Partnership from a mission perspective
Posted by admin in missional on Aug 15th, 2005 | 6 commentsThe word used for partnership in the New Testament is koinonia. For those of you that are seasoned veterans of the Scripture, you will recognize this word is also interpreted as “fellowship”.
The three instances* in which koinonia is used in conjunction with missions are:
- common gift, contribution (Romans 15:23)
- partnership in the Gospel (Philippians 1:5)
- partnership in the ministry to the saints (2 Corinthians 8:4)
*The root word is also used in 2 Corinthians 13:13 in the sense of communing, partnering, or fellowshiping with the Holy Spirit.
Two of the uses (first and last) deal with partnering in giving to the work of missions and very well may have been the same common fund collected for the church in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, it gives the present day church a precedent of cooperating in giving to missions. The second of the uses deals specifically with partnering with other Christians in the sharing of the Gospel toward the accomplishment of the Great Commission.
The Lord Jesus sent out the disciples in twos. That is clear evidence that partnering with other individuals is an important part of being missional. It is also a prerequisite for empowered prayer…where two or more are gathered, etc. The partnership of Paul with Silas and Barnabas are other instances where individuals partnered with each other for the purpose of sharing the Gospel.
Churches partnering for the purpose of strengthening other churches and sharing the Gospel is evident in Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Corinthians. It is a clear example of the Gentiles within the Church giving aid to and partnering with the Jewish contingent within the Church.
While the language of the Scripture is not in imperative form, there is a solid precedent for partnership in missions. That being said, mainline denominational Christian churches and independent churches that currently do not partner with other churches are missing the mark. Empowered mission work takes place when believers partner together. The growth of the Gospel is also more rapid efficient when partnerships take place.
How partnerships can take place between individuals, churches, denominations and even sending agencies will be discussed in the next two sections of the article.
6 Responses to “ “Partnership from a mission perspective”
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Ken, I have a quick question for you.
Some time back you told a commentor that you interpreted a given scripture by the context of the whole passage (or something like that).
Is it then a fair characterization to say that you teach concepts that you extrapolate from the pages of the Bible?
Gary
extrapolate: to project, extend, or expand (known data or experience) into an area not known or experienced so as to arrive at a usually conjectural knowledge of the unknown area.
No, I do no extrapolate. Nice try. I completely understand, based on your theology, you were hoping for that to be the case.
I do attempt to use the process of exegesis.
exegesis: an explanation or critical interpretation of a text
No threat intended here.
Maybe I should have said derived, or taken from. Extrapolate sounded good, I did not know it would get my head cut off.
How do you describe the information gathering?
Gary
I always though extrapolate meant – pull out of!
Gary
As a public communicator, it’s important that I clarify the meaning of words. There was no malice intended on my part. It’s been a long couple of weeks. Nonetheless, forgive my transgression.
The process is called biblical hermeneutics (the study of the methodological principles of interpretation). Not unlike standard hermeneutics. One looks at the date, place, author, and context of the passage. Then you translate the original language and weigh it against other reputable critical commentaries. Then an explanation and application are derived and presented to the listening/reading audience.
You might try this guy’s sight out. He seems to have a pretty good handle on the subject of hermeneutics. I would admit that I’m probably not as meticulous as he is.
http://hermeneutics.kulikovskyonline.net/hermeneutics/hermeneutics.htm
Thanks
Rather than the definition of the words, I was looking to see if it is fair to say that it is the concepts/lessons in the Bible are the gems we extrapolate I MEAN pull out.
Gary