On October 31, 2011, Robin Harris – the president of International Council of Ethnodoxologists and our adviser/mentor spoke at King’s Region 1oth year celebration.
Importance of Arts in World Mission:
Old Testament mission – “Come and see” – Israel was to show the nations who God was. The tabernacle was a sign of his kingdom on earth, and in Exodus 31, 35, 36 we see that Oholiab and Bezalel were set apart for creating beauty in the tabernacle. They were “filled with ability and intelligence, with all knowledge and craftsmanship” in order to do that job.
New Testament mission – “Go and tell” -
- Jesus, our first (and best) model of mission, spoke of his own mission in metaphor and parable.
- Paul commanded that we teach and admonish one another through hymns & songs (Col 3)
- Should we stop using artistic methods when we “go” as missionaries?
Let’s look at God’s model in communication:
- God’s communication to us through the Bible gives a central role to the arts: 70% of the Bible is crafted in some form of artistic communication: song, poem, storytelling, poetry, prophetic drama, proverbs, parables, or metaphor and images.
- This points to an important truth: when God wants to communicate a message, he often does it artistically.
Modern Missions capitalizes on the effectiveness of the arts:
The manifesto that recently came out of the Lausanne meetings in Cape Town, South Africa is called the “Cape Town Commitment” – maybe some of you have read it. In the section on Arts in Mission, written by a colleague of ours, it says this:
“In the world of missions the arts are in many quarters an untapped resource. There is a renewed interest in the arts and with that comes renewed energy to engage the arts as a context for mission. But there is a long way to go. There are four things the church must do:
1) bring the arts back into the life of the faith community as a valid and valuable component…,
2) support those with artistic gifts so that they might flourish in their work,
3) engage the arts as a context for mission …,
4) respect cultural differences and celebrate indigenous artistic expression.
The leadership of Lausanne has been clear in marking the importance of the arts for the missional task. The church now must take up the challenge of opening the way for the arts to enrich and empower its voice as it seeks to take the whole gospel to the whole world.”[1]
Observations on what I’ve seen in Jaewoo and Joy’s lives:
- They have answered the call of God on their lives and King’s Region is a big part of that call.
- I see a few ways in which their ministry is unique and admirable:
1) Culturally-aware and communicating with a unique audience: They are uniquely positioned as a young couple who understands Korean and American cultures as well as mission principles that apply to arts. ICE is a network of about 400 people involved in culturally-appropriate arts in mission, and as the President of that network, I keep track of who is in it. The Kims are the only ones in that network communicating ethnodoxology and multi-cultural principles to Koreans and the Korean diaspora.
2) Constant learners: Jaewoo and Joy are always learning and passing along what they learn: They support one another; Joy’s MA studies at GIAL, Calvin, AiM 2011, various conferences and courses.
3) Collaborators: Jaewoo and Joyo are always working together with people! They invite people to work with them, rather than protecting their turf. They participate gladly in collaborative projects.
4) Congenial hospitality: They do a lot of ministry through hospitality; we have so enjoyed this!
CONGRATULATIONS! May God grant you many more decades of effective service in the arts and mission.
[1] The Lausanne Movement. The Cape Town Commitment, 2010. Accessed 22 Aug. 2011.http://www.lausanne.org/ctcommitment - It is available in Arabic, Deutsch, English, Espanol, Francais, Portugues, Русский, 简体中文 at the above link.
