Editor’s Note: Renewing the Church

There’s a memory I often return to: two dozen of us, from all around the world, sitting in a room of a church, eating pizza and digestive biscuits after diving into Scripture and worshiping together. That was many years ago, when I spent some time with a church plant in Manchester, England. The church was led by a pastor from Peru and a pastor from Brazil, and it prioritized creating a community for immigrants, asylum seekers, and international students in the heart of the city. At the Saturday evening gatherings, I made friends from Argentina, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Spain, Jordan—many were Christians, some were not. When I try to envision God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, I think of these meetings of dinner and worship. A small preview of the Revelation 7 image of people from every nation worshiping the Lord.

I think of those times especially on days when I struggle to believe in the church—as an institution, as a community, as Christ’s body. These days, especially in the United States, we’re very often reminded of the church’s shortcomings, of great sins committed in Jesus’ name, of the failures of God’s people to reflect God’s kingdom, of the harm the church has inflicted on others and on us. Today’s accusations against the church, sometimes divinely righteous and sometimes unfair, can be discouraging and disheartening. Yet there also exist the holy reminders that the Spirit is indeed doing good work through her people in this world. A sacred moment in a Manchester church is only one example of a fallible but faithful community striving to walk the way of Jesus.

While discussing this magazine issue with guest editor Alexia Salvatierra, I was moved by her reasoning for the particular wording of our theme, “Renewing the Church.” She told me that we’re often too fixated on our criticisms of the church and on her flaws, to a point that prevents us from seeing and celebrating the many ways God is using the church as God makes all things new in this world. In this way, we often set to the margins of our imagination already oft-marginalized Christian communities—like many churches in the Global South or even the immigrant churches right down the street in Pasadena—where the Spirit’s movement is actually as evident as a joyful song and a lively dance.

This issue of FULLER magazine hopes to witness to this sacred movement, happening in the church all over the globe. Without shying away from the church’s need for reform, and actually leaning into its constant task of renewal, the stories, articles, and interviews in these pages seek to point to a God who continues to bring forth a new and good reality, day by day.

In this issue, Der Lor shares about the messy and beautiful journey of multicultural ministry. Grace and Yosam Manafa reflect on how our theology touches every aspect of our lives, in every context, from Uganda to the United States. Oscar García-Johnson and Marcos Canales recount a recent experience that opened their eyes to new frontiers of mission and ministry. Scott Cormode offers an evergreen reminder of the centrality of grace to Christian practice. Sebastian Kim draws lessons from Korean church history to help us navigate the tensions of today. Elizabeth Tamez Méndez explains how a holistic approach to ministry blesses the emerging generation. And in a farewell benediction, Mark Labberton reflects with hope on the church’s role as a credible witness.

As Bishop Kenneth Ulmer says beautifully in his interview (which you can read on p. 72), “God is pouring out a fresh anointing.” May we be faithful receivers of this anointing. May we be faithful witnesses to it.