Ephraim Radner on "Exile" as an Image for Church Mission

I just reread a great article by Ephraim Radner that was published in the Christian Century back in 1989. It’s entitled “From ‘Liberation’ to ‘Exile’: A New Image for Church Mission.”   I commend it to you.

Radner talks about the failure of “Liberation” as a popular banner for the church’s mission; it has not given the church a model for its life that leads Christians to truly engage social ills, or to include in the life of Christian communities the marginalized in our society, or to embrace a vision for what he calls “totalistic renewal.”

Radner calls us back to the biblical image of “Exile,” a model more consistent with a New Testament vision for the church (especially clear in 1 Peter).  A church whose mission is shaped by the biblical image of exile is “a community formed by a coherent set of values that are at odds with the surrounding culture.” And this is a hard thing to be (he points to sects like Jehovah’s Witnesses as coming close.)

“Since in large measure Christian distinction involves the use of resources like money and time, as well as vehicles of primary regard like Scripture, prayer and extrafamilial commitments, promoting such identity involves a hard confrontation with the values of our secular environment. This in turn points the church to the way of the cross as the social character of exile. Few churches in the U.S. have been willing to push such a foundational self-understanding.

American Christians are part of a political system that depends on their participation. Churches of an exilic character, however, are not merely participants; they are alternative, tolerated communities. By maintaining the integrity of the Christian community in the face of the dominant culture, churches can rediscover the means to embrace new members from the margins of their culture, forming a commonwealth in exile, a distinct and enticing place of renewal.”

Comments

[millinerd]

Thanks for this Michael. I wish Radner's most recent book, "The Fate of Communion: The Agony of Anglicanism and the Future of a Global Church" would get some more attention, especially in light of missional concerns.

In addition, his second most recent, "Hope Among the Fragments: The Broken Church and Its Engagement of Scripture," contains some powerful words of hope for those sticking it out in the Mainline denominations.

[Renee Guth]

I have written a short paper on this topic. Using this and a historical perspective, it gives some suggestions for congregations and networks within mainline denominations.

Grace & Peace,
Renee

rbguth@comcast.net