Prophetic Diakonia
AN EPISTLE FROM THE LWF GLOBAL CONSULTATION ON DIAKONIA
7 November, 2002
Sisters and brothers in faith, especially LWF member churches and
their diaconal ministries: we greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, the deacon
par excellence, who came to serve and not to be served!
From November 3-7, 2002, under the auspices of the three departments of
the Lutheran World Federation, over 80 of us from Lutheran churches throughout
the world have gathered in Johannesburg South Africa for a Global Consultation
on Diakonia. As we met under the theme, “Prophetic Diakonia: For the Healing of
the World,” we anticipated the 2003 Winnipeg Assembly of the Lutheran World
Federation, where we expect some of the following concerns to be pursued
further, as well as within our own churches and diaconal ministries.
Participants in our consultation are involved in a wide and diverse range of
diaconal work: international relief and development work, domestic diaconal or
social ministry work, diaconal institutions, deaconnesses and deacons, pastors
and lay members of local congregations, church-related public policy advocates,
and those who teach in educational institutions.
We acknowledge with gratitude the many kinds of diaconal work that the Church
has carried out through the centuries, and which necessarily continue in our own
day. This work is now challenged to move toward more prophetic forms of diakonia.
Inspired by Jesus and the prophets who confronted those in power and called for
changes in unjust structures and practices, we pray that God may empower us to
help transform all that leads to human greed, violence, injustice and exclusion.
We want to share with you our findings and invite you to consider the
implications in your particular context.
DIAKONIA AND ITS PROPHETIC CALLING: THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
Diakonia is central to what it means to be the Church. As a core
component of the gospel, diakonia is not an option but an essential part of
discipleship. Diakonia reaches out to all persons, who are created in God’s
image. While diakonia begins as unconditional service to the neighbor in need,
it leads inevitably to social change that restores, reforms and transforms.
We are shaped to serve others through worship, where we celebrate God’s gifts of
grace in the Word, in water, in bread and wine, and glimpse the fullfillment of
God’s promise. In this broken world where sin and injustice abound, God in
Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit shapes us as a gathered community.
Thus, we become agents of grace, hands and feet of Christ for the healing of the
world.
All Christans are called through baptism to live out diakonia through what they
do and how they live in their daily life in the world. This is the first and
most fundamental expression of diakonia. More organized expressions of diakonia
occur at the congregatonal level, as well as through those who are specifically
set apart for diaconal ministry. More specialized forms of diaconal work are
organized to carry out what individuals or congregations are unable to do on
their own.
Because of the holistic mission of God, diakonia is deeply interrelated
with kerygma (proclamation of the Word) and koinonia (sharing at the Table).
Diakonia is witnessing through deeds. It is rooted in the sharing of the body
and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. The mutual sharing inherent in the
communion of the church can transform the unjust power relations that often are
present in diaconal work, such as between “wealthy givers” and “poor
recipients.” In diakonia, those served and those serving are both transformed.
At the same time, we insist that the purpose of diakonia is not to proselytize.
Diakonia is more than the strong serving the weak, which can lead to
paternalistic assumptions and practices, and imply that some churches are unable
to engage in diakonia because of their lack of resources or expertise. We
challenge this assumption. Diakonia is part of the calling of all churches and
all Christians in the world.
We must challenge all theological interpretations that do not take seriously the
suffering in the world, a world afflicted with poverty, violence and HIV/AIDS.
As Lutheran churches, we are to be shaped by a theology of the cross, which
compels us to identify with and for the suffering rather than the successful. A
theology of the cross calls things what they really are, moving beyond
politeness and pretense, breaking the silence and taking the risk of speaking
truth to power, even when this threatens the established order and results in
hardship or persecution. This is at the heart of the prophetic diakonal calling.
POVERTY, VIOLENCE AND HIV/AIDS PROVOKE THE CHURCH
Poverty, violence and HIV/AIDS are three of the major issues in our day
that churches cannot ignore. They provoke us to move into more prophetic
expressions of diakonia. There are many ways in which the LWF, member churches
and related organizations, as well as the ecumenical movement as whole have been
analyzing and addressing these challenges. Rather than repeating analyses and
commitments already set forth in these documents, here we cite a few of the
major points we discerned in these areas.
POVERTY
The extreme and extensive poverty in our world is a scandal. While
recognizing the global structural divide between the rich and the poor, we
should address the root causes of poverty wherever they are found. Churches are
called to participate in the struggles of the poor to overcome poverty and to
pursue alternatives that will lead to greater justice. Those who benefit at the
expense and exploitation of the poor must be named, confronted and brought to
justice.
The current development paradigm that seeks to “reduce poverty” must be
reconsidered to become more justice-oriented. Poverty is a symptom of the deeper
problems of injustice, greed and the massive accumulation of wealth, encouraged
by the neo-liberal paradigm and implemented through multilateral corporations
and institutions.
We recognize that the poor and the rich are among and within us as churches. The
Lutheran communion is composed of those who themselves are poor, sick or
marginalized. We are invited to name and claim those gifts and possibilities we
have for diaconal work, no matter how materially impoverished we might be.
Churches in situations of poverty have a truth to share with churches in more
affluent situations. As churches, we together are called to renew the hope of
those who are poor, to listen and work in partnership with each other so that
the full potential of human beings might be realized.
Those of us who are rich materially need to learn how to relinquish power, and
realize how radical is God’s grace. Those who live in poverty are far more than
recipients of “our” help or service, especially if this is done in order to
assuage our guilt or perpetuate paternalistic if not implicitly violent
relationships. Those of us who are poor, in turn, should claim our God-given
rights to life and livelihood.
VIOLENCE
We confess that the church has too often overlooked, tolerated and
legitimized patterns and practices of violence – such as domestic violence --
including through some of its theology and how power is structured in churches.
Some church leaders have been perpetrators of violence inside the churches, or
have aligned themselves with the perpetrators rather than the victims.
A culture of silence regarding violence, and the injustices that underlie it,
jeopardizes the churches’ prophetic voice and needs to be challenged. An
appropriate role of churches is to confront perpetrators of violence, seeking to
bring them to repentance, in order to transform and accompany the process of
reconciliation and healing.
In situations of violence and in working with victims of violence, churches
should plan, implement and accompany processes of conflict management and
promote non-violent methods of resolving conflicts. Churches’ proactive efforts
to build peace involve working together with other faiths, organizations and
movements in the civil society.
Cultural values and practices that propagate or encourage violence must be
rejected, and those that can contribute to bridge building and peace encouraged.
Tolerance and attitudes that honor cultural differences in a spirit of mutual
respect must be nurtured.
We call each other to find ways to resist an imperial culture that invades our
world through the media, and spreads consumerism, individualism, worship of
those who are young, rich and strong, and tolerates violence as a means of
solving problems. This culture is in open contradiction to Christian values of
love, inclusiveness, community and peace-building.
HIV/AIDS
The church is living with HIV/AIDS; there are many living with HIV/AIDS
in our midst. We must break the culture of silence that overlooks this painful
reality in the body of Christ. Cultural beliefs, practices, and traditions must
be challenged whenever they lead to the spread of HIV/AIDS. There is a dynamic
interaction between HIV/AIDS, poverty and violence. This includes the structural
violence of gender inequality.
Rather than with fearful or moralistic approaches, the church must reach out
pastorally, with unqualified acceptance of those affected by HIV/AIDS. We must
break out of our comfort-zones to accompany those affected, in ways that
constantly safeguard and promote their rights and self-esteem.
Public policy advocacy is important in relation to HIV/AIDS, such as challenging
the cost and access to drugs produced by large companies. In doing so, we should
work in partnership with other churches and organizations, such as through the
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.
Special attention and sensitivity must be given to how women, youth and children
are affected by HIV/AIDS, to all modes of transmission, to the promotion of
effective means of prevention (e.g., abstinence, faithfulness, use of condoms,
sterilized needles, clean blood supply), and to how to discuss sexuality and
sexual ethics among all age groups.
SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR HOW WE CARRY OUT DIAKONIA
As agents of transformation, healing and reconciliation, the church must
engage with people who are marginalized, such as those who live with HIV/AIDS,
live in poverty, or are affected by violence. Our approach should be
characterized by compassion, mutuality, and an eagerness to understand and
further the struggles of those who seek justice. Christ is the source of the
church’s hope for abundant life for all, but structures and practices can
sometimes impede that hope from being realized. Such cases call for change.
STRUCTURES
In order to be effective and credible agents of prophetic diakonia, all
levels of the church regularly need to assess internal structures and governance
models for the sake of transparency and accountability. Member churches and
their diaconal ministries should structure diakonia so that it is effective,
visible and credible. Mutual accountability is necessary between church
“headquarters” and diaconal organizations. Churches should strengthen the
capacity of specialized diaconal ministries to work in areas where there is no
member church. International diaconal alliances should create forums where
organizations from the different streams of diakonia can share visions, best
practices and priorities, building synergy for diaconal ministry.
LEADERS
Leadership at all levels is essential, leaders who equip all Christians
to take up their call to serve. Professionals should not use their expertise in
ways that treat those they serve as passive recipients or clients. Churches
should initiate and strengthen education for diaconia. As a ministry, it should
be fully integrated into the church’s ordained, consecrated and commissioned
ministries, as a reflection of the fundamental significance of diakonia for the
being of the Church.
In most local congregational settings, it is women far more than men who have
responded to the call to engage in carrying out diaconal work. Attention should
be given to how diakonia has become engendered, and how more men and women might
be encouraged to become fuller participants in diakonia.
ALLIANCES
Athough diakonia has explicitly Christian grounds, we also recognize
that God is active throughout creation and not only through the church. Building
strategic alliances is crucial. We must work with other partners ecumenically,
with those of other faiths, with governments and intergovernmental organizations
(e.g., the United Nations), and with others in civil society, especially for the
purpose of supporting, encouraging, and advocating for those who are vulnerable.
Important civil society partners include community-based organizations,
faith-based organizations and other peoples’ movements. Churches should
acknowledge these potential partners and, whenever appropriate and feasible,
work with them for more effective results.
Churches’ complex relationships with governments, especially with regard to
diaconal work, require careful examination. In some countries, much of the
church’s diaconal work is financed through government funds. In other countries,
governments are either unable or unwilling to provide for the basic needs and
rights of their people, and expect churches and other organizations to fill the
gap. Furthermore, in some multi-faith or secular contexts, government may
discriminate against churches and even openly oppose churches’ diaconal work.
Attention needs to be given to the decreasing power and resources or
governments, especially under the influence of neo-liberal economic
globalization.
With regard to governments, churches need to serve as a conscience, challenging
patterns of corruption and insisting that governments carry out their
appropriate, God-given responsibility to provide for the basic needs and the
political, economic, social and cultural rights of their people. Churches should
become more proactively involved in challenging, changing and shaping public
policies toward these ends. At the same time, churches should keep a critical
distance from government so as not to be co-opted.
In partnership with their national and international diaconal
organizations, churches need to become better advocates for those living in
poverty, misery and oppression. The future lies in networking with and among
those affected by poverty, violence and HIV/AIDS, and in organizing advocacy at
national and international levels, including through our connections as a
communion of churches. Churches should more boldly raise their public voice to
advocate for global mechanisms to protect the social, economic, cultural and
political rights of the vulnerable in all societies. At the same time, churches
need to continue supporting poor communities and marginalized people with all
available resources and appropriate professional expertise.
We invite you to join us in these commitments and efforts!