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A community on the margins:
Byler said his vision for ministry in such a context is similar to what one would do in a Muslim nation, where Christians also make up a very small minority. “You’re in it for the long haul,” he said. “You’re not hoping for a lot of success, except at the person-to-person level. But I’m convinced that there’s a value to Christians being present.” In the mission triangle connecting Colombia, Ecuador and the United States, God’s people in these countries engage in calling their sisters and brothers in all three countries to greater faithfulness in theological reflection and to untiringly translating that faith into action. For Derek Keefe, a worker with Mennonite Mission Network who is co-authoring a booklet on Esther, the Christian community in the United Kingdom is an exilic community on the margins, much as were the Israelites living under Persian rule. In Northern Ireland, Christians are increasingly losing their influence. For example, they are finding that they no longer occupy the seats of power in the culture, said Keefe, who works with the Belfast-based Centre for Contemporary Christianity, a think tank in Ireland. The response of the post-exilic Jews to a crisis situation has interesting parallels for the increasingly post-Christendom context in Ireland, he said. Although churchgoers in Northern Ireland represent a much larger percentage of the population than elsewhere in Europe (between 35 and 40 percent), that figure represents a downward trend that is expected to continue. “The name of God is never mentioned in the book of Esther,” Keefe said. “But in a moment of crisis, [the main characters] fall back on their spiritual resources and identification with their community of faith. That’s the challenge for us in how we engage the culture: we need to recognize our dependence on God and view our life together with God as a precursor to our public engagement, not a substitute.” If the exact nature of that public engagement varies, many of our mission workers are consistent in viewing the various manifestations of post-Christendom culture as an opportunity to lay the foundations for a new form of Christianity. That new form is one that will be based not on the power structures of the past but on the essential message of the gospel. “We Christians talk like we’re still in charge, and we’re not in charge any more,” said Tim Foley, pastor at Green Field Community Church in Portadown, Northern Ireland, and Youth Venture coordinator. “It’s a good thing. We’re given the chance to speak from a position of weakness, rather than wealth and power and strength. “If we truly want to be the church, we have to learn to live and speak from the margins,” Foley said. “It’ll be good for us.” back to page 1 | 2 Also in this issue: Features Related articles Regular features |
