God is committed to his covenant of expanding the community of all believers in the climax of His plan, and all Christians are under the mandate to take the gospel to all nations. Globalisation has made this mission easier because of advances in transportation and communication. On the other hand, it has also impeded the spread of the Gospel because cultures have become increasingly fragmented.
Globalisation connects people and places around the world, but its process has nevertheless produced a density of relationships that is overwhelming and oppressive to human community. Everything is connected and, at the same time, disconnected because modernity has taken us away from the basic principles of our daily life.
There are no rules that work for everyone because everything is relative. Society is pluralistic but polarised. Tension among ethnic groups is heightened and religions divide mankind. What is the fundamental source of conflict among humankind? Is it ideological, economic or cultural?
The Church is a transnational institution which must fit into God’s redemptive plan for the world. How does it deal with the challenges of modernity against its doctrine and theology?
The recent NECF Malaysia Research Commission’s Cross-Current consultation on "Globalisation and the Church" has shed some light into these issues and suggested some action plans and responses for churches. Over 50 people attended the consultation held at the NECF Malaysia office.
In his paper, Challenge to Evangelisation & Discipleship, OMF Malaysia Home Director Dr Tan Kang San affirmed that in this era of globalisation, the world has come to our doorstep. Malaysian Christians can no longer ignore the responsibility of world evangelisation, and neither can they overlook the fact that the understanding of other religious beliefs is a valuable tool to prepare us for apologetics and evangelism.
Kairos Research Centre Director Dr Ng Kam Weng, who delivered a paper entitled Christian Intellectual & Theological Dimensions, urged Christians to recognise the power of religions and, in particular, Samuel P. Huntington’s thesis which maintains that the most important conflicts of the future will occur "along the cultural fault lines", separating seven or eight major civilisations from one another. These include Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American and/or African civilisations.
There is a need to set up research institutes and centres for advanced mission studies that specialise in inter-religious encounters and cross-cultural studies. In his paper Pastoral & Leadership Responses, DUMC Senior Pastor Daniel Ho cautioned the Church to "guard itself against the spirit of individualism, competition, affluence, self-sufficiency and complacency." The Church must also present "the power of the Gospel in reconciling all men, women and children" in this society of ethnic polarisation.
Bible College of Malaysia President Rev. Ng Kok Kee urged Christians to give all their children to God’s calling to vocations of all aspect in order to engage our world with Christian principles. A Christian doctor is not simply a doctor who happens to be a Christian, but he serves as a doctor with impact and evidence of Christ.
The essence of the Church is partnership, fellowship and participation. Above all, we must not lose sight of the importance of a Christ-like character, stated Ooi Chin Aik.– Reported by Lim Siew Foong
