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RETHINKING OUR CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
by Nick B. Fontanilla, Ph.D. (Word Document)

1.   The 8th Quadrennium

1.1 We are one year deep into the present quadrennium of the UCCP and the two-year ecclesiastical cycle of our Conference. Easter is as good a time (perhaps the best time) to reflect on where we are and where we are headed as a church. Our annual session will start on May 10. We are now preparing the issues and liturgical flow.

1.2 There are many concerns that we need to process and consider as part of our agenda to become a meaningful and faithful fellowship of believers – not just as part of the organic union that formed the UCCP but also as part of the wider body of the Church of Christ Jesus.

 1.3 The ecclesiastical year that we are about to conclude has been rather challenging -- for our church, our conference and the general environment.

 o        Worldwide, natural disasters seem to have intensified.

 o        Religious and political wars in all major continents have not ceased.

o        In the Philippines, we have our own share of good and bad news -- mostly bad -- that affect our relationship with the rest of the world.

o        In a recently released perception study, the Philippines was rated as Asia’s most corrupt economy receiving a rating of 9.40 on a scale from 0 to 10 with 10 as most corrupt – almost a perfect – 10.[1]

 o        The Philippines has been tagged as among the top 10 most dangerous spots for investors in terms of political instability, violence and cross-border risks[2].

 o        The Philippines rated poorly in legal and regulatory risk factors, cross-border risks (currency inconvertibility), violence risk, terrorism and sabotage.

 o        Churches in the Philippines are not spared by controversies casting doubt on her ability to promote responsible citizenship and to shepherd her people to a path of righteousness and love.

 o        I have heard stories about indecency and unethical practices in other Protestant churches. Right in our own backyard, whispers about mismanagement, poor judgment, lack of transparency and corruption are plentiful.

 o        You have heard of what happened to our former conference minister, Rev. Caloy dela Cruz. A dedicated minister with mission as his thrust, he dropped out of sight for about 24 hours. He is a reformer and he took it upon himself to institute meaningful reforms in the conference and in UCCP.

 1.4 Admittedly, there are many imperfections in churches, including our own, which make the institutional church less credible in confronting many of the social, political and environmental problems.

 1.5 Whatever our shortcomings are, we are expected to own and face up to these issues. They inevitably roll up as a challenge to the Christian community. They should not be taken merely as subject for Gospel meditation. Instead, they should be taken as a platform to evaluate our identity as a church and what role we should take to address problems face to face.

2.  Response of Institutions

 2.1 When Brother Armin Luistro took over as De la Salle University, the first thing that he did, together with selected members of the community, was to ask the basic strategic question – as one of the premiere Catholic educational institutions in the Philippines, what have we done to prepare our students for meaningful stewardship?

 o        Many if not most industry and government leaders graduated or were trained in that institution. And yet, after 95 years as a dynamic and successful educational institution, there is a nagging question as to what the institution has actually accomplished. To the Dela Salle Brothers, there was hardly anything to be proud of. The Philippines is tagged the most corrupt and dangerous Asian country. That is the bottom line.

 o        They had to rethink the identity of the institution and what its role should be in delivering meaningful and Christian stewardship. Which they did.

 o        They set up the DLSU system, a sort of a holding company that would assume full responsibility in value formation and development across all the Dela Salle schools and units. It assumed veto powers on anything related to value formation, responsible citizenship and Christian ethics. It was a bold and difficult move.

 2.2  If you are regularly listening to DZFE, the Christian broadcasting station, you might have noticed a regular announcement plugging the Asian Theological Seminary’s MBA in Church Management/Stewardship. Why would a theological institution dwell venture into business administration?

 2.3  Observing from a distance and being an educator myself teaching strategic management, some rethinking was done to address problems that confront the church and our society. This bold move is apparently an attempt to connect Christian values to business administration and vice versa.

2.4 As a mainstream church, we should do not less. We should rethink our Christian identity and redefine the role of the church in developing responsible citizens and building a nation under one God. It is fundamentally a Gospel question. Easter is perfect timing to revisit this Gospel question.

 3.   Biblical Framework[3]

 3.1  Matthew is the premier witness to the rethinking of Christian identity (Krentz, 2006). Jesus is the author and the strategist. We find this spirited stand to rethink the Christian identity in Matthew 28:16-20 which describes the Disciples’ encounter with Jesus after they were informed that He had risen from the dead.

3.2  Bible scholars refer to Matthew 28:16-20 as a great final scene with a deceptively simple setting that features the words of Jesus.  That deceptively simple setting provided the stage to change the world to a better world.

 3.3 The passage falls into two parts: the appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples in Galilee (28:16-18a), as promised in 28:7, and the instructions of Jesus, which conclude the Gospel (28:18b-20).

3.3  The first part (the disciples' journey to Galilee) is an act of faithful obedience. The second part features Jesus words that define the Christian identity and specify what it is that Christians should do and become.

3.4 Jesus words form the basic premise of the Christian mission. They gave the disciples, and by transference the rest of the Christian world, an identity.

3.5  Jesus commanded the disciples to -

o        Make disciples: "Therefore, as you go your way, disciple."

o        Disciple everyone: They are to disciple all the Gentiles.

o        Disciple them by baptizing: Baptize them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

o        Teach them to observe everything I commanded you: Teach them to "Do the will of the father", not the mere confession of Jesus as Lord or the doing of great deeds. 

3.4  Matthew creates a new understanding of the people to be brought into Christ's assembly. Everyone becomes the object of disciple making. This is the sense of mission that defines the Christian identity, as commanded by Jesus.

3.5  This is the sense of mission that the Church has been tasked to carry out. The message of Easter as it comes each year brings us to rethink what identity we have claimed as compared to the Gospel’s Christian identity.

3.6 The final word of the Gospel is an eschatological promise. The church lives in expectation of the end under the presence of the risen Lord. He is present as we speak his message and do his deeds! JESUS IS ALIVE FOREVERMORE.

4. Drifting Away from Our Identity

4.1  Have we been faithful to this Christian identity? Has the UCCP been the Church of Jesus Christ with a sense of mission as commanded by the Lord Jesus on his resurrection? What have we done to remain faithful? What have we not done?

4.2  Let me start my reflection on these questions by sharing two stories – each representing a condition that describes our church today.

4.3    The first story is about a Presbyterian pastor. A visiting Presbyterian Pastor was invited to speak in an uptown church.

o        The Presbyterian pastor, as is his practice, came early. As he was going in to the office of the host Pastor, he saw a sign and was so disturbed.

 o        He said to the host Pastor, “I want you to remove that sign in front of your church. It is wrong.  I will not deliver my message if you do not take out that sign.”

o        When asked what was wrong, he said, “the sign says, for Presbyterians only, and that is wrong. We should welcome everybody to our church!” But “Reverend,” the host Pastor interjected, “the sign says for Pedestrians only.”

4.4  My second story is one that was shared by Rev. Dario Alampay in one of our meetings. He is a retired UCCP pastor and former Administrative Pastor of UCCP-EMC.

o        This story is about a man who was regularly seen at the doorstep of a UCCP Church in Mindoro which Rev. Alampay helped build after his retirement. 

o        One Sunday, the man approached one of the elders and asked about salvation.  The elder told the man to wait for the Administrative Pastor who will be arriving next Sunday.  Silently, he murmured: “Better if it is the Pastor.

o        Sunday came. The elder approached the Pastor.  “Pastor, do you remember that man who has been coming to Church but was hesitant to go inside and worship with us?  Finally, he approached and asked me a question about salvation.  I said it is best to wait for you.

o        The Pastor and the Elder hurriedly looked for the man.  But they learned that the man had died a few days earlier. 

4.5  The first story, although a passed-on anecdote, symbolizes the kind of identity that our church, knowingly or unknowingly, has started to embrace – an exclusive church, a homogeneous church. Presbyterian Church for Presbyterians only. UCCP church for UCCP members only. Wedding arrangements for church members only. The Choir room for choir members only. Just like the elite, exclusive club, non members are not welcome.

4.6  The theme for this quadrennium, “Living Together in the Household of God,” dramatizes where we as church is headed – a single, homogeneous church that does not tolerate fundamental differences. Anyone with a different outlook is not welcome.

4.7  The second story symbolizes how casually we have grown and how we have departed from the Christian identity that Jesus provided when he was risen. We have ceased to become the church for those in need. More in reach. Less of the outreach. I have reviewed budgets of many local churches. The allocation is disproportionately in favor of in reach.

4.8  Somewhere along the way, many congregations forget about their call to exist for nonmembers. Pastors begin functioning as chaplains or caretakers of self-contained congregations.  Members want more of their pastors' attention focused on the pews and less on the parish.  Unfortunately, such inward-focused congregations lose their way. They cease to bear fruit and they begin to wither on the vine.

5.   Rethinking our Church Identity

5.1  On this Easter Sunday, let us rethink our church identity by looking back at the message of Jesus’ resurrection and the sense of mission that guided the church in the last 2,000 years to become the dominant faith.

5.2  We are called upon to see with the eyes of Christ; and that our mission as Christians is to help other people see.  We are called to become theologians and accept the gift of sharing and the abundance that God shares for those who work in His name.

5.3  We are called to become the Church for non-members.  The church is the only society in the world that exists for its nonmembers.  The UCCP should be no less.

5.4  If we believe that we must become the Church for non-members, we have to rethink our church identity by reframing it in accordance with the Gospel and referring back to that deceptively simple setting that features the words of Jesus when he rose from the dead. 

5.5  Matthew 29:19 tells us that everyone becomes the object of disciple making. This is the sense of mission that defines the Christian identity, as commanded by Jesus.

5.6 Matthew tells a story about the ministry, passion, and resurrection of Jesus; we need to do that, too. Matthew gives his community an identity rooted in the past; we need to do that, too. Matthew teaches us to form Christians by teaching them what Christ taught; we need to do that, too.

5.5  In the 8th annual session, our conference has defined a long term target of 4x20. This target encourages each local church in the conference to set up one four local churches in the next 20 years.

5.6  Cosmopolitan Church most recently launched the seven by seven program, meaning seven daugther churches in seven years.  UCCP-Cosmopolitan was busy being a church for 70 years.  We welcome the 360-degree transformation – from a church for members to a church for non-members.

3.  The Message of Easter

He makes the following points, which serve as the summary of this paper:

1. The mission is rooted in the authority of Jesus, the risen Lord.

2. The first--and basic--command the disciples receive is to make disciples.

3. The mission is universal, to all nations.

4. Making disciples includes community formation.

5. by teaching all that Christ commanded.

Krentz, Edgar. "Make disciples"--Matthew on evangelism (theology studies) taken from: Currents in Theology and Mission. 2006. Http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-142338843.html