Minutes of the Executive Committee of CEAMS
Held at PMTI, Budapest, 2004, May 14th
1. Present at the meeting of the Executive Committee
Dr Vladimir Federov, Drs László Gonda, Professor Dr. Jan Gorski, , Drs Darrell Jackson, Dr Scott Klingsmith, Professor Dr. Anne-Marie Kool, Dr Ábrahám Kovács Dr Peter Penner, Dr Dimitrije Popadic
2. A-MK proposed, and the Executive Committee approved, an outline agenda.
3. PP proposed, and the Executive Committee approved, that DJ keep the minutes of the meeting.
4. LG offered his resignation, outling his reasons for the Executive Committee. After a full discussion the Executive Committee voted not to accept his resignation.
5. A-MK introduced the election of CEAMS officers for the following four year period. PP nominated, and SK seconded, A-MK for the Chair of the Executive Committee. With A-MK temporarily absent from the room PP chaired the meeting to allow discussion and voting to take place on his proposal. The Committee unanimously elected A-MK to the Chair and on her return to the room she was welcomed warmly.
6. A-MK proposed from the Chair that Dimitrije Popadic be invited to join the Executive Committee. His location in Novi Sad offers a perspective from the Balkans. Discussion drew attention to the need for wider denominational and geographical representation within CEAMS. A-MK responded that this was primarily a matter for the membership of CEAMS in the first instance. Later, of course, it would be important to reflect this wider representation on the Executive Committee. Following further discussion the Committee duly elected DP as a member.
7. A-MK introduced discussion about the need to elect a Vice-Chair. SK raised the issue of necessary Institutional commitment in considering a nomination to this position. After further discussion, LG proposed that the Committee should elect two-Vice Chairs. This was approved by the Committee and two names were proposed by LG, Father Dr. Vladimir Federov and Professor Dr. Jan Gorski. The Committee duly elected these to the vice-Chair consequent upon a decision of the General Meeting to amend the Constitution.
8. A-MK proposed from the Chair that PP be invited to act as Treasurer. The Committee duly elected him. DP discussed the need for fund-raising and accounting. A-MK explained that PMTI would operate an account holding monies on behalf of CEAMS.
9. DP introduced discussion regarding a CEAMS journal. A-MK proposed from the Chair that SK and DP become co-Editors of a new journal. The Committee duly elected them to their respective roles. The Executive Committee would act as the Editorial Board.
There being no further business the meeting was closed.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Summary Report Budapest 2004
CEEAMS conference 2004, May 12th to 15th
Conference summary report
Compiled by the Revd Darrell Jackson
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies (CEEAMS) was established in 2003 and was hosted in 2004 at the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies (PMTI) in Budapest
For further information contact:
The Revd Darrell Jackson
Researcher in European Mission and Evangelism, Conference of European Churches
PMTI-CEC
H-1461 Budapest
Pf.150
Hungary
+361 210 4056
jackson@pmti.edi.hu
CEEAMS conference 2004, May 12th to 15th
Conference summary report
Compiled by the Revd Darrell Jackson
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies (CEEAMS) was established in 2003 and was hosted in 2004 at the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies (PMTI) in Budapest by Professor Anne-Marie Kool and Dr Ábrahám Kovács. Members were representative of a wide range of countries and educational institutions in the region, including Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, and Hungary. CEEAMS Members maintain an educational and professional interest in the study of missiology and hold a doctoral degree. Others who teach missiology at theological seminaries and University faculties, as well as those who are published in this field, were also active participants in the Association’s meeting.
CEEAMS has an active interest in increasing missiological research activity within the region hence it was logical that this year’s Conference should take a closer look at Missiological Education in Central and Eastern Europe. The growing significance of the region’s contribution to wider missiological research and discussion is evidenced by the involvement of a number of CEEMS members in confessional and inter-confessional processes, specifically the European Mission Research project of the Conference of European Churches, the Leuenberg Fellowship, the International Association of Catholic Missiologists, and key Orthodox mission programmes, including a soon to be published biography of Orthodox missionaries.
These welcome developments arise at a time when many from within the region, in addition to those outside it, believe that it holds unexplored opportunities for further research relating to important missiological and other theoretical positions held within the social sciences. Opportunities exist for observing and testing, for example, theories of secularisation or, indeed, rival theories of the religious economy. Within the scope of this research the presence of new religious movements in the region raises important questions. Field research studying mission, proselytism and evangelism is all too scarce, as is research examining the impact of missionary agencies upon the region and its indigenous churches. When missiologists from within the region refer to a ‘double secularisation’ as a consequence of, first, Soviet materialism followed, next, by western capitalist materialism, their colleagues find it all too easy to understood what is being referred to. However, the region has not responded uniformly to this process of ‘double secularisation’. Compare the Czech Republic (70% atheist) with its neighbour, Poland (85% church attendance), for instance. Frustratingly, the reasons for this are not always well understood by the region’s missiologists. Asking, “Why do so many Roman Catholic attend our churches in Poland?” the same CEEAMS member rapidly followed up his own question with a candid, “We don’t really know! Possibly it’s a form of popular religion that believes one can only encounter God in a sacred space, a building!”
After a fifteen year experiment with western-style democracy and the entry of former Soviet States into the European Union, the region is ripe with possibilities for pioneering and original missiological research. The study of the history of mission in the region is a relatively underdeveloped field of research and a range of yet to be discovered histories of mission and missionaries await the committed research student. CEEAMS members welcomed news of the long anticipated, Biographical Lexicon of the Missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church edited by CEEAMS member, Revd Dr Sergi Shirokov, now being prepared for printing.
Missiological education in the region – a historical overview
Dr Peter Penner, of the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, offered his overview of theological education in the region, contrasting the extremely limited opportunities that existed before glasnost and perestroika with those that followed immediately upon the demise of Soviet regimes. In the subsequent religious educational free-market, Free Church seminaries and bible colleges proliferated most usually funded from outside the region. At one stage in the early nineties there were, for example, fifteen Korean-run seminaries in Moscow and a further four in St. Petersburg. Material inducements to attract students on to Masters programmes were not unknown. Amongst national theological teachers there is now evidence of a growing desire for greater sensitivity to context and greater freedom from educational programmes that make no real or consistent concession to the national or local context. Penner has extensive experience of the various attempts to provide accreditation for such institutions. He is not dismissive of the value of accreditation, indeed he welcomes its beneficial impacts upon institutional development, but he suggests that following Bologna and the adoption of European-wide standards in education (including the European Credit Transfer System, or ECTS) the need for theologically or confessionally driven accreditation programmes is not what it once was. The maturing theological institutes of the region are beginning to ask of such accrediting bodies, “How can you help us with what we need?” rather than, “How can you accredit us?” He estimates that following the immediate post-Soviet boom in theological institutes the region can now probably sustain approximately thirty Free Church undergraduate programmes with up to a maximum of five postgraduate institutes.
Historical developments in the teaching of missiology within the Hungarian Reformed Church follow a somewhat similar trajectory, outlined by Drs. Lázsló Gonda. Little missiological training was offered until the early decades of the twentieth century with a number of Professors offering electives in mission. By the mid-twentieth century missionary revivals within Hungary prompted the need for a missionary training school. Throughout this period some missiology was published sporadically. Following the regime change in 1989 the situation changed dramatically with Reformed seminaries offering mission as a proper subject of theological and scientific enquiry. Seminaries at Debrecen and Pápá require their students to attend ‘Introduction to missiology’ modules. The Mission Department at Debrecen, for example, offers modules in Ecumenism, Introduction to the Denominations, Diakonia, Introduction to missions, and Church growth. Missiology can be chosen as a final Master’s thesis and one’s PhD can be missiological. There are two members of faculty dedicated to mission teaching; one assistant Professor of missiology and Church growth and one senior lecturer.
In contrast, CEEAMS members spoke of the failure of theological institutions to adequately represent the best intentions of Church Councils and Synods. In the theological faculty of one Central European University, the ‘Introduction to missiology’ course had been renamed ‘Introduction to mission and diakonia’. No other modules are available in mission, and cross-cultural education is limited to modules in ‘Geographic anthropology’ and ‘Cross-cultural communication’. Interestingly, as classes have become more theoretical, students have begun to realise the need to organise practical mission exposure trips.
Professor Jan Gorski spoke relatively positively of the situation in Poland, where he holds one of four Chairs in missiology. Typically, over two Semesters, seminarians will be offered sixty hours of missiological education, accredited through the ECTS. The ‘Introduction to Mission’ module includes; missionary methods, the history of mission, catechesis and mission, mission spirituality, and inculturation. He has graduated over one hundred research students with the degree of Magister and a further four with Doctoral degrees. The ECTS is used in Poland’s seminaries. However, he laments the fact that whilst mission training ought to be available to all seminarians, in practice this is not the case. One year of mission studies, in addition to language training, is now obligatory for all Polish Roman Catholic missionaries serving in parishes overseas. These now number some 3,000.
Orthodox members of CEEAMs expressed similar frustrations at the inability of the hierarchs to move their churches and theological institutions beyond mere expressions of support for missiological education in the seminaries.
In practice, the Churches of Central and Eastern Europe often display an underdeveloped exposure to ecumenical involvement, a limited involvement in international mission and inter-cultural projects, and demonstrate a marked reluctance to committing national personnel to overseas mission projects. These only served to underline the importance of the work of an Association such as CEEAMS. It was all the more timely that Dr. Penner was able to announce a consultation in Prague from the 2nd to 6th February 2005 on the theme of ‘Theological education as mission’.
Current trends evidenced in missiological education within the region
Missiological endeavour in Central and Eastern Europe has not been able to stand aloof from important impulses informing related fields of academic and theological enquiry. The ambiguous possibilities raised by new and emerging European identities have generated a climate of transition and this provides the context for our missiology at this present time. Set against the backdrop of globalisation, the internationalisation of our academic and professional field of interest is felt urgently and keenly. The practicalities of ethnic minority congregations and rapidly pluralizing societies press hard upon the churches of the region and it is to their missiologists that they will need to turn for a theological and practical response. The discussion among contemporary Polish Roman Catholic missiologists as to whether the adjective ‘missionary’ is to be properly applied to individuals or to churches is required by such a context.
All of the Conference participants recognised that the primary disciplines required by missiologists in this region of the world are identical to those developed and employed in others. Missiology by its nature will be multi-disciplinary, holistic, and its research programmes will reflect an important Central and Eastern European concern for ‘scientific’ and ‘reliable’ outcomes, generating data that is capable of proper and further analysis. Some members reminded the Conference that important lessons are being learned from within the region that missiological research and reflection must precede mission practice. Several members, among them Dr. Dimitrije Popadice, suggested that reflective practice allows mission education to offer the development of proper skills, attitudes, spirituality, and predispositions drawn from reflection upon the task of students engaging in mission. In common with other areas of theological education, missiological education is moving away from the mere impartation of knowledge, organised rationally and cognitively, from the tutor to the student. Educational methodologies beyond the lecture and academic paper are being deployed. Case studies and reflective practice are becoming more important in a region once renowned for its refusal to tolerate even questions of clarification from students. Innovatively, the Conference offered its participants the opportunity to experience for themselves a case study drawn from the story of Roberto de Nobili’s mission to the Brahmins of India.
Professor Gorski spoke of the need for missiology to experience a, ‘return to theology’; a mission that names the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He finds it impossible to conceive of a missiology that does not take seriously ecclesiology and Trinitarian theology. Post Vatican II theology speaks of missiology as inculturated theology in dialogue with the Magisterium of the Church. This implies the study of globalisation and a recognition that there is, ‘a rich biography of missiologies and theologies from the non-Western world’.
Other participants were keenly aware of the need for missiology to contribute towards an adequate theological evaluation and practice of religious tolerance and religious pluralism that avoids what has often appeared to be an unavoidable slide into indifference. Dr Vladimir Federov, of the Interchurch Partnership in St Petersburg, commended the practice of tolerance as a missionary method, even a mission spirituality. Closely allied to such concerns within the region is a growing recognition of the need for the discussion of human rights to move beyond the old polarities of ‘traditional’ values versus ‘liberal’ (or neo-liberal) values. This is a proper subject for missiology, having theological and practical components which need active reflection and consideration.
Mission and ecumenism within the region
A number of CEEAMS members drew our attention to the importance of engaging more fully with the processes of missiological reflection that take seriously the ecumenical mission paradigm outlined by David Bosch. The Polish conference, ‘School for Mission: Preaching the Gospel in Eastern Europe’ organised by the WCC and the CEC during October 2003 was offered as an important contribution towards framing a regional response. The resulting ‘Call for Common Witness in Eastern Europe’, was signed and issued by the twenty five participants in the School. It was recommended to CEEAMS members and copies were made available for their consideration.
Orthodox members lamented the widespread ignorance of ecumenical mission and its associated statements amongst Orthodox believers and leaders. This was especially important in considering issues of mission, proselytism, and evangelism. In contrast, Dr Penner was optimistic about dialogues between evangelicals and the ‘historic’ churches. Dialogues of this sort inevitably bring intra-denominational diversity of identity into sharper contrast. It is conceivable, for example, that German Baptists discover their missiology and mission spirituality owes much to German Lutheranism, in much the same way that a Russian Baptist is more likely to reflect Russian Orthodoxy in their missiology.
The experience of CEEAMS members within their respective seminaries and theological faculties leads many to conclude that mission and ecumenism are closely related subjects. Dr Federov reminded the Conference that within the region the ecumenical task has to be understood as an essential missionary task. The mission Christ left the church is established on the basis of his commission in Matthew 28 as well as his prayer for unity in John 17.
Emerging outlines suggesting regional unity in mission
It was not intended that the Conference should thematically identify programmes as the means of promoting unity in mission. However, in the course of the various presentations, speaker after speaker spoke of latent possibilities contained within certain missiological discoveries, postures or spiritualities that offered hints of deeper and more meaningful unity in mission. Proposals for a common dialogue around issues of mission are being seriously considered in a heartening number of places.
Orthodox missiologist, Dr Federov, referring to the traditional Christian emphasis of ora et labora, underlined the importance of an appropriate mission spirituality accompanying dialogue in mission. Joint endeavour in mission spirituality must be intended to inform joint endeavour as these twin themes become the hallmark of our unity in mission.
Speaking from the Free Church tradition, others suggested that where evangelicals have been able to conceive of salvation as ‘process’ or ‘journey’ new possibilities for dialogue arise as a result of the shift in conceptual paradigm. This raises for evangelicals the possibility of retaining a commitment to the explicative value of what is considered to be the normative evangelical experience of salvation whilst being simultaneously prepared to explore what this might mean when set against the broader context of the discourse of growing in faith, following Jesus, discipleship, and initiation. Further possibilities for constructive dialogue regarding mission, evangelism and proselytism are suggested by the use of ‘bounded set’ and ‘centred set’ terminologies with reference to the churches and the individual pilgrimages of faith that church members pursue within and without their church communities.
From his perspective, Professor Gorski spoke of the very obvious similarities in Protestant and Roman Catholic missiologies. He tends to view Catholic missiology as a reflection of Protestant missiology; in practice the two are very close.
Towards understanding the discipline of missiology and mission studies in the academic and educational institutes of Eastern and Central Europe.
An ongoing question for discussion concerns the precise nature of missiology and mission studies. There are clearly areas of consensus but no thoroughgoing consensus has yet emerged. Dr Federov suggested that sufficient consensus surrounds the term ‘mission’, so that, whilst recognising its limitations, there is sufficient basis on which to engage in shared reflection and dialogue concerning the ‘task’ or ‘role’ of the church. Whilst it is usual for theological faculties to encourage the historical study of mission and missionaries, the particular mission challenges of the region require more than historical research and greater attention to what is included in the mission curriculum. Reflection on mission practice is called for and this necessarily implies the training of individuals for missionary work, either in their own national and cultural context or, less frequently, for another context. Representatives of the Free Churches tended to characterise the scope of mission studies pursued in the greater majority of Free Church seminaries as often little more than the imparting of pragmatic principles relating to church planting, church growth, or simplistic five-step programmes, for example. Members working in University settings recognised the need for missiology to be cast as the academic, scientific study of mission using theological, historical, and a range of multi-disciplinary tools of analysis.
The close proximity of the region to the theological traditions of Western Europe has left its legacy upon the location of missiology within the theological curriculum. The considerable influence of Schleiermacher’s proposals for the theological curriculum is most seen certainly in the theological faculties of many Universities of the region and, perhaps surprisingly, in a large number of its seminaries and training colleges. The discipline has consequently been seen as little more than existing on the periphery of practical theology whilst some faculties seem content to place it within the scope of intercultural theology. There is a growing feeling that, at least for this region, Schleiermacher’s proposals are not sufficient. They are simply no longer relevant to the mission context of the Region (some might suggest that they retain little value for the current mission context of Western Europe). They do not adequately answer the questions posed by the prevailing social and cultural context of the region, nor by its churches in their struggle to more faithfully live out their missionary calling, nor of a new generation of church leaders who are articulating the compelling logic that if God is a missionary God it follows that the Church is a missionary Church and, its theology must be a missionary theology. Theological education, understood theologically, is discipleship (in terms of Matthew 28 and John 17) and thus itself missional.
Some in the region remain fearful that specialised missiological study will fail to loosen the hold of Schleiermacher’s proposals over its faculties. New proposals offering missiology as a core subject for all theological enquiry and endeavour are being articulated with increasing confidence. Dr Penner cited the adoption of a required module ‘Mission, Bible and Community’ for Masters students of all theological disciplines at IBTS. This corresponds with a growing desire to move the church from mere discussion of the missio dei to participation in the actio dei or, to use the terms formalised by Bosch, move the church from a dimensional to an intentional missiology.
Challenges remaining
Within the region a number of challenges remain for missiological research and education. The memorable exclamation of one CEEAMS members, “Bosch unites!” reminded us that for the greater majority of church leaders there is little question that the region is a mission field and the churches of all our confessions without doubt share in the missionary calling. Church Councils and Synods have enthusiastically embraced the terminology of missional church, missionary congregation, or some variation of the theme. What remains to be seen is whether the prophetic role that has undoubtedly been played by faculties of missiology and individual missiologists in the necessary discussions prior to the variety of Council and Synodical decrees can move such bodies beyond mere expressions in principle to delivery in practice. Church statements to the effect that all church activity is to be considered missionary in all its dimensions tend to obscure the need for church to be intentionally missionary (Bosch).
Further disappointment was expressed that the church groups that are often most enthusiastic about intentional mission are, ironically, those that often fail to move beyond the attempt to merely reproduce in exact replica what others have achieved elsewhere, usually in the West. Subsequent frustration on the part of such groups is often matched in equal measure by the dismay of other church groups who interpret such enthusiasm as competitive and in danger of valuing only the contemporary and innovative.
These emphases within mission practice have their correspondences within the missiological curriculum. There are failures crossing confessional divides to reflect the new mission paradigms within the content of mission studies curricula. Many of the region’s free church theological institutions struggle to move beyond the merely pragmatic whilst those of the historic churches fail to move beyond the merely academic.
It was stressed by a number of conference participants that a missiology that truly reflects the unique particularities of the region must pay proper attention to all forms of religious and ideological fundamentalism. It exists in the region as a complex of categories and yet there is a widespread concern by missiologists of all confessions that it is dangerous for the churches of the region. It is not always clear where it be discussed in the theological curriculum and missiologists of the region can find themselves in the forefront of the debates dealing with, for example, radical Islam, fundamentalist neo-protestant groups, nationalism, ultra-right Roman Catholic movements, anti-semitism, and the presence of New Religious Movements in the region.
As an example of how the churches of the region are trying to address these issues it is clear that a significant number of CEEAMS members have an interest in the study of mission among the Roma peoples of Central and Eastern Europe. Often the victims of prejudice and hatred, in earlier centuries it was not unusual for them to be prevented from entering church buildings. A number of church and mission agencies are now actively at work among these people groups and CEEAMS members felt that it would probably be timely to reflect missiologically upon mission practices among the Roma and the issues that such reflection raises for mission studies within the region.
Opportunities within the region
Mission spirituality continues to attract interest as an important area for curriculum development in a diverse range of confessional Institutions. Members from the region expressed a view that ecumenical discussion of spirituality tended to lack a certain clarity and that by articulating the outlines of a contextually appropriate mission spirituality a helpful contribution might then be made to ecumenical discussions of spirituality. A number of proposals were offered during the course of the Conference. The concept of ora et labora, discussed above, appears to offer a basis for proceeding towards framing a spirituality that informs and shapes unity in mission.
Professor Gorski outlined a Roman Catholic approach to teaching mission spirituality with special reference to the Saints as exemplars. For example, the emphasis of St Thérèse of Liseaux upon the ‘love of God as a love to be shared’ offers an appropriate mission spirituality serving as a reminder that loveless mission is no mission. Dr Federov underlined the role of ‘tolerance’ as a mission spirituality, an approach to adopt and an attitude to recommend to all engaged in mission. Whilst such proposals only exist currently in outline within the region, there was a real concern that without a properly expressed and experienced mission spirituality there could be no real response on the part of the churches of the region to the New Religious Movements and the various spiritualities that they readily espouse.
Proposals for developing a Christian social ethic were seen by some as important tasks for the mission of the churches of the region. Albeit expressed in different accents, representatives from each of the confessional groups spoke of the urgent need to prepare individuals and develop institutions, including Christian liberal arts Universities and Colleges, as mission actors transforming the social context. It is conceded by some that the history of the region suggests the need for a secular context to guarantee necessary social and religious freedoms but that within such a context the transformational quality of Christian education should not be overlooked. Indeed it may be seen as a, ‘liturgy before the liturgy.’ (Federov) and therefore it would logically follow that inter-disciplinary co-operation between specialists in Christian education and theological education is an appropriate missionary response to the particular needs of the region.
Reflecting the members’ interests: With the relatively recent development of missiology as a theological discipline in the region, joint endeavours remain in their infancy and there exists the need for developing more extensive systems of co-operation. There are no databases of members’ research interests and expertise, publications, or teaching programmes. Peer review of missiological reflection and research conducted within the region has not been possible and CEEAMS members have taken the first steps towards the publication of a new journal to reflect the interests and needs of its members within the region.
Translating missiological texts: This continues to be an important tool for offering missiologists and theologians from Central and Eastern Europe exposure to significant missiological texts. It is difficult to estimate the impact of the Russian translation of Bosch’s Transforming Mission. ‘Bosch unites!’ was fast becoming an experienced reality for missiologists working across the region. Only a limited number of institutes across the region have the resources to translate missiological texts and it is a source of ongoing disappointment that so often the flow of literature in translation is from west to east. These is a small though significant range of missiological literature that is inaccessible to the many missiologists from the west who are not fluent in either Russian or one of the regions languages, Slavic or otherwise.
At their next conference, likely to be in Slovakia, called for the 1st to 3rd June 2005, CEEAMS members propose a missiological consultation on the subject of mission among the Roma peoples of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Revd Darrell Jackson, a British Baptist Minister, is working from Budapest for the Conference of European Churches as a Researcher in European Mission. His doctoral studies programme is being undertaken in conjunction with the School of Mission and World Christianity, Birmingham University, England.
Conference summary report
Compiled by the Revd Darrell Jackson
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies (CEEAMS) was established in 2003 and was hosted in 2004 at the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies (PMTI) in Budapest
For further information contact:
The Revd Darrell Jackson
Researcher in European Mission and Evangelism, Conference of European Churches
PMTI-CEC
H-1461 Budapest
Pf.150
Hungary
+361 210 4056
jackson@pmti.edi.hu
CEEAMS conference 2004, May 12th to 15th
Conference summary report
Compiled by the Revd Darrell Jackson
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies (CEEAMS) was established in 2003 and was hosted in 2004 at the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies (PMTI) in Budapest by Professor Anne-Marie Kool and Dr Ábrahám Kovács. Members were representative of a wide range of countries and educational institutions in the region, including Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, and Hungary. CEEAMS Members maintain an educational and professional interest in the study of missiology and hold a doctoral degree. Others who teach missiology at theological seminaries and University faculties, as well as those who are published in this field, were also active participants in the Association’s meeting.
CEEAMS has an active interest in increasing missiological research activity within the region hence it was logical that this year’s Conference should take a closer look at Missiological Education in Central and Eastern Europe. The growing significance of the region’s contribution to wider missiological research and discussion is evidenced by the involvement of a number of CEEMS members in confessional and inter-confessional processes, specifically the European Mission Research project of the Conference of European Churches, the Leuenberg Fellowship, the International Association of Catholic Missiologists, and key Orthodox mission programmes, including a soon to be published biography of Orthodox missionaries.
These welcome developments arise at a time when many from within the region, in addition to those outside it, believe that it holds unexplored opportunities for further research relating to important missiological and other theoretical positions held within the social sciences. Opportunities exist for observing and testing, for example, theories of secularisation or, indeed, rival theories of the religious economy. Within the scope of this research the presence of new religious movements in the region raises important questions. Field research studying mission, proselytism and evangelism is all too scarce, as is research examining the impact of missionary agencies upon the region and its indigenous churches. When missiologists from within the region refer to a ‘double secularisation’ as a consequence of, first, Soviet materialism followed, next, by western capitalist materialism, their colleagues find it all too easy to understood what is being referred to. However, the region has not responded uniformly to this process of ‘double secularisation’. Compare the Czech Republic (70% atheist) with its neighbour, Poland (85% church attendance), for instance. Frustratingly, the reasons for this are not always well understood by the region’s missiologists. Asking, “Why do so many Roman Catholic attend our churches in Poland?” the same CEEAMS member rapidly followed up his own question with a candid, “We don’t really know! Possibly it’s a form of popular religion that believes one can only encounter God in a sacred space, a building!”
After a fifteen year experiment with western-style democracy and the entry of former Soviet States into the European Union, the region is ripe with possibilities for pioneering and original missiological research. The study of the history of mission in the region is a relatively underdeveloped field of research and a range of yet to be discovered histories of mission and missionaries await the committed research student. CEEAMS members welcomed news of the long anticipated, Biographical Lexicon of the Missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church edited by CEEAMS member, Revd Dr Sergi Shirokov, now being prepared for printing.
Missiological education in the region – a historical overview
Dr Peter Penner, of the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, offered his overview of theological education in the region, contrasting the extremely limited opportunities that existed before glasnost and perestroika with those that followed immediately upon the demise of Soviet regimes. In the subsequent religious educational free-market, Free Church seminaries and bible colleges proliferated most usually funded from outside the region. At one stage in the early nineties there were, for example, fifteen Korean-run seminaries in Moscow and a further four in St. Petersburg. Material inducements to attract students on to Masters programmes were not unknown. Amongst national theological teachers there is now evidence of a growing desire for greater sensitivity to context and greater freedom from educational programmes that make no real or consistent concession to the national or local context. Penner has extensive experience of the various attempts to provide accreditation for such institutions. He is not dismissive of the value of accreditation, indeed he welcomes its beneficial impacts upon institutional development, but he suggests that following Bologna and the adoption of European-wide standards in education (including the European Credit Transfer System, or ECTS) the need for theologically or confessionally driven accreditation programmes is not what it once was. The maturing theological institutes of the region are beginning to ask of such accrediting bodies, “How can you help us with what we need?” rather than, “How can you accredit us?” He estimates that following the immediate post-Soviet boom in theological institutes the region can now probably sustain approximately thirty Free Church undergraduate programmes with up to a maximum of five postgraduate institutes.
Historical developments in the teaching of missiology within the Hungarian Reformed Church follow a somewhat similar trajectory, outlined by Drs. Lázsló Gonda. Little missiological training was offered until the early decades of the twentieth century with a number of Professors offering electives in mission. By the mid-twentieth century missionary revivals within Hungary prompted the need for a missionary training school. Throughout this period some missiology was published sporadically. Following the regime change in 1989 the situation changed dramatically with Reformed seminaries offering mission as a proper subject of theological and scientific enquiry. Seminaries at Debrecen and Pápá require their students to attend ‘Introduction to missiology’ modules. The Mission Department at Debrecen, for example, offers modules in Ecumenism, Introduction to the Denominations, Diakonia, Introduction to missions, and Church growth. Missiology can be chosen as a final Master’s thesis and one’s PhD can be missiological. There are two members of faculty dedicated to mission teaching; one assistant Professor of missiology and Church growth and one senior lecturer.
In contrast, CEEAMS members spoke of the failure of theological institutions to adequately represent the best intentions of Church Councils and Synods. In the theological faculty of one Central European University, the ‘Introduction to missiology’ course had been renamed ‘Introduction to mission and diakonia’. No other modules are available in mission, and cross-cultural education is limited to modules in ‘Geographic anthropology’ and ‘Cross-cultural communication’. Interestingly, as classes have become more theoretical, students have begun to realise the need to organise practical mission exposure trips.
Professor Jan Gorski spoke relatively positively of the situation in Poland, where he holds one of four Chairs in missiology. Typically, over two Semesters, seminarians will be offered sixty hours of missiological education, accredited through the ECTS. The ‘Introduction to Mission’ module includes; missionary methods, the history of mission, catechesis and mission, mission spirituality, and inculturation. He has graduated over one hundred research students with the degree of Magister and a further four with Doctoral degrees. The ECTS is used in Poland’s seminaries. However, he laments the fact that whilst mission training ought to be available to all seminarians, in practice this is not the case. One year of mission studies, in addition to language training, is now obligatory for all Polish Roman Catholic missionaries serving in parishes overseas. These now number some 3,000.
Orthodox members of CEEAMs expressed similar frustrations at the inability of the hierarchs to move their churches and theological institutions beyond mere expressions of support for missiological education in the seminaries.
In practice, the Churches of Central and Eastern Europe often display an underdeveloped exposure to ecumenical involvement, a limited involvement in international mission and inter-cultural projects, and demonstrate a marked reluctance to committing national personnel to overseas mission projects. These only served to underline the importance of the work of an Association such as CEEAMS. It was all the more timely that Dr. Penner was able to announce a consultation in Prague from the 2nd to 6th February 2005 on the theme of ‘Theological education as mission’.
Current trends evidenced in missiological education within the region
Missiological endeavour in Central and Eastern Europe has not been able to stand aloof from important impulses informing related fields of academic and theological enquiry. The ambiguous possibilities raised by new and emerging European identities have generated a climate of transition and this provides the context for our missiology at this present time. Set against the backdrop of globalisation, the internationalisation of our academic and professional field of interest is felt urgently and keenly. The practicalities of ethnic minority congregations and rapidly pluralizing societies press hard upon the churches of the region and it is to their missiologists that they will need to turn for a theological and practical response. The discussion among contemporary Polish Roman Catholic missiologists as to whether the adjective ‘missionary’ is to be properly applied to individuals or to churches is required by such a context.
All of the Conference participants recognised that the primary disciplines required by missiologists in this region of the world are identical to those developed and employed in others. Missiology by its nature will be multi-disciplinary, holistic, and its research programmes will reflect an important Central and Eastern European concern for ‘scientific’ and ‘reliable’ outcomes, generating data that is capable of proper and further analysis. Some members reminded the Conference that important lessons are being learned from within the region that missiological research and reflection must precede mission practice. Several members, among them Dr. Dimitrije Popadice, suggested that reflective practice allows mission education to offer the development of proper skills, attitudes, spirituality, and predispositions drawn from reflection upon the task of students engaging in mission. In common with other areas of theological education, missiological education is moving away from the mere impartation of knowledge, organised rationally and cognitively, from the tutor to the student. Educational methodologies beyond the lecture and academic paper are being deployed. Case studies and reflective practice are becoming more important in a region once renowned for its refusal to tolerate even questions of clarification from students. Innovatively, the Conference offered its participants the opportunity to experience for themselves a case study drawn from the story of Roberto de Nobili’s mission to the Brahmins of India.
Professor Gorski spoke of the need for missiology to experience a, ‘return to theology’; a mission that names the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He finds it impossible to conceive of a missiology that does not take seriously ecclesiology and Trinitarian theology. Post Vatican II theology speaks of missiology as inculturated theology in dialogue with the Magisterium of the Church. This implies the study of globalisation and a recognition that there is, ‘a rich biography of missiologies and theologies from the non-Western world’.
Other participants were keenly aware of the need for missiology to contribute towards an adequate theological evaluation and practice of religious tolerance and religious pluralism that avoids what has often appeared to be an unavoidable slide into indifference. Dr Vladimir Federov, of the Interchurch Partnership in St Petersburg, commended the practice of tolerance as a missionary method, even a mission spirituality. Closely allied to such concerns within the region is a growing recognition of the need for the discussion of human rights to move beyond the old polarities of ‘traditional’ values versus ‘liberal’ (or neo-liberal) values. This is a proper subject for missiology, having theological and practical components which need active reflection and consideration.
Mission and ecumenism within the region
A number of CEEAMS members drew our attention to the importance of engaging more fully with the processes of missiological reflection that take seriously the ecumenical mission paradigm outlined by David Bosch. The Polish conference, ‘School for Mission: Preaching the Gospel in Eastern Europe’ organised by the WCC and the CEC during October 2003 was offered as an important contribution towards framing a regional response. The resulting ‘Call for Common Witness in Eastern Europe’, was signed and issued by the twenty five participants in the School. It was recommended to CEEAMS members and copies were made available for their consideration.
Orthodox members lamented the widespread ignorance of ecumenical mission and its associated statements amongst Orthodox believers and leaders. This was especially important in considering issues of mission, proselytism, and evangelism. In contrast, Dr Penner was optimistic about dialogues between evangelicals and the ‘historic’ churches. Dialogues of this sort inevitably bring intra-denominational diversity of identity into sharper contrast. It is conceivable, for example, that German Baptists discover their missiology and mission spirituality owes much to German Lutheranism, in much the same way that a Russian Baptist is more likely to reflect Russian Orthodoxy in their missiology.
The experience of CEEAMS members within their respective seminaries and theological faculties leads many to conclude that mission and ecumenism are closely related subjects. Dr Federov reminded the Conference that within the region the ecumenical task has to be understood as an essential missionary task. The mission Christ left the church is established on the basis of his commission in Matthew 28 as well as his prayer for unity in John 17.
Emerging outlines suggesting regional unity in mission
It was not intended that the Conference should thematically identify programmes as the means of promoting unity in mission. However, in the course of the various presentations, speaker after speaker spoke of latent possibilities contained within certain missiological discoveries, postures or spiritualities that offered hints of deeper and more meaningful unity in mission. Proposals for a common dialogue around issues of mission are being seriously considered in a heartening number of places.
Orthodox missiologist, Dr Federov, referring to the traditional Christian emphasis of ora et labora, underlined the importance of an appropriate mission spirituality accompanying dialogue in mission. Joint endeavour in mission spirituality must be intended to inform joint endeavour as these twin themes become the hallmark of our unity in mission.
Speaking from the Free Church tradition, others suggested that where evangelicals have been able to conceive of salvation as ‘process’ or ‘journey’ new possibilities for dialogue arise as a result of the shift in conceptual paradigm. This raises for evangelicals the possibility of retaining a commitment to the explicative value of what is considered to be the normative evangelical experience of salvation whilst being simultaneously prepared to explore what this might mean when set against the broader context of the discourse of growing in faith, following Jesus, discipleship, and initiation. Further possibilities for constructive dialogue regarding mission, evangelism and proselytism are suggested by the use of ‘bounded set’ and ‘centred set’ terminologies with reference to the churches and the individual pilgrimages of faith that church members pursue within and without their church communities.
From his perspective, Professor Gorski spoke of the very obvious similarities in Protestant and Roman Catholic missiologies. He tends to view Catholic missiology as a reflection of Protestant missiology; in practice the two are very close.
Towards understanding the discipline of missiology and mission studies in the academic and educational institutes of Eastern and Central Europe.
An ongoing question for discussion concerns the precise nature of missiology and mission studies. There are clearly areas of consensus but no thoroughgoing consensus has yet emerged. Dr Federov suggested that sufficient consensus surrounds the term ‘mission’, so that, whilst recognising its limitations, there is sufficient basis on which to engage in shared reflection and dialogue concerning the ‘task’ or ‘role’ of the church. Whilst it is usual for theological faculties to encourage the historical study of mission and missionaries, the particular mission challenges of the region require more than historical research and greater attention to what is included in the mission curriculum. Reflection on mission practice is called for and this necessarily implies the training of individuals for missionary work, either in their own national and cultural context or, less frequently, for another context. Representatives of the Free Churches tended to characterise the scope of mission studies pursued in the greater majority of Free Church seminaries as often little more than the imparting of pragmatic principles relating to church planting, church growth, or simplistic five-step programmes, for example. Members working in University settings recognised the need for missiology to be cast as the academic, scientific study of mission using theological, historical, and a range of multi-disciplinary tools of analysis.
The close proximity of the region to the theological traditions of Western Europe has left its legacy upon the location of missiology within the theological curriculum. The considerable influence of Schleiermacher’s proposals for the theological curriculum is most seen certainly in the theological faculties of many Universities of the region and, perhaps surprisingly, in a large number of its seminaries and training colleges. The discipline has consequently been seen as little more than existing on the periphery of practical theology whilst some faculties seem content to place it within the scope of intercultural theology. There is a growing feeling that, at least for this region, Schleiermacher’s proposals are not sufficient. They are simply no longer relevant to the mission context of the Region (some might suggest that they retain little value for the current mission context of Western Europe). They do not adequately answer the questions posed by the prevailing social and cultural context of the region, nor by its churches in their struggle to more faithfully live out their missionary calling, nor of a new generation of church leaders who are articulating the compelling logic that if God is a missionary God it follows that the Church is a missionary Church and, its theology must be a missionary theology. Theological education, understood theologically, is discipleship (in terms of Matthew 28 and John 17) and thus itself missional.
Some in the region remain fearful that specialised missiological study will fail to loosen the hold of Schleiermacher’s proposals over its faculties. New proposals offering missiology as a core subject for all theological enquiry and endeavour are being articulated with increasing confidence. Dr Penner cited the adoption of a required module ‘Mission, Bible and Community’ for Masters students of all theological disciplines at IBTS. This corresponds with a growing desire to move the church from mere discussion of the missio dei to participation in the actio dei or, to use the terms formalised by Bosch, move the church from a dimensional to an intentional missiology.
Challenges remaining
Within the region a number of challenges remain for missiological research and education. The memorable exclamation of one CEEAMS members, “Bosch unites!” reminded us that for the greater majority of church leaders there is little question that the region is a mission field and the churches of all our confessions without doubt share in the missionary calling. Church Councils and Synods have enthusiastically embraced the terminology of missional church, missionary congregation, or some variation of the theme. What remains to be seen is whether the prophetic role that has undoubtedly been played by faculties of missiology and individual missiologists in the necessary discussions prior to the variety of Council and Synodical decrees can move such bodies beyond mere expressions in principle to delivery in practice. Church statements to the effect that all church activity is to be considered missionary in all its dimensions tend to obscure the need for church to be intentionally missionary (Bosch).
Further disappointment was expressed that the church groups that are often most enthusiastic about intentional mission are, ironically, those that often fail to move beyond the attempt to merely reproduce in exact replica what others have achieved elsewhere, usually in the West. Subsequent frustration on the part of such groups is often matched in equal measure by the dismay of other church groups who interpret such enthusiasm as competitive and in danger of valuing only the contemporary and innovative.
These emphases within mission practice have their correspondences within the missiological curriculum. There are failures crossing confessional divides to reflect the new mission paradigms within the content of mission studies curricula. Many of the region’s free church theological institutions struggle to move beyond the merely pragmatic whilst those of the historic churches fail to move beyond the merely academic.
It was stressed by a number of conference participants that a missiology that truly reflects the unique particularities of the region must pay proper attention to all forms of religious and ideological fundamentalism. It exists in the region as a complex of categories and yet there is a widespread concern by missiologists of all confessions that it is dangerous for the churches of the region. It is not always clear where it be discussed in the theological curriculum and missiologists of the region can find themselves in the forefront of the debates dealing with, for example, radical Islam, fundamentalist neo-protestant groups, nationalism, ultra-right Roman Catholic movements, anti-semitism, and the presence of New Religious Movements in the region.
As an example of how the churches of the region are trying to address these issues it is clear that a significant number of CEEAMS members have an interest in the study of mission among the Roma peoples of Central and Eastern Europe. Often the victims of prejudice and hatred, in earlier centuries it was not unusual for them to be prevented from entering church buildings. A number of church and mission agencies are now actively at work among these people groups and CEEAMS members felt that it would probably be timely to reflect missiologically upon mission practices among the Roma and the issues that such reflection raises for mission studies within the region.
Opportunities within the region
Mission spirituality continues to attract interest as an important area for curriculum development in a diverse range of confessional Institutions. Members from the region expressed a view that ecumenical discussion of spirituality tended to lack a certain clarity and that by articulating the outlines of a contextually appropriate mission spirituality a helpful contribution might then be made to ecumenical discussions of spirituality. A number of proposals were offered during the course of the Conference. The concept of ora et labora, discussed above, appears to offer a basis for proceeding towards framing a spirituality that informs and shapes unity in mission.
Professor Gorski outlined a Roman Catholic approach to teaching mission spirituality with special reference to the Saints as exemplars. For example, the emphasis of St Thérèse of Liseaux upon the ‘love of God as a love to be shared’ offers an appropriate mission spirituality serving as a reminder that loveless mission is no mission. Dr Federov underlined the role of ‘tolerance’ as a mission spirituality, an approach to adopt and an attitude to recommend to all engaged in mission. Whilst such proposals only exist currently in outline within the region, there was a real concern that without a properly expressed and experienced mission spirituality there could be no real response on the part of the churches of the region to the New Religious Movements and the various spiritualities that they readily espouse.
Proposals for developing a Christian social ethic were seen by some as important tasks for the mission of the churches of the region. Albeit expressed in different accents, representatives from each of the confessional groups spoke of the urgent need to prepare individuals and develop institutions, including Christian liberal arts Universities and Colleges, as mission actors transforming the social context. It is conceded by some that the history of the region suggests the need for a secular context to guarantee necessary social and religious freedoms but that within such a context the transformational quality of Christian education should not be overlooked. Indeed it may be seen as a, ‘liturgy before the liturgy.’ (Federov) and therefore it would logically follow that inter-disciplinary co-operation between specialists in Christian education and theological education is an appropriate missionary response to the particular needs of the region.
Reflecting the members’ interests: With the relatively recent development of missiology as a theological discipline in the region, joint endeavours remain in their infancy and there exists the need for developing more extensive systems of co-operation. There are no databases of members’ research interests and expertise, publications, or teaching programmes. Peer review of missiological reflection and research conducted within the region has not been possible and CEEAMS members have taken the first steps towards the publication of a new journal to reflect the interests and needs of its members within the region.
Translating missiological texts: This continues to be an important tool for offering missiologists and theologians from Central and Eastern Europe exposure to significant missiological texts. It is difficult to estimate the impact of the Russian translation of Bosch’s Transforming Mission. ‘Bosch unites!’ was fast becoming an experienced reality for missiologists working across the region. Only a limited number of institutes across the region have the resources to translate missiological texts and it is a source of ongoing disappointment that so often the flow of literature in translation is from west to east. These is a small though significant range of missiological literature that is inaccessible to the many missiologists from the west who are not fluent in either Russian or one of the regions languages, Slavic or otherwise.
At their next conference, likely to be in Slovakia, called for the 1st to 3rd June 2005, CEEAMS members propose a missiological consultation on the subject of mission among the Roma peoples of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Revd Darrell Jackson, a British Baptist Minister, is working from Budapest for the Conference of European Churches as a Researcher in European Mission. His doctoral studies programme is being undertaken in conjunction with the School of Mission and World Christianity, Birmingham University, England.
General Meeting
Minutes of the General Meeting of CEAMS
Held at PMTI, Budapest, 2004 May 14th
1. Present at the General Meeting
Dr. Vladimir Federov, Drs. László Gonda, Professor Dr. Jan Gorski, , Drs. Darrell Jackson, Dr. Scott Klingsmith, Professor Dr. Anne-Marie Kool, Dr. Ábrahám Kovács Dr. Peter Penner, Dr. Dimitrije Popadic, Ivan ?, Pavel ?, Drs. Randolf Robertson,
2. Anne-Marie Kool took the Chair and proposed the agenda from the Chair. Following this, she immediately invited Darrell Jackson to report from the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting held earlier the same day. He reported the election of Anne-Marie Kool to the Chair, Jan Gorski and Vladimir Federov as Vice Chairs, Peter Penner as Treasurer, and Scott Klingsmith and Dimitrije Popadic as co-Editors of the proposed new CEAMS journal.
3. Membership of CEAMS
Membership, as per the Constitution, is defined primarily by those who wish to ‘further the aims’ of the Association. In the course of general discussion, the General Meeting further clarified the nature of ‘Membership’ and ‘Associate Membership’ in CEAMS. It was agreed that Membership of the Association should be limited to those holding an appropriate doctoral qualification, who are sponsored by two existing members of the Association, and admitted by vote of the Executive Committee. Associate Membership would be open to those enrolled on an appropriate doctoral programme or those holding a Master’s degree and teaching missiology/mission studies at an Institution. In exceptional cases it would be possible to receive into associate membership an individual who fully supports the aims of the Institution but who is not otherwise qualified. Associate members must also be sponsored by two existing members of the Association, and admitted by vote of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee was instructed to re-draft paragraph 3. of the Constitution, as follows, to allow for this.
“3. Membership
Individuals and institutions wishing to further these aims may be admitted to the Association by vote of the Executive Committee following the recommendation of two members of the Association. Membership shall be limited to those individuals who are qualified by an appropriate Doctoral degree. Associate Membership is available to those who are enrolled in an appropriate doctoral programme. Additionally, for a limited period, Associate Membership will be available to those who hold an appropriate Master’s Degree and are teaching mission studies or missiology at a theological or other academic Institute.”
With seven in favour, one abstention, and none opposed, the General Meeting agreed to these changes in the Constitution. In adopting these changes the General meeting encouraged the Executive Committee to guard the professional standards of the Association.
It was further agreed to print and circulate a promotional CEAMS leaflet, similar in format to that of IAMS.
The question of membership fees was left unanswered pending a discussion within IAMS about fees for individuals who are simultaneously members of IAMS and one of its related Associations.
4. The name of the Association
It was proposed by Scott Klingsmith, seconded by Ábrahám Kovács, that the Association be referred to with the acronym CEEAMS rather than the current CEAMS. After some discussion the meeting approved this change.
5. The election of two Vice-Chairs
Peter Penner proposed, and Laszlo Gonda seconded, that the Constitution be changed to allow for the nomination and election of two Vice-Chairs. With six in favour, two abstentions, and none opposed, this proposal was carried.
6. The objectives of the Association
Together with Scott Klingsmith, Dimitrije Popadice outlined the proposal for establishing and developing a journal of Central and Eastern European Mission Studies. The language would be English with articles also available in the language of the author. It would be published at least once a year. The editorial address would be PMTI.
The General Meeting gave this proposal their approval and, appointing Scott Klingsmith and Dimitrije Popadice as co-Editors, mandated them to develop a fuller proposal, including a journal name, likely circulation numbers, and a simple financial plan.
7. CEEAMS Headquarters
It was agreed by the General Meeting to establish the headquarters of the Association within the PMTI, Budapest.
8. CEEAMS 2005
The WCC Conference for World Mission and Evangelism will be held in Athens from 9th to 15th May 2005. Consequently it was agreed to organise a CEEAMS conference in 2005, June 1st to 3rd. The theme would be Mission and the Roma, to be held in Eastern Slovakia with Randolph Robertson acting as the local host and organiser.
9. IAMS 2008
Anne-Marie Kool tabled a request from the IAMS executive that the 2008 IAMS Conference should be held in Central or Eastern Europe and that it should be organised that by CEEAMS. Up to 300 people are expected at IAMS conferences and it was felt that suitable venues could be found within the region. After further discussion it was agreed, with one abstention, that CEEAMS should extend an invitation to the IAMS Executive to hold its 2008 Conference in the region.
There being no further business, the General Meeting was closed in prayer at 7pm.
Held at PMTI, Budapest, 2004 May 14th
1. Present at the General Meeting
Dr. Vladimir Federov, Drs. László Gonda, Professor Dr. Jan Gorski, , Drs. Darrell Jackson, Dr. Scott Klingsmith, Professor Dr. Anne-Marie Kool, Dr. Ábrahám Kovács Dr. Peter Penner, Dr. Dimitrije Popadic, Ivan ?, Pavel ?, Drs. Randolf Robertson,
2. Anne-Marie Kool took the Chair and proposed the agenda from the Chair. Following this, she immediately invited Darrell Jackson to report from the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting held earlier the same day. He reported the election of Anne-Marie Kool to the Chair, Jan Gorski and Vladimir Federov as Vice Chairs, Peter Penner as Treasurer, and Scott Klingsmith and Dimitrije Popadic as co-Editors of the proposed new CEAMS journal.
3. Membership of CEAMS
Membership, as per the Constitution, is defined primarily by those who wish to ‘further the aims’ of the Association. In the course of general discussion, the General Meeting further clarified the nature of ‘Membership’ and ‘Associate Membership’ in CEAMS. It was agreed that Membership of the Association should be limited to those holding an appropriate doctoral qualification, who are sponsored by two existing members of the Association, and admitted by vote of the Executive Committee. Associate Membership would be open to those enrolled on an appropriate doctoral programme or those holding a Master’s degree and teaching missiology/mission studies at an Institution. In exceptional cases it would be possible to receive into associate membership an individual who fully supports the aims of the Institution but who is not otherwise qualified. Associate members must also be sponsored by two existing members of the Association, and admitted by vote of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee was instructed to re-draft paragraph 3. of the Constitution, as follows, to allow for this.
“3. Membership
Individuals and institutions wishing to further these aims may be admitted to the Association by vote of the Executive Committee following the recommendation of two members of the Association. Membership shall be limited to those individuals who are qualified by an appropriate Doctoral degree. Associate Membership is available to those who are enrolled in an appropriate doctoral programme. Additionally, for a limited period, Associate Membership will be available to those who hold an appropriate Master’s Degree and are teaching mission studies or missiology at a theological or other academic Institute.”
With seven in favour, one abstention, and none opposed, the General Meeting agreed to these changes in the Constitution. In adopting these changes the General meeting encouraged the Executive Committee to guard the professional standards of the Association.
It was further agreed to print and circulate a promotional CEAMS leaflet, similar in format to that of IAMS.
The question of membership fees was left unanswered pending a discussion within IAMS about fees for individuals who are simultaneously members of IAMS and one of its related Associations.
4. The name of the Association
It was proposed by Scott Klingsmith, seconded by Ábrahám Kovács, that the Association be referred to with the acronym CEEAMS rather than the current CEAMS. After some discussion the meeting approved this change.
5. The election of two Vice-Chairs
Peter Penner proposed, and Laszlo Gonda seconded, that the Constitution be changed to allow for the nomination and election of two Vice-Chairs. With six in favour, two abstentions, and none opposed, this proposal was carried.
6. The objectives of the Association
Together with Scott Klingsmith, Dimitrije Popadice outlined the proposal for establishing and developing a journal of Central and Eastern European Mission Studies. The language would be English with articles also available in the language of the author. It would be published at least once a year. The editorial address would be PMTI.
The General Meeting gave this proposal their approval and, appointing Scott Klingsmith and Dimitrije Popadice as co-Editors, mandated them to develop a fuller proposal, including a journal name, likely circulation numbers, and a simple financial plan.
7. CEEAMS Headquarters
It was agreed by the General Meeting to establish the headquarters of the Association within the PMTI, Budapest.
8. CEEAMS 2005
The WCC Conference for World Mission and Evangelism will be held in Athens from 9th to 15th May 2005. Consequently it was agreed to organise a CEEAMS conference in 2005, June 1st to 3rd. The theme would be Mission and the Roma, to be held in Eastern Slovakia with Randolph Robertson acting as the local host and organiser.
9. IAMS 2008
Anne-Marie Kool tabled a request from the IAMS executive that the 2008 IAMS Conference should be held in Central or Eastern Europe and that it should be organised that by CEEAMS. Up to 300 people are expected at IAMS conferences and it was felt that suitable venues could be found within the region. After further discussion it was agreed, with one abstention, that CEEAMS should extend an invitation to the IAMS Executive to hold its 2008 Conference in the region.
There being no further business, the General Meeting was closed in prayer at 7pm.
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