The Church and the Gospel: Beginning with the Theological Conversation between Howard Yoder and Donald McGavran

　　“Tremendous church growth is going on in the world today.” ¹ This is the opening sentence in Understanding Church Growth by Donald A. McGavran, the founder of the church growth movement. This was an epoch-making statement.

　　Since the 1970s, the church growth movement has a strong impact upon evangelism worldwide, and church growth has become a well-established school of thought in global Christian theological seminaries. Moreover, the discussion of church growth movement has been in the ascendancy in the churches of the west. In February 1973 the Institute of Mennonite Studies organized a symposium on the theme, “The Challenge of Church Growth,” among their speakers was John Howard Yoder. In his paper at that meeting, Yoder reiterates his strong commitment to church growth as a means of propagating the gospel and adding forces to missions. At the same time, he expresses his reservations regarding the soundness of the theory and the effectiveness of the strategies missionary administrators have devised to implement church growth. ² He is clear to say that the purpose of a theological conversation should be to serve the church and support the brethren. While Yoder admits criticism can be passive and negative, he emphasizes that criticism at its best expresses a responsible concern for the person or a theological respect for the idea analyzed. In his paper, he expresses his firm hope that his interpretation of the church growth theory can be taken as constructive criticism. ³

　　Beginning from the 1980s, church growth has become a hot topic among local church pastors and ministers. Even now, talks and training sessions on church growth draw a capacity crowd, suggesting that the topic is as popular as ever. (The theological meaning of this phenomenon is reserved for a later article.) Due to limited space, this article will focus on Yoder’s dissertation in order to give a general view of his theological criticism of church growth theory. Our intention here is to reflect deeply upon the issue of the church and the gospel. The writer will first introduce Yoder’s theological perspective on the concept of church growth, will then explain Yoder’s understanding of the church and the meaning of the gospel in relation to baptism, and will finally call readers to join him in reflecting upon the challenge of Hong Kong churches today.

Yoder’s Theological Analysis of the Concept of “Church Growth”

　　Yoder uses ‘The New Humanity’ as the heading for the last section of his article “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective” to analyze the theological meaning of “church growth” in the New Testament. Its content can be divided into three areas as discussed below:

1. The Meaning of the Gospel

　　Yoder asserts that the apostle Paul introduces the nature of the church in Ephesians 2 and 3, pointing out that the Church must achieve unity between Jews and Gentiles. From a consideration of their cultural, ethnic and religious differences, the two groups of people are originally incompatible. Since historically the Jews have embraced the law while the Gentiles have had no law as their moral guide, the two groups must be seen as two very different kinds of people with a deep division and a high wall separating them. Despite their seemingly irreconcilable differences, Paul points out that according to the eternal plan as revealed by God, a new humanity is to be created among these two groups, and what destroys the wall separating them is the gospel. In fact, what “destroys the wall” is neither the fruit of the gospel, nor the goal of the gospel, nor the means of the gospel: It is rather the gospel itself, as expressed in the person of Jesus Christ. This is the central issue debated by Paul and Peter as recorded in Galatians 2. Paul strongly opposes Peter when he avoids eating with the Gentiles. To Paul, Peter’s action appears to create two churches, one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles, while the two groups acknowledge each other but their cultural differences separate them. To Paul, Peter’s action radically denies the central message of the gospel. Yoder makes it clear that the growth of the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is the central theme of Acts 10 to 15. However, Yoder then is quick to point out that the emphasis is not primarily on numerical growth of membership but rather on the church’s growth in overcoming the cultural barrier and the church’s expansion as it unites people of different ethnicities. ⁴ In short, the gospel is Jesus Christ who has destroyed the wall and a new humanity is thus born, that is the church.

2. Church Growth Strategy

　　Can we actually find records about church growth strategy in the New Testament? Yoder argues that we cannot. He asserts that no “self-conscious strategy-making” for church growth can be found in the New Testament and there is no such “self-conscious strategy-making” thought among the early church’s missionaries. In fact, apostolic church growth is often an accidental outcome of other events. Acts records that the apostles preached everywhere and records people’s reaction to the gospel of Christ, which was sometimes positive and sometimes negative. From this, we can tell that the number of people coming to Christ is not the author’s primary concern. When compared with the ministry in Jerusalem, the evangelistic results in Athens, Ephesus and Lystra are far inferior, yet there is no sign that the author is upset. Therefore, Yoder asserts that the concern of the apostolic church is not the increase of church members but the theological significance brought about by the gospel in destroying the wall dividing people of different ethnicities and the work of the Holy Spirit. ⁵

3. The Main Themes of New Testament Books

　　From a comprehensive survey of other New Testament books such as James, I and II Peter and Revelation, Yoder finds that it is difficult to relate them to “church growth.” The context and challenges faced by churches are related to the vision of a little group of scattered people suffering innocently yet enduring with patience. To them, to be faithful to God does not mean they must successfully win more lost souls. Their only call is this: Do not get annoyed by the imminent sufferings but make it clear to the world what our hope is. These churches never paid attention to strategy, but rather remained a little flock in the midst of the world, facing the hostility of the world without ever losing hope. ⁶

Looking at the Church and the Gospel from Baptism

　　In his book Body Politics: Five Practices of the Christian Community before the Watching World (1992), Yoder discusses in detail the relationship between baptism and the new humanity.

　　As is generally known, Paul is a great missionary whose letters to the churches are directed at problems faced by the churches he has established. These local churches, founded by missionaries in Galatia, Ephesus and Corinth, are bound to have members who are Jews and Gentiles. Paul requests that as a community, church members should worship, pray and break bread together regardless of their ethnic origins. However, to the Jews and the Gentiles, Paul’s request causes them to face a dilemma and so they grumble. Both groups think that due to their cultural differences, Paul should not put them to shame. In response, Paul defends his own instructions in II Corinthians 5, explaining why he wants the Jews and the Gentiles to eat together.

　　Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (II Corinthians 5:17) Yoder holds that “a new creation” (is the translation in NIV version while the NEB version is “a new world”) comes close to the original meaning of Paul: We Christians are a community of new-born people and a renewed community who are no longer individuals. ⁷ Actually, the target readers of these letters are the whole church, not individuals. In other words, individualism has never been the teaching of the Bible and so individualism should never be a part of the church. Paul points out, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.…” (II Corinthians 5:16) According to NEB, a more accurate translation should be “ethnical,” that is “to regard no one from an ethnical point of view.” Yoder regards verses 14 to 16 as having a deeper level of meaning: When we are baptized into a church, everyone’s former ethnic difference and social status disappear, meaning that the identity of the Jews and the Gentiles will no longer exist. Therefore all the taboos due to one’s ethnic origin will be removed. As part of the body of Christ, that is of the same family, church members should worship, pray and break bread together. ⁸

　　When Paul writes to the Galatians, he teaches them something similar: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jews nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27-28) Throughout the book of Galatians, this unity in Christ refers to their being God’s children (Galatians 3:26; 4:5-7); in Galatians 6:15, Paul also points out whether they are circumcised or not, they are a new creation. Therefore, he also urges the Galatians Christians to let go of the ethnic problem. ⁹ As to the Ephesians, Paul tells them: “For he…to create in himself a new creation out of the two, thus making peace.” (Ephesians 2:14-15) Paul uses the words “a new creation” and “peace” and clearly points out that the dividing wall between the Jews and the Gentiles has been destroyed by the death of Christ. This is in line with what he says in Galatians 3:28. ¹⁰

　　Yoder emphasizes that while the words Paul uses in these three passages are different, the meaning is the same. Baptism is an action uniting the Jews and the Gentiles and a celebration of their unity in Christ. Baptism represents the birth of a new creation; ethnic and cultural barriers and estrangement have been demolished by the death of Christ; believers will no longer be divided by their ethnicity, social status and gender but will be treated as equal as they live together peacefully. ¹¹ In fact, to the society in those days, the life practiced of this new creation brought an absolutely epoch-making shock to their world and was the first step towards social equality.

The Challenge of Hong Kong Churches Today

　　Maybe we would say: Members of Hong Kong churches today are speaking the same mother tongue, have the same ethnic origin, and have a high degree of homogeneity: Those who speak Cantonese join a Cantonese-speaking church, those who speak Swatow join a Swatow-speaking church, those who speak Putonghua join a Putonghua-speaking church and those who speak English join an English-speaking church. How would the problem mentioned in Paul’s letters occur in Hong Kong?

　　If we ascertain that the problem faced by the early church is related to the ethnic problem between the Jews and the Gentiles, then “destroy the dividing wall” and “cross-ethnic reconciliation” seem to have nothing to do with today’s churches. But Yoder reminds us that to today’s churches, Ephesians 2 and 3 do not refer only to Jews and Gentiles but to “the borders of the church,” that is the border between Christians and non-Christians, the border between the church and the world and this is the theological challenge that we truly and continually face. ¹²

　　In Hong Kong churches today, do we have “the church borders” as pointed out by Yoder? Let us reflect on the following:

　　First of all, there is a wide gulf of social division in Hong Kong society, the most conspicuous one being the discrimination against mainland immigrants. Besides, there is also the ethnic problem that should not be ignored. For example, the discrimination against people from South Asia. In fact, the new generations of these people from South Asia have been born and bred in Hong Kong and can speak fluent Cantonese. For example, Gill Mohindepaul Singh is an actor on local television. However, these people are stereotyped and regarded as a group who is lazy and often abuses the social security scheme. Please honestly ask yourself: Do we have no discrimination against these “non-native ethnic minority groups”?

　　Since most of the churches in Hong Kong have members from the middle class, can we truly accept and embrace friends from the lower social strata? Can some mainland immigrants who have lower educational level, who cannot speak fluent Cantonese and who are a bit vulgar in their taste of life be welcomed into our church circle? Can we genuinely and unceasingly care for their physical and psychological needs? Can they be treated as equals? Are we willing to share with them what we have? Are we readily equipped to minister to mainland immigrants and those non-native ethnic minority communities residing here?

　　Another point worth considering is this: Many churches today (especially those middle class churches with a few hundred members) are unwilling to launch a ministry for grass-root people. A possible reason is a great difference in background. Thus, even if such a ministry is launched, the worship service for members is often classified according to members’ social background. A possible motive is that it is easier to minister to a homogeneous community. That means it is easier to have more effective ministerial care and so maybe the ultimate consideration is church growth. Of course, there can be another reason as a defense: It is out of the practical idea that “like draws like” or “birds of a feather flock together.” Such an arrangement is meant to reduce stress and conflict due to members’ diversity in background and so coagulate members to lead to church growth. However, isn’t such stress and conflict what members should learn to overcome in church life? It is through fellowship with brothers and sisters from different social backgrounds that we learn to understand the needs of others and accept different viewpoints. In so doing we broaden our horizons and eliminate the blind spot of self-centeredness. Although this kind of adjustment in interpersonal relationship is a hard lesson to learn, isn’t it the kind of discipleship that is beneficial to us? Isn’t that the very reason for Paul reproach Peter as mentioned above? We need to reflect upon the following question: Is this kind of worship service that is classified according to members’ social background practiced today in order to facilitate effective ministerial care and church growth contrary to Paul’s teaching? Will it unconsciously intensify the problem of “the borders of the church”? Is a heterogeneous church more in line with biblical principles and does it have more in-depth theological significance than a homogeneous church? Even if there are research findings today showing that there is a higher possibility for a homogeneous church to have faster church growth than a heterogeneous one, should the church stick to biblical principles, make the harder choice and forsake the quest for effectiveness? Undeniably, in essence, the quest for effectiveness and church growth can be positive or at least neutral in value judgment; nevertheless, when it comes into conflict with our principle in faith and biblical truth, we need to be careful.

　　Yoder points out that the gospel destroys the wall dividing ethnicities (you and me). The one who destroys it is Jesus Christ who is the gospel in all its fullness. Baptism represents the birth of a new humanity. The ethnic and cultural barriers and estrangement have since been destroyed by the death of Jesus Christ. Today’s churches in Hong Kong may not have the ethnic problem found in those days, but what about the border between the church and other communities in our society? Is the local church ready to embrace a non-native ethnic minority community? Does it have sufficient vitality to emulate the early church when suffering comes: To testify hope with its members’ lives and live out the Christian faith through their lives?

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¹ Donald A. McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, rev. and ed. C. Peter Wagner, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 3.
² John Howard Yoder, “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective,” in The Challenge of Church Growth – A Symposium, Institute of Mennonite Studies – Missionary Studies No. 1, ed. Wibert R. Shenk (Scottdale: Herald, 1973), 31, 46-47.
³ Yoder, “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective,” 31.
⁴ Yoder, “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective,” 43-44.
⁵ Yoder, “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective,” 44.
⁶ Yoder, “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective,” 45.
⁷ John Howard Yoder, Body Politics: Five Practices of the Christian Community before the Watching World (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1992), 28.
⁸ Yoder, Body Politics, 28-29.
⁹ Yoder, Body Politics, 29.
¹⁰ Yoder, Body Politics, 29.
¹¹ Yoder, Body Politics, 29-30.
¹² Yoder, “Church Growth Issues in Theological Perspective,” 44.