A Vision for Church Transformation

Raymond Fung does not use the catch phrase “missional church” anywhere in his little book The Isaiah Vision: An Ecumenical Strategy for Congregational Evangelism (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2002), yet he illuminates a vision for mission that can transform both church and community, derived from Isaiah 65: 20-23 (NRSV):
    
     No more shall there be …. an infant that lives but a few days,
     Or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
     For one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
     And one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
     They shall not build and another inhabit;
     they shall not plant and another eat;
     for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
     and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
     They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity,
     For they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord,
     And their descendants as well

Based on the text, Fung identifies a four-bullet “Isaiah Agenda” to which he believes not only the church, but others of good intention, can aspire. With these common hopes combined with the church’s invitation to neighbors to join in vital worship, Fung asserts that ministry that makes a huge difference both for church and community, becomes a form of evangelism when (p. 2):
     • Children do not die
     • Old people live in dignity
     • Those who build houses live in them
     • Those who plant eat the fruit of their labor

An interpreter with the Hong Kong Government Official Language Agency, and former secretary for evangelism in the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Word Mission and Evangelism, Fung says that focusing mission invites others of good will, who care about the health and welfare of their community, to work hand in hand with the church for the common good. He asserts that we “will inevitably find ourselves asking one day: ‘What has the world come to that with all the resources the work has at its command and the tremendous progress it claims to have made, children are still dying in large numbers, old folk are increasingly left to their own fate, and working people go on getting a poor deal?’ No doubt we may experience occasional support and friendship and even come across uplifting heroism. But we will never be able to escape from the weight of human indifference, selfishness, greed, stupidity and hypocrisy in the face of human suffering.” (p.12).

Through the Isaiah Vision, God calls the church to lead in our communities, to identify those places where we can make a difference in the lives of anyone who is vulnerable. Through developing relationships, and invitations to worship together to be nurtured for service, the church becomes a source of spiritual development, and a catalyst for human development in the community. How much different this is from the church that gathers periodically to engage in money-making dinners in the community in order to balance the budget.

If you are a congregational leader looking for a handle on church transformation, look to Isaiah 65, where God gives a vision of ways in which the church can make a difference, and the gospel comes to life.  Where can you make the greatest difference in the life of your community?