Picturing Theology

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P i c t u r i n g T h e o l o g y

Empowering People for Freedom, Wholeness, and Justice (continued)

in and of itself. Both word and deed are necessary components of the Church’s announcement of, and faithfulness to, the Kingdom of God.

3.2 Interdependence and Interconnectedness The relationship between Missions and Development is not a simple one. Their interconnectedness has many facets. • They are connected by a common goal. Neither missionaries nor development workers are satisfied until God’s reconciliation with man and man’s reconciliation with man is completely realized. We believe that this makes both missions and development work Christocentric in orientation, since it is “in Christ” that God is reconciling the world to himself. Christ is the King. It is his sacrificial, reconciling death that provides the objective basis for reconciliation between humanity and God, and within human relationships and structures. It is his kingly authority and presence that allows the Kingdom to break into this present age destroying the works of darkness and creating authentic communities gathered under God’s rule. • They retain a degree of independence from each other. Evangelism and church-planting can sometimes be done without any immediate focus on development work. Conversely, development work can be sometimes be done without accompanying church-planting activity. Because both are authentic responses to God’s activity in the world, they can, when appropriate, operate independently from each other. While each is a legitimate activity in its own right, it will obviously be healthier and more normal to find them occurring together. • They need each other for lasting effectiveness. Without evangelism, there are no changed lives, no reconcilers who understand God’s plan for man and society, and who undertake change in the power of the Spirit. Without development, the churches established by mission become withdrawn, and do not function as “salt and light” within their local and national communities. Missionary efforts are undermined when the existing church does not make visible in its life the effects of