Review of Collective Witness: a Theology and Praxis for a Missionary Order by Ashley Barker

Evangelicals (the people) and evangelism (what they do) have come a long way. Evangelicals in Berlin (1966) saw social involvement as the enemy of 'biblical evangelism'; Lausanne (1974) viewed them as complementary; Wheaton (1983) saw social action and political engagement as integral to evangelism. Lausanne (1989) affirmed that 'the proclamation of God's kingdom of justice and peace demands the denunciation of all injustice and oppression, both personal and structural; we will not shrink from this prophetic witness.'

But there is very rarely a marriage between Evangelism/Social Concern/Social Justice with traditional concepts of 'missionary orders.' Protestants are individualistic. Their gospel is predominantly individualistic ('receiving Jesus as your _personal_ Savior' etc.).

Now we have something in UNOH (Urban Neighbours of Hope) - centred in Springvale, a suburb in Melbourne, Australia, renowned for its ethnic mix and out-in-the-street drug culture - which combines a commitment to biblical notions of evangelism with a Catholic commitment to obedience, prayer and poverty. It's affiliated with the Churches of Christ, an evangelical denomination in Australia something like the Disciples of Christ in the U.S. How about that? (A similar 'Order' in the U.S. is the InnerCHANGE team in San Francisco, who work among the poor in the U.S. and Cambodia).

Why are new missionary orders required today? Well, for one thing, says Ashley Barker, who heads the UNOH team, mainstream Protestant churches are losing people, and a Christian presence is smallest among working class, blue collar and multi-cultural communities. So 'Missionary Orders' may be the best way to reach these people.

An order is 'a small prophetic group in the Church and in the world which keeps alive Jesus' dream of the Kingdom and thus challenges the dominant culture with an alternative dream' (Kevin Barr). Ashley's 'working definition' of a missionary order: 'A voluntary society of members, related to broader Church structures, who respond to the Lord's calling, challenging and equipping to be committed to living out the Gospel and advancing the Reign of God through apostolic service in a common, radical and sustainable way.' Their aim, says Ashley, is 'to name the powers and point people back to the Lord and his vision for the world.'

Orders like the Jesuits have modeled 'downward mobility' as a vocation. It's the only way the poor are going to be effectively reached, says Ashley. Growing churches in the West 'market' themselves (intentionally or otherwise) to the middle classes who live in dormitory suburbs. But who will reach those on the margins? How can the Church, in Walter Brueggemman's words, 'dismantle the politics of oppression and exploitation... countering it with a politics of justice and compassion'? The answer has always involved prophets, whose role is to criticicize our failure to meet the demands of a compassionate God.

But all this raises a practical issue: how shall such people and groups sustain themselves spiritually, and not burn out? Of 25 such 'orders' operating in 1975 in Victoria, Australia, for example, only one - a Baptist contemplative order - remains. Ashley's answer: there must be a process of 'Formation' into Christ, in some sort of accountable way. Negatively, this involves being freed from personal hindrances to one's spiritual growth (sin, pride etc.) and socio-cultural hindrances (like prejudice). As with all the traditional Christian orders, an apprenticeship and then novitiate time are important 'spaces' for formation. (Our youngest daughter Lindy is currently a full-time intern with UNOH, with a special ministry to women in prison). Solitude, Scripture (read with the discipline of the lectio divina), spiritual guides, a weekly discipline of 'Examen of conscience' are important in this process.

The community also practises other ancient 'disciplines' - like hospitality, just stewardship, servanthood, living at or below the poverty line (members of the community are encouraged to be 'employed' for less than 20 hours a week), limiting one's 'socializing' with those outside the community to one event a fortnight ('this helps say "yes" to those God has called us to be with in the host community rather than a "no" for we have said too many small "yeses" to other things'). 'Charisms' are nurtured through common disciplines and habits, confession, common reminders (eg. a simple ceremony with candles), celebration, comradeship, collective time usage (recommended as 25% in the host community, 25% in structured time - like projects etc., 25% in employment, 10% in team time, 15% in renewal time - ie. sabbath, prayer, recreation, rest, reading).

The feeling I get as I read all this - and meet the special people involved - is that we have something here which has an 'apostolic' flavour. Jesus and his friends are in Springvale, befriending the poor, housing the homeless, giving food to the hungry, cleaning up the neighbourhood (recently they found 200-plus used syringes along a 150-metre stretch of a suburban street), visiting people in prison, bringing good news to the 'lost'. As in the ministry of Jesus (but not that of the Pharisees) orthopraxis takes precedence over orthodoxy. Compassionate love is supreme, not law. Relationships are more important than structures or institutions. Time for reflection has a higher priority in this community, than, say, academic degrees. (However several in the UNOH community do have high academic qualifications - a PhD in pharmacology, degrees in Arts, Theology, etc.).

Last Sunday Jan and I were privileged to attend the 'opening' of their new administrative centre - a house which served as a Buddhist worship-place previously. Tim Costello, a high-profile Australian Christian leader (currently president of the Baptist Union of Australia), spoke warmly of the whole venture, and Ross Langmead, a well-known Melbourne-based missiologist, wrote a song for the occasion:

COME TO ME (Matthew 11:28-29)

Chorus:

Come to me if you are weary With heavy burdens: I'll give you rest. Walk in harness with me, for I am gentle. My yoke is easy, my burden light.

Verses:

We hear the rumour God is here with us. We feel the love that Jesus brings. We sense the call to walk into this love. But every day? In every way? An overwhelming call!

We feel the broken dreams, the pain of life. We stand beside our friends and weep. We often celebrate the joys of life. Sometimes inspired, but often tired, In giving it our all.

We're called to go outside our comfort zone. We dare to dream a different world, As neighbours bearing hope in daily life. Such energy! What is the key? What if we faint or fall?

© 2001 Ross Langmead.

(Melody & chords available from <>, Tel 613/03 9348 8021 May be used freely in worship.)

Brothers and sisters, will you join me in thanking God for this very creative model of witness to the forgiving love of God, the saving power of Jesus Christ, and the healing presence of the Spirit in our day?

Collective Witness: a Theology and Praxis for a Missionary Order, by Ashley Barker, (2000, 101 pages) is published by Urban Neighbours of Hope, PO Box 89, Springvale, Victoria, Australia 3171. Why not write and ask for a copy - but enclose a generous gift via an Australian dollars cheque, or Visa MC details? Suggested donation for the book on its own: $20 AUD.

Rowland Croucher April 2001.