That’s the mission statement adopted by the General Conference yesterday (Tuesday 29 April 2008). The Council of Bishops has advocated this change for quite some time, and the addition of “for the transformation of the world” serves to make clear our commitment to “transformation of the world” as an end of Christian discipleship.
Adam Hamilton pointed out in the discussion of this statement that a mission statement needs to be brief, and this statement continues to have the virtue of brevity, though doubled in length from six words to twelve now. Several commentators pointed out that a mission statement cannot say everything, and the text following the mission statement makes clear many of the meanings associated with it.
Still, it’s important to get it right and I have a few concerns about the new wording, which I pose as questions.
Is “the transformation of the world” the only end of “making disciples of Jesus Christ”? What about God’s reign or kingdom, even beyond the confines of this present world?
Is the meaning of “transformation of the world” clear, even within the brief span of a mission statement? By itself it could be purely secular, and could have either negative or positive meaning: plenty of people have transformed the world, in hideous ways. I know we mean good here, and we mean good to God’s glory, but it’s not stated in the mission statement. My fear is that the revised version can be read as saying that our theological task is really just a way at getting at something else, not necessarily related to God. Hmmmm…
Are we really declaring that the mission of “the Church,” that is, the one, holy catholic and apostolic church, is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” or when we say “the Church,” do we mean “The United Methodist Church”? I hope it’s the latter, since it would be enormously pretentious for our General Conference to declare the mission of all Christian communities. Something tells me that if we’re going to make declarations on behalf of other churches, we ought to at least consult with them in doing so.
I preferred Bishop Huie’s way of stating the mission of our church in her episcopal address on Wednesday evening: “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world to the glory of God.” I know. Adds five more words. But they’re important and would clear up all of the problems that I (at least) have identified about this.
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About Ted Campbell
Associate Professor Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.
Renee L Tomlinson
July 12, 2011 at 5:11 am
ok, i am working on a paragraph 213 study, and am looking for an instruction list regarding our mission statement……… i believe that making disciples of Jesus christ for the transformation of the world, is we are to bring people to know Christ (ie invite them to church), live our daily lives as to be an example – encouraging Christian behavior, (there for making the community we live in a better place to be.)