Indigenous Apostolic Movements: Multiplying Movement Leadership and its Relationship to Global Diaconates

1. Multiplying Movement Leadership: Indigenous Apostolic Movements and Relationship to Global Diaconates Two Contrasting yet Interrelated Missional and Educational Paradigms

2. Why an MA for Movement Leaders? • In Biblical terminology, Jesus trained movement leaders utilising the word “apostles”. • These are emissaries with chosen tasks, mobile, appointed with authority • This gift develops from evangelistic gifts, is complimented by the prophetic • These three gifts tend to be mobile and broad-scale gifts in contrast with the local giftedness of the pastor-teacher (Eph 4:11,12) or elder. • There are many other gifts and the gifts of mercy, and administration are integrated into the support gifts of the deacon, the other official role designated in the scriptures

3. Apostolic Leadership Power of Proclamation as power that breaks into poverty Signs of the Spirit Focus: Results in formation of Communities of faith Doesn’t ignore but delegates diaconal Jesus gave to the poor, but delegated to Judas Apostles delegated Paul took two years for a diaconal task An urgent mobility in Jesus’ training, means avoidance of management structures The highest gift Diaconal Leadership $ Driven, $ power Service role to apostolic movements Done by Spiritual men and women Focus: Poverty Enables communities of faith to deal with economic and social needs Localised into non-mobile management structures The administrator is to serve the higher gifts. Mercy comes as a lower gift. Not to control the apostle Theological Contrast

4. The Nature of Apostolic Leadership • Mobile, sensitive to the voice • Thinks movement not organisation • Power of preached word is central, releasing power of Spirit in signs and wonders that give breakthroughs • Consolidates fruit of word into worshipping congregations or discipling movements • Builds structure for multiplication • Resists management roles, committees, • Authority given from God, ideally servant authority based on relationship, can turn to abusive (false apostles), • Self-funding: Ministry to some extent generates its own financial base, or apostle recruits support

5. Contrasting Paradigms International Diaconates = NGO’s Indigeneous Slum Movement Leadership

6. Sources of the Theological Contrast • This is as old as the history of the Reformation • The polar models of Anabaptist vs Reformed vs State church views on the world, the State, the church, the poor

7. Repetition of Past Strategic Issues • McGavran in church growth clearly identified the contrast between effective indigenous movements and compound based, highly funded Western missions • The same debate surfaced in the WCC rejection of evangelism for socio-political engagement • The present swing has been from holistic evangelism to “holism”

8. The Power of the International Diaconates • The third world slum movements are largely and perhaps fortunately, disengaged from the Western diaconates Where there is contact, the Western international diaconates exert pressure for their non-evangelistic paradigm through • The power of millions of $ • The power of publishing on holistic ministry, aid and development (when did you see them publish a book on apostolic roles, or churchplanting?) • The pressures of the secular development community

9. Subversion and Dishonesty in the International Diaconates • The initial responses of rich Westerners to extreme need is generally to distribute money to alleviate the poverty. This becomes institutionalised, often independent of the local church • Outside of a church-based context and theology, new theologies and practice expand in the diaconal realm, but not in the apostolic • The US IRD requirements of separating religious and charitable goals results in $ for charity, and structures for charity exclusive of the primary call to evangelism • The international diaconates then enter into a kind of double-speak about their partnerships with churches and their Christian theology, which deliberately seeks to justify Christian versions of secular development activities and emphasises non-evangelistic activities. To overtly state these biases would offend their funding base.

10. Parallelism Between the Two Paradigms • Both deal with the poor • Both are involved in holistic ministry • Both utilise skills in diaconal and advocacy areas • In these things there can be correlation of training

11. The Need • There is a desperate need • to train people within the apostolic paradigms of the grassroots movements and • expand their understandings of the Kingdom of God • As it impacts economics, social issues • And develop new paradigms where the diaconal components can be developed into a holism that flows with the growth of the apostolic movments • Eventually step into advocacy and economics and develop political theologies and training sufficient to enable effective governmental leadership in economics and new social structures

12. Eastern MA in Economic Development Output = NGO managers – Big and highly fundable market Diaconal training is done in the light of Christian reflection on secular development models Focus of change = economics of poverty Ministry to the poor on behalf of the rich, rarely live among the poor Outcomes: Projects managed well transform poverty enabling community uplift – sometimes sustainable Power is in the $ Christian values permeate these but beyond staff generally are not driving forces MA in Transformational Urban Leadership Output = indigenous movement leaders, apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastor/teacher and diaconal Big market, no $,not easily fundable Rich & Western students identify advocacy/ development in relationship to the apostolic nature of these. They will create new types of international diaconates Focus of change = grassroots movements of Kingdom communities who penetrate nooks and crannies with socio-economic-spiritual changes Incarnational mission (Peace Corps grasped this critical dimension) Outcomes: Incarnation and proclamation release spiritual power that multiplies for generations transforming people and poverty. These often result in economic and social projects, but the values change and the work of the divine are the driving forces Contrasts in Training

13. Return on Investment • There is little analysis of the socio-economic impact of the grassroots indigenous movements, but David Martin’s analysis indicates that they are the driving force for socio-economic change in Latin America vis a vis the politically-activist base communities . • Brazilian Valdir Steuernagel(?) of the Latin American Fraternity has concluded that holism (he comes from a WV background) as a paradigm has largely failed to accomplish what the grassroots movements are now accomplishing socio-politically (WEA, South Africa, 2006) • But, there is also widespread recognition that grassroots movements that are theologically illiterate in terms of governmental theologies of social issues, economic issues, as they spawn leaders into government produce ongoing disasters. African nations become evangelised but ungovernable.

14. Conclusion • We will serve healthy holistic slum church growth built around apostolic leadership • We will generate new paradigms of holistic ministry • We will also generate a new paradigm of international diaconates and advocacy, incarnational, servant to the church