Knowledge & Soul
Tena tātou katoa e te iwi mīhana… (Greetings to all the people in mission),
This month’s whakataukī (proverb) is: “Na ehara hoki i te mea pai kia kaua he matauranga mo te wairua; a, ko te tangata e hohoro ana ona waewae, ka hara.” This proverb is drawn straight from Scripture: Proverbs 19:2, which is translated as, “it is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way” in the NIV (1984). In particular I want to draw our attention to 19:2a, zeal without knowledge, in the double negative way the te reo Māori translation above renders it, “it is not good to have no knowledge of the spirit”.
The ‘stirring up’ of zeal is common in my Christian experience. Preachers and missions recruiters alike use this technique to try and move their audiences toward some form of action. Too often, I have found such attempts to be contrived, seeking to move our affections divorced from our intelligence. They can achieve their aims of course. Humans are relatively easily moved by emotion, hence the warning in the proverb. But if we hastily respond to an imposed appeal from another, and do not take sufficient time to investigate the validity of it for ourselves, we can miss the way, which te reo (the Māori language) renders as “ka hara”: sin. Our enthusiasms can too easily trip us up.
Ministry beyond the direct influence of the local church (my definition of missions).
In my global roles I have the privilege of listening to a wide range of practitioner perspectives on ministry beyond the direct influence of the local church (my definition of missions)—whether such a ministry be proclamation evangelism, establishing new churches, public witness (i.e. in the ‘marketplace’), theological education, advocating for the underprivileged or other activities for the betterment of society in the name of Jesus. To paraphrase 1 Corinthians 12:20, there are many ministries but one purpose—to manifest the now/not-yet Kingdom of God. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.
That all sounds well and good, but as I experience it, it seems that influencers too often act as if it should be “MY will be done on earth as interpreter of heaven”. What I see increasingly passing for ministry is the imposition of terrestrial will in the pursuit of some celestial ideal. Someone or an organisation develops an idea or method, for which they develop a training programme for others to actualise. The temptation then is to make this a totalising strategy or model for all other ministries to follow. They think, ‘if we all did it this way, the job would get done’. The worrying thing is, trainers can always find people willing to learn a method, which they can then go and put into action as a trainer of others who follow the model, in something akin to a pyramid scheme.
Recently, a WEA colleague and I had lunch with a dynamic young church planter from North India who excitedly told us of the multiple hundreds of churches he had established in a relatively short period of time. As we listened we discerned that his process was entirely methodological. In an industrialised way, he had learned a method and was replicating it, with apparent success. A pragmatist’s dream! But when we asked about his theological understanding behind his method, what he was teaching about Jesus, and whether the churches were actually biblically aligned, he floundered. He had very little theological reference for his activity, not that he could articulate anyway, and we probed by asking questions in a variety of ways. In this case, the North American creators of the method probably have some good theological rationale, but this local trainer of the method couldn’t provide it. I am not saying this young man was necessarily wrong, as these churches are clearly formed around following Jesus as Lord, but they are in danger of remaining immature if they only exist to replicate widely rather than develop a discipline of deepening their understanding and knowledge of the love of God through experience and Scripture, in conversation with the Global Church—which we generally refer to as theological reflection.
It may not look like what I call the “eurocentric theological consensus”… but it is biblically faithful authentic Christian theology nonetheless.
Similar questions are being asked of much larger movements to Christ—is there space for theological reflection or is it just method replication? Thankfully, many movements begin with a communal exploration of Scripture and the sharing of very personal experiences of God at work in their lives. By all accounts they’re maturing in their theological understanding as they follow Christ and seek understanding. It may not look like what I call the “eurocentric theological consensus” (i.e. systematic and reformed), but it is biblically faithful authentic Christian theology nonetheless.
Action without reflection can be catastrophic.
How might zeal (being led by one’s emotions, affections, soul or spirit) lead to sinning? Like a house of cards, zeal is quickly built and easily toppled. Popular movements exemplify this. You get mass engagement and enthusiasm, but the damage caused by such single-minded ignorance of otherwise complex situations, or action without reflection, can be catastrophic. Too much confidence is invested in simplistic perspectives. In contrast, Greek philosophers in Delphi coined the phrase, “Know thyself”. Far from its appropriation today to infer the pursuit of one’s ‘authentic self’, it is best interpreted as ‘know your limits’. It is a call for sober humility. Paul captures this thought for Jesus’ followers in Romans 12:3, where he exhorts us to assess our perspectives against the “faith God has given us”, referring to our specific calling in the purposes of God as part of one body. We avoid sin by following the Spirit with humility as an integral part of Christ’s covenantal community.
When it comes to our participation in the manifestation of God’s rule on the earth, we need to know our limits, to evaluate motivations of the spirit, soul, or core affections, which are often fashioned more by our cultural priorities and doctrinal biases than the leading of the Spirit. Our participation in God’s purposes is not to impose our limited understanding onto others, not even in evangelism, but to invite others to discover God’s purposes for themselves. We present an invitation, not an imposition. As the Psalmist makes plain (Psalm 34:8-10), once they taste and see that the Lord is good, they will find refuge (salvation), learn obedience, and enjoy provision, in ways that will endure for eternity. Is this not a snapshot of the discipling process? Experience -> assurance -> obedience -> provision -> eternal life.
While zeal may lead to action, wise knowledge leads us to humility, which in turn should enable us to sensitively create space for others to contribute uniquely, fully, faithfully and steadfastly, to the movement of the Spirit (as opposed to movements contrived by our spirits—our soulish vision). Such wisdom and understanding can help us ‘go the distance’. And, by investing in wise reflection in concert with action, I am convinced we’ll much more effectively #stayonmission.
Arohanui ki a koutou e haere ana ki te ao (love to you all as you go into the world),
Jay
