Continuing the Reformation: A Missional Theology for the 21st Century Global Church

Reports on the Third General Assembly of the World Reformed Fellowship

The Third General Assembly of the World Reformed Fellowship was held at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland from April 12 through April 15, 2010.  Prior to the Assembly, the WRF hosted a consultation on missions in Islamic contexts and following the Assembly, the WRF Commission on Missions and Evangelism and the WRF Commission on Theological Education both held extended meetings.

As reports on these proceedings become available and are approved by the appropriate bodies, they will be posted here.

We begin with an unofficial summary of some of the highlights of the Assembly, written by Dr. Samuel Logan, International Director of the WRF.

1) The General Assembly in Edinburgh was a great success and we thank the Lord for His blessing on that event. We had WRF members from more than 25 countries from around the world present for the event and their responses to our time together have been most encouraging.

2) On Thursday, April 15, the Scottish Parliament took note of the WRF General Assembly and the following resolution was presented:

Scottish Parliament Resolution S3M - 5759 (Thursday, 15 April 2010): Resolved that the Parliament welcomes the World Reformed Fellowship conference in Edinburgh; notes that 2010 marks the 450th anniversary of the reformation in Scotland . . ., and therefore pays tribute to the men and women of the reformation for their contribution in laying the foundations of modern Scottish society. 

3) One crucial event that occurred at the Assembly was the presentation and reception of the new Statement of Faith. The full Statement may be found here - http://www.wrfnet.org/c/portal/layout?p_l_id=PUB.1.52&p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6Gau&p_p_action=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_col_id=column-3&p_p_col_pos=1&p_p_col_count=4&_56_INSTANCE_6Gau_groupId=1&_56_INSTANCE_6Gau_articleId=401&_56_INSTANCE_6Gau_version=1.0  . What encourages us most is that we had individuals from six continents, on the Commission which produced the Statement and these men are all thoroughly Reformed and evangelical in their theology. This is the first time in history that a genuinely Reformed Statement of Faith, based on the conviction that the Bible is without error in all that it teaches, has been created by theologians from all over the world.

4) We are thrilled by the commitment to the WRF of such outstanding churchmen from all over the world as Anglican Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda (a member of the Primate's Council of the worldwide Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans), Dr. Jong Yun Lee of Korea (President of the Council of Presbyterian Churches in Korea), Dr. Doug Bridsall (Chairman of the Lausanne Movement International), Dr. Paul Kooistra, Executive Director of Mission to the World of the Presbyterian Church in America (now the largest Presbyterian missions organization in history), Dr. John Oh, Senior Pastor of Sarang Community Church in Seoul (with a membership of well over 50,000), Dr. Diane Langberg (a global expert on sex trafficking and an official consultant to the government of Rwanda in the area of ministering to a traumatized nation), and Dr. Ron Scates, Senior Pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas (one of the largest and most influential congregations in the United States). The Lord has been pleased to make the WRF into a truly global service to His church. One clear evidence of this is that the WRF has been invited to send an official delegate to the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, in October of 2010 (and, as if that were not a great enough blessing, the Lord also has provided a donor to cover all of the costs involved in our acceptance of this invitation).

5) Decisions made in the Missions and Evangelism Commission and in the Theological Education Commission were similarly encouraging. The former is taking steps to create a Center for the Study and Support of Missions in Islamic Contexts which will be structured and operated by evangelical Reformed Christians who actually live in Muslim majority countries. The latter will build upon our relationship with the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University and will create a kind of accreditation process for evangelical and Reformed institutions of theological education all over the world.

6) One of the strategic initiatives emerging from the Edinburgh Assembly is the determination that the WRF will be much more active in supporting those denominations and associations of churches which are members of the WRF. On Wednesday night, April 14, a steering committee was established to begin the implementation of this initiative. There are many issues which evangelical Reformed denominations and church associations from around the world face in common. We believe that the WRF can serve as a conduit of information and a facilitator of cooperation among such denominations and groups. In addition, we believe that the time may have come in the life of the WRF for us to consider having some denominations and associations elect official representatives to serve on the WRF Board. It is our intention to have major proposals along these lines ready to present at the Fourth General Assembly in 2014.

7) Another key action at the General Assembly was the election of Dr. P. J. Buys to serve as the Associate International Director of the WRF. Dr. Buys is an outstanding leader of the church in South Africa. He founded and served as President of Mukhanyo Theological College and he currently is Chairman of the Board of the Masibambisane Community Development Corporation (MCDC) there in South Africa. Among their many projects, the MCDC operates an orphanage for more than 1000 children who are orphans as a result of the AIDS crisis in South Africa. Dr. Buys delivered a plenary address at the General Assembly on the subject, “A Biblical Response to Poverty and Social Justice” (this paper and all of the others presented at the Assembly will be published within the next several months). Dr. Buys will work closely with Dr. Samuel Logan, who continues as the WRF International Director. [However, the total annual budget for WRF personnel costs will remain the same at $65,000.]

8) In response to a direct invitation to the WRF, delivered on Tuesday, April 13, by Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, Chairman of the Theology Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), the Board of the WRF voted unanimously to seek more formal affiliation with the WEA. Part of this more formal affiliation would involve our actively seeking to hold our meetings at the same time and in the same general location as meetings of the WEA. A specific proposal regarding this matter was sent to the WEA Executive Committee in early May, 2010, and official membership status to the WRF was granted by the WEA on June 2, 2010..

9) Likewise, in response to the encouragement from Rev. David Miller, Chairman of the Missions Committee of the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC), in his address to the Assembly on April 15, we are actively seeking to establish a more formal relationship with that body. While there are obvious differences between the WEA and the WRF (all members of the WEA are solidly evangelical, as seen especially in the WEA commitment to the authority of Scripture, but not all members of the WEA are consciously Reformed) and obvious differences between the ICRC and the WRF (the ICRC accepts only denominational members, some of who are members of both the WRF and the ICRC, while the WRF accepts as members denominations, congregations, organizations, and individuals), we believe that our commitment to the “universal, visible church” (see Westminster Confession of Faith, XXV, ii. and iii.) requires us to seek appropriate partnerships with like-minded Christians. In addition, as mentioned immediately below, we believe that all such appropriate partnerships enhance our ability to accomplish the stated purpose of the WRF.

10) Partly as a result of all that happened at the General Assembly, we have recently received many new applications for membership in the World Reformed Fellowship. The full an updated list of our members (currently 49 denominations, 60 congregations, 89 organizations, and 466 individuals) is available on our website. The breadth of our membership is important because we are essentially a networking organization. The more members the Lord sends us, the stronger our network will be and the better we will be able to fulfill our mission which is "That the strengths of some might become the strengths of all in the service of Jesus Christ." 
Below is the informal reaction to the Assembly by one individual who was present for the pre-Assembly consultation, the full Assembly, and the Missions and Evangelism Commission meeting after the Assembly:

Scotland 2010

It will be remembered in future generations for 2 things: Being close to the volcano that debilitated all of Europe and the initiative taken on behalf of ministry to Muslims globally.

Starting with the more important of the two . . . it was resolved to move ahead with plans to establish a centre (must use the British spelling of course) for ministry to Muslims related to a global platform known as the World Reformed Fellowship. The purpose of the centre (which is not necessarily a geographically located 'centre') would include training, theological reflection, publication, resourcing, advocating, and networking.   Most importantly it will be an initiative of the global church rather than something "made in America". The first step is to bring together a substantial group of global leaders, particularly from a Muslim background
or from a Muslim ministry context, to give shape to this idea. Perhaps a year from now.

"I've heard of dozens of institutions focused on Muslim ministry," you might question. "Why do we need another one?" Thanks for asking. Following are a few of the unique distinctives that we discussed that struck me as vital: 

***  This centre will be shaped by non-Westerners in partnership with Westerners. The implications of this are vast. Truly vast. A drastic shift from the current scenario. 

***   This centre will be shaped by a broad cross-section of the global church. It will never be broad enough but it will represent at least some of the diversity of Islam as well as experience in ministry gleaned around the globe. Notice that I said "global church" and not merely "global Christian leaders". 

***  This centre will be Reformed or, in other words, consistently Christ-centered and gospel-focused. Agreement on some of the central tenants of Christianity is a vital foundation upon which to begin building a cohesive and productive ministry. In contrast to the slogan of 1910 "theology divides, service unites" we say "theology unites us at the foot of the cross and fuels true and humble service" (OK, I totally made that up). 

***  This centre will be ministry focused. In other words, it will not be another think-tank or limited to academia.

Now on to the volcano . . . the UK airspace closed on the last day of our meetings so lots of people were stuck. Many of our friends had visas for the UK but not for the rest of Europe so cannot even contemplate escaping the 'island'.  My French colleague and I made other plans. We went overland (road-boat-road) and I am now writing from Madrid.  My colleague flew home to West Africa yesterday and I am waiting for the next available seat home on Thursday.

Please pray for many of our other colleagues who are stuck under the cloud in the UK. The uncertainty, the lines (or queues, rather), the airlines . . . can all rather quickly drive you crazy. A pointed and personal challenge of whether we really believe in God's sovereignty.