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World Council at Nairobi
By E. G. Homrighausen

The Fifth Assembly of the World Council of Churches met in Nairobi, Kenya, from Nov. 23 to Dec. 10, 1975. So much happened, some of it unplanned, that it is difficult to formulate an organized report. But first, some statistical and informative data:

-747 accredited delegates; 286 churches; 90 nations;

-a representative, but incomplete, tabulation lists 101 Africans, 92 Asians, 146 West Europeans, 96 East Europeans, 136 North Americans, 21 Latin Americans, 8 Caribbeans, 40 Australasians and Pacific Oceanians, 24 Middle Easterners;

-155 women (nearly 10% more than at Uppsala); 75 young people (under 30); 300 lay people (25% more than last time); 130 "observing" delegates from national and regional councils, plus 16 Roman Catholic and other non-member "observers"; 60 distinguished guests from Kenya; 180 stewards; 250 staff members, translators, and press reporters;

-39 church groups were welcomed into the World Council family for the first time; 80% of the delegates were attending their first Assembly; there were observers from other religions-Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Muslim;

-6 new "presidents" elected--Ms. Annie Jiagge, Reformed, of Ghana; the Rev. J. Miguez-Bonino, Methodist, Argentina; Metropolitan Nikodim, Russian Orthodox, USSR; General T. B. Simatupang, Reformed, Indonesia; Archbishop O. Sundby, Lutheran, Sweden; Ms. Cynthia Wedel, Episcopal, United States; (a move to substitute the name of M. M. Thomas for that of Metropolitan Nikodim failed because Thomas refused to allow his name to be placed in nomination);

-67% of Kenya's population is Christian, but only 10% are related to churches associated with the WCC; there are more than 4000 Christian groups in Africa, some with less than 50 members;

Elmer G. Homrighausen, our Contributing Editor, has been writing "The Church in the World" section for many years. This year, he is reporting on the Nairobi Assembly of the World Council of Churches, and he looks backward and forward from his unique observation post. in 1934, at Fano, Denmark, he attended a conference of the Universal Christian Council; in 1937, he was a delegate to the Oxford and Edinburgh conferences; just prior to 1948, he served as Secretary of Evangelism for the "World Council in Process of Formation." A cosmopolitan churchman who has circled the globe many times, preaching the gospel, lecturing and speaking, keeping in touch with current theological trends, "Homey" is pre-eminent as a reporter and interpreter of the world religious scene.

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-uhuru (freedom) and harambee (let us pull together) are two Swahili words, often heard in Nairobi, and related directly to the theme of the Assembly: "Jesus Christ Frees and Unites."

I

The Assembly focused upon several aspects of its assignment: (1) the celebration of the Christian faith and a deeper probing of the theme: "Jesus Christ Frees and Unites"; (2) the "earthing" into the lives of people and nations of the theme's implications for the church's contemporary mission in six areas: Confessing Christ Today, What Unity Requires, Seeking Community (the Common Search of People of Various Faiths, Cultures, and Ideologies), Education for Liberation and Community, Structures of Injustice and Struggles for Liberation, Human Development (the Ambiguities of Power, Technology, and Quality of Life); a session on "Women in a Changing World" was added. Each section broke up into small groups and brought to the plenary sessions comprehensive reports which were discussed, amended, and recommended to the churches for their use; (3) the business of hearings and committee meetings, nominations to the Presidium and the Central Committee, proposals concerning future programs, priorities, financing of the WCC, its relation to national and regional councils of churches, its communication with confessional bodies and member churches.

The first series of plenary sessions was devoted to three internal Council reports: the first on the Central Committee, by M. M. Thomas, its Moderator; the second by the General Secretary, Philip Potter; and the third on the Financial Committee Report.

Thomas stated that the search for Christian unity is an integral part of the search for human unity and the struggles of different peoples for dignity and justice. The time has come, he said, to stop arguing about whether there is a relation between the proclamation of the gospel and social engagement, and to discuss what that relation should be. He called for a true theology of dialogue, one that is faithful to the centrality of Jesus Christ and one that also realistically grapples with the secular world, including other faiths.

Dr. Potter summarized the work of the WCC since Uppsala (1968) and pointed up the fact that all crucial issues are now global and interrelational in character. He identified several problems that oppress the poor and exploited masses of people, and called for an ecumenical mind and strategy to deal with the human condition. He pleaded with member churches to understand and accept their ecumenical responsibilities as partners in obedience. He asked for a new covenantal relationship between member churches at all levels of their life and work, so that the ecumenical movement might help the churches to be the church in each and every place.

Dr. Payne presented a grim and alarming picture of the state of WCC finances which threatens the continuance of many programs and

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personnel, unless sources of income can be increased. The Council is running heavily into debt, and the current budget is only about 50% subscribed by the member churches. The two largest contributors to the WCC are West Germany and the United States, with several member churches contributing not at all.

II

The first plenary session on the theme was addressed by Robert McAfee Brown of Stanford University and the Pacific School of Religion on the subject, "Who Is This Jesus Who Frees and Unites?" He said Jesus cannot be confined to the little boxes in which we try to imprison him. Brown spoke with disarming honesty by confessing complicity in the sins of American "imperialism." He called Jesus the revolutionary liberator whose social message threatens all human securities; the Jesus who reminds us also of the evil embodied in every human heart. This Jesus forces us to ask who we are; he divides Christians from the majority of the human family; he divides Christians from one another, and frees them to experience their unity in suffering. Christian unity cannot be thought of apart from the awesome divisions by which Christians are presently scarred. He proposed that delegates unite in "struggling together."

Brown's honest confession of "imperialist" involvement, and his fresh, unconventional, and disturbing way of treating the theme, provoked lively responses both pro and con from many delegates including not a few Americans. The latter half of his address was given in Spanish to break out of the "imperialism" of the English language.

III

Several plenary sessions were devoted to outstanding addresses on crucial subjects, followed by designated respondents and comments from the floor. These messages were relayed to the sections which discussed the subjects in sectional and small group meetings, formulating reports for Assembly amendment, approval, or reference to the churches.

Evangelism, or confessing Christ, was the most theological of all the presentations and reports. Bishop Mortimer Arias of Bolivia made the principal address. He said that evangelism was the "Cinderella" of the WCC. The New Delhi Assembly's promise to give evangelism a larger place in the WCC had not been fulfilled.

John Stott insisted that mission and evangelism are not to be equated; mission refers to everything God's people are called to do in the world while evangelism is a special ministry of relating persons to Jesus Christ in all dimensions of life. He added that a fundamental human right is to hear the gospel, and that there are millions who have not heard it. He called on evangelists to give more evidence that they believe in the social thrust of the gospel and all social activists to give more evidence that they take personal discipleship seriously. The

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report brought the personal and corporate nature of Christian discipleship together. It also deplored cheap conversions, superficial gospel-preaching, triumphal propaganda, divisive denominationalism, and timid witness. When constitutional revisions were presented later in the agenda, a motion from the floor prevailed that a clause in the old constitution be retained calling the WCC "to support the churches in their worldwide missionary and evangelistic task."

John Deshner of Dallas and Archimandrite Argenti of Marseilles spoke on Christian unity. A new phase of unity in diversity has emerged. Its goal is visible unity with an abundance of styles, cultures, and traditions in "conciliar fellowship." Deshner said the Assembly was pre-conciliar, and pointed to the Jerusalem conference (Acts 15) where continuity and tradition met with those who were experiencing new things on the mission field. Fr. Argenti spoke of the nontheological factors of race, class, nation, even confessional labels as obstructions to unity. Illustrations were given from North Ireland and South Africa. The objective of unity must be kept in mind: that the world may believe. And in a day when global unity is urgent, the unity of the church is a serious matter. The painful reality of disunity was expressed by an African who found it hard to call a fellow-Christian "brother" when he could not sit down with him at the Lord's Table.

The report on Education for Liberation criticized the "uneducational" processes of the Assembly! It also challenged an older transmissive education which perpetuates the status quo and called for more creative education for self-development. It called for crosscultural experiences for all age groups; emphasis upon freedom and community in family education; theological education to provide for a variety of ministries; and an education which helps teachers to break through old stereotypes and enable them to become more involved in helping people out of their alienation. The report also stressed the close relation of worship and education. "The life-style of the church must reflect its convictions otherwise the church itself will become an obstacle to its own learning processes."

The Prime Minister of Jamaica, E E. Michael Manley, addressed the Assembly on the subject, "From Shackles of Domination and Oppression." He attacked racism, colonialism, and imperialism. He called for the destruction of capitalism in favor of a democratic peoples' socialism. He also denounced state capitalism as another form of oppression. He urged the nations of the Third World to set their houses in order by tackling injustices within and among themselves and to be clear in their moral foundations, purposes, and goals. "While the churches must first be concerned about Christian witness, they have an historic mission to assist in the definition, validation, and articulation of just economic, political, and social objectives."

A Scotsman answered Manley's criticism of capitalism by describing its modified form in Britain which, he said, did not infringe upon human rights and brought about a more just distribution of wealth. And Canon Carr, head of the All Africa Council of Churches (AACC),

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asked where the moral force is to be found for Third World nations to set their houses in order when "no black nation on this continent has had a change of leadership without a military coup." Hundreds of thousands have been killed, he said, for nothing. This sectional report was the most controversial of all those presented. Dozens of delegates wanted to speak but could not for lack of time. The variety of problems and the intensity of feeling created frustration among many delegates. One drew sustained applause when he complained that the delegates had almost no power because of the structures of injustice in the Assembly itself and the presence of so many WCC staff and advisers.

Charles Birch, an Australian professor of biology spoke to the subject, "The Ambiguities of Power, Technology, and Quality of Life." In a brilliant address, he said that "the world is a Titanic on a collision course, and only a revolution in the relationship of human beings to the world and human beings to each other can save it." "The rich must live more simply if the poor are simply to live," he affirmed. A just world involves a change in national goals and a total reconstruction of the international economic order. He urged a basic change in human hearts about our relation to nature. In Genesis we are given a threefold command: "Be fruitful and multiply"; "have dominion"; and "replenish the earth." We are doing the first two but failing in the third. Dr. Birch champions an ecology of God. One respondent spoke of the "idolatry" of the omni-competence of science and technology. Another regarded western civilization as an "ambiguous monster" that is the crucial theological challenge in our time.

The report on "Seeking Community: the Common Search of People of Various Faiths, Cultures, and Ideologies" precipitated lively debate on the relation of Christianity to other religions. One delegate said that dialogue with other religions is possible only when matters of feeding the hungry or educating the illiterate were involved. Another said that Jesus Christ is "the enlightened guide who enables us to have good dialogue with other religions." An Asian said, "Dialogue does not diminish our commitment to Jesus Christ but enriches it." Another Asian called the report over-cautious on syncretism; over-caution reflects the "paranoia from western countries which have little or no contact with people of other faiths."

Why should Christians be concerned about seeking community? They are linked by a common humanity with all peoples; they have a common calling to work for human betterment and survival; they are called to face common responsibilities and to work for the reconciliation of tensions. Christians and churches cannot remain neutral in the struggle for justice. And Christians must beware of arrogance by refusing to relate to people of other faiths and cultures. Christians must not add to the tensions, suspicions, and hatreds that tear people apart. The report recognized that there may never be a time when "tension will be resolved between belief in Jesus Christ and unbelief." It is a tension that divides the church from the world.

For the first time in the history of the WCC, women were given a

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special place on the program of an Assembly. Though they made up only 20% of the participants, the 155 women delegates made their presence and their cause felt. Six able and articulate women presented their views in a two-hour plenary session on the subject, "Woman in a Changing World."

The program focused on the world-wide nature of the women's struggle against inequality, inferiority, discrimination, and exploitation. They pled for a new attitude and a new order which would free women-and-men for mutuality and complementariness. They condemned social structures which impoverished and dehumanized women, children, and grandchildren. They affirmed that "the liberation of women is not foreign to God's purpose for the world." They regretted that women are deprived of participating fully in the life of the church.

Dorothy McMahon of Australia concluded her concern to be herself-as-a-woman with a statement that caused the Assembly to break out in applause:

I am.
I am woman.
I am freed by Christ and I am claiming that freedom,
that space to live, now.
I stretch out my hands to you, my sisters and
my brothers.
You may dance with me in celebration.
You may walk beside me in unity.
I will no longer walk behind you.

IV

There were times when the Assembly looked and sounded like the United Nations. On the agenda were a number of crucial issues: Angola, the Middle East, Korea (four Koreans could not secure visas to attend the Assembly), Japan (discrimination against Koreans in Japan), Latin America, the Helsinki Agreement, investments in South African industry, the potential nuclear threat of South Africa, Timor, and multi-national corporations.

Resolutions were often hotly debated. Indonesia was asked to remove its troops from Timor and work with Australia and Portugal in fulfilling the Rome agreement. Outside powers were urged to withdraw from the Middle East; Israel was asked to withdraw to its 1967 boundaries and take seriously the rights of Palestinians to a homeland. All military units and arms from outside should be withdrawn from Angola and existing international channels used to bring about peace and unity in that new nation. Latin American governments were urged to respect the fundamental rights of people which are now being flagrantly violated. Investors should boycott South African industries, and nations should not help that country (which is of especial concern to African nations) to develop a nuclear potential.

Tension mounted when the Helsinki Agreement item on religious

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freedom was discussed. Several delegates wanted the USSR specifically mentioned as a violator of this right.

But calls for "point of order" were silenced when the moderator announced a coffee break. The matter was referred back to the committee which held a two-hour open session that resulted in a careful statement, requesting the General Secretary to see to it that the question of religious liberty becomes the subject of intense consultation with member churches whose nations signed the Agreement, and report back to the Central Committee in 1976. The Assembly also voted that the names of the signatory powers to the Agreement be specifically mentioned.

The Russian Orthodox abstained from voting. They were "disenchanted" by the haste and the emotion of the debate and expressed disappointment that they were not consulted earlier about the kind of help that would serve them and the church in their situation. One Russian Orthodox felt that during the debate the spirit of the Assembly had changed from one of love to that of a secular organization. Dr. Albert van den Heuvel replied by saying that it is impossible to have "zones of silence" in the area of human rights. "The WCC has taught us to speak about South Africa and about Chile. I do not see how we can speak specifically about one country and not about another. If we really want to show brotherhood and fellowship, we must debate the issues out in the open." Another delegate said that if the WCC is to have a "double standard" on prophetic resolutions, then it should get out of the resolution business altogether.

V

How shall we evaluate the Fifth Assembly of the WCC? What is its relation to previous Assemblies, to future Assemblies, to the ecumenical movement as a whole, to the constituent churches, to the unity of the churches, to Christian groups outside the WCC, and to the purpose of God for all creation?

(1) The Assembly was held in Africa. It brought non-African delegates into touch with an African Christianity that ranges from the oldest Ethiopian and Coptic churches to the newest evangelical groups. It reminded all of the ancient centers of faith: Alexandria and Carthage. It introduced the reality of a vigorous and promising African Christianity. It gave insight into the desire of the African continent to be free. The exposure of those attending the Assembly to African culture and Christianity was an exciting part of their broadening ecumenical experience, and the Assembly had a moving effect upon African Christianity. Africa may be the Christian continent of the future.

(2) Will another Assembly be held? The Nairobi Assembly attempted too much in too short a time. Many delegates seemed to be in a state of culture and schedule shock even after the first week. An Assembly there must be according to the Constitution, but unless something is done to give delegates the sense that they represent the sovereign body which ultimately determines WCC policy and program,

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the credibility gap between the WCC and the churches will increase. The busyness of the Assembly caused the deeper realities to be minimized or submerged. Many delegates regretted that the Assembly lacked a prophetic or proclamatory role and a deep spiritual unity.

(3) Was the Nairobi Assembly just another in the series that started at Amsterdam? In a sense it was another Amsterdam. In 1948, the WCC came into being as an organization. Only 147 churches were represented, with delegates coming from homogenous cultural and theological contexts. Crucial issues were discussed, but they were confined mostly to Europe. Nairobi included 286 churches from all parts of the world and a variety of programs which have grown like "Topsy" with a minimum of coordination. All of which accounts for the feeling at times in Nairobi that things were out of hand. The Assembly seemed to lack focus. It could not generate a spirit or a character. Dr. Potter confessed that while Uppsala spoke much of the WCC being on exodus, now it seems to be in the wilderness. The Central Committee is entrusted with a staggering task of bringing all that has developed since Amsterdam into a new beginning and of bringing the program and financial resources into a manageable relationship. Even so, finances are not the primary WCC problem; the problem of the WCC is to determine what it is and what its vocation should be.

(4) A primary place was given to evangelism in the life and work of the WCC. This does not mean that the emphasis upon social action was softened or subordinated. The report deplored the division of the gospel into one that stressed only political and social action, or one that stressed only the eternal and personal dimension of the gospel. Both are part of the whole gospel, for the whole person, for the whole world. The Lausanne Conference, the Bangkok Conference, and the Bishops' Synod of Rome all agree that salvation manifests itself both in the justification of the sinner and in passion for justice. In fact, the Assembly pursued its ruthless condemnation of every type of oppression with such candor as to involve everyone in corporate guilt. There are no "islands of innocence" left. And while the statement on evangelism may not satisfy Evangelicals or social activists, at least the gap between them was narrowed, and concerned Christians everywhere may now have a more favorable image of the WCC.

(5)Is there a theology of the WCC? Or, has it become pluralistic with a tendency toward liberation theology? Its credo states the faith that holds the WCC together: "The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill their common calling to the glory of one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." This credo, once largely understood in terms of western thought, is being enriched by Orthodox theology and is being challenged by the newer theologies, such as Black, liberation, African, Asian, Latin, and ecological. Theological and social challenges are raising questions about "missions" in the older sense, about the theology of creation,

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about the incarnational nature of the gospel, about the method of dialogue in relating to other cultures and religions, about the possibility of a "Christ-centered syncretism" which makes it possible to work with others toward a new humanism.

VI

The Nairobi Assembly was a Christian event of epochal significance. There is no doubt that delegates gained a better understanding of the nature and work of the WCC. They had a memorable experience meeting old and new Christian friends across denominational, cultural, racial barriers. They will remember the music and the lyrics especially composed for the Assembly. They came away from Nairobi surprised that in an Assembly of such size, variety of delegates, and complexity of program, so many impulses and ideas could be formulated into coherent, memorable documents. And they will look back upon those eventful days realizing that the biblical and theological concerns of the churches are much stronger than would appear from the image the WCC often gets in the press.

While some delegates may have been disappointed with deficiencies or failures, all were agreed that the small group meetings were most meaningful. In them, they got to know each other and prayed with and for each other, their churches, and their families. They had in this way penetrated into "the ecumenical reality."