General Synod 5/05 A Church in Mission
Recommendations from church committee F
Summary
The purpose of the topic is to discuss what it means to call the Church of Norway a church in
mission in the light of the description of the church as a serving, confessing and open folk
church. The presentation of the topic begins with a theological section which bases mission on
the process by which the Triune God is sent to the world as Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
The church is drawn into this process by being given the Holy Spirit. Mission is therefore part
of the nature of the church. Mission means crossing boundaries in order to share the Gospel of
the love of God in Jesus Christ. The boundaries can be geographical, age-related, religious,
cultural or social. Mission is both an aspect of everything that the church does and specific
patterns of behaviour which have mission as their purpose. The goal of mission is not the
church but the Kingdom of God. The church is therefore both an instrument and an object of
mission. The story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus is used as a biblical model for
mission understood as travelling together.
Mission encounters obstacles. One obstacle in the context of the Church of Norway is that
many people associate mission with the methods of revivalism and with clear divisions
between those who are “inside” and those who are “outside” the church. The baptismal
theology and openness of the folk church is acknowledged and is used positively in a plan for
the Church of Norway as an evangelising folk church. Another obstacle is that in a Sami
context, mission is associated with campaigns from Southern Norway. Missionary activity
made the Sami people passive recipients and was interwoven with norwegianisation. Mission
has therefore never taken root in Sami communities in the North. The work that is being done
within Sami church life on the Gospel and culture is acknowledged and is regarded as an
opportunity for establishing a missionary church by and for the Sami people.
When the church discusses mission, it is easy to look outwards at all the tasks involved. Being
still before the face of God is necessary in order to become aware that it is God’s mission. The
church participates in mission through sources of rest and renewal in the Holy Spirit. The
Church of Norway is aware of many such sources: revivalist piety, pilgrim spirituality, retreat
spirituality, charismatic spirituality and liberation spirituality. The church is challenged to
adopt a more dialogical attitude. This can help different communities to recognise God’s
mission in a broader spectrum of sources, forms of expression and activities, and to arrive at a
deeper realisation that different contexts demand different approaches.
The folk church is challenged to take seriously the fact that it is not a fixed feature of society,
but a fellowship that continually is called into being through God’s mission. It is
challenged to adopt a more radical awareness of cultural factors and the need to
orientate itself in changing situations. At the same time, the folk church must seize the
opportunities that it has through nationwide forms of worship, church ceremonies and
religious education. The increasing scope for individual religious choices is a
challenge, but also provides new opportunities. In the same way, the presence of other
religions is both a challenge and an opportunity to strengthen one’s own faith and
identity and to intensify Christian witness. The church is challenged to dismantle its
authoritarian language and recreate Christ’s liberating and healing vision of the
Kingdom of God. The Church of Norway must have a global perspective in all its
activities, participate in other denominations’ missionary work and receive support
from other denominations in its own mission.
The committee’s comments
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have
commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (NRSV,
Matthew 28:19-20).
The committee expresses its thanks for a valuable and informative report.
The committee endorses the report and adds the following comments:
The task of the church in the world
Mission has its origin in the Triune God’s being sent to the world, God as Creator, Redeemer
and Sanctifier. The church is drawn into the sending of the Triune God as the body of Christ
on earth by being given the Holy Spirit. In this way the church participates in God’s mission,
which has as its purpose the Creator’s completion of creation through salvation in Jesus Christ
and the work of the Holy Spirit in creating anew.
The Church of Norway is a church in mission because it is aware that the Gospel is a gift that
must be passed on.
The church carries out mission because it believes that Jesus Christ is the way to salvation. It
must not force the Gospel on anyone. The way in which the church shares the Gospel
influences the way in which people understand it.
Along with the General Youth Synod, the committee maintains that mission in Christ’s
footsteps means dialogue, sharing and nearness:
- dialogue; a balanced conversation in humility, openness and with a will to change
- sharing; to tell the story of what Christ has done and is still doing for us
- nearness; a fellowship of solidarity and care for every individual human being.
The church must always be prepared to share its story with humility and boldness. The church
needs more of both.
During the coming year we want the church – at all levels: parishes, joint parish councils,
dioceses – to further the missionary dimension in all its work: diakonia, religious education,
worship, cultural and musical activities etc.
Joy and pride at the task
Mission and joy belong together. Mission springs out of the joy that faith in Christ gives.
Through sharing its joy, the church becomes whole. The joy in the Christmas story, “a great
joy for all the people” (Luke 2), a worldwide joy.
We partake in that joy because someone shared it with us. The gospel came to Norway
because twelve apostles were sent from Jerusalem. People crossed borders and founded
churches that shared the gospel with others. Everywhere, the story of the love and forgiveness
of Jesus Christ has set people free. Many people have become aware of their own dignity as
beings created in the image of God, and the encounter with God’s forgiveness and love has
given then new self-respect. The gospel has also had a liberating effect in relation to
oppressive forces in society. Missionary work has founded new churches all over the world,
churches that are important partners with our own church in meeting common problems.
The liberating element in the Gospel has inspired many people to voluntary service. The
missionary movement arose at a time when people in Norway were materially poor. Poor
people who were willing to make sacrifices because of their commitment to others are an
example for us to follow today.
The encounter with the Gospel leads us to challenge destructive forces that cause division and
lead to injustice. In contact with churches in other parts of the world, for example through the
Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, experiences, inspiration and
challenges are shared. This has affected and changed us. Other churches have given our own
church important new impulses in theology, hymns, liturgy, Bible study and ethics.
This year, the General Synod has entertained visitors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of South Africa (ELCSA). This has helped to make us realise how deeply we are united with
churches that have been founded by missionaries from our own and other churches.
Missionary service is a source of inspiration for us, both as a sending and a receiving church.
Mission is reconciliation and solidarity in action
The committee admits that the church’s missionary work includes stories of conflicts,
divisions and wounds, both in our own country and in other parts of the world. The church has
often bound people instead of setting them free, taken their independence and self-respect
from them and contributed to suppress local cultures. The world contains much that is broken
and spoiled. That applies to the relationship between humankind and God, people’s
relationship with one another and their relationship to the rest of creation. God’s good purpose
in mission is to restore what sin has destroyed. That is why Jesus Christ was sent to the world
as Saviour and Liberator. Along with the rest of creation, we long for healing, reconciliation
and fellowship.
The committee therefore sees a need to focus on reconciliation and justice, healing and
empowering, in the church’s missionary work. The history of the Sami people, the Kvens
(people of Finnish descent in Northern Norway) and travellers is a special challenge for the
churches in Norway. In order to establish a Christian Sami identity, the church needs to
recruit more Sami ministers. Many disabled persons have lost their independence through
forced evangelisation and persistent prayer in the hope of removing their disability. They, and
other groups, spur us to empower people instead of making them passive.
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (NRSV,
Matthew 5:9). The church has an important peacemaking role. Also in mission, the church
should try to build bridges, not dig ditches. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news...” (NRSV, Isaiah 52:7).
In the history of the Church of Norway it has been difficult to combine an ecumenical
commitment to the World Council of Churches with a commitment to missionary work. The
committee welcomes the reconciliatory approach of the document under consideration, the
main lecture and the seminar at the General Synod. This has opened up a new arena for
discussion of what mission means in our time. The committee calls therefore upon all church
members to fill the word mission with positive content.
The committee emphasises that mission should lead to transformation, both of ourselves and
others. Solidarity and caring are important aspects of mission.
Many Christians are persecuted today because of their faith. We have a duty to do what we
can to ease their suffering and struggle for their rights and for the rights of all people who are
persecuted because of their beliefs.
Mission in a global context
All societies are affected more and more by the presence of many religions. An encounter
with the faith of others can lead to greater awareness of one’s own faith. The Church of
Norway should meet the challenges that other religions present as a church in mission
committed to dialogue and peacemaking.
Parishes should cooperate with other denominations on mission in the local community and
establish meeting-places where they can listen to one another’s insights. The challenge at a
global level is to do mission in a more inclusive and ecumenical way.
The committee emphasises that we must take our own day and age seriously and be aware
that we are a church in movement. The church must enter different spheres and be willing to
change forms that no longer work. It is still important to develop material that can show how
it is possible to read the Bible in ways that new cultures and communities can understand.
Multicultural conditions are to be found in all local communities today. To an increasing
extent, the church must enable congregations to worship in such a way that people of different
cultures and languages can participate. This is especially important in relation to Christian
immigrants to Norway. Many parishes, especially in Northern Norway, have experience with
multilingual and multicultural congregations. Their experiences should be shared.
The committee approves of all the partnerships relationships that congregations have
established with missionary societies through the Joint Council for Congregations in Mission
(SMM). These are a means to increase contact between churches in different parts of the
world. The committee requests that all dioceses be included in the work of SMM.
Impulses from other churches in the form of songs, music and other cultural expressions
enrich our church. This work should be continued and intensified at all levels of the church:
dioceses, joint parish councils and parishes. The Church of Norway has established a
partnership agreement with Lutheran churches in Southern Africa, the Middle East and Brazil.
The church in Southern Africa has said that it needs encouragement and help to see hope in a
situation where it is blinded by sorrow on account of the spread of HIV and Aids and all the
losses that this entails.
In a globalised world, churches and missionary societies must work in new ways. Our church
must be open for emissaries from churches in other countries and arrange for the exchange of
short-term missionaries, in cooperation with the missionary societies. We wish to encourage
“tent-maker ministries”, through which people practise their profession in another country and
at the same time witness for the gospel. Those who come to Norway with another linguistic
and cultural background can be a resource in the work of the church.
General Synod resolution
1. The origin of mission is the love of God in Jesus Christ, who “emptied himself, taking the
form of a slave”. This love must permeate everything that the church does. As a confessing,
serving and open church, the Church of Norway must share the good news of the salvation
that God gives in Jesus Christ with all people, and thus be a church in mission. Together with
the whole world-wide church, we share this message through dialogue, preaching, retelling
the gospel story and by our very presence. Everyone has something to give and something to
receive in mission.
2. The church in Norway is itself a result of faith and worship being brought to us. The
General Synod is grateful to all who participate in the progress of the gospel from Jerusalem,
to our own country and onward to other peoples.
The General Synod is proud of the constructive work that is done in the parishes to share the
Gospel in the local community and to include all people in the fellowship of the congregation.
We acknowledge the work of youth leaders. The General Synod appreciates all the faithful
people who wish to share the Gospel with others and expresses its support for those who feel
that they are alone with their faith.
The General Synod acknowledges and thanks the missionary societies for their efforts in
sharing the gospel across countries and continents. Through this work many people have
come to believe, been empowered and set free. Through building schools and health services,
developing written languages and improving social conditions, missionary work has
strengthened local cultures.
The General Synod affirms its deep unity with the churches that have arisen wherever God
has created faith through the Gospel. In our encounter with the world-wide church, we
experience joy and inspiration in our faith and service.
3. The General Synod acknowledges that many people in Norway and in other countries bear
wounds caused by the missionary work of the church. The church has contributed to binding
people instead of setting them free, taken away their independence and self-respect, and has
taken part in the repression of local cultures. As part of a damaged creation, we long for
healing, reconciliation, justice and fellowship.
Itself reconciled to God, the church is called to bring about reconciliation, both reconciliation
between individuals and between groups that bear wounds. The history of the Sami people,
Kvens and travellers is a special challenge for the church.
The General Synod supports the work being done within Sami church life on the relationship
between the Gospel and culture and urges that this work should continue. The General Synod
encourages missionary societies and Læstadian congregations to take part in these
deliberations and activities.
4. The General Synod calls upon:
a) Congregations
- to be travelling companions through dialogue, sharing and being present, so that the
gospel can create faith, joy and zest for life. We are committed to doing this in
cooperation with other churches
- to cooperate with churches in other countries in our common responsibility for
proclaiming the Gospel for all peoples by intercession, giving, exchanges, partnership
relations, sending out personnel and other measures that contribute to fulfilling this
task.1
- to open up our worship so that there is room for many different cultural forms and to
make it possible for all people to take part in worship, irrespective of language and
cultural background
- to take contemporary society seriously and to be a congregation in motion
- to communicate the call to mission and the call to serve as a missionary to future
generations.
b) The dioceses
- to let the task of sharing the good news with all peoples be a distinct dimension in
developing plans for the work of the diocese
- to discuss how the document “A Church in Mission” can be followed up in various
contexts
1
Alternativ oversettelse: to cooperate with churches in other countries by intercession, giving, exchanges,
partnership relations, sending out personnel and other measures that can help to fulfil our common responsibility
for proclaiming the Gospel for all peoples. (Forkynner vi budskapet “gjennom forbønn...” eller samarbeider vi
med andre kirker “gjennom forbønn...”?)
-
to make it possible for personnel from other churches to serve in our church in
cooperation with joint parish councils, the central church boards and the missionary
societies.
c) The central church boards
- to continue and strengthen the constructive collaboration between missionary societies
in the Joint Council for Congregations in Mission
- to try to recruit more Sami ministers, catechists, deacons and church musicians
- to strengthen the connection between mission, ecumenism and international diakonia
in cooperation with the dioceses.
d) The missionary societies
to continue to engage in missionary work
- with a comprehensive testimony, so that the gospel is proclaimed faithfully in word
and deed
- in such a way that unity between the denominations is strengthened
- through cooperation with local churches
- in cooperation with all the dioceses and all parishes in the Church of Norway through
the Joint Council for Congregations in Mission.
Passed unanimously