CHAPTER 10
APOSTOLIC STRUCTURES FOR TRANSFORMATIVE REVIVAL
Mission structures are a kind of ‘theology on four wheels’, enfleshed demonstrations of a theoretical orientation to the world… they are windows that allow one to peer closely at the underpinnings of a given theology of mission
In Chapter 9, I examined prophetic processes that initiate each of stages 1 to 4. In this chapter, I explore a second spiritual gift, in apostolic engagement with societal leadership. This develops from the earlier question, as to what has forced the dramatic reversal from non-engagement to aggressive activism in social issues. In this chapter, I examine elements of the apostolic that begin in revival and that transition revival into cultural renewal. The process of calling people to aspire to leadership roles in society is prophetic. I suggest that the apostolic deploys and develops such prophets and creative minorities, sustains momentum and creates movement dynamics for change.
I expand the concept of the apostolic,[1] both theologically, based on personal reflections on Scripture and history and in terms of practice. A simple 7-step apostolic / prophetic movement model for analysing structural developments of engagement in multiple societal sectors is proposed. Some proposals are made as to how further expansion and evaluation beyond engagement might develop. This is an insider’s evaluation based on stories from leaders within each sector of society. Some of the stories are included to portray the nature of that engagement.
Recent evangelical literature on this topic (see p. 27), has largely been related to public policy and governmental relationships to the churches. For many years, I have wondered “Why such a focus on power?” Perhaps it reflects a New Zealand cultural understanding that governments are all-empowering. In this chapter, I posit an alternative underlying presupposition that policy change at such a level cannot be done by enthusiasts overnight. That seems reasonable. A second assumption is that the primary locus of social change is not at governmental level but at the level of the experts in societal sectors.[2] If there is an ongoing process of theological reflection and action by cadres of leaders in each sector, which results in the values and collective thinking being transferred from generation to generation of leaders, these experts are likely to engage and significantly influence both the cultures within that sector and through that, policy-making bodies. Such assumptions lead me to the idea of think tanks, forums, institutes and eventually universities.
Redefining the Nature of the ApostolicThe apostolic in missions has for Evangelicals and Pentecostals over the last decades been related to the role of multiplication of local congregations, based on Paul’s practice of converting Jewish synagogue styles. In contrast, I suggest that:
Transformative Revival 1 - Transformative revival involves an understanding of the apostolic role as the creation of entrepreneurial structures which speak of the nature of God’s activity in secular arenas.
This significantly extends existing global revival theory. As coordinator of the AD2000 Cities Network, I employed the phraseology of apostolic and prophetic city leadership teams in the global conversation on city transformation in 1991, beginning from experiences in Kolkuta (Grigg, 1997d:54-66). Peter Wagner has subsequently publicised the concept of city leadership teams of apostles and prophets for transformation globally (1998; 1999), though some of the organisational dynamics he has used to execute this, have drawn heavy (though unpublished) criticism of the connotations of power inherent in the idea (reminding one of Foucault’s understanding that words are tools of power (1994: xv-xxi)).
In contrast to these writings focussed on pastoral leaders developing into apostolic roles, I expand the concept of apostolicity into leadership in secular societal sectors. Thus I seek to move the conversation from an integrational level of city leadership to the diffusion of the apostolic into societal leadership. Australian Assemblies of God pastor, James Thwaites, in The Church Beyond the Congregation, has given an alternative Pentecostal “creation” theological framework for such a discussion (1997; 1999).
Biblical Understanding of Apostolic EntrepreneursSome simple definition is needed. Of the functional roles released in revival the pre-eminent one listed is that of the apostle. The Greek apostolos (“one sent forth”), has an emphasis on elements of commission — carrying the full authority and responsibility of the sender for a definite mission. The word is that used for emissaries sent from the Emperor with full imperial authority (Harrison, 1984).
Jesus highlights the divine order with a saying attributed to God himself, but found nowhere in the Old Testament, “God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles…’” (Luke 11:49). Jesus himself is the supreme apostle (Heb 3:1), often speaking of being sent from the Father and sending the twelve as the Father had sent him. This “sentness with authority,” has always been interpreted primarily as referring to the designated twelve apostles, imparted with authority to preach, teach, heal and deliver. However historically there has also been an understanding of the expansion of these gifts in the apostolate.
Working from within the “pneumatological apostolic mindset” of expanding new church movements, charismatic and Pentecostal understanding grows from a view of an ever-changing gift of the Spirit in action. This contrasts with views based on apostolic succession and the defence of authority of office of state churches. It perceives of the apostle as a continuing functional role within the church. For the Scriptures speak of other apostles than the twelve (Paul (Gal 1:1); Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:4,14); Paul, Timothy and Silas (I Thes 2:6); probably Andronicus and a (probably female) apostle, Junias (Rom 16:7); James, Jesus’ brother (Gal 1:19), along with the other apostles of I Cor 15:5-8. In II Cor 8:23, two unnamed brethren are named “apostles to the churches.” In Phil 2:5, Epaphroditus is referred to as “your apostle.” The word is also used in a general sense as “messenger” in John 13:16 (Vine, Unger, & Jr., 1996:31).
Apostolic Multiplication of CongregationsThe preceding chapters on revival have led me to seek to define a new ecclesiology. I have suggested that post-revival emphases on church growth as goal, with its institutionalisation of cultic religion, (i.e., its focus of local church, pastor and Sunday morning worship), has been a limited conservation goal within a broad movement of the Spirit. The alternative principle:
Transformative Revival 2 - Releasing the Apostolic: The primary goal of revival is to set people free into new apostolic directions outside the cloisters.
This affirms missiologist Bosch’s major thesis that true ecclesiology is primarily missional, not cultic (1991: chapter 1).
The tenor of the book of Ephesians is of the global Church as the agent of transformation. In it, the apostle examines the purposes of history and sees that through the Church, the many-sided wisdom of God is manifested to the powers (Eph 3:10). But the barrier for Evangelicals has been the definition of the local church. If this is re-examined then an understanding of the apostolic, prophetic and evangelistic giftings and their utilisation within secular arenas can be developed.
For Evangelicals there has been a history of theology since the reformation elevating the local, geographically defined congregational structures known as “the local church.” These theologies grew among Anabaptists as the normative, indeed, absolutist model, identified with “the New Testament church.” They were modelled after the congregational structures of the monasteries, the set apart ones, the religious. Now anyone could be one of the “religious” while joining as a lay person into these local congregations. This became “the church.” Elders were elders in this local congregation. When towns became filled with Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches, each felt they should have elders (or the equivalent, depending on their nomenclature).
However, it is not the “local church” to whom Paul writes in his letters, but the church or the faithful in the city of.… The elders, overseers and deacons are those of Philippi (Phil 1:2) or in every town in Crete (Titus 1:6)…. He wrote to city-wide churches with a variety of structures.
Church growth theory has worsened this problem by defining the apostolic as the multiplication of these “local churches”. This unfortunately locks the New Zealand Evangelical church, which is heavily influenced by these theories, into a theological time warp. The evidence in the Scriptures indicates the pioneering of many different Kingdom structures depending on the city and the culture. There is evidence of many small groups, house churches and larger congregational structures in these biblical cities. However, the leaders of these groups are connected across the city. These city churches are diverse structurally and in terms of leadership.
Other Apostolic StructuresMissiological theory identifies seven Church structures that historically continue to recur.[3] To understand societal penetration, we need to look carefully at the missional structures in the city. For today, in mega-cities, clusters and communities of intensely committed men and women, choosing lifestyles of devotion and involvement with the needy multiply. Focussed around small training centres, they are often committed to Jesus’ ideals of simplicity and sacrifice.
NON-CHURCH APOSTOLIC MOVEMENTOne such group in Auckland is Wai Ora, working with at-risk teenagers. They follow a pattern of evangelism and discipleship based on open homes and extended family living. Typical are Ian and Debby who have spent ten years having teenage kids in trouble with the police living in their home, running weekly clubs for the kids in trouble at the local schools and quietly bringing the Kingdom to some of the most dysfunctional families. Their support structure has been in meeting with other leaders committed to similar programs.
These are not local churches[4] but they are Church. This raises the question as to whether the strong identification of the apostolic gifting with (local) churchplanting in the literature is correct. These groups are often apostolic in style of leadership.
In most cases it is not the holding structure of the local worshipping parish, the para-mission structures but the missional structures, which bring growth and dynamic change in the local church.
APOSTOLIC AND PASTORAL CITY LEADERSHIP STYLESThis was very evident in Christchurch, where I met first with a group of six men with apostolic and prophetic giftings and mapped out the various major directions of the church in the city. In the afternoon, I met with pastoral leaders and asked the same questions. At the end of the afternoon with them there was no apparent direction. Until I showed them the morning’s work! The response was an immediate affirmation.
Similarly, the database behind this study identified over 700 Protestant missions structures within the Auckland church, half Protestant, half Catholic. Alpha courses drive evangelism in many churches; Dynamite Bay programs resource many effective children’s outreaches; Youth for Christ, Parachute Extreme see perhaps more effective penetration of youth culture than the work of all the church youth groups which feed off the dynamic they generate; Christian schools provide a base for sustenance of Protestant and Catholic congregations and so on.
This raises the question of whether releasing apostolic giftings into mission in the secular arenas, semi-autonomous from the local worshipping congregations is a more significant structural step into the future than the present focus of the theology of the apostolic on local congregational development (i.e. church growth).[5]
Transformative Revival 3 - The development of apostolic structures in secular society is a primary means of expanding revival into transformation.
On the positive side, many urban anthropologists have identified the significant relational ties of modern urbanites as not being in the local geographic community but in the working environment, the networked and associational relationships. Response to this has been the foundational theory behind the Catholic worker-priests in France and workers movements and Industrial Mission movement within liberal Protestant circles of the 1960’s.[6]
On the negative side, the failure of the Catholic worker-priest movement parallels the lack of expected fruit of the Industrial Missions. Evangelicals have presupposed this to be because of the lack of an evangelistic component to the theologies of these movements.[7] This is largely true, but I wonder if the analysis is wholly valid or if there is another social reality at work. Based on urban theory, the workplace is a secondary relational context. Similarly, in this research it has become obvious that attempts to develop businesspersons’ ministries have grown healthily then faltered several times in the city, largely because their wives and children are based in the local community. Missional structures must be apostolic and evangelistic to be sustainable, but sustainability requires fulfilling familial functions — this is better done in the local community congregation. Participants in industrial or business mission must live with this tension.
The following shows how use of small transformational groups is not without difficulties:
SMALL GROUP STRUGGLESWyn Fountain writes, “I have been trying for years to establish a group of businessmen who would meet together and relate together for the purpose of encouraging an apostolic team to lead the way in penetrating society… this has never come to pass. I have challenged the group of ten men that I meet together with each week and the response has been that they are still working through their own theological and philosophical bases, let alone their personal relationships with their wives, families and staff and other stake holders. They are making progress and some are nearly ready to put time and energy into other people’s lives, businesses and so on. In the meantime they are all working hard to keep their own businesses afloat and they find that meeting once a week is all they can manage. Men with initiative and drive are already involved in various activities that place heavy demands on their time, energy and money...”
Other ongoing experiments in apostolic non-church mission have been occurring among Evangelicals in the city:
NAVIGATORS: NON-CHURCH CHURCHThe Navigators for years have been meeting in small groups in homes or in the business sector of the city for Bible studies. They are carefully (in order to survive ecclesiastical censure) ‘non-church’. They are mission. They choose not to worship or celebrate the sacraments, so as not to offend the ‘local church’. They encourage people to be involved in their local church, but the primary relationships remain within the discipling groups.
The third option for societal engagement (viz-a-viz local congregational growth and apostolic structures in societal sectors), is that of large inner-city churches with apostolic ministries into societal sectors. This is being experimented with around the world. Generally, the centripetal pull into large church growth appears counterproductive to this vision. To grow a large church rapidly requires concentration on that goal alone.[8] Centrifugal activity is usually seen as counterproductive to it, so takes a back seat to those ministries that can be controlled and produce numbers in the worship service.[9]
DEVELOPING THE APOSTOLIC FROM WITHIN THE MEGA-CHURCHKen Youngson is involved in one of these experiments. He is Community Outreach pastor at CLCA in Mt Eden. The church has grown over 13 years to about 5000 members through dynamic leadership, drawing in good disenfranchised Christian leaders from other churches in the city. Ken’s role involved the pioneering of street ministries to prostitutes on K. Rd., the development of a counselling centre on the church property, sports ministries and a yearly conference targeting business people and societal transformation. Ken was released from the church to develop Quantum Sports Ministry.
Transformational Conversation: Apostolic and Prophetic EngagementHaving reviewed the nature of the apostolic in the scriptures, then from missions theory and local practice considered the implications of it as a primarily ex-cloister gifting, this chapter next examines aspects of “engagement” of the prophetic and apostolic with Auckland as a means of anchoring this theology.
“Engagement”[10] has to do with connecting the conversations. While the outlines of the transformational conversation have been drafted, engagement questions whether the conversationalists are speaking to each other or past each other (or simply into thin air). Are the prophets and apostles developing voices and structural expressions of those voices, that relate to the structures and issues of society?[11]
Methodology: Identifying Structural Change and Values Change“Transforming a city” is a phrase with two monolithic categories, “transformation” and “city”. Yoder’s (1996) major critique of Neibuhr’s Christ and culture thesis, is of his monolithic categories of “Christ” and of “culture.” This leads me to the premise, that while it is difficult to define and engage an entire city or societal sector as good or evil, godly or demonised,[12] it may be possible to see and engage parts of it as categorised by qualities of good or evil, godly or demonised.
I propose that strategic transformation of a city requires analysis at three levels of city structures, soul and spirit in a number of societal sectors, identifying nodes and linkages within these and the nature of change needed in each.
The nodes of a structure are here defined as people in loci of decision-making or execution. The linkages are inanimate policies, procedures, patterns of implementation, communications processes and so on. Take, for example, the nodes and linkages of the educational structure of a nation. Policy (linkage 1) is formulated by the governing parliamentary chamber (node 1), under the leadership of a secretary of education (node 2), then quantified into operating procedures (linkage 2), by bureaucrats (node 3) and implemented (linkage 3), by principals (node 4) and educators (node 5). Both nodes and linkages can be good or evil, godly or demonised — or neutral.
The relationships of God, humankind and creation together make up what is called “the social order.” The matrix of the social order differs from culture to culture. Penetrating the nodes and linkages of that matrix is essential in bringing each social order under the authority of the King, discipling that nation.
Movement Engagement AnalysisWhat are the mechanics of engaging each of these nodes and linkages in the postmodern era? Experiences bringing together global consultations leads me to emphasise the synergy derived from moving from consultations to networks (Garvin, 1998) to alliances, think tanks and partnerships (Grigg, 1997d: 67-70), all based on prayer movements. Skreslet (1999:3-4), has also indicated niche orientation, networking and being technologically adept as three elements of effective engagement. Increasing specialisation or niche orientation is essential for survival within increasingly complex globally connected societies. Networking enables accomplishment of specific goals among clusters of specialised networks that complement each other in a field of expertise.
VisionNZ developed as a national network linking the religious leadership around the evangelistic mandate. It began with a national church growth research process reported in 1987 (Fernandez & Hall, 1987) and has built through several conferences into a networking movement with diffused authority. By 1996, it had expanded concepts of evangelism to integrate aspects of transformational theology, broadening evangelistic networks to include the issue of the context of societal transformation, in essence providing a national movement that connects theologians, churchmen and those at the coal-face of evangelism. Vision for Auckland sought to anchor this at the city level.
Networks at any level require staffing and ongoing funding sources to be sustained longer than a few years. This has been minimal but progressive with VisionNZ, through the transition of Graeme Lee from politician to national leader, then the restructuring as Vision Network with the appointment of Glynn Carpenter as co-ordinator. With the retrenchment in 2004 of the Christian Council of Aoteoroa – New Zealand, it has become positioned as a national voice for the wider Protestant church, with welcome involvement of Catholic representatives where they are comfortable in partnership.[13]
Fig. 1, “Generating Kingdom Movements in Society,” below, shows a progression proposed in 1995 (Grigg, 1997a), for the growth of a transformational movement structure based on various strategic elements developed in this study. It has become integral to the structure of Vision Network and is based on the expansion of the prophetic into the apostolic. I proposed seven elements of engagement (Phase 4 of the transformative revival dynamic), that require networking to develop an impact in each societal sector:
1. Theology: Central to integration of such a model is a clear theological vision.[14] Within New Zealand, a common theology around revival and the Kingdom is proposed, offering a theological rationale, for a national strategic framework of social engagement.
2. Vision and Values: What should each sector of a city or nation look like if acknowledging the Kingdom — education, politics, business, trade unions, manufacturing, the arts, city planning and so on? What values are important in this?
1: Transformative Revival: Generating Kingdom Movements in Society
Fig. 1: A missiological framework for engagement: seven steps in multiple societal sectors towards a movement that engages the culture.
3. A Leader and Cadre of totally committed leaders: Movements are developed by face-to-face recruitment into cell-like groups with costly mission goals.
4. Infrastructure: What structures are needed to effect change? It may simply be an office and a fax machine. It may be a training institution. There has to be enough operational capacity to develop an information flow of vision, values and theology and enable coalescence of leadership of the multiplying small groups.
5. Engagement with the Public Arena:[15] What symbols are needed in the political arena, the architecture, the media, the publishing in the city, to communicate these values for each sector? How are forums, publications and events to be utilised to highlight issues?
For example, in the above example, I broke down the educational structure of a city into nodes and linkages. Which of these levels have personnel and issues that can be impacted by the principles of the Kingdom? What is the appropriate cultural strategy for each node and linkage in each sector?
6. A Small Group Dynamic: Movements are based on small committed groups. These are needed both in dealing with the ethical issues that Christians and non-Christians face (an inclusive transformational goal) and pointing to Christ as solution to these issues (an inclusive evangelistic goal). They require some basic structure and appropriate informational materials related to the sector of society they are penetrating.
7. The Goals: The objective is the full declaration of the Word of God into each sector of the culture, resulting in individual salvation (entrance to the Kingdom) and societal and cultural transformation (reflecting the values of the Kingdom). I suggest this can be measured by the creation of new covenantal structures in each sector of society, just as Kagawa’s Kingdom-building work in Japan could be measured by the creation of trade unions, credit co-operatives, the reconstruction of Tokyo without slums and so on (Davey, 2000).
Conversational EngagementFig. 1 provides a basis for analysing conversational engagement. The following Fig. 2, suggests how more quantitative research about levels of engagement could be developed and as an example, indicates my view of existing dynamics in Auckland.[16] The following stories are also representative.
2: Estimating Transformational Engagement of Evangelicals in Auckland
Fig. 2: A suggested approach to comparing levels of engagement in various societal sectors by evaluating the seven steps of engagement in Fig. 1 by a four point scale for each step. 0 for no evidence of that factor to 3 for significant evidence. Values given are my estimate for each sector in Auckland in 1996 and 2005.
Based on my involvement with city leaders around the world, in most cities business networks constitute the first sector to develop significant processes. If we consider engagement by the business community in Auckland, the prophetic figure of Wyn Fountain looms large.
WYN FOUNTAIN AND THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLEWyn, an 80-year-old businessman, was a leader in the renewal movement. Over the years, he has published, in pragmatic Kiwi businessman style, booklets and articles on areas of theology for business (Step 1 in Fig. 1).
He co-ordinated business forums with Christians, creating a vision for transformation of business (2). Out of this a network of committed businessmen has developed (3, 4). Collective strategy and goals have been difficult to develop (5). Wyn set up forums (6) to stimulate debate on issues of ethics and morality in the conduct of business and civil society in general. World-known speakers such as Michael Novak and Paul Johnson were made available to these forums by the Business Roundtable These were not set up as specifically Christian functions, but both speakers came from Catholic roots. They emphasised that successful capitalism must be controlled by the exercise of conscience, informed by a point of reference outside the humanist emphasis. These forum ceased when the Business for Social Responsibility was formed in Auckland, as an organisation seeking to put these principles into practice. More recently, Wyn worked on developing small Omega groups of business people (7).
Martien Kelderman, was appointed to a role at Bible College to expand training of business people in Kingdom theology. This has resulted in many church seminars on the workplace. The next chapter will also indicate the roles of other business people in these progressions.
In the political realm, the recent history of right-wing fundamentalist attempts at Christian parties described earlier largely failed. The Christian Democrats, in moving to join a sitting member and become the Futures Party, developed a different model of inclusiveness that in the 2002 resulted in the election of several Catholic and Protestant charismatics, with wide support from the Evangelical community. But they failed to effectively confront Prime Minister, Helen Clark’s aggressive secularism and feminist/gay agendas (Wishart, 2003) and the continuing evidence of the Labour government’s unwillingness to listen to the moral concerns of its people (Carnichan, 2004). The earlier failed attempts nevertheless have produced several politically active Evangelicals and a number of politically-savvy Evangelical leaders — some in other parties. However no clear theological reflection has developed on the nature of Christian involvement in politics.[17]
The increasing Christian presence in sports and sports media, is largely due to the expansion of Pacific Islanders in this sector, who tend to come from Christian and increasingly evangelical backgrounds, as second generation migrants move to English speaking and often Pentecostal churches.
In contrast to these sectors, the health sector has a large number of committed Evangelicals (several have estimated that 25-30% of the medical schools are committed Christians). Many are in influential roles. For example, Christian involvement has been significant in the effectiveness of the rehabilitation processes of Mason Clinic for psychologically disturbed prisoners. Key leaders in the training of medical students are Evangelicals. However there is no overall process for developing specific Christian strategies for this sector. The evangelical Christian Medical Fellowship has been nationally networked and met quarterly for over 15 years to listen to speakers. The TSCF model has meant leadership is not apostolically defined but based around the idea of fellowship. It has resulted in a few public forums but appears to lack strategic objectives for changing the medical environment.
Given the extent of environmental teaching in the Scriptures, the lack of significant impact on environmental discussions and policy appears to be a major gap. A network was formed in the early 1990’s by then university chaplain, Ray Galvin, but has not been sustained with any significant voice.
ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORKIn February, 2005, a cluster of leaders, motivated by Bruce Nicholls with his years of networking in India, came together to listen to Christian experts in environmental areas and to formulate an initial strategy for developing an environmental theology.
Such leadership is linked to regular intakes of environmental studies students from the US at Kodesh community.
Education Act changes in 1989 and the development of New Zealand Qualifications Authority as an accrediting body with the Christian Theological and Ministries Training Sector has enabled Pentecostal Bible schools to enter into a progression of consistent educational upgrading. It has also brought Pentecostal schools into significant levels of dialogue with traditional theological training which includes serious attention to issues of justice and societal change.
Some leaders have also been working towards visions of Christian Universities as possible long-term institutional bases for a national leadership infrastructure, particularly Bethlehem College in Tauranga (Bethlehem College, 2004).
BEV NORSWORTHY: CHRISTIAN TEACHERS TRAINING COLLEGE OF AOTEAROABev Norsworthy and others have been single-mindedly focused on bringing the Kingdom into the educational sector, through the Christian Teachers Training College of Aotearoa. These teachers continue to network across the sector. This has become a centre for training students in Christian worldview thinking, now called Masters Institute, led by Patrick Baker (Masters Institute, 2004).
BRUCE LOGAN: PROPHET OF EDUCATIONAL VALUESBruce Logan wrote a bimonthly magazine, Cutting Edge, dealing with public policy particularly in education and Christian values, engaging in frequent public debate. It reads like an Oxford magazine, but it is consistently engaging issues. This became the catalyst for the development of the Maxim Institute. Maxim has broadened this engagement in public debate from educational to societal and political issues. It is regarded by many, including leading Evangelicals, as confrontational and rightwing (e.g. Lineham, 2004:165), but affirmed for its commitment to engagement.
An area where these issues have entered the public arena is that of values education in schools. More than a score of evangelical Christian schools have sprung up in a desire to create a morally-based educational environment. Others prefer to seek to influence the values of existing secular education.
JOHN HEENAN: VALUES EDUCATIONCornerstone Values is a program developed by John Heenan (c2002) that has focussed on this idea. It has developed the eight values in “The Abolition of Man” by C. S. Lewis into a values curriculum for schools. It does not mention Christ but produces a standard of right and wrong for students. Forty schools have accepted it for use.
Conversation between Evangelicals and Pentecostals and the media is also relatively insignificant. American evangelists and Brian Tamaki of Destiny Church pay their way onto certain TV channels. NZ evangelical- or Pentecostal-developed TV programs do not feature more than once a week. March for Jesus, gatherings of thousands that were held each year, featured no more than a two minute slot on the news in contrast with the Hero Parade, a parade affirming gay and lesbian lifestyles, which collects both news and review time.
RESPONSES TO ANTI-CHRISTIAN MEDIA BIASIn response to the Church Life Survey, the New Zealand Herald published a scathing headline about the decline of the churches. This was followed by TVNZ’s portrayal that classic Christian beliefs were a thing of the past.
This burdened several evangelical leaders as they met to discuss issues. ‘How do you address the issue of closed doors for Christians at the Herald, at TVNZ and elsewhere?’ An immediate response was to find a person to collect clippings to document the bias within the Herald.
‘The doors are not closed, though there may be bias. We simply need to come up with positive media objectives. We need a task force which will define the objectives, similar to the way the Marxists and homosexuals identify key places in society into which to get their people. We need people who the media can contact with issues, that the media like, public spokespeople.’
No serious action was taken.[18] This may be contrasted with many positive activities involving Evangelicals and charismatics in media events from Ian Grant’s frequent youth and family TV programs, to Rob Harley’s TVNZ documentaries of New Zealand Christians and other heroes pioneering against odds to serve the poor and bring justice.
TREVOR YAXLEY: MEDIA DREAMTypical of the stories encountered during this study is that of Trevor Yaxley, a converted businessman, who during the renewal, developed a national evangelistic movement and then Lifeway Bible School. In 1991 they ‘heard from God’ about Family Television Network. By 1996, he had developed television production studios and training, then a free to air station. ShineTV is a family friendly channel launched on SKY TV, Dec 1, 2001.
This is complemented by the development among Pentecostals of a postmodern music culture, spearheaded by the large inner city churches. This has resulted in curiosity among the media as to why a number of top performers are Evangelical Christians: Brooke Fraser, Stereogram, Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield, Dave Dobbins of the Ladds…
POSTMODERN MUSIC CULTURE: PARACHUTE FESTIVAL EXTREMEParachute Festival claims to be the third biggest Christian music festival in the world. Over 18,000 young people attended the 12th yearly festival at Matamata in Feb, 2000, 25,000 are expected in 2005. The festival affirms all forms of youth music from 40 different bands on five separate stages in an attempt to inspire young people to follow Jesus.
Delirious are loud and ragey enough to cut it with the youth culture of today and yet in lead singer Martin Smith, they have a man who’s so passionate about worship that he easily combines the two. Add in the waterslides, weird haircuts, a massive tent town, comprehensive seminar programme on youth issues and a village full of food and the momentum keeps building year by year (Francis, 2000).
One of the most advanced sectors is that of family counselling. The Christian Counsellors Association has a significant standing with the Psychological Association of New Zealand.[19] Part of this has to do with marriage and family development.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RETREATS‘Get Away for a Weekend to Remember’ says the advertisement for Family Life NZ, identifying a weekend of seminars and husband-wife discussion on roles, conflict, forgiveness, anger, intimacy. On the opposite page Marriage Ministries International advertises a course, “Good marriage, bad marriages, stale marriages. Any couple can benefit from God’s plan for marriage!”
Meanwhile, the popular Parenting With Confidence seminars that have touched scores of thousands of people in New Zealand, led by the popular TV host of youth programs, Ian Grant, is featured in another corner. On the back page is a School of Biblical Counselling and an advertisement for a conference for ministering to homosexuals entitled ‘Pursuing Sexual and Relational Wholeness’ (2000).
The rapid expansion of abortion and the loss of public support to fight it indicates that such ventures, while noble and assisting many, are not at a sufficient national level to reverse what Evangelicals view as declining moral trends. An alliance of Evangelicals and Catholics on these issues has seemed powerless against the much smaller abortion lobby:
PETITIONS AGAINST EXPANDED ABORTION LEGALISATIONAn attempt was made in Feb. 2000 with a petition of 30,084 signatures requesting Parliament to give statutory recognition to the unborn child as a human being endowed with an inalienable right to life.
A survey by A. C. Nielson showed that support for such legal protection had decreased from 40% to 34%, while opposition had increased from 35% to 53% over ten years. The pro-life analysis of this included comment that with an increase of abortions to 15,000 per year, ‘tens of thousands of New Zealanders who have experienced abortion in their family or amongst their circle of friends have been coerced by this culture of death into supporting abortion’ (Orr, 1999)
Frequently, leaders in the Vision for Auckland leadership have commented that the family is the essential building block of a healthy society. One of the areas of healing needed is the restoration of many men who have lost their role as heads of homes, or become trapped by the effects of their sexual freedom within the culture.
PROMISEKEEPERS: ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITIES OF PURITYThe growth of Promisekeepers, a movement of men making commitments to fidelity in marriage with gatherings yearly of several thousand, has resulted in small covenantal groups of men in many churches and provided a public symbolism around the sanctity of marriage. While its roots are in Midwest US Evangelicalism (Abraham, 1997; Claussen, 2000), leadership in New Zealand has been built around Paul Subritsky, son of an evangelist at the centre of the charismatic renewal in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Evaluation of EngagementReading these structural transformational visions born in seasons of charismatic renewal, is like watching a child taking its first steps, or a teenager oscillating between identity and confusion. It is both glorious in the evident actions of faith, in the panorama of boldness and sad in the inadequacy of underlying theological frameworks, structural wisdom and effectiveness.
It confirms (1) that renewal releases energy for societal change. It also confirms (2) that underlying theological development and (3) expansion of structural networks is needed. This leaves me with the recognition (4) that these are neither available nor developing rapidly enough for renewal to become transformative revival. Thus cultural revitalisation will not be generated, unless… apostolic and prophetic leadership develops to take these embryonic building blocks and foster them into an effective synergistic movement for change.
This study has examined the missiological ramifications of revival theology in Auckland as far as engagement. Next, as an example of the process of engagement, I will narrow this research to examine creation of theology in the business sector.
WORKS CITED
Abraham, Ken. (1997). Who Are the Promise Keepers? New York: Doubleday.
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[1] I have taught Weber’s routinisation of charisma over the years (Weber, 1947), as a useful understanding of the prophetic, the multiple bases of authority in leadership, and progressions to institutionalisation, it has seemed that he does not clearly differentiate the transitions from prophetic to apostolic roles well On the other hand, it seems that in business literature, the frequent differentiation of roles have parallels to the five leadership giftings of Ephesians 4:11,12. This chapter could easily be expanded into both of these fields – sociology of religion or management studies. Space precludes either.
[2] This assumption has been strengthened by Eisenstadt’s analysis of Weber, “In general, it seems that such transformative tendencies of religious and ideological systems and movements tend to be greater, the more they are borne and promoted by relatively cohesive elites with a strong sense of self-identity, and especially by secondary elites which, while somewhat distant from the central ruling one, yet maintain positive solidary orientations to the center and are not entirely alienated from the pre-existing elites and from the broader groups of society” (Weber, 1968: xlvii). I first came across this in Tippett’s story of the conversion webs in Southern Polynesia, where conversion of a significant number of heads of tribes was a prerequisite for the King to eat the sacred turtle and (since no calamity happened), declare Tonga a Christian nation (Tippett, 1971).
[3] 1. Local congregations, 2. denominations, 3. training centres, 4. service organisations, 5. missions societies, 6. renewal movements, 7. global inter-church networks (Glasser, 1993). This historical reality is in direct conflict with public statements by Pastor Brian Tamaki, that if the church was fully functional, parachurch organisations would disappear, for all must be under the authority of the apostles and pastors (Holding, 2005). He represented common mega-church Pentecostal thinking.
[4] Classical sociology from Troelsch on has used only a church-sect dichotmomy. It appears to me that the area of church-mission structural differentiation is required with an additional analysis of mission structures. This would add dramatically to Stark’s 99 propositions on the sociology of religion (2000:277-286), drawing on Winters seminal works on missional orders as a polar type (1974) and Mellis’ concept of missional community (1976).
[5] Tillapagh (1985) some 25 years ago, was widely accepted when he broached the same thesis within mainline church growth theory. His model was the expansion of the local church into secular ministries. He built from a limited theology of spiritual giftings not the function of the apostolic/ prophetic gifts.
[6]For background on the development of industrial missions model in New Zealand see Horrill (1995) and Buckle (1978).
[7]For example, core Asian documents contain the following rhetoric against evangelism, in describing industrial mission: “IT IS NOT: preaching at the factory gate... A proselytising or propaganda agency with an ulterior motive behind all its concern... A recruiting centre for the church’s membership” (Daniel, 1970).
[8]Wagner has recently popularised the idea of the apostolic (1998). He ignores the suffering pioneer missionary and ascribes the role to apostolic development of mega-church structures. While his work is descriptive of an aspect of emerging reality, this present thesis counters this cultic-focused model of the apostolic. I base this on the view that the cultic and non-crucicentric power, wealth and prosperity centres of mega-church growth are counter to the primary processes of revival and the values publicly exhibited are counterproductive to the extending of the reign of God into major sectors of society. Paul modelled his apostleship through suffering, humility and a lifestyle of financial sacrifice (II Cor 6:4-10).
[9] Principles 61-68 of Fink and Stark on Professional Ecclesiastics justify this statement (Stark & Finke, 2000: 283).
[10]The study evolved into a focus on ‘engagement’ as indicator. As of 1998, that was as far as much of evangelicalism had progressed. Secondary studies are needed to examine ‘impact’. By 2005, that was becoming a viable option, but beyond the scope of this study.
[11] A taxonomy of engagement as structured voice could be further analysed in terms of the development of alternative structures as apostolic/prophetic voices, structured voices within governmental contexts or structured voices within existing socio-cultural sectors, their institutions, webs of relationships and values. Since my aim is limited to demonstrating the outworking of theology, such detailed analysis would be better in a derivative impact study.
[12]Tippett (1987) and Koch (1972/1994) among others, have taxonomies for demonisation, both anthropological and theological. Here it is used loosely for any intrusion of demonic activity into a societal structure.
[13] Its council involves significant leaders from all the major denominations, and there are current discussions (2005) with representatives of the former CCANZ (Council of Churches of Aoteoroa – New Zealand), as to its potential role as a national voice. Some of these were held at the 2005 Vision Network Conference at Waikanae. However, Vision Network leaders have not been willing to represent the extremes of liberal leadership and homosexual lobbies within some of the mainline churches.
[14]The Ecumenical Conference on Life and Work that preceded the World Council of Churches before the second World War, intended to formulate some united action, but could not for lack of clear theological vision concerning the relationship of church and society - an important lesson (Duff, 1956:28-31).
[15]Theologies for creation of public space (freedom of the individual, separation of church and state), were at the core of reformation and post-reformation emergence of Evangelical movements. In Latin America (de Castro, 2000) and the Philippines (Maggay, 1994), the involvement of the church in the emergence of democracy from dictatorships, the creation of public space, has catalysed leaders into transformation theologies, but Evangelicals and Pentecostals have been playing ‘catch-up’ with the Catholic establishment. New Zealand Christians see access to public space as a given.
[16] Full analysis would involve another phase in the helical cycle of research, moving from the case study, participant-observer roles to a fuller sociological analysis. This was beyond the parameters of a primarily theological study. It could also be useful to compare these with graphs of the Catholic and liberal church engagement in each sector over the same time.
[17] There have been numerous articles, but no development of a comprehensive evangelical theology in New Zealand. (From overseas, see Grant, 1987; Mouw, 1976; Neuhaus, 1984; Newbigin, 1981; Niebuhr, 1932; Whitehead, 1994; Wogaman, 1988). On the other hand, Ahdar and Stenhouse (from a legal perspective (Ahdar, 2000; 2003; Ahdar & Stenhouse, 2000)), Jonathon Boston (from a public policy perspective ), and Lineham (from a historical perspective (2000; 2004)) have all written on the relationship of Church and State, from evangelical theological frameworks.
[18] Harold Turner discusses the issues of church and media at length (1996).
[19] Comment from John Sturt, pioneer of the Christian counselling sector.