Can a Renewal Movement Be Renewed?

Questions for the Future of Ecumenism

Michael Kinnamon

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781467440493
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Religiöse Ökumene & Interreligiösität

There is no doubt that ecumenism occupies a prominent place in the history of the church in the twentieth century: countless churches have been renewed through encounter with Christian sisters and brothers in other confessions and cultures. But it is not clear that this ecumenical impulse will continue to figure prominently in the church's story. In this book Michael Kinnamon argues that the ecumenical movement, which has given such energy and direction to the church, needs to be reconceived in a way that provides renewing power for the church in this era — and he shows how this might happen. He names the problems with ecumenism, identifies strengths and accomplishments upon which the church now can build, and suggests practical, concrete steps we can take in the direction of revitalization, especially at the local level.

chapter 1

Does Ecumenism Have a Future?

There is no doubt that ecumenism occupies a prominent place in the history of the church in the twentieth century. “The ecumenical movement,” writes the British theologian Paul Avis,

has not simply replaced suspicion, incomprehension and rivalry with understanding, trust and friendship — though in itself that is no mean achievement. In the form of theological dialogue, ecumenism has also significantly scaled down the extent of church-­dividing issues between Christian traditions . . . [and] has established that there is “a certain, albeit imperfect, communion” between churches that are not yet in full communion.1

In the form of councils of churches, the movement has enabled previously competing denominations to pray for and with one another; to bear common witness to Jesus Christ, instead of only recruiting for “our brand” of Christianity; to join in concerted action against racism, war, and economic oppression; and to engage in shared service on behalf of those in need.

Even where a closer structured relationship has proved difficult, churches have changed through encounter with Christian sisters and brothers in other confessions and cultures. To say it another way, churches have been renewed through mutual sharing of the gifts each has received thanks to their distinctive experiences of God’s presence and power. Worship has been enriched. Understandings of mission have expanded. Communities have become more inclusive. Such renewal is by no means incidental to the goal of ecumenism, since the unity envisioned in the ecumenical movement has never been simply a mutual acceptance of what we now are, but, rather, a “common quest for the renewed obedience of the one church of Jesus Christ in its faith, its life, its mission, and its compassionate response to the world’s anguish.”2 Ecumenism has been a movement for unity through renewal and of renewal through unity.3

It is not clear, however, that this ecumenical impulse, at least in its past forms, will figure prominently in the church of the twenty-­first century. While some full communion agreements have been officially adopted in recent years, they don’t (yet) make much of a difference in the life of most members in the pews; and much theology produced through inter-­church dialogue seems destined to gather dust rather than promote renewal. Meanwhile, councils of churches from local to global struggle to keep the doors open in the face of reduced funding — which, of course, limits their creativity and impact. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat speaks for many outside observers when he writes that the ecumenical movement has borne real theological fruit, “but what began as a daring experiment has decayed into bureaucratized complacency — a dull round of interdenominational statements . . . only tenuously connected to the gospel.”4

And so the question that is the title of this book: Can a renewal movement be renewed? Can the ecumenical movement, which gave such energy and direction to the church in the twentieth century, be reconceived in a way that provides renewing power for the church in this era? I believe that the answer to this question is a qualified “yes” (with the help of God), and the chapters that follow are, in part, an attempt to say how this might happen.

Exploring the Question

This book is not a blueprint for the full renewal that is needed, but, I hope, a contribution to it. I realize that I am too invested in the current movement, perhaps too appreciative of the gains made, to grasp fully the new things God is doing in our midst. I am also aware of the tensions inherent in any single prescription for renewal. Can the revolution in communications technology bring new vitality to ecumenism? Yes, surely. But the key discipline of the ecumenical movement has been face-­to-­face dialogue and relationship building, and I cannot help but lament anything that undermines it. Can new evangelical and Pentecostal partners give fresh energy to the movement? Yes, surely. But ecumenical leaders have rightly insisted that unity is inseparable from social justice, and I know that expanding the table often reduces the range of justice commitments the churches can make together. Can the leadership of young adults lead to new ways of thinking and acting ecumenically? Yes, surely. But I am convinced that an orientation to the future must not forget the achievements of the past, lest we spend time reinventing rather than building on what has already been accomplished. Can the growing focus on interfaith relations expand the search for human wholeness that is central to the ecumenical vision? Yes, surely. But the ecumenical movement has been grounded in the conviction that in Christ we have seen God’s most decisive work of reconciling love — that the church, the community of Christ’s followers, is called to be a sign of such reconciliation — and I pray we will never back away from this witness.

This book, then, is an effort to name the problems, identify strengths and accomplishments on which we can build, and suggest steps that can move us in the direction of revitalization, especially at the local level. What those who care about ecumenism can now least afford is business as usual. Over the past two generations, what began as a passionate, even revolutionary, effort to reverse centuries of division and fragmentation has become a taken-­for-­granted part of the churches’ structure (an office of “external relations”), often now manifest in organizations to which the churches belong rather than an integral part of who we are. The luster of novelty has worn off, and many Christians no longer are moved by the astonishing privilege of being with those who are different.

The chapters that follow were originally speeches — ­for the most part, ones that I delivered while serving as general secretary of the National Council of Churches, 2008 to 2011. While they have all been substantially rewritten for inclusion in this volume — removing specific references, eliminating areas of duplication — I have tried to retain some of the fast-­paced tempo of a speech. These presentations were generally made to audiences that included persons well versed in ecumenism as well as those for whom this is new territory. It is my hope that these chapters will appeal to the same range of readers — addressing questions of interest to old hands and students of the movement (reviewing history, summarizing developments), but not getting so deep in the weeds of ecumenical debates that other readers lose interest.

The chapters vary a good deal in style and format (one chapter is even in the form of an “open letter”); but, taken as a whole, the book is intended to be

• • very practical, offering concrete steps for living ecumenically (there are lots of lists!);
• • global in perspective yet oriented toward local action;
• • attentive to the history of the ecumenical movement, but also focused on implications for the present and future;
• • particularly concerned with difficult issues and tensions that face the churches;
• • both upbeat about what has been accomplished over the past one hundred years and realistic about the challenges before us.

The fifteen chapters cover a variety of topics, but this is by no means a comprehensive treatment of ecumenism. If that were the intent, there would need to be chapters specifically on such topics as mission, young adults, education, the use of the Bible, and, especially, prayer and worship — which I, like Pope John Paul II, regard as the heart of the ecumenical impulse. If this renewal movement is to be renewed, then we must not reduce a divine initiative to a purely human enterprise!

Why Ecumenism?

I have devoted much of my ministry to the work of ecumenism — as a staff member of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Faith and Order Commission, as general secretary of the Consultation on Church Union, as general secretary of the National Council of Churches, and as a professor of ecumenical and interfaith studies for more than twenty-­five years. Why? Because, like many others, I long for a church better than the one I see around us. I stand in awe of the faithfulness of many Christians. The way they hold together firm commitment to Christ with active acceptance of others is humbling and inspiring. But the picture presented by the corporate church is often quite different: co-­opted by the culture, intolerant of those who are different, tepid in its social witness, and, despite decades of dialogue, still fragmented into competing factions engaged in a predatory scramble for new members. The ecumenical movement was never the answer to all of these problems, but it has been and, I believe, can still be the context within which churches experience the renewal they so desperately need.

I am also invested in this movement because — contrary to what we often hear — the world is so ready for it! In an age of terrorism, when many persons are increasingly afraid of those who are different, the ecumenical church can demonstrate what it means to welcome the stranger. In a political climate marked by ideological polarization, the ecumenical church can provide a model for staying at the table in the face of real disagreement. In an era when diversity is exalted and unity viewed with suspicion, the ecumenical church can show why the two belong together. In a society where justice is generally pursued in like-­minded groups, the ecumenical church can be an example of how unity and justice are inseparable. These claims are explored and defended from different angles in the chapters that follow.

In a presentation to the WCC’s Central Committee in 1973, the ecumenical leader Lukas Vischer posed an intriguing question: How will these present times strike our ecumenical descendants when they look back on them several decades from now? What will future generations make of all our strenuous efforts to give visible expression to the church’s unity? “Perhaps,” writes Vischer, “our successors will smile and say: ‘What curious people they must have been in those days. . . . Should it not have been obvious to them, even then, that they were doomed to failure from the start?’ . . . Or will they say: ‘What strange problems they were still wrestling with in those days!’ ” Why did it seem so difficult to recognize that we are, in fact, one church?5

The forty years since Vischer’s question have been chastening. Whatever made us think that the Roman Catholic Ch...