural fields. What happens is that people try to transfer their admiration and adoration that only belongs to God to the people that God has sent as messengers. The problem can be even greater if we stimulate these feelings. There are times in the life of the church when little empires are built. They attract followers of people or institutions, but not of Jesus Christ. The church in Iberoamerica has confronted various dangers like:
-Power and competition
Many times churches live a miserable fight for power, loving power instead of the power of love. Other times functionality has distanced them from Biblical principles. They search for results where people are valued for what they produce in their jobs in the least amount of time. This type of theology of productivity is affecting and creating a prejudice in the formation of pastors and missionaries. It tries to train them in the least amount of time possible. Ministerial success shows results and not a life of humility. The act of allowing Christ to grow, where we are invisible, doesn’t enter in this type of life. This type of living causes competition that demands production. Competition distances churches, and creates jealousy within itself. The unity of the body of Christ is affected by this structure. The consequences are seen: pressure and tension lived in the churches, pastors and missionaries. This can grow to create a secular and mundane environment.
We are not called to form business stereotypes based on utilitarianism, mercantilism and of numbers. Multiplication, numbers and percentages are not synonymous with transformation. We must not sacrifice the demands of the gospel on the altar of numbers. We are living in times that seem like some churches have clients, and like businesses, they are always right. It is the clients that are always content and are the center of everything. We want to encourage people to break these productivity schemes and think in kingdom terms. We want to encourage them to preach the Word of God and give a message that leaves us uncomfortable, causing us to examine our walk with Christ. The concept of success for Jesus was: “Father, I’ve done everything you told me to do.” The results are random. Jesus healed some and others not. He fed many, and others were not sustained. Denying ourselves, knowing Jesus Christ and being like Him in His death is transforming power (Philippians 3:10).
-Lack of teaching the Word of God
We have also observed that sometimes there is a lack of teaching the whole Word of God. In some cases, the practice of discipleship has been little and Bible studies make reference to isolated texts, fragments. Many times, too, we observe syncretism (the combination of differing doctrines), spiritual malnutrition, heresies, superstition, division, etc.
According to the comments of Bertil Ekström, the executive director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), we see that yes, we have grown statistically. But to grow in size is one thing, to grow in maturity is another. Mere numeric growth has changed the objective as such, and for many, the objective justifies the methods. When whatever method that helps grow the membership of the church is valid and the search is for the most effective strategies, the gospel has been minimized and puts Biblical principles at risk.
-Authoritarian leadership and form of government
Iberoamerican leadership sometimes follows the tendencies of global charismatic leaders (with a strong personality and the power to convince), principally centered on founding one’s own church. The authoritarian leadership of our history continues to be a reality. Diverse research has demonstrated that churches with autocratic and charismatic leaders are the ones that grow the most. At the same time, a new generation of leaders exists that are looking to work in teams, and are much more concerned about quality and a participative local church. The political democratization in our countries is reflected in the churches – and also in schools and other institutions – and individuals these days don’t accept, in the same way, the dogmatism of an autocratic leadership. The church needs to reflect on its form of government and the ways its leadership functions. The exercise of leadership in the life of local churches must be marked by the model of the suffering servant – which is not to be interpreted as weak, but that its lordship is under the auspices of the example and guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ – and evidences it in contrast to an authoritarian leader and other dangers caused by power abuse.
A time for profound challenges
Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”
From this story, we know that the church of Antioch played a very important role in the life of the universal church of the first centuries. It was a church that crossed social boundaries, built up broken lives, covered physical and spiritual needs, resolved interpersonal and doctrinal conflicts as described with the Jerusalem Council, had a shared leadership forming a pastoral team, and was willing to extend the limits of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
We wonder as a church: What will be the work for which the Lord has called us in the coming year, and the new challenges that He will place in our hands? What is the direction we must go, and how must we plan for it? How can we understand that we are a church on mission? Who must we appoint for the ministry? How will the next pastors and cross-cultural missionaries be? Antioch was an open door for the evangelization of the world. We as Iberoamericans are challenged to follow this model.
The church living in mission is a church that understands itself to be sent to the world. It is a church that looks for God’s purposes, participating actively in worship of the Lord, called to live a Trinitarian faith, a relational faith, a life in relation with God and with our neighbor; a relation of communion with one another, where our priority is in being, not doing.
As servants, we understand that when we are involved in the mission, we are sharing the mission of our missionary God, and we are not working for any personal project. We are in the service of the Missio Dei, and our mission is to share His. We listen, we discover and we obey the voice of the Lord, sending His servants to the work to which He has called them. This is the model to follow (Acts 13:1-3).
It is interesting when we study the book of Acts to observe how the church goes through stages; the church in Jerusalem was the initial center of the activity of the church, then Antioch. After the persecution, the action center moved from Antioch to Syria. Jerusalem had its moment, and now it was coming toward a new era in which it would be necessary to respond to the unreached, and it is then that the church in Antioch assumes this commitment. Luke talks about this congregation not because it is the richest or the most powerful, but because it knew how to accept the challenges of the moment.
Later when we read Acts 15 we find the difficulty that some Christians coming from Judea who visited Antioch had with Jews who were not circumcised and therefore believed they could not be saved. Paul, Barnabas, and some other believers sent by the church decided to resolve this conflict of values in the Council of Jerusalem. What is the reason that Paul, Barnabas and those that were with them could see what God was doing among the unreached, and, on the other hand, the Pharisees could not? They had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and participated in the life of the church. Where was the difference? The radical difference was in that, while the Pharisees had received the gospel, the church of Antioch, in addition to receiving it, had united with the mission of God in the world. And from there was thrust the missions endeavor. The Spirit was active in Jerusalem, but it was in Antioch where the Spirit was doing new things, opening doors and expanding horizons. There the church was subject to the impulse of the Spirit.
-The missions of all the people of God
Every Christian is called to participate and exercise the universal priesthood of believers. The mission has its place wherever it wants. Impelled by faith, the Christians crossed the border between those who believe and those who don’t believe, and on the other side of this border they gave testimony of their faith. Today, as a church, we are confronted with great challenges, like the 4,000,000 people who still do not know the Lord. The church in Iberoamerica must fully assume, without delay, its responsibility in world evangelization. It is a command, because there are millions of people that still do not have access to a clear presentation of the gospel. The church together is responsible for the evangelization of all people and races, of all languages. A universal faith, but one that is not a missionary faith, is nothing more than rhetoric without authority that makes it sterile. To complete the work demands that we cross geographic, cultural, social, linguistic and spiritual borders, and that we accept all the consequences that requires.
-Dimensions of a new missionary paradigm
The challenges also include great multicultural cities, the re-evangelization of the West, testifying in the world of religious plurality among unreached ethnic groups where they are found (whether that be in large cities or in restricted access countries); linguistics and translation, contextualization; being agents of reconciliation in a world of violence, of displaced people, of refugees, of immigrants, in the midst of religious persecution and an immense amount of suffering. More Christians died in the 20th Century than in the previous nineteen centuries.
We must assume our role in questions of the environment and all of God’s creation; this challenge implies also responsible and effective participation in Iberoamerican society; the deepening of Biblical knowledge through systematic teaching in local churches, and the maturing of leadership models that promote teamwork and active participation of believers. We need to have a real understanding of the unity of the people of God, a greater participation in the world missions movement, becoming participants in the universal church, sharing the global challenges in an integrated action of the gospel; a sincere search for cooperative models; and we need to understand missions as a process and not as a project.
-Missions mobilization
In the first COMIBAM (Iberoamerican Missions Cooperation) Congress in San Pablo, Brazil in 1987, they estimated the Iberoamerican missions movement to be approximately 60 organizations that sent some 1,600 cross-cultural missionaries.
Ten years later, in preparation for the second COMIBAM Congress in Mexico in 1997, a more systematic research was done with the goal of evaluating the missions movement of the past decade. It was concluded at that time that there was more or less 300 sending organizations and a little more than 4,000 cross-cultural missionaries.
According to statistics from 2008, Iberoamerica has more than 12,500 missionaries sent to other fields, and some 400 sending organizations. We give thanks and glory to God for this growth, but we are also conscious that missions mobilization continues to be one of our principle challenges.
We are a capable missions movement, but we are still not a missions movement that has come to a point of developing all of its potential to bless all nations. Despite the number of Iberoamerican evangelicals (70 millions), still we observe that there is not a correlation with a greater sending of missionaries to the least evangelized or unreached peoples. At the same time, there is a growing concern about the sending of missionaries without adequate training, without strong financial support, adequate pastoral care and provision for their return.
-Unity and cooperation
The Word of God encourages us to live worthy of the calling which we have received. We are challenged to live in humility, being kind, patient, and tolerant of one another in love. We are challenged to maintain unity in the bond of the Spirit. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:16). From the beginning, the Lord has challenged us to work in team. The mission could be the foundation for our unity. Cooperation in the practical task of missions is the first step towards a deeper unity. We will grow in our testimony based on the unity of Christ, that calls us all to participate in God’s mission.
But speaking of a global cooperation raises some questions that we must answer: Will we mutually help one another? How can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation? Should our structures be improved, changed or suspended? Should we rethink our missional understanding in order to better our missions dialog? What will be our participation in the sending of missionaries from the third world to other continents or the West? What principles and values must we follow? What is it that we must do? What is the cost that we must pay? What is our calling and what is our passion?
-Participate helping others through cooperation
The passion of the gospel must make us participate, cooperate and share (Philippians 1:5), and not to compete. We can speak of “communion,”– koinonia, the New Testament word translated as communion, sharing, contribution, or in common. What is clear is that the idea is of sharing something, a business, a purpose, an experience, money, whatever, but it must be shared. The apostle Paul says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Common faith must have an expression in practical participation and this participation has concrete consequences.
We are called to serve one another because of the passion we have for the gospel. We need each other (I Corinthians 12:21-22). We are members one with another. No one can say to another, “I don’t need you” (2 Corinthians 10:12, 17-18). This is sin and we must repent. Our problem, many times, is to think that we don’t need anyone, and we miss out on sharing with others.
So that cooperation can exist, there needs to be a level of trust that is difficult to build when someone seems to be self-sufficient. The beauty of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, being God, is that he humbled himself voluntarily, to be among us.
We ask ourselves: how can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation?
In theory, the answer we have is that we must relate to one another. The problem comes when we don’t appreciate the relationship we have with others. We must have unanimity with the Father’s plans (Luke 6:27-31). This unanimity with Him speaks to us about being like-minded and being of one accord (Philippians 2:1-11). We speak of forgiving one another, of humbling ourselves, of understanding our different cultures and mutually helping one another. There is no one who is better, no one inferior. It also means that we have to work on better communication, on face-to-face relationships. Our problem is that many times we don’t appreciate personal contact, and we say to ourselves, “Why am I going to go see him/her?” “Why waste the time?” As servants, our presence, our commitment, our flexibility and our cooperation and indispensable. Together with this, we must enrich the dialog among the body of Christ: the global church. There is no North or South, East or West, there is only one body. When we serve through cooperation we can say what the apostle said of Epaphroditus, “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).
The fact that we can decide together to do missions would be a sign of the defeat of Satan and evidence of unity and global cooperation. The fact of what we can do together with our differences in cultures, of wealth, of backgrounds; will require the help of the Holy Spirit and the willingness to sacrifice our own needs for the best of the mission. We are from different countries challenged to be citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and this reminds us that we have a future in common and the same identity.
What is our calling and what is our passion?
The problem that we have many times is that we lose our passion to participate, to cooperate, our passion for love and unity. Sadly, other times, we participate without passion, without love, without cooperation, and we cannot see with clarity the work to which God has called us. We must long for the church of Jesus Christ to be planted among all ethnic groups as an expression of the anticipated kingdom of God.
The counsel of the apostle is that we must behave in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27, Titus 3:8). This implies:
a. To be firm in the purpose to which we were called (Philippians 1:27)
b. To work in unity (Philippians 1:27)
c. To do it without fear of adversity (Philippians 1:28)
-How is your passion? How is your faith?
Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Satan wants to trick us. He tells us that we will have needs, difficulties, things that will trip us up. But the Lord says, “Do what I tell you to, and I will take care of you.” We must not serve God thinking of how to take care of ourselves, but we must work for God trusting in His resources (Philippians 4:19). He wants to do something with the little bit that we have in our hand, as he explains in Matthew 14:17-20. The signs follow those who believe, and not the opposite (Mark 16:20). We advance in faith and God will be present, because He is faithful and the mission is His.
The present condition of the world is marked by suffering (Romans 8:18-20). We are now being called to participate in His sufferings (Philippians 1:29, Philippians 3:10, Colossians 1:24, I Peter 4:13, 16). To know that is to participate in it. Our life is always full of surprises. We never know what is coming next. It is when we are available to leave behind all that it costs us, to leave for another place, and then to start over with a new assignment and to continue in obedience to the Lord. This is the cost. Is it difficult to be in the center of God’s will? This must be our passion. “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
As a church, we take part in the mission of God in the world announcing that: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). We will take the gospel to all nations until the Lord returns. This is our understanding of the mission, with the participation, with our eyes fixed on the kingdom of God.
Carlos Scott
Mision GloCal
1 Nuñez, E. & Taylor, W. Crisis and Hope in Latin America. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1996, p.161.
7.11.2009
GloCal Mission
GloCal Mission
Glocal is a term that represents the fusion of Global and Local. It is where the local and global action get together in the intentional intersection of barriers, from inside the church to the outside, in word and deeds, in favor of the extension of the Kingdom of God.
Vision
To see the local church taking the Gospel to all the peoples.
Misión GloCal exists to serve the local church facilitating training, mobilization, and connection, in favor of the extension of the Kingdom of God
-We dream to see the local church affirming its identity in Prayer, Justice, Mercy, Humility, Obedience and Courage, in Jesus Christ’s likeness.
-We dream to see the local church together in God’s mission and serving the most forgotten people of the city, the nation and the world.
-We dream to see the local church equipping God’s people as a community of the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth.
-We dream to see the local church developing processes that identify, train, support, and look after the servants that are sent as transformation agents.
-We dream to see the local church connected with the serving field, learning from each other and making the necessary adjustments. -We dream to see the local church connected glocally, with other expressions of the missionary community, working in unity, love and koinonia for the glory of God.
Value Proposal
Misión GloCal facilitates the training, connection and cooperation with other ministries to strengthen the intentional transformation processes in the local church.
Target Audience
We have the purpose of equipping the local church servants, providing services and opportunities for the Gospel to be available to every person, language and nation.
Central Issues
1-To Strengthen, to serve and to equip the local church building abilities and added value for the mission.
2-To be financially sustainable to be able to build up the services potential. Misión GloCal as a services initiative adheres to the Lausanne Covenant
For send offering make checks payable to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission. In the memo portion be sure to indicate that it is for support CARLOS SCOTT.
Banking: The U.S. based organization having a 501(C) 3 – tax status that receives gifts for Carlos Scott: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission , Richard Carey, Director - Email: rick@h-b-m.org , Phone/Fax: 717-827-1037 .
Make checks payable to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission: In the memo portion be sure to indicate that it is for support CARLOS SCOTT. Send checks to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission, 3775 EP True Parkway #103, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Thank you so much for pray for us and for your support. With a big hug,
Carlos and Alicia Scott
GloCal Mission, Tinogasta 5684(1408), Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, Argentina, MisionGloCal@ciudad.com.ar, Phone 54-11-4642-1036
http://globalmissionscott.blogspot. com/
http://glocalmission.blogspot.com/
Spanish Blog: http://misionglocal.blogspot.com/
¨By myself I can do nothing;... for I seek not do please myself but him who sent me¨, John 5:30
Glocal is a term that represents the fusion of Global and Local. It is where the local and global action get together in the intentional intersection of barriers, from inside the church to the outside, in word and deeds, in favor of the extension of the Kingdom of God.
Vision
To see the local church taking the Gospel to all the peoples.
Misión GloCal exists to serve the local church facilitating training, mobilization, and connection, in favor of the extension of the Kingdom of God
-We dream to see the local church affirming its identity in Prayer, Justice, Mercy, Humility, Obedience and Courage, in Jesus Christ’s likeness.
-We dream to see the local church together in God’s mission and serving the most forgotten people of the city, the nation and the world.
-We dream to see the local church equipping God’s people as a community of the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth.
-We dream to see the local church developing processes that identify, train, support, and look after the servants that are sent as transformation agents.
-We dream to see the local church connected with the serving field, learning from each other and making the necessary adjustments. -We dream to see the local church connected glocally, with other expressions of the missionary community, working in unity, love and koinonia for the glory of God.
Value Proposal
Misión GloCal facilitates the training, connection and cooperation with other ministries to strengthen the intentional transformation processes in the local church.
Target Audience
We have the purpose of equipping the local church servants, providing services and opportunities for the Gospel to be available to every person, language and nation.
Central Issues
1-To Strengthen, to serve and to equip the local church building abilities and added value for the mission.
2-To be financially sustainable to be able to build up the services potential. Misión GloCal as a services initiative adheres to the Lausanne Covenant
For send offering make checks payable to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission. In the memo portion be sure to indicate that it is for support CARLOS SCOTT.
Banking: The U.S. based organization having a 501(C) 3 – tax status that receives gifts for Carlos Scott: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission , Richard Carey, Director - Email: rick@h-b-m.org , Phone/Fax: 717-827-1037 .
Make checks payable to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission: In the memo portion be sure to indicate that it is for support CARLOS SCOTT. Send checks to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission, 3775 EP True Parkway #103, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Thank you so much for pray for us and for your support. With a big hug,
Carlos and Alicia Scott
GloCal Mission, Tinogasta 5684(1408), Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, Argentina, MisionGloCal@ciudad.com.ar, Phone 54-11-4642-1036
http://globalmissionscott.blogspot. com/
http://glocalmission.blogspot.com/
Spanish Blog: http://misionglocal.blogspot.com/
¨By myself I can do nothing;... for I seek not do please myself but him who sent me¨, John 5:30
1.05.2009
8.03.2008
7.11.2008
7.10.2008
5.02.2008
Praying for Scott Family
Praying for Scott FamilyPhoto: Daniel, Carol and Jonathan
1 – Last November and December Carlos was traveling to Guatemala, Costa Rica and Mendoza inside Argentina. Carlos was spending time with the Missions Movement in Guatemala to encouraged them. After we were in Costa Rica for the meetings with COMIBAM’s Board of Directors and help about for training to missonarys in Mendoza. On March Carlos will go to Brasil and US. On May Carlos will be to meeting Board of Comibam in Colombia and after that with the WEA in Argentina. Please pray that God give wisdom to give just the right words to all. Pray for His care in these trips and of health.
Photo: Daniel Scott and Marcos Ardiaca in the Basque Country.2-Please pray for our family. Daniel, our youngest, finished his university studies in Political Science and he is in Barcelona with his theological studies in Spain (IBSTE)—God is calling him to serve in Basque Country-. He is go every weekend to Amara Chuch in San Sebastian, Basque Country. Please also pray for our older son Jony and his wife, Carol. We are grandparents and have our first grandson, names Lautaro. They to serve in missions at Buenas Nuevas Local Church in Buenos Aires City. May God care for the lives of Jony, Carol and Lautaro.
Photo: Lautaro and Carol3-Please pray for my wife Alicia. Alicia is the principal adviser for me and always work very hard.
4-Please pray that God give us grace us and refreshment in our futures invitations when must preach in churches, conferences and also when asked to interview on TV and radio programs.
5-Please pray for the local church that we are a part of Comunidad del Encuentro is a small church in Ciudadela with a very humble and multiethnic background. The people are from different parts of Latin America. Please pray that God gives strength, grace, wisdom and the Lord’s guidance to the church.
Photo: Lautaro. He say: I am very small but I am the Boss.
We give thanks to God in all things because he covers us everywhere we go. His blessing is overflowing.
Thank you so much for pray for us and for your support. We love you and praying for you. With a big hug,
For send offering make checks payable to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission. In the memo portion be sure to indicate that it is for support CARLOS SCOTT.
Banking: The U.S. based organization having a 501(C) 3 – tax status that receives gifts for Carlos Scott: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission , Richard Carey, Director, Email: rick@h-b-m.org , Phone/Fax: 717-827-1037 .
Make checks payable to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission: In the memo portion be sure to indicate that it is for support CARLOS SCOTT Send checks to: H.O.P.E. Bible Mission, 3775 EP True Parkway #103, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Thank you so much for pray for us and for your support. With a big hug,
Carlos and Alicia Scott
GloCal Mission, Tinogasta 5684(1408), Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, Argentina, MisionGloCal@ciudad.com.ar , Phone 54-11-4642-1036 ,
http://globalmissionscott.blogspot. com/ http://glocalmission.blogspot.com/ Spanish Blog: http://misionglocal.blogspot.com/
¨By myself I can do nothing;... for I seek not do please myself but him who sent me¨, John 5:30
Thoughts on the visit to the Church in the Northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:4-7
Paul’s words to the Phillipians describe the church in the Northeast of Congo:
-A happy church in spite of hostile circumstances.
-A kind, loving, cooperative and hospitable church.
-A church that prays and depends on God.
-A church that trusts in his Head, Jesus Christ.
As representatives of the church from other places of the world, we have to deepen, understand and follow a fellowship-learning path regarding the church in the Northeast of DRC. The African Church has spiritual and exciting resources to encourage the church in other parts of the world. It also has an encouraging potential to grow in sending missionaries to other peoples (a latent challenge).
This raises some questions and generates a dialogue that we have to deepen in our South-South and South-North relationship: Do we understand each other? Should we reconsider our missionary understanding to improve our missionary dialogue? What is going to be our active participation (Africa, Latin America, etc)?What about the advance of other religions? Which are the main global challenges and how can we understand our participation? How can we advance in the South-Shouth and South-North relationship? What principles and values should we follow? How could we build, in a better way, the missionary bridge of cooperation? Can our structures be improved, changed or deleted? What can we do? What is the price we must pay? What is our call and passion?
As Latin Americans we have enjoyed Koinonia with the African church in the context of faith. It is our priority to share faith and to relate with them, but it does not end here. We have to deepen the active cooperation, as one of the goals of the common faith is to participate actively and this participation has concrete consequences. For us, Latin Americans, this represents our great challenge. We have a great potential in human, spiritual and emotional resources. We are also growing materially. ¿How is going to be our participation from now on? ¿How will we continue our dialogue with the African and Western churches?
As servants, we understand that when we get involved in missions we are sharing God’s mission, and that we are not working in a private project. The fact that we have decided to do missions together is a sign of Satan’s defeat and an evidence of global unity/cooperation. Because we are doing it together, in spite of our differences in culture, wealth, background, etc., we need the help of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of his mission.
To have a focal point, a possible practical and real approach of the global church in different parts of the world (relationship South-North, South-South), Peter’s words are appropriate:
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-6.
Let us go on without rushing (casting our anxiety in Him, without worrying, and being thankful) but without a break (with joy and serving others with kindness, by prayer and petition, the Lord is near). May God’s peace lead us to trust more in Him and to continue learning from others, serving with humility and love for the glory of God, the Father.
Alicia and I deeply thank God and Elmbrook Church for making this trip possible and for all their practical help. We hope to continue to process everything we lived there and to understand the next steps to follow to continue to share the Word of God with all the People of God.
Alicia y Carlos Scott
Paul’s words to the Phillipians describe the church in the Northeast of Congo:
-A happy church in spite of hostile circumstances.
-A kind, loving, cooperative and hospitable church.
-A church that prays and depends on God.
-A church that trusts in his Head, Jesus Christ.
As representatives of the church from other places of the world, we have to deepen, understand and follow a fellowship-learning path regarding the church in the Northeast of DRC. The African Church has spiritual and exciting resources to encourage the church in other parts of the world. It also has an encouraging potential to grow in sending missionaries to other peoples (a latent challenge).This raises some questions and generates a dialogue that we have to deepen in our South-South and South-North relationship: Do we understand each other? Should we reconsider our missionary understanding to improve our missionary dialogue? What is going to be our active participation (Africa, Latin America, etc)?What about the advance of other religions? Which are the main global challenges and how can we understand our participation? How can we advance in the South-Shouth and South-North relationship? What principles and values should we follow? How could we build, in a better way, the missionary bridge of cooperation? Can our structures be improved, changed or deleted? What can we do? What is the price we must pay? What is our call and passion?
As Latin Americans we have enjoyed Koinonia with the African church in the context of faith. It is our priority to share faith and to relate with them, but it does not end here. We have to deepen the active cooperation, as one of the goals of the common faith is to participate actively and this participation has concrete consequences. For us, Latin Americans, this represents our great challenge. We have a great potential in human, spiritual and emotional resources. We are also growing materially. ¿How is going to be our participation from now on? ¿How will we continue our dialogue with the African and Western churches? 
As servants, we understand that when we get involved in missions we are sharing God’s mission, and that we are not working in a private project. The fact that we have decided to do missions together is a sign of Satan’s defeat and an evidence of global unity/cooperation. Because we are doing it together, in spite of our differences in culture, wealth, background, etc., we need the help of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of his mission.To have a focal point, a possible practical and real approach of the global church in different parts of the world (relationship South-North, South-South), Peter’s words are appropriate:
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-6.
Let us go on without rushing (casting our anxiety in Him, without worrying, and being thankful) but without a break (with joy and serving others with kindness, by prayer and petition, the Lord is near). May God’s peace lead us to trust more in Him and to continue learning from others, serving with humility and love for the glory of God, the Father.Alicia and I deeply thank God and Elmbrook Church for making this trip possible and for all their practical help. We hope to continue to process everything we lived there and to understand the next steps to follow to continue to share the Word of God with all the People of God.
Alicia y Carlos Scott
Projections and challenges for the Iberoamerican Mission Movement
Projections and challenges for the Iberoamerican mission movement
Carlos Scott
Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
From this story, we know that the church of Antioch played a very important role in the life of the universal church of the first centuries. It was a church that crossed social boundaries, built up broken lives, covered physical and spiritual needs, resolved interpersonal and doctrinal conflicts as described with the Jerusalem Council, had a shared leadership forming a pastoral team, and was willing to extend the limits of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
We wonder as a church: What will be the work for which the Lord has called us in the coming year, and the new challenges that He will place in our hands? What is the direction we must go, and how must we plan for it? How can we understand that we are a church on mission? Who must we appoint for the ministry? How will the next pastors and cross-cultural missionaries be? Antioch was an open door for the evangelization of the world. We as Iberoamericans are challenged to follow this model.
The church living in mission is a church that understands itself to be sent to the world. It is a church that looks for God’s purposes, participating actively in worship of the Lord, called to live a Trinitarian faith, a relational faith, a life in relation with God and with our neighbor; a relation of communion with one another, where our priority is in being, not doing.
As servants, we understand that when we are involved in the mission, we are sharing the mission of our missionary God, and we are not working for any personal project. We are in the service of the Missio Dei, and our mission is to share His. We listen, we discover and we obey the voice of the Lord, sending His servants to the work to which He has called them. This is the model to follow (Acts 13:1-3).
It is interesting when we study the book of Acts to observe how the church goes through stages; the church in Jerusalem was the initial center of the activity of the church, then Antioch. After the persecution, the action center moved from Antioch to Syria. Jerusalem had its moment, and now it was coming toward a new era in which it would be necessary to respond to the unreached, and it is then that the church in Antioch assumes this commitment. Luke talks about this congregation not because it is the richest or the most powerful, but because it knew how to accept the challenges of the moment.
Later when we read Acts 15 we find the difficulty that some Christians coming from Judea who visited Antioch had with Jews who were not circumcised and therefore believed they could not be saved. Paul, Barnabas, and some other believers sent by the church decided to resolve this conflict of values in the Council of Jerusalem. What is the reason that Paul, Barnabas and those that were with them could see what God was doing among the unreached, and, on the other hand, the Pharisees could not? They had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and participated in the life of the church. Where was the difference? The radical difference was in that, while the Pharisees had received the gospel, the church of Antioch, in addition to receiving it, had united with the mission of God in the world. And from there was thrust the missions endeavor. The Spirit was active in Jerusalem, but it was in Antioch where the Spirit was doing new things, opening doors and expanding horizons. There the church was subject to the impulse of the Spirit.
The missions of all the people of God
Every Christian is called to participate and exercise the universal priesthood of believers. The mission has its place wherever it wants. Impelled by faith, the Christians crossed the border between those who believe and those who don’t believe, and on the other side of this border they gave testimony of their faith. Today, as a church, we are confronted with great challenges, like the 4,000,000 people who still do not know the Lord. The church must fully assume, without delay, its responsibility in world evangelization. It is a command, because there are millions of people that still do not have access to a clear presentation of the gospel. The church together is responsible for the evangelization of all people and races, of all languages. A universal faith, but one that is not a missionary faith, is nothing more than rhetoric without authority that makes it sterile. To complete the work demands that we cross geographic, cultural, social, linguistic and spiritual borders, and that we accept all the consequences that requires.
Dimensions of a new missionary paradigm
The challenges also include great multicultural cities, the re-evangelization of the West, testifying in the world of religious plurality among unreached ethnic groups where they are found (whether that be in large cities or in restricted access countries); linguistics and translation, contextualization; being agents of reconciliation in a world of violence, of displaced people, of refugees, of immigrants, in the midst of religious persecution and an immense amount of suffering. More Christians died in the 20th Century than in the previous nineteen centuries.
We must assume our role in questions of the environment and all of God’s creation; this challenge implies also responsible and effective participation in the society; the deepening of Biblical knowledge through systematic teaching in local churches, and the maturing of leadership models that promote teamwork and active participation of believers. We need to have a real understanding of the unity of the people of God, a greater participation in the world missions movement, becoming participants in the universal church, sharing the global challenges in an integrated action of the gospel; a sincere search for cooperative models; and we need to understand missions as a process and not as a project.
Missions mobilization
In the first COMIBAM (Iberoamerican Missions Cooperation) Congress in San Pablo, Brazil in 1987, they estimated the Iberoamerican missions movement to be approximately 60 organizations that sent some 1,600 cross-cultural missionaries.
Ten years later, in preparation for the second COMIBAM Congress in Mexico in 1997, a more systematic research was done with the goal of evaluating the missions movement of the past decade. It was concluded at that time that there was more or less 300 sending organizations and a little more than 4,000 cross-cultural missionaries.
According to statistics from 2006, Iberoamerica has more than 9.000 missionaries sent to other fields, and some 400 sending organizations. We give thanks and glory to God for this growth, but we are also conscious that missions mobilization continues to be one of our principle challenges.
We are a capable missions movement, but we are still not a missions movement that has come to a point of developing all of its potential to bless all nations. Despite the number of Iberoamerican evangelicals (70 millions), still we observe that there is not a correlation with a greater sending of missionaries to the least evangelized or unreached peoples. At the same time, there is a growing concern about the sending of missionaries without adequate training, without strong financial support, adequate pastoral care and provision for their return.
Unity and cooperation
The Word of God encourages us to live worthy of the calling which we have received. We are challenged to live in humility, being kind, patient, and tolerant of one another in love. We are challenged to maintain unity in the bond of the Spirit. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:16). From the beginning, the Lord has challenged us to work in team. The mission could be the foundation for our unity. Cooperation in the practical task of missions is the first step towards a deeper unity. We will grow in our testimony based on the unity of Christ, that calls us all to participate in God’s mission.
But speaking of a global cooperation raises some questions that we must answer: Will we mutually help one another? How can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation? Should our structures be improved, changed or suspended? Should we rethink our missional understanding in order to better our missions dialog? What will be our participation in the sending of missionaries from the third world to other continents or the West? What principles and values must we follow? What is it that we must do? What is the cost that we must pay? What is our calling and what is our passion?
Participate helping others through cooperation
The passion of the gospel must make us participate, cooperate and share (Philippians 1:5), and not to compete. We can speak of “communion,”– koinonia, the New Testament word translated as communion, sharing, contribution, or in common. What is clear is that the idea is of sharing something, a business, a purpose, an experience, money, whatever, but it must be shared. The apostle Paul says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Common faith must have an expression in practical participation and this participation has concrete consequences.
We are called to serve one another because of the passion we have for the gospel. We need each other (I Corinthians 12:21-22). We are members one with another. No one can say to another, “I don’t need you” (2 Corinthians 10:12, 17-18). This is sin and we must repent. Our problem, many times, is to think that we don’t need anyone, and we miss out on sharing with others.
So that cooperation can exist, there needs to be a level of trust that is difficult to build when someone seems to be self-sufficient. The beauty of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, being God, is that he humbled himself voluntarily, to be among us.
We ask ourselves: how can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation?
In theory, the answer we have is that we must relate to one another. The problem comes when we don’t appreciate the relationship we have with others. We must have unanimity with the Father’s plans (Luke 6:27-31). This unanimity with Him speaks to us about being like-minded and being of one accord (Philippians 2:1-11). We speak of forgiving one another, of humbling ourselves, of understanding our different cultures and mutually helping one another. There is no one who is better, no one inferior. It also means that we have to work on better communication, on face-to-face relationships. Our problem is that many times we don’t appreciate personal contact, and we say to ourselves, “Why am I going to go see him/her?” “Why waste the time?” As servants, our presence, our commitment, our flexibility and our cooperation and indispensable. Together with this, we must enrich the dialog among the body of Christ: the global church. There is no North or South, East or West, there is only one body. When we serve through cooperation we can say what the apostle said of Epaphroditus, “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).
The fact that we can decide together to do missions would be a sign of the defeat of Satan and evidence of unity and global cooperation. The fact of what we can do together with our differences in cultures, of wealth, of backgrounds; will require the help of the Holy Spirit and the willingness to sacrifice our own needs for the best of the mission. We are from different countries challenged to be citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and this reminds us that we have a future in common and the same identity.
As a church, we take part in the mission of God in the world announcing that: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). We will take the gospel to all nations until the Lord returns. This is our understanding of the mission, with the participation, with our eyes fixed on the kingdom of God.
Carlos Scott
Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
From this story, we know that the church of Antioch played a very important role in the life of the universal church of the first centuries. It was a church that crossed social boundaries, built up broken lives, covered physical and spiritual needs, resolved interpersonal and doctrinal conflicts as described with the Jerusalem Council, had a shared leadership forming a pastoral team, and was willing to extend the limits of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
We wonder as a church: What will be the work for which the Lord has called us in the coming year, and the new challenges that He will place in our hands? What is the direction we must go, and how must we plan for it? How can we understand that we are a church on mission? Who must we appoint for the ministry? How will the next pastors and cross-cultural missionaries be? Antioch was an open door for the evangelization of the world. We as Iberoamericans are challenged to follow this model.
The church living in mission is a church that understands itself to be sent to the world. It is a church that looks for God’s purposes, participating actively in worship of the Lord, called to live a Trinitarian faith, a relational faith, a life in relation with God and with our neighbor; a relation of communion with one another, where our priority is in being, not doing.
As servants, we understand that when we are involved in the mission, we are sharing the mission of our missionary God, and we are not working for any personal project. We are in the service of the Missio Dei, and our mission is to share His. We listen, we discover and we obey the voice of the Lord, sending His servants to the work to which He has called them. This is the model to follow (Acts 13:1-3).
It is interesting when we study the book of Acts to observe how the church goes through stages; the church in Jerusalem was the initial center of the activity of the church, then Antioch. After the persecution, the action center moved from Antioch to Syria. Jerusalem had its moment, and now it was coming toward a new era in which it would be necessary to respond to the unreached, and it is then that the church in Antioch assumes this commitment. Luke talks about this congregation not because it is the richest or the most powerful, but because it knew how to accept the challenges of the moment.
Later when we read Acts 15 we find the difficulty that some Christians coming from Judea who visited Antioch had with Jews who were not circumcised and therefore believed they could not be saved. Paul, Barnabas, and some other believers sent by the church decided to resolve this conflict of values in the Council of Jerusalem. What is the reason that Paul, Barnabas and those that were with them could see what God was doing among the unreached, and, on the other hand, the Pharisees could not? They had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and participated in the life of the church. Where was the difference? The radical difference was in that, while the Pharisees had received the gospel, the church of Antioch, in addition to receiving it, had united with the mission of God in the world. And from there was thrust the missions endeavor. The Spirit was active in Jerusalem, but it was in Antioch where the Spirit was doing new things, opening doors and expanding horizons. There the church was subject to the impulse of the Spirit.
The missions of all the people of God
Every Christian is called to participate and exercise the universal priesthood of believers. The mission has its place wherever it wants. Impelled by faith, the Christians crossed the border between those who believe and those who don’t believe, and on the other side of this border they gave testimony of their faith. Today, as a church, we are confronted with great challenges, like the 4,000,000 people who still do not know the Lord. The church must fully assume, without delay, its responsibility in world evangelization. It is a command, because there are millions of people that still do not have access to a clear presentation of the gospel. The church together is responsible for the evangelization of all people and races, of all languages. A universal faith, but one that is not a missionary faith, is nothing more than rhetoric without authority that makes it sterile. To complete the work demands that we cross geographic, cultural, social, linguistic and spiritual borders, and that we accept all the consequences that requires.
Dimensions of a new missionary paradigm
The challenges also include great multicultural cities, the re-evangelization of the West, testifying in the world of religious plurality among unreached ethnic groups where they are found (whether that be in large cities or in restricted access countries); linguistics and translation, contextualization; being agents of reconciliation in a world of violence, of displaced people, of refugees, of immigrants, in the midst of religious persecution and an immense amount of suffering. More Christians died in the 20th Century than in the previous nineteen centuries.
We must assume our role in questions of the environment and all of God’s creation; this challenge implies also responsible and effective participation in the society; the deepening of Biblical knowledge through systematic teaching in local churches, and the maturing of leadership models that promote teamwork and active participation of believers. We need to have a real understanding of the unity of the people of God, a greater participation in the world missions movement, becoming participants in the universal church, sharing the global challenges in an integrated action of the gospel; a sincere search for cooperative models; and we need to understand missions as a process and not as a project.
Missions mobilization
In the first COMIBAM (Iberoamerican Missions Cooperation) Congress in San Pablo, Brazil in 1987, they estimated the Iberoamerican missions movement to be approximately 60 organizations that sent some 1,600 cross-cultural missionaries.
Ten years later, in preparation for the second COMIBAM Congress in Mexico in 1997, a more systematic research was done with the goal of evaluating the missions movement of the past decade. It was concluded at that time that there was more or less 300 sending organizations and a little more than 4,000 cross-cultural missionaries.
According to statistics from 2006, Iberoamerica has more than 9.000 missionaries sent to other fields, and some 400 sending organizations. We give thanks and glory to God for this growth, but we are also conscious that missions mobilization continues to be one of our principle challenges.
We are a capable missions movement, but we are still not a missions movement that has come to a point of developing all of its potential to bless all nations. Despite the number of Iberoamerican evangelicals (70 millions), still we observe that there is not a correlation with a greater sending of missionaries to the least evangelized or unreached peoples. At the same time, there is a growing concern about the sending of missionaries without adequate training, without strong financial support, adequate pastoral care and provision for their return.
Unity and cooperation
The Word of God encourages us to live worthy of the calling which we have received. We are challenged to live in humility, being kind, patient, and tolerant of one another in love. We are challenged to maintain unity in the bond of the Spirit. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:16). From the beginning, the Lord has challenged us to work in team. The mission could be the foundation for our unity. Cooperation in the practical task of missions is the first step towards a deeper unity. We will grow in our testimony based on the unity of Christ, that calls us all to participate in God’s mission.
But speaking of a global cooperation raises some questions that we must answer: Will we mutually help one another? How can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation? Should our structures be improved, changed or suspended? Should we rethink our missional understanding in order to better our missions dialog? What will be our participation in the sending of missionaries from the third world to other continents or the West? What principles and values must we follow? What is it that we must do? What is the cost that we must pay? What is our calling and what is our passion?
Participate helping others through cooperation
The passion of the gospel must make us participate, cooperate and share (Philippians 1:5), and not to compete. We can speak of “communion,”– koinonia, the New Testament word translated as communion, sharing, contribution, or in common. What is clear is that the idea is of sharing something, a business, a purpose, an experience, money, whatever, but it must be shared. The apostle Paul says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Common faith must have an expression in practical participation and this participation has concrete consequences.
We are called to serve one another because of the passion we have for the gospel. We need each other (I Corinthians 12:21-22). We are members one with another. No one can say to another, “I don’t need you” (2 Corinthians 10:12, 17-18). This is sin and we must repent. Our problem, many times, is to think that we don’t need anyone, and we miss out on sharing with others.
So that cooperation can exist, there needs to be a level of trust that is difficult to build when someone seems to be self-sufficient. The beauty of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, being God, is that he humbled himself voluntarily, to be among us.
We ask ourselves: how can we build a better missions bridge of cooperation?
In theory, the answer we have is that we must relate to one another. The problem comes when we don’t appreciate the relationship we have with others. We must have unanimity with the Father’s plans (Luke 6:27-31). This unanimity with Him speaks to us about being like-minded and being of one accord (Philippians 2:1-11). We speak of forgiving one another, of humbling ourselves, of understanding our different cultures and mutually helping one another. There is no one who is better, no one inferior. It also means that we have to work on better communication, on face-to-face relationships. Our problem is that many times we don’t appreciate personal contact, and we say to ourselves, “Why am I going to go see him/her?” “Why waste the time?” As servants, our presence, our commitment, our flexibility and our cooperation and indispensable. Together with this, we must enrich the dialog among the body of Christ: the global church. There is no North or South, East or West, there is only one body. When we serve through cooperation we can say what the apostle said of Epaphroditus, “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).
The fact that we can decide together to do missions would be a sign of the defeat of Satan and evidence of unity and global cooperation. The fact of what we can do together with our differences in cultures, of wealth, of backgrounds; will require the help of the Holy Spirit and the willingness to sacrifice our own needs for the best of the mission. We are from different countries challenged to be citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and this reminds us that we have a future in common and the same identity.
As a church, we take part in the mission of God in the world announcing that: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). We will take the gospel to all nations until the Lord returns. This is our understanding of the mission, with the participation, with our eyes fixed on the kingdom of God.
2007 Annual Report - Carlos Scott
2007 Annual ReportCarlos Scott
Contributions to the Development of the Ibero-American Missionary Movement
During 2007 we developed a series of programmes, several activities and visited different countries like the USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, United Kingdom, Hungary, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Peru and inland Argentine. The main objectives were to represent the movement at an international level, to visit the regions and to assist them, to train pastors and churches, to present the Ibero-American missionary movement, its planning, projection, development in each region, evaluation of results, fundraising, etc. Several meetings were organized with these purposes, which were coordinated by different pastors, mission leaders, churches and the national movements of the countries mentioned above.
TRAVELS AND MINISTERIAL PROCESS
Destination: Guatemala, United States and Mexico
Date: January
Objectives:
1. To establish strong relation links and the continuity of the work with a foundation.
2. To get to know Foundation and to project the cooperation continuity with them.
Activities:
1. Fundraising visit and meeting with Foundation.
2. Visit and meeting with CONEM leadership (Guatemala).
3. Visit and meeting with COMIMEX leadership (Mexico).
Achievements:
We managed to make progress in our relationship with CONEM, COMIMEX and a Foundation.
Destination: Mexico
Date: March
Objectives:
1. To establish unity and orientation links with the new members of the Board of Directors.
2. To teach on cross-cultural missions at Luis Palau’s Leadership congress.
3. To give support in the transition and presentation of Strategic Alliances.
Activities:
1. Meeting with the new members of the Board of Directors in Monterrey.
2. Participation in the Luis Palau’s Leadership Congress, and to give support to the initiative of Strategic Alliances at the congress.
3. To teach and to give a workshop on world missions.
Achievements:
· Fifty leaders from different churches and denominations were touched by missions.
· In the plenary sessions, 2000 leaders and pastors were challenged to work in unity in order that COMIBAM International can achieve Strategic Alliances as a team.
Destination: United Kingdom and Uruguay
Date: April
Objectives:
· To meet with World Evangelical Alliance’s mobilisation leaders.
· To teach about missions (Uruguay).
Activities:
· Meeting with WEA’s mobilization leaders.
· Participation in the missionary congress in Uruguay.
Achievements:
· In the UK, we managed to plan the research project on world mobilization.
· In Uruguay, 20 pastors and leaders were challenged in the mission process and were motivated to continue with their missions mobilisation work. Sixty people were challenged and motivated in missions.
Destination: United States and El Salvador
Date: May
Objectives:
· To present the fundraising projects in foundations and churches.
· To planh the 2007-2009 process for COMIBAM’s Board of Directors and Committee.
· To teach on missions and to spend some time with COMISAL (Salvadorian missionary movement).
Activities:
· Visits to foundations and churches in US: PROvision, MacLellan, Cornerstone, Mars Hill Bible Church and Parker.
· Meeting with COMINHA (Hispanic missionary movement in the USA).
· Meetings with COMIBAM’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee in El Salvador.
· Participation in a radio programme about missions to reach the national territory of El Salvador.
Achievements:
· A working plan and a new projection for COMIBAM was established.
· We taught 400 people about missions, pastors and leaders among them.
· The relationship with COMISAL was consolidated.
· We made progress consolidating the relationship with COMINHA.
· We also made progress consolidating our relationship with foundations and churches.
Destination: Hungary
Date: June
Objectives:
· To represent COMIBAM Internacional in the global connection.
· To link COMIBAM’s movement in the process of Lausanne 2010.
· To include national coordinators and board of directors in the world process.
Activities:
· Participation in the launching of Lausanne 2010.
· Being part of the task groups.
Achievements:
· COMIBAM presented the relevant missiology topics that will be discussed by the Lausanne 2010 movement.
· The national coordinators and board of directors were included in the Lausanne process.
Destination: Nicaragua
Date: July.
Objectives:
· To spend time with the whole Central American movement (7 countries).
· To share the Word of God within a pastoral process.
· To take part in the consultation organised by the pastors and churches network.
· To explain where COMIBAM is heading.
Activities:
COMCA (Central American Missionary Cooperation)’s annual meeting.
Achievements:
· The regional integration process was consolidated, especially with the pastors and churches network.
· The relationship COMIBAM-COMCA was strengthened.
Notes on August and September:
During those months I took part in different activities like:
· Meetings in churches
· Interviews with leaders
· Seminars and meetings with pastors and mission leaders
· I welcomed and accommodated a group from the Basque country during 20 days.
Destination: Peru
Date: October
Objectives:
· To spend some time with Peru’s national missionary movement.
· To support the development and regional integration.
· To help in the Andean Congress.
Activities:
· I represented COMIBAM in the Alpha Course.
· Meeting with COMINA’s (Peru’s Missionary Cooperation) national leaders.
Achievements:
· We managed to make an agreement for a regional gathering.
· We agreed to have a higher projection for the integration process of the region.
Destination: Panama and Dominican Republic
Date: November
Objectives:
· To take part in Wycliffe consultation, in seminars, other consultations and preachings on missions.
· To continue strengthening the relationship Wycliffe-COMIBAM.
· To spend some time with the national movements (from Panama and Dominican Republic).
· To teach seminaries, to record television programmes, preachings and to lead a consultation.
Activities:
· Attended Wycliffe’s consultation.
· A seminar was offered in Panama’s inland.
· I preached in Iglesia de Dios.
· Three television programmes about missions were recorded to be transmitted in Panama.
· I preached in Panama’s largest church and it was broadcasted in Panama’s television
Achievements:
· The relationship Wycliffe-COMIBAM was strengthened.
· 50 pastors, from different churches and denominations, were challenged in Panama.
· 100 pastors, from different churches and denominations were challenged and committed to work in missions in the consultation carried out in the Dominican Republic.
Destination: USADate: December
Objective:
· To present, together with the Executive Director and the North American Director, COMIBAM’s fundraising projects and plans.
Activities:
· To visit donors in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Orlando, Santa Ana, Grand Rapids, and Richmond.
· Visit to COMINHA (Hispanic missionary movement in the USA).
Achievements:
· The relationship and understanding of the fundraising work was strengthened.
· Presentation of plans. A foundation accepted a proposal in which the Executive Direction is working.
· A foundation got interested in the North-South meeting to be celebrated in May 2008. They also sent their form so we can present a proposal. The Executive Direction is working with this presentation.
These activities summarise the ministerial focus of this period. Especially, I want to highlight the work and support of my wife Alicia. Her encouragement, sacrifice, kindness, and wisdom are the constant support to continue with this task.
I am thankful for your prayers. Please keep praying for us. May God strengthen your lives, continue blessing you and we also pray for you all.
With love, your brother, collaborator and partner in the battle,
Carlos Roberto Scott
5.01.2008
Praying for COMIBAM International
Praying for COMIBAM International
Please pray for COMIBAM Internacional and nexts steps:
1- Mobilization: Our goal 20.000 missionarys. Strengthening of the national and regional missionary movements
Pray for:
-To strengthen COMIBAM’s regionalization and decentralization process.
-To continue with the discipleship process and monitoring of regional directors.
-To develop seminaries for promoters in order to update the mobilization strategies according to the results obtained in the research.
-To carry out regional consultations within the framework of the three networks to build the next steps based on experience.
-To promote and to help in the development of missionary congresses and conferences in local churches, denominations or national movements.
-To create written and audiovisual tools in order to increase the technical knowledge of the different areas of the missionary process.
2. Projection to the unreached peoples. AUE
Pray for:
-To support, to spread and to promote the new missions map where all the world’s “windows” of need are included.
-To distribute and to promote the research’s results where there are more than 3000 unreached peoples to adopt.
-To develop leadership for the AUE (Spanish acronym for Adopt a People) program in each one of the national missionary movements.
-To give regional and national lectures on the unreached.
-To develop stages two and three from COMIBAM III Process to determine models and working ways from Ibero-America to the unreached.
-To support the development of ETHNE, the world program to reach peoples.
3. Missiological Development. Leadership development
Pray for:
-To form a committee of missiologists to support and give incentive to the movement’s missiological reflection.
-To create and to distribute an Ibero-American missiological bulletin.
-To prepare and to carry out an Ibero-American missiological consultation.
-To publish at least two books with a strong missiological emphasis.
-To establish the basis for the future development of an Ibero-American missiologists network.
-To create a contingent of promoters in the area of Bible translation and second language command.
-To offer training workshops for strategic alliances instructors.
-To give incentive and to support the growth of an intercessors force at an Ibero-American level to support the missionary work.
-To offer workshops and training courses for advisors and people involved in the pastoral care for the missionary.
-To publish and to distribute written and electronic materials.
4. Global connection and cooperation
Pray for:
-To increase communication and effort with other missionary forces of the majority world.
-To keep communication and cooperation with global missionary movements. South-North and South-South.
-To develop strategic alliances with other missionary forces to carry out research projects or analysis of models and any other matter of mutual interest.
-To share with the global missionary movement the results of the first stage of the COMIBAM III Process research.
Thank you so much for every thing,
Carlos Scott
Please pray for COMIBAM Internacional and nexts steps:
1- Mobilization: Our goal 20.000 missionarys. Strengthening of the national and regional missionary movements
Pray for:
-To strengthen COMIBAM’s regionalization and decentralization process.
-To continue with the discipleship process and monitoring of regional directors.
-To develop seminaries for promoters in order to update the mobilization strategies according to the results obtained in the research.
-To carry out regional consultations within the framework of the three networks to build the next steps based on experience.
-To promote and to help in the development of missionary congresses and conferences in local churches, denominations or national movements.
-To create written and audiovisual tools in order to increase the technical knowledge of the different areas of the missionary process.
2. Projection to the unreached peoples. AUE
Pray for:
-To support, to spread and to promote the new missions map where all the world’s “windows” of need are included.
-To distribute and to promote the research’s results where there are more than 3000 unreached peoples to adopt.
-To develop leadership for the AUE (Spanish acronym for Adopt a People) program in each one of the national missionary movements.
-To give regional and national lectures on the unreached.
-To develop stages two and three from COMIBAM III Process to determine models and working ways from Ibero-America to the unreached.
-To support the development of ETHNE, the world program to reach peoples.
3. Missiological Development. Leadership development
Pray for:
-To form a committee of missiologists to support and give incentive to the movement’s missiological reflection.
-To create and to distribute an Ibero-American missiological bulletin.
-To prepare and to carry out an Ibero-American missiological consultation.
-To publish at least two books with a strong missiological emphasis.
-To establish the basis for the future development of an Ibero-American missiologists network.
-To create a contingent of promoters in the area of Bible translation and second language command.
-To offer training workshops for strategic alliances instructors.
-To give incentive and to support the growth of an intercessors force at an Ibero-American level to support the missionary work.
-To offer workshops and training courses for advisors and people involved in the pastoral care for the missionary.
-To publish and to distribute written and electronic materials.
4. Global connection and cooperation
Pray for:
-To increase communication and effort with other missionary forces of the majority world.
-To keep communication and cooperation with global missionary movements. South-North and South-South.
-To develop strategic alliances with other missionary forces to carry out research projects or analysis of models and any other matter of mutual interest.
-To share with the global missionary movement the results of the first stage of the COMIBAM III Process research.
Thank you so much for every thing,
Carlos Scott
The Western Missions and their Role in the Third Millennium
The Western Missions and their Role in the Third Millennium“Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” Php. 3:17
The role the western missions will play in relationship with the new group of missionaries from the Third World (Africa, Asia and Latin America) raises some questions:
Will we help each other mutually? How to build the best missionary bridge to cooperate?, Can the structures of the Western Missions be improved, changed, or even removed?, Do all the missionary societies, churches, seminaries, or training centres have to rethink their understanding of "mission" in order to improve our missionary dialogue?, What will be the part of these missions in sending missionaries from the third world to the West and to other continents?
The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians gives us some answers and a model to follow. We can assert that the apostle is defining the role of the mission with the word PASSION.
1-The Gospel is the passion of the Apostle
The key passion is for the gospel. In the first chapter Paul tells us about the communion of the Gospel, speaks of what happened to him, and encourages the believers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel. From here we can infer that:
1.1 We should participate helping others through the cooperation
The passion for the gospel should make us participate, cooperate, share(Php.1:5) and not to compete:
- To share a common goal (2 Co. 8:23)
- To share a common experience: the persecution( Heb.10:33 and Rev. 1:9), the sufferings ( 2 Co. 1:7), the worship ( 1Co 10:16), the weakness and strength (Ph. 1:12-18),
- To share common privileges (Rom. 11:17; 1 Co 9:23)
- To share common realities (Ph. 1:7),
- To share by giving or donating (Ph. 1: 5)
This is the way the Philippians shared in the "partnership in the gospel" (1:5). We can speak of "communion". "Koinonia" is the word in the New Testament translated as communion, partnership, contribution, common. To participate and cooperate can be used with a wide range of meanings, but the word "common" in doing and being is the thread that unites them all.
What is very clear is the idea that to share something, an enterprise, a purpose, or an experience, the money or whatever should be shared. Also that which is shared first, in the context of the church, is faith. What comes from the koinonia of faith is the koinonia of work.
Thus sharing faith comes first and defines the practical co-operation. But the shared faith MUST lead to practical participation and this participation at work has concrete consequences.
In the case of Paul and the Philippians, you could see the concrete results of the co-operation:
- constant gratitude (1:3)
- constant intercession by Paul for the Philippians (1:4)
- evidence of a healthy growth in grace of the church (1:6)
- a cooperation that made them participants in his ministry (1:7)
1.2 Must we help each other?
Yes, of course. We should look for each other, help each other, encourage each other, bear each others burdens, share what we have with each other, not to dominate or look for the strongest, but to serve each other because of the PASSION that we have for the gospel.
We need each other (1Co. 12:21). We are members of one another. Our problem could be in not sharing our needs and to think that we don’t need help from anyone and that there's no need to share with others. It is very difficult to trust in the person that has no weakness, the one that always wants to give but not to receive; it is difficult to trust in someone that wants to be in control.
The beauty of the incarnation is that Christ Jesus being in very nature God willingly made himself nothing to be with us. The apostle has an interesting perspective on weakness. His suffering was for Christ, not for money or to win prestige. His weakness caused the extension of the gospel. Even when there was conflict and egoism, the gospel spreads and God’s people are encouraged to preach it. Paul is arrested, suffers, in the midst of weakness he preaches even though he is in chains. The weakness of Paul highlights his motives and, as a result, the gospel is spread. (2 Co. 12:9-10)
We should ask each other: what can we do to be strong? We have to know our weakness. When we are weak then we are strong. The strongest testimony has not come from a perfect and strong church. What amazes the world is a weak and faithful church. They noted that the disciples were with Jesus because they were ordinary men (Acts 4:13). Weakness demonstrated that they were with Jesus. The association, the partnership, the collaboration, the strategic alliances can work when every church, agency, or institution recognises it’s own weakness. Each one is not just a donor but someone that also receives, it’s not only what we can give but also what we can receive. We should search ourselves those of the North as much as those from the South in the light of what the apostle says: "Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now" (1:5). " all of you share in God’s grace with me" (1:7). This is the apostolate that Paul and the church share because of the PASSION of spreading the gospel to all nations (Ro 1:5, and Eph. 3:2,8).
2-The Passion of being a Servant
When we go to chapter 2, there is a unique description of Jesus as a servant. Later we have examples of other servants such as Timothy and Epaphroditus. Chapter 3 gives us a warning against bad workers, in chapter 4, Paul begs Euodia and Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord and towards the end he gives thanks to the Philippians for their participation in the gospel. It speaks a lot about servants, of serving together and the problems there are when serve together, therefore:
2.1 We should participate incarnating the model of Christ Jesus
In chapter 2:5-11, Christ Jesus himself emerges as a model of cooperation, in his participation within Gods plan. He models the attitude we should develop in order to achieve successful partnership. We are told of the:
- unity with the plans of the father (vs.5)
- the denial of himself, in search of the achievement of the common goal (vs.6-7)
- obedience to God’s established plan (vs. 8)
- Christ Jesus is exalted (vs. 9-11). He must be exalted as a result of our attitude towards partnership.
We must understand the biblical faith based in "being", that is in the relational aspect, the incarnation of the model. First of all we belong to trinitarian community and for that reason we are trinitarian Christians. We should question ourselves about how can we reflect on this and to put into practice the love between us. First comes the relationship. To relate to one another in an authentic way. This requires of us honesty, truth, vulnerability, submission, encouragement, and work. Biblical faith not only to do with responding and believing in a message, but, it has to do with living out the message in the real world, the world of wealth and poverty, of injustice and corruption, and the world of divisions and rivalry.
It's an attitude problem. We are all rich and poor at the same time. Again the problem that lies beneath is how to relate to each other, how to incarnate the model of Christ Jesus. That’s why the apostle says if there is any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any fellowship with the Spirit (that is communion), if there is any tenderness and compassion, then be like-minded, being one in spirit or purpose, doing nothing out of selfish ambition but in humility considering others better than yourselves.
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2.2 How do we build a better cooperative missionary bridge?In the first place the answer is that we have to relate to each other. The problem arises when we despise the relationship and this is from both sides: from the North and also from the South. We must be in agreement with the plans of our Father. (Luke 6:27-31). This agreement with Him, speaks about having the same feeling and like-mindedness. Speaks about forgiving, about humbling ourselves, about understanding our different cultures and helping each other mutually. There is no one superior and no one inferior. This unanimity speaks to us to go out together to look for those who are lost, in order to be present before others. It speaks to us of obedience at the time when I have to resolve the interpersonal and interorganisational conflicts. It means also that we should improve our communications bridge. A face to face relationship. This relationship kills email. Our problem is that to often we despise the relationship face to face. We say: why should I go? Why should I waste my time? We can give money or ask for it but if we don’t go either to the South or the North what we are despising is the face to face relationship.
Another way to improve this cooperation bridge is to keep in mind that the one that gives is not the most important. Some times we can give money, other times human resources, etc. The point is that when we sit down together in dialogue we take for granted who has the power, or we want to take the power, or demand the power, because we have money, the people, the capacity, the initiative, the growth, etc. We must achieve a correct understanding of the relationship North – South and South – North in which all must be "servants" following Jesus' example.
Another thing to point out is that we must have a right balance in relation to financial help. We must not hold back on what must be given. We must always seek God’s guidance and His wisdom.
Finally we must give and receive (Php. 4:14-15). Give of our spiritual, intellectual, emotional and material resources for the benefit of and the extension of the kingdom of God. All the churches have gifts to give to the others; all the churches need to receive and give to others.
When we serve through partnership we could say like the apostle: “A fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” (Php. 4:18)
2.3 How can we participate in the sending of Third World missionaries to the West and other continents?
There are no excuses to move forward in the relationship. “This incarnation speaks to us of the different levels of cooperation. Epaphroditus (2:25), a messenger from the Philippians to show their cooperation, illustrates the three degrees of cooperation in partnership:
- Common sympathy (Adelphon= Brother) describes the simplest degree of cooperation, an identification that comes from the agreement that we share common goals and this is manifest in our desire of fulfilling our goals in order to help you fulfil yours.
- Common work (Sunergon=Collaborator) describes a more committed level of cooperation. When a common task is shared now both are conscious that the work they do contributes to the achievement of the common objective, and both are committed to do their part.
- Common danger (Sunstraitioten=partner of army) The best description for this, the most committed level of cooperation, is given by the passage in verse 30 “because he almost died for the work of Christ…”, no only to be willing to do the same, but to suffer the same” (Hugo Morales - COMIBAN International)
Because we are taking the gospel to all the nations, we must have the PASSION to follow the model of CHRIST JESUS: “THE PASSION OF BEING SERVANTS”
3- A passion to know the Lord
We can be working hard and making so many plans, but we must not neglect the PASSION of knowing Jesus. Many times there is a lack of passion for Christ. Part of our role in this millennium is to keep on knowing Jesus. We can be very thrilled by the programme of the church, or the Organization or the Institution, but not with Jesus himself. Our first priority in this millennium will be always to know Him. We get so wrapped up in planning that we forget about Christ Jesus. What was important for the Apostle was knowing Christ Jesus (Php. 3:8), therefore:
3.1 Because we know him we must participate on his sufferings
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” Php 3.10
The Apostle was an example. He lived in suffering. “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” Col. 1:24. Both Paul and Epaphroditus took a step beyond. They have given themselves so much, even to the point of giving their own lives. We also must complete what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s suffering. The church is present in this world in order to complete what is still lacking of His suffering. This is co-operation in the Gospel, and it must be done in every possible way so we can move forward. Being like Christ and manifesting what this means in practical relationship. The present condition of the world is marked by suffering (Rom 8:18,20). Jesus humbled himself, suffered and died. He gave us victory over the Devil. We are now called to participate in his sufferings (Ph. 1:29, 1Pe. 4:13,16). To know him is to participate of this. In a similar line it is here where we must experience forgiving others, because if we don’t know Him we will not be able to forgive. He was misunderstood, they killed him, they crucified him.
We ask ourselves: Must the missionary societies, churches and institutions rethink their missionary understanding to improve their dialogue? We must say yes. Many times we have reduced the biblical text. We must preach “the whole Gospel” to “all the nations” until He returns. It is an integral Gospel, “that he is the Lord of all life” and no just our hearts. There is a kingdom and a King that wants to be Lord. “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and his wish is that the blind may see, the sad have joy, the cripples may walk, he who is naked and hungry may be dressed and feed, that justice and love be practiced as a sign of the kingdom (Luke 4:18-19, Mat. 9:35-36). Integral mission must be “universal” without falling into parochialism; but at the same time the universal mission without being “integral” it’s in risk of becoming colonialism. We wish to see the Church of Jesus Christ planted to the end of the world, this must be our priority; but we cannot only take care of the religious aspect, personal, internal, without taking care of all the aspects of human life.
Finally we ask ourselves: Can the structures of Western Mission be improved, changed or cancelled?
The answer is that the church and all the variety of institutions, must be lead by the Holy Spirit. To know Him is to recognise the voice of the Spirit. It is to listen and follow the Holy Spirit in his works and orientation.
A church lead by the Holly Spirit has a variety of ways forward:
- There is opportunity of open doors to take the gospel (Acts 16:6-10)
- There is opportunity of giving and we must investigate what we must be giving (2 Co. 8:1-5)
- There is opportunity of planning ( Rom. 15:23-24)
The big hero of mission still remains God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We must assign the Holy Spirit as the one who continues the work of Christ where the church is born, develops, has strength and an effective testimony. As we live under his influence the church is built up, consolidated, and expands. What arest significant are not our structures but our Mission. It’s interesting to see in the book of Acts how the twelve try to maintain the same structures by appointing Matthias, but it points out how the Holy Spirit will call the church to a new mission that will need a leadership of a different type than that of the apostles. They misunderstand, thinking that the structure of the church will be the same that they knew, but the truth is that the Holy Spirit forces the church to reform iself inorder to be more faithful to it’s Mission. Jerusalem had it’s time and it’s mission, now a new era approaches, it is necessary to reach the unreached and the church in Antioch is the one that responds to this commitment. Luke focuses on this church not because it was the most rich or powerful but because it was able to cope with the challenge of the moment. Paul and Barnabas together with the church at Antioch have joined God’s mission in the world and both, the Antioch church and they themselves set out in the work of mission.
When we get involved in the mission we are sharing the mission of the missionary God and we are not working in any other private project. We are at the service of the missio dei. Our mission is to share His. The fact that we could decide together to do mission both from the North and from the South, will be a sign of the defeat of Satan. The fact that we will do it together with our cultural differences, wealth, background, etc. will require the help of the Holy Spirit and a disposition to sacrifice that which is ours for the sake of His Mission.
We are from different countries challenged to be citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20). We are reminded that we have a common future and the same identity.
Let us take part of the mission of God in the world taking “the whole Gospel” as “Servants” that “know Jesus Christ personally”.
Let this be our “PASSION” in the third millennium.
Lic. Carlos Roberto Scott
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