Centering The Margins Missionary Discipleship Essay

Centering the Margins: Missionary Discipleship in Praxis Where Are We, the Missionary Disciples, at the Margins? US THEM PARTICIPANT INSIDERS [Holders of authority and power] 1 PARTICIPANT OUTSIDERS [Jesus] 4 2 NON-PARTICIPANT INSIDERS [Nobodies] 3 NON-PARTICIPANT OUTSIDERS Knowing our position(s) from the margins truly affects of ways of doing ministry/mission. Gittins charts the complexity of cultural and social polarities in a cultural grid of four quadrants. The bold lines represent the boundaries which configuring population. In the time of Jesus for example, by virtue of social status, everyone belonged to one of these quadrants. If in religious world, the occupants were the insider-participants (clergy, hierarchy, religious leaders), â€Å"they would established an exclusionary zone whose borders would be patrolled by upholders of strict orthodoxy and executors of appropriate sanctions.† These small numbers of elite also declared the will of God and exercised their authority over the other three groups. It was difficult to move from the ranks of insider non-participants and outsiders to the insider participants. However, â€Å"not all insider participants are self-serving: the kenotic ministry of Jesus illustrates the possibility of mov ing from the centers of privilege to the margins or boundaries where missionary encounters take place.† This gives us an encouragement to rethink and shift our position(s) in serving the people of God more effectively. Gittins pointsShow MoreRelatedA Community Of Nobodies Of The Modern World864 Words   |  4 PagesIt is dangerous that â€Å"we lose our bearings as we struggle at and with margins and marginalized people,† and they are often forgotten in our lives (EG #54). They are addicts, victims of the –ism, the â€Å"throwaways of the modern world (refugees, migrants, and survivors of war),† handicapped, and challenged disabilities. They form â€Å"a community of nobodies† and Jesus is among them. As authentic disciples, we should question ourselves that where their places are in our ministry. What are locking our sightRead MoreCentering The Margins Of The Life Of Missionary Disciples862 Words   |  4 PagesCENTERING THE MARGINS IN THE LIF E OF MISSIONARY DISCIPLES TODAY Marginality always exists through human history and creates a social tension between the powerful and the powerless. Social systems divide us into different categories, classes, positions, castes, ranks, and orders. Human beings are tearing the world apart because of difference, division, conflict, hatred, misunderstanding, war, selfishness, jealousy, vengeance, etc. Those who have power define the world and control over other people