5 minute read
Out of the Belly of the Whale
Training In Mission Twenty-five years On
By Rev. Andrew T. C. Chang, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT)
Rev. CHANG Te-Chien (Andrew T. C. Chang) is a former General Secretary of Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT). He was a former TIM Participant (1983-84) which took him to the locations of Selly Oak, Birmingham, UK and Jamaica, WI.
When I joined the TIM group in 1983 the people of Taiwan and PCT were still living under the tense and uncertain conditions of Martial Law, our then General Secretary Rev. Dr. C. M. Kao was still in prison. In some respects, it was not easy to leave my young family and pastorate at that time yet the hand of God was in it all and I trusted Him. Interestingly that same summer I returned to Taiwan after TIM Rev. Kao was released from his prison cell!
Looking back to that year away I would say the TIM experiences helped to open my mind to see, experience and experiment with new and creative ideas as a Christian and a pastor. It also nurtured and strengthened my conviction that Christian mission with no vision will be very limited and short-lived. As well as Training in Mission the other phrase that came to hold great importance for me was “Education in Mission” - I saw the need to teach Biblical values and concepts to all ages and to challenge our church families to be outward-looking, faithful stewards and partners hand in hand with Christ. The partnership in mission concept of CWM was at that time still very new to many and possibly hard to grasp, I think it is true to say CWM was a pioneer and in some ways was ahead of its time and it took a while for the member churches even to catch up!
Coming from Taiwan as I do, the image of the round table partnership was very real and vital. Yet I sometimes wonder, had I not had the TIM experience, how long would it have taken me to grasp fully what CWM was talking and writing about? The CWM model of partnership where people, experiences, cultures, material resources etc. etc. are shared in a common pool took root as I lived it out first hand along with my TIM family both in the UK and in Jamaica. Those seeds sown that year I believe impacted the direction of my future ministry and mission. After TIM I returned to the same parish for a few years and as one of God’s mysteries would have it, I later found myself on the staff or our General Assembly responsible for Christian Education. There I had the awesome responsibility and privilege to put to the test on a national level these concepts of partnership and education in mission that helped shape me.
Rev Te-Chien (Andrew) Chang. Photo by PCT.
While society has changed quite dramatically in my country the last two decades, I continue to believe the model of partnership I had come to embrace during TIM is still valid and has much to offer today. One example of this was during the well-known earthquake that shook our nation towards the end of the last century. PCT had the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between church and society and we established 18 mission care centres that had a holistic dimension to them. The church members were visible in their partnership with other religions and secular organisations alike - our mission has to be contextual and walls were pulled down. We have to be the visible hands and feet of Christ and offer our gifts, skills and experiences. Recently in our annual General Assembly, PCT made youth our focus - and we try to challenge our churches to move away from the old concept that the “youth are the church of tomorrow” - the reality is, our youth and children and indeed our women are the church of TODAY.
Mary Beth Maclean, the Rev Dr Paul McLean, Rev Te-Chien (Andrew) Chang and Ron Wallace celebrate the publication of the Hakka Bible. Photo by PCT.
The church family is of course a global family and TIM gave us unique opportunities to learn from each other and see things from different cultural and economic perspectives. One of the obvious changing trends under CWM has been the exchanging of personnel in all directions. PCT, like other members churches, have concrete examples of this in our current situation - from the old model of receiving primarily from the “parent” church, we have turned around and are learning to give as well as receive as sisters and brothers living out the agape of global mission and upholding ecumenical koinonia. We have for example personnel serving with us from two partners, PCI and PCW which a few decades ago were seen as “mother and daughter churches” but now with PCT are serving as partners in a common triangle. Then more recently, PCT has begun a partnership with one of our founding “parents” the URC. Our Seminaries and churches have also been enriched the recent years by opening their doors to international students and faculty.
The concept of partnership in mission also impacted my understanding of economic justice, world peace and global disarmament. We have a responsibility to challenge our governments and international organisations on their unjust policies - the list goes on. Of course, it is difficult to evaluate fully the impact that TIM has had on each individual and member church long term. All I can say for me personally, my spiritual journey and commitment to Christ’s mission was challenged, enriched, widened and deepened during my TIM year. A recent guest to our church was reflecting with us about the use of the words “for” and “through” in terms of mission. If I were to follow that concept further, perhaps it is true to say that in seminary I was Training FOR Mission, later during 1983-84 I was Training IN Mission, and now I continue Training THROUGH Mission by God’s grace and mercy.
