Doing Theology,  No. 19 June 2007

A bi-monthly theological reflection from the
School of Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina


And, not or

In his column a few weeks ago, the editor of The Living Church asked, ‘Are you as tired as I am of hearing about the Millennium Development Goals?’ In one sense that was disappointing to read, but in another, it was good that he asked it, for the question was emblematic of a dynamic in the church in which we fail to build bridges between two equally-important aspects of our faith. Here’s what I mean:

We are called – each of us – into a personal experience with Jesus Christ, a transformative individual relationship in faith… a re-birth, as Scripture speaks of it. Our claim to be followers of Christ does not involve a commitment to follow a set of principles or teachings, but to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is the first aspect of our faith which I am describing here.

As our faith matures, we recognize the call to witness to Jesus’ presence in our lives, and this deepening understanding of our faith often leads us to a recognition of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God in our world, a kingdom where justice prevails and human dignity is respected. Such a vision of God’s mission in the world, and our ministry in service to that mission, takes us to all sorts of places, including, at the present moment, our embrace of the Millennium Development Goals. This is the second aspect of our faith which I am describing here.

Talking about accepting Jesus as my or your Savior makes many of us Episcopalians uncomfortable. We likely believe it to be true, and we don’t mind our parish priest saying it from time to time – after all, he or she is ‘supposed’ to. But most of us don’t feel too keen about proclaiming how Jesus’ being in my life has transformed me. That’s a loss. That’s a failure.

So when I hear people say they are ‘tired’ of hearing about the MDGs (or racism, or global warming, or the homeless, or any number of issues), what I hear them saying is that we aren’t talking at all, or enough, about where it all begins, and that is in our personal relationship with Jesus and the proclamation of the Good News to our brothers and sisters. We are not Amnesty International or the Sierra Club or a woman’s health organization, all of whom are engaged in the MDGs. We are the Church. Being engaged in the MDGs is, I believe, a true calling to ministry, but we’re there because we are living members of Christ. If that’s missing from our witness, then yes, hearing about the MDGs can be tiring. But if we are able to proclaim that Christ is in us, and that’s why we’re there, then it ought not be tiring at all. These two aspects of our faith: It’s and, not or.

Yours faithfully,
Leon Spencer