CHRISTIAN IDENTITY TOPIC TEAM REPORT
CONTENTS
| | 2 |
| Issues discussed by the Topic Team | 3 |
| A Brief History of UMN’s Christian Identity | 4 |
| What do we mean by Christian Identity? | 7 |
| UMN’s Corporate Christian Worship and Prayer | 10 |
| Opposition to Christianity in the Media | 13 |
| Member Bodies and UMN | 15 |
| Legal Issues and Christian Activities | 17 |
| Views of Non-Christians on UMN’s Christian Identity | 20 |
| UMN Appointee Survey 2002 | 22 |
| Relationship of UMN with the Church in Nepal | 24 |
| Relationship with the Nepali Churches SWOT Analysis | 28 |
| Christian Identity SWOT Analysis | 29 |
| Options for UMN | 30 |
Introduction
The United Mission to Nepal has always been uncompromising in identifying itself as a Christian mission organisation. At times, this has not been easy, given Nepal’s identification as the world’s only Hindu Kingdom. However, UMN has consistently maintained statements of Christian belief and principle in its documentation, and individual UMN appointees have been very active in living out their faith in their workplaces and communities.
The emphasis given to UMN’s Christian identity has however fluctuated over the years. The perceptions of government, of member bodies and of appointees themselves have also varied. UMN has treasured its theological and missiological diversity, but in some ways this has lead to a vagueness about what being a Christian organisation means in practice.
In Nepal, from the very beginning, the independence of the Nepali churches has been maintained, and expatriate missions have taken the stance that Nepali Christians should develop their own ways of worshipping, organising and evangelising. This separation between UMN and the Nepali churches has perhaps been one of the greatest gifts the world Christian community could give to the fledgling group of believers in Nepal. However, it has caused tensions both within UMN and between UMN and Nepali Christians – tensions fuelled by misunderstandings, different expectations and disappointments.
UMN’s Christian identity has been a matter of much debate and discussion for many years, but particularly in the past decade. As the situation in the country has changed, the Nepali church has developed, and the world mission scene has shifted in focus, so debate about UMN as a Christian organisation has escalated. At present, many appointees feel that UMN is not “Christian” enough. In some circles, suspicion about UMN’s “hidden agenda” of Christian activities remains. Some member bodies would like UMN to be more evangelical in approach, while others say that UMN’s Doctrine of Faith is too restrictive. Several other INGOs working in Nepal comment that UMN would be more effective if we dropped the “Christian agenda” and just got on with the job of development.
This report seeks to explore UMN’s history as a Christian organisation, bring together the views of various groups, identify some important aspects of “Christian-ness” and develop some options which may lead the organisation into the future.
The members of the team were diverse in background, experience and perspective. They tried to discover and reflect the many different opinions so that the topic could be opened up for informed discussion.
Issues discussed by the Topic Team
The Christian Identity Topic Team generated the following list of issues for discussion and research. Due to time constraints, not all were followed through. However, the report attempts to address many of the issues deemed to be critical to this subject.
1. Christian Identity. What makes a “Christian organisation”, and to what extent does UMN comply? As expatriate numbers decrease, and Nepalis who may not be Christian continue to take up senior positions, this affects UMN’s Christian Identity. To what extent? To what level do the Statement of Faith and the Mission Statement require acceptance?
2. The place of other faiths in UMN. To what extent can UMN as a Christian organisation include the input of other faiths in our corporate life?
3. Individual appointees and “Christian Activities”. What is meant by this term? What is presently acceptable? What are the expectations of UMN, the Nepali church, etc? To what extent does this govern the involvement of unassigned spouses? In which direction should UMN head with regard to this?
4. Opposition to Christianity. Why is Christianity seen as a threat by some? Can UMN lessen this perception? What is the relationship between Christianity and western culture and values? How does this impact on perceptions of Christianity among Nepalis?
5. UMN Values. What is the role of UMN values in the organisation, in institutionalising Christian ethics and behaviour? How are the values used now in projects and activities? How could they be used in the future? (After some discussion, the team decided that this was better covered by the “Systems, Structures and Style” topic team.)
6. Relationship with the Nepali church. There is a long history to this topic, with misconceptions and differences in expectations on both sides. What has been the basis of the relationship with the church over the last 50 years? What could be the relationship in the future? How do individuals within UMN relate to the Nepali church. Are there ways in which UMN can strengthen their contribution?
7. Corporate prayer, worship and seeking God’s guidance in UMN. What is the current practice at various levels of UMN, in terms of project/department devotions and prayer? How do/can we be sure that we are listening to God’s voice as we go about our business in UMN? How can we develop this aspect of our Christian identity?
8. Member Bodies and UMN. Are there differences in objectives and expectations between UMN and Member Bodies? Are priorities and goals changing, causing more distance? What steps could/should be taken to define shared objectives more clearly?
9. The Legal position of Christian organisations. What is the present legal situation, and how can we respond to that?
10. UMN’s public presentation of itself. How do we present ourselves as a Christian organisation? Logo, corporate identity, attitude to the press…
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNITED MISSION TO NEPAL'S CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
When UMN was formed in 1954, the mission was quite free in distributing tracts and project reports made mention of goals regarding evangelism and church planting. The first constitution saw the Nepali church, which was also in its infancy (1st Kathmandu church started in 1956) as central to its three statements of purpose. It stated the goal of conversion, training people and handing control of its work to the church at the earliest possible moment.
In 1960, Nepali Christians were charged with proselytising in Tansen. The religious freedom UMN had hoped for looked doubtful.
In 1963, the Panchayat system of government was introduced. As such the law now stated that 'No person shall propagate Christianity'. The punishment according to law was one year in jail for converts and six years in jail for one who baptized. This had a major impact on UMN. Discussions followed as to whether UMN could exist under this new law. History suggests that UMN accepted that the law meant cessation of Christian witness but it allowed individual missionaries liberty within bounds to witness and accept the punishment if prosecuted. It remained clear that it was beneficial for the church and Mission to be seen as separate. Expatriates were not allowed to work full-time in a church or as a Christian worker but allowed to practise their faith. This coincided with the world mission trend of Missio Dei or development work done independently of the church. (1960s and 70s)
In 1990 the Constitution of Nepal was amended. All Christians in prison were released and all pending cases were dropped. Prohibition against voluntary conversion was removed. Propagation of a religion was to be done in a manner that would not undermine another religion. This had significant consequences for UMN. It could now work in consultation with the Nepali church (though for many reasons this proved difficult in practice.) It established a Church Relations Office. Expatriates could again be fully encouraged to participate in holistic mission. UMN could work with church groups registered with the government and it could support Nepali churches in training people for leadership. UMN expatriates were seconded to HDCS, the social arm of the Nepal Churches Fellowship (registered in 1992).
In 1992, the UMN Board discussed a Christian Identity paper. It resolved that five factors together formed UMN's Christian identity. These included: 1. Its Constitution. 2.Its partnership with member bodies (representing the worldwide church) sending expatriates. 3) Its accountability to values and purpose of the organisation. 4. The presence of Christian personnel, and 5. Management control by Christian (Co-ordinating Committee). It also formulated a statement of values for UMN staff to help define and maintain its Christian identity.
In addition, papers written by former Board Chairman David Claydon and former Executive Director Ed Metzler have contributed a variety of ideas to UMN's Christian identity. With the current change process, board appointees through their ASO groups have had an opportunity to reflect on the mission statement and what it means. Throughout its history, UMN has had limited choices in the way it portrays its Christian identity. It has been affected by the political situation of Nepal as well as the missiological trends in the world Christian church. UMN has constantly debated if it is being faithful in doing enough evangelism or unwise in doing too much. This is an ongoing tension where the balance will change with the political situation, the available personnel and the needs and impact of the Nepali church.
Material taken from:
“By Word and Life: The development of the UMN’s theology of mission” by Peter McDowell, 1999 (see appendix A for full text of this document).
and
“The Cross in the Land of the Khukuri” by Norma Kerhberg, 2000 [Ekta Books]
Additional Material
The Topic Team sent an email to Ed Metzler, former UMN Executive Director, under whose leadership the first non-Christian Nepali project unit directors were appointed in the early 1990s. In this extract from his response, Dr Metzler outlines some of the background to that decision, which resulted in the current position: membership of CC is limited to those who affirm the Statement of Faith. It was also under his leadership that the current “Christian Identity Statement” was crafted, and the “Guidelines for Christian Activities” were written by him.
I have a thick file of notes and documents about the background of the statement on Christian Identity but they are in storage at our house in Indiana. Also, there should be considerable documents there, although they may have already been transferred to Edinburgh to the archives. If Betty Young is there you might mention this to her and she could probably provide some information. [Some of the documents Dr Metzler refers to were accessed by the Topic Team via CD ROM].
Since I do not have the documents and records at hand, I am not sure of the dates so the ones I mention below may be off a year or two either way. The issue arose, as I recall in the fall of 1990 when we were trying to recruit a new director for the Palpa Community Health Program.
Attempts to find a qualified expat through our member agencies were not successful. At some point, probably early in 1991 as I recall. Dr. TjerkNap, an Interserve appointee from the Netherlands, was serving as Health Services Director. He told me they desperately needed someone for that post and he was certain there would be several qualified Nepalis who could do the job, including the deputy director. But they were not Christian. I told him I could not approve that without clearance from the Executive Committee since it was assumed that project directors should be Christian. (I later discovered there had been a couple exceptions to that, including a several year tenure by a non-Christian as Director of the Butwal Technical Institute.)
At the next Executive Committee, Dr. Nap presented a strong argument for moving ahead in this case with recruitment without the faith requirement. The Executive had a long discussion and in their final action did not address the question directly but by implication allowed appointment of project directors who were not Christian. What their motion did say, and I'm sure you have the EC action there, was to affirm the Christian identity of UMN and therefore would require those who provided vision and leadership to the organization to agree to the statement of faith in the UMN constitution. This was a reference to the Coordinating Committee, so, by implication, project directors did not need to agree to the statement of faith, but would be asked to affirm and live by the values of UMN. But we had no statement of those values. So the EC asked us to work on one to present to the Board. This was a very participatory project involving all staff and the "Statement of Values for UMN Staff" was approved, I believe, in November 1992.
When the EC action was reported to the Board, there were questions raised and the Board requested the Executive to prepare a statement on UMN's Christian Identity. The staff and EC worked at this during the following year, with a great deal of consultation at all levels of the organization and the result was the statement on Christian Identity which became one of our foundational documents, adopted by the Board in November 1994.
This document was also widely discussed with Nepali staff, particularly in the staff seminars which were inaugurated. It was always interesting to me how Nepali staff reacted to this statement. Many expressed appreciation that we stated clearly our Christian identity so they could understand and react to it. Some UMN appointees were concerned that the "glass ceiling" for senior staff (that is, non-Christians could not become CC members) would be offensive and discriminatory. But I found Nepali staff generally understanding of the reasons for it. As one said to me, "Well, Ed, it's like if you went to the World Hindu Federation and applied to be director, they would never appoint you as a Christian." A couple of senior Nepali staff told me they could understand the reasons for the policy but it might mean that sometime in the future they would need to leave UMN for professional advancement.
You also asked about the mission statement which in an earlier draft had referred to a knowledge of Christ as a basic need. This was changed in the final adopted version. The reason, as I recall, was that we wanted a document that could be shared with the HMG. Some thought it was too daring to include even the first part of the constitution purpose statement which was "to minister to the needs of the people of Nepal in the Name and Spirit of Christ." But, rightly or wrongly, at that point in our relationships with HMG, we felt that the second part of that purpose statement referring to making Christ known and strengthening the church could raise suspicions about our integrity with the general agreement with HMG. So in the final draft we made as the first basic need "...right relationships of human beings with God ..."
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHRISTIAN IDENTITY ?
Issue #1
Is UMN known to be a Christian organisation?
1. The Executive Committee thinks so. In a workshop held to identify important features of UMN which must be kept in the future, EC members clearly identified statements from UMN’s documentation relating to Christian Identity as “not-negotiable”.
2. UMN’s Board of Directors agrees. Representing UMN’s Member Bodies the Board ratified the Constitution (1988, 1991) which contains the “Basis of Faith”. It also passed the “Christian Identity Statement” in 1994. A survey of Member Body Mission and Vision statements shows consistency in the Christian stance of most of UMN’s Member Bodies – see “Member Bodies and UMN”, page 15.
3. All UMN appointees must be Christian. To be accepted by UMN, appointees must sign the “Statement of Faith”. Outputs and discussions from the Change meetings held with expatriate staff value this highly. (See below).
4. Non-Christian Nepali staff see it as such. For details of their view of UMN’s Christian identity, see the section “Views of Non-Christian Staff on UMN’s Christian Identity”, page 20.
5. Other INGOs identify UMN as a Christian organisation. See “Development in Nepal” topic team report: “UMN’s Distinctive Features and Quality of Work”.
6. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal knows this. UMN has never made a secret of its Christian basis. “Proselytising” is specifically forbidden in UMN’s General Agreement.
But what is meant by the term “Christian organisation”?
In 1996, a Board discussion on Christian Identity identified 5 ways in which an organisation can express its Christian identity. These were:
1. By declarations of purpose, such as in an organisation’s constitution. For UMN this would include the Mission and Vision statements, the Christian Identity statement, and the Vision and Strategy statement (1996).
2. By the partnerships it maintains. Clearly UMN is the result of a partnership with the world-wide church. However, its partnerships within Nepal, particularly with the Nepali churches, are less obvious.
3. By active accountability, where personnel and programs are held accountable for operating in accordance with the values and purposes of the organisation.
4. By the presence of Christian personnel.
5. By control of management. In 1991, the Executive Committee decided that “it is essential that all members of the Co-ordinating Committee subscribe to the organisation’s Purpose and Basis of Faith.”
As part of UMN’s Change Process, meetings and workshops have been held throughout the Mission, both in Nepali and English. Every attempt has been made to ensure that most staff members, both Nepali and expatriate, have the opportunity to attend.
During the meetings with expatriates, participants were asked to list the features of UMN that we want to KEEP, and see as essential to our identity and work in Nepal. Without exception, groups have replied: “Christian identity”, almost always as the first response. When questioned about how an organisation can be identified as Christian, the following responses were received:
· Approved documents
· An acknowledged doctrinal basis
· Christian values, moral standards, ethics
· Organisational honesty and integrity
· How we treat staff
· Focus on the poor
· Prayer, devotions, corporate worship
· Witness
· Christian leadership
· Having Christians in all projects
· Motto, logo
· Forgiveness
· Being Spirit-led.
Clearly, many of these requirements fall under the 5 areas outlined above, with some interesting additions.
To what extent, then, does UMN “qualify” according to these criteria, to call itself a Christian organisation. The Christian Identity Topic Team “graded” UMN’s performance on some of these criteria, based on their own perceptions. Each topic team member graded each of the selected criteria on a score of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating little congruence between UMN and the criterion, and 5 indicating very high congruence. The scores were then averaged. The agreement within the group was very high, with little variation between team member’s scores. The results are shown on the following page.
| Criteria | Score (Averaged, out of 5) |
| | 4.4 |
| | 4.3 |
| Christian values, ethics, principles | 4.0 |
| Focus on the poor | 4.0 |
| How we treat our staff | 3.9 |
| Partnerships external to the country | 3.7 |
| Prayer, devotions, corporate worship | 3.4 |
| Witness | 2.6 |
| Partnerships within the country | 2.1 |
| Christian leadership | 1.7 |
| TOTAL (OUT OF 50 ) | 34.1 = 68.2% |
These results are of course subjective, but are based on the discussing, reading and research the team had done over the month of preparation of the report. To summarise, one could say UMN qualifies to call itself a Christian organsiation by:
A strong Statement of Faith, and explicitly Christian key documents. External partners demonstrate Christian identity with the worldwide Christian community. Clear focus on the poor. Strong Christian values, ethics and principles, good performance in dealing with staff as Christians should.
Emphasis on prayer, devotions and corporate worship is sound, but with room for improvement.
In-country partnerships do not strongly reflect a Christian identity, and explicit witness (“… in the NAME … of Jesus Christ) is generally weak. Level of Christian leadership is poor.
UMN’s performance against these criteria is also evident in the SWOT analysis on Christian Identity – see pages 29 and 30.
UMN’S CORPORATE CHRISTIAN WORSHIP AND PRAYER.
(Issues #7 and #2)
A questionnaire was sent out to UMN expatriates and Project Unit Directors. Unfortunately, not all were received due to e-mail problems. Forty-one responses were received from seventeen different program units.
Involvement in corporate prayer and worship ranged from daily meetings to weekly, fortnightly and monthly meetings. The reasons why some departments or programs didn’t have prayer meetings included: they could access Headquarters regular meetings, they were the only Christian in the project, their PUD was not a Christian so did not allow such activity, and the “project” consisted of five different organizations. On the whole, spouses were not involved in prayer meetings at work (though at KISC parents were heavily involved in praying for the school). Projects were divided in their choice of in work hours or outside work hours.
Projects that represented the most corporate prayer/worship activities were 2 hospitals and KISC. Those with the least or none were those with no Christian leadership, or non-mission programmes with seconded appointees and no other Christian staff.
Christian festivals were integrated into prayer/worship through advent/carol services, distribution of fruits and sweets to hospital patients (and carols and message), Bible readings at management meetings, and by incorporating these festival themes into the regular worship times and during school assemblies.
Links to the national church included a proposal to work with a Christian NGO in the future, invitations to church leaders to attend HQ events, a national Christian perspective brought into Education Department team meetings, church leaders speaking to and sharing with LOPers and taking part in and leading a Hospital Christian Fellowship and chapel service in Tansen.
Most replies suggested a general satisfaction with the level of corporate prayer/worship in the project. There were 5 who suggested there was room for improvement, 3 Nepali Christians expressed dissatisfaction that there was not a prayer meeting offered them through their project (senior staff only), 2 particularly happy that the worship was entirely Christian based, 2 found it difficult to be satisfied being the only Christians in their departments. 1 who prayed in an outside own language group, 1 unhappy that devotions were led in mixed faith gatherings, 1 satisfied that Nepalis attend HQ events and 1 very satisfied with the level of prayer and worship at CC level.
A variety of other ideas were suggested for a changed UMN under the following editorial headings:
Practical Ideas
· More groups prepared to meet to pray for UMN (2)
· UMN Prayer Convenor – to collect and distribute prayer points
· Brief daily worship/prayer at HQ
· Start a daily gathering of all Christian people without discrimination (including higher and lower level employees).
· Greater use of the UMN prayer calendar
· Production of a devotional resource book of short Nepali contextual illustrations
· More opportunities for worship outside UMN structure
· Prayer meetings in work time
· Work with local Christians in hospital pastoral work and develop chaplaincy skills.
Corporate Activities
· Greater emphasis at Christian Festivals particularly offered through HQ (2)
· Larger gatherings for Worship and praise during festivals for UMN staff at HQ & other project sites.(2)
· Possibility of major events with the church
· Demonstrate a more Institutional Christian identity (not just individuals)
· Engendering a sense of belonging to UMN with some corporate events annually
Understanding of Prayer and Worship
· Weekly prayer meeting serves to unify the project and provide a spiritual focus.(2)
· Prayer and worship serves to remind us of our commitment to serve in Christ’s name.(2)
· Need for greater understanding of the relevance of prayer as part of our work (2)
· Regular prayer and worship remains vital while the project remains mission run.
· More emphasis on worship and truly turning to consider God and listening to Him
· Weekly prayer meetings for expatriates and Nepalis are great for mutual encouragement.
· .More accountability and support of one another through prayer and worship.
· Our prayer should be an open and natural part of life.
Other comments
· Occasional prayer meeting (from non-Christian)
· Opportunities for inter-faith dialogue
· Multi – faith devotions so that people can analyse & choose the better one (non-Christian)
· Need to avoid imposing corporate Christian activities on staff who are not Christian.
· Individual believers need to determine their own level of involvement in corporate meetings
· Caution that attendance at Christian meetings is a way to buy favour with leadership and that attendance would be better if in work time.
· Need to be done outside work hours to prevent Hindu staff wanting similar time for their worship.
· The staff of UMN are predominantly Hindu so UMN should either change its staffing or devotion practices to reflect this reality.
· Need to have Christian staff, particularly leadership for meaningful prayer/worship
Summary:
Prayer and worship are significant activities in most projects and bring unity and purpose to people’s work. Christians, (both expatriate and Nepali), without the opportunity to participate in project worship felt the poorer for it. There is a clear distinction between corporate prayer and worship and inter-faith dialogue. For UMN to be a Christian organization, prayer and worship needs to be an integral part of our work and life. New ideas to extend this part of our Christian identity included co-ordination of prayer requests and formation of more regular prayer groups, (both within and outside Nepal), extending the celebration of Christian events for corporate worship and participating with the church in significant events.
Libby Hayes submitted 4/3/02
OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY IN THE MEDIA
Issues # 4 and 10
Introduction
Opposition to Christianity in general and UMN in particular, reflected in newspaper articles, has been identified as an issue relating to and possibly affecting UMN’s Christian identity and how we choose to present it. I have collected and read news cuttings related to this issue, published over the last year plus a few from 1999 and 2000, and tried to identify some patterns.
Findings
A number of articles have been published over the last 12 months with negative comments about Christianity and Christian work, including UMN. They are, however, few when compared to the bulk of news flowing through the mass media each day. UMN also enjoys positive media coverage, about initiatives and achievements by UMN projects, institutions and individuals. As a whole, there is more positive publicity than negative.
It appears that the negative publicity comes in waves. Long periods of peace and quiet are followed by sudden outbursts of negative articles following one after another. A series of articles were published between March and June 2001, accusing UMN of proselytising. It appears that they were part of a campaign against UMN by Hindu fundamentalist forces, which featured filing of writ petitions in the Supreme Court and public debates. The worst allegations and insinuations were published in Pashupati Sena’s weekly, “Pratispardha Saptahik”, which featured a series a lengthy articles under the heading “The felonious organisation United Mission to Nepal is destroying Nepal in the following ways”. UMN publications and documents were deliberately misquoted to give the impression that the development work is only a cover-up for nation-wide proselytising activities.
The common feature in all negative articles about UMN is allegations that UMN is involved in proselytising. A few articles have clearly been the result of individuals being disappointed with UMN. In some cases, individual UMNers have been named and accused of wrongdoing.
Other articles feature more general criticism of Christianity and its growth in Nepal. They often include accusations that Christian missionaries or evangelists lure poor and uneducated Nepalis to convert to Christianity, by offering money, job opportunities or other benefits. They portray Christianity as a threat to Nepali culture and traditions.
How to respond?
How should we respond to opposition and accusations in the media and other forums? Jesus said, “Love your enemies”, and that may be a good start!
On a general level I think we need to be humble, and try to listen to criticism that may be appropriate. It may in some cases be true that people are attracted to Christianity by what appears to be material benefits of various kinds. As an organisation and as individual UMNers, it is essential that we do not give such impressions (consciously or unconsciously). We have to be wise in how we support Christian individuals and churches.
Secondly, we must let our lives and work speak for themselves. The more we live out the UMN values, the less people will be suspicious and critical about what we are doing. We need to be transparent and honest in every aspect of our work.
When it comes to responding more specifically to negative articles in newspapers, UMN has so far chosen to keep a fairly low profile. Responding to each accusation may be counter-productive, particularly when articles are published in newspapers with links to anti-Christian groups, or other less serious weeklies. Responses may in such cases trigger further articles, only causing more damage.
It may, however, be more appropriate to respond directly when false accusations are published in respected daily newspapers with wide circulation, and when individual UMNers are accused.
A pro-active way of dealing with the media is to try to get positive news published about achievements and new initiatives in the organisation. This is done primarily through news releases. All contacts with the media should be characterised by a positive attitude. Guidelines have recently been issued to programme unit directors, emphasising the importance of being prepared, accurate, honest, transparent, positive and aware of the context when responding to queries from the media. We should never hide that we are a Christian organisation, but we may want to emphasise our Christian identity more or less depending on who we are talking to and what the circumstances are.
Summary
UMN experiences both positive and negative publicity in the Nepalese press. Negative publicity is often linked to UMN’s Christian identity, with accusations of proselytising activities.
It is suggested that UMN:
· Be self-critical about its activities and let the work give a positive witness in itself
· Keep a positive attitude in all contacts with representatives of the media
· Promote positive achievements and initiatives actively
· Be wise in responding to negative publicity, acting on a case by case basis.
Stefan Östman
29 January, 2002
MEMBER BODIES AND UMN
Issue # 8
A scan of the mission statements/vision statements of various member bodies was conducted, to gauge congruence with UMN’s statements of Mission and Vision.
1. With the exception of the United Church of Canada, the member bodies' own mission statements are very similar.
They all contain the ideas of
· Evangelism (by word)
· Proclamation
· Calling people to know Christ
· Making disciples
Most see social action as going hand in hand with this, and as part of evangelism.
Other ideas mentioned by several member bodies are:
· Justice
· Peace, renewal
· Church planting
· Confronting spiritual forces
Tear Fund could be considered the most development orientated, but their aim is "To bring good news to the poor". Tear Fund was initially started so that Christians could give to development/relief work knowing there was an overtly Christian input as well. Similarly, World Concern and Tear Australia (affiliate) fall into this category of Christian development organisations.
2. A more recent (April 2001) survey of board members showed the tension over supporting development projects with little or no specifically Christian input. This gave indications only, as follows:
· Most Member Bodies would fund and send personnel to Nepali Church projects or Christian NGOs.
· Low profile Christian NGO's would still get personnel, but nearly half the Member Bodies would not fund these.
· Slightly more than half the Member Bodies surveyed would not provide funding or personnel to a non-Christian NGO.
3. The United Church of Canada made the decision to withdraw from UMN (1999) on the grounds of theological incompatibility. The following is an extract from an email from Bruce Gregerson of UCC, summarising the reason for this withdrawal:
statement of belief. The United Church has worked for many years at
statement in our history occurred in 1966 when the church affirmed that
"God is creatively and redemptively at work in the religious life of
humanity." By this we mean that God's purposes in the world are fulfilled
in ways that extend far beyond the Christian community.
Where this "hits the wall" is around patterns of evangelism and
restrictions on leadership...”
Summary
Member bodies have constitutions which support Christian witness by service and word. Any major changes in perceived Christian identity would need a lot of negotiation and perhaps re-constituting the Board of UMN. However, the way UMN encompasses such a breadth of Christian experience is a cause of praise and not to be lost. To open up discussion would be a valuable chance to learn and develop as an organsiation committed to serving Christ.
Christine Stone
January 2002
LEGAL ISSUES AND CHRISTIAN ACTIVITIES
Issues #3 and 9
Legal Issues:
Restrictions on the kinds of activities Christians, and particularly expatriate Christians, can engage in stem from the laws and Constitution of Nepal. The Constitution (1990) states:
Every person shall have the freedom to profess and practise his own religion as handed down to him from ancient times having due regard to traditional practices, provided that no person shall be entitled to convert another person from one religion to another.
Every religious denomination shall have the right to maintain its independent existence and for this purpose to manage and protect its religious places and trusts.
A 1992 law interpreting these constitutional provisions, states in part:
No person shall propagate any religion in a manner likely to undermine another religion or convert anyone into another religion.
In 1990, at the time of UMN signing a new General agreement, a letter from UMN was accepted by the Foreign ministry defining “proselytising” (forbidden in our general agreement) as “attempting conversion through coercion or offer of material inducement”.
In preparing this topic team report, several discussions took place between a member of the topic team and UMN’s lawyer, Mr Hari Shankar Niraula. The outcomes of those discussions are as follows:
· The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
· After 1990 (Democracy movement) there have been fewer cases against Christians than before.
· There are more negative attitudes towards Christians in remote, poor areas. The opposition from jankris against western medicine can be strong. Poor people who do not receive aid can also cause problems. However, better communication has improved the situation.
· The eastern part of the country is less negative to Christians than the western part.
· It is not possible to set a “Christian” term in any documents, but it is possible to employ Christians only. It is a matter of practice, but must be very carefully undertaken.
· There is no legal problem in setting up and registering Nepali Christian NGOs. There is also freedom to preach within the framework of the Constitution. It is also quite legal to continue what has been done in the past. However, there can be disputes.
· There is a clear provision in the Act regarding visa positions. Generally, it means one adviser per organisation. It may be possible to argue to have more with the right reasons.
· There is no new concept (regarding Christian activities) in the Social Development Organisations Act (SDOA). There is one item about religious activity, but this is within the framework of the current Constitution and should not be seen as a threat. It affects all Christian organisations equally. This article is included here because HMG (or the Social Welfare Council) needs to show their concern about Christian activities to various stakeholders.
The clause in the draft of the Act states:
39. Functions which organisations must not perform
No organisation may perform or arrange for performing the following functions:
d) Get involved or allow the use of its means and resources, directly or indirectly, in activities relating to religious conversions which are prohibited by current law.
· Since UMN has an agreement with the government until 2005, it should be possible to work as now, although the General Agreement has a clause about changes before the end of the term. It may not be easy. After 2005, UMN will definitely have to come under the new Act.
· It is possible to second expatriates to NGOs and business organisations.
Christian activities
In examining the types of Christian activities being undertaken by UMN expatriates, the only formal guideline is the 1994 document entitled: “Guidelines of Religious Activities of Expatriate Christians”, written by Edgar Metzler, then the Executive Director. Apart from this document the following documents gave additional insights:
· “UMN’s Christian Identity”, ideas generated in small groups at Annual Conference, 1997
· “What makes an Organisation Christian”, a presentation at a NCHA (Nepal Christian Hospitals Association) meeting in May 2000.
Bearing in mind the fact that appointees, by reason of the General Agreement and their responsibility as guests of the Government of Nepal, must adhere to the letter and spirit of the laws of Nepal, the following activities are some of the ways UMN appointees have said they are attempting to live out their faith in the context of Nepal:
· As far as possible, ensuring relationships with others reflect the mind and spirit of Jesus
· Participating in fellowship and service in a local congregation, though normally not taking positions of leadership
· Caring for the needy, the disadvantaged, with high standards of work, and sharing the reasons and motivations for our work
· Accepting those of different backgrounds, faiths, by attempting to learn and understand about their religious beliefs and practices, and ministering to them.
· Challenging injustice and corruption
Specific witnessing activities include:
· Literature distribution
· Prayer, with patients and others
· Counseling
· Bible teaching in churches
· Christian staff fellowships, prayer times in projects (not compulsory)
· Posters, signs, banners
· personal sharing of our faith as God’s spirit guides us
· showing the Jesus film to those who have expressed an interest
· Practising UMN values:Equality; Special concern for the poor and disadvantaged; Love and service; Forgiveness; Integrity; Professional competence; Enabling Participation; Training others; Cultural sensitivity; Concern for the environment; Identification with Nepal; Humility
It should be noted that in all activities involving sharing personal faith with others, UMN appointees do so in the context of a personal relationship and questions from another person. At no time do appointees place any pressure on Nepalis to listen to or participate in discussions. In more formal settings (such as project devotions or prayer meetings) participation is very clearly voluntary. Inducements to become Christian are not applied, either directly or indirectly. UMN’s Policy of Employment is non-discriminatory:
PERS 1.3.1 There shall be no discrimination on the basis of ethnic group, sex, caste or religion.
At project level, it is clearly understood that no preference will be given to adherents of any religion regarding access to services or participation in project activities.
At various times, the unassigned spouses of UMN appointees have been involved in Christian activities such as supporting (praying with, providing advice to) church pastors, leading groups of Nepali Christians in Bible study, providing training for church leaders and pastors, being a contact between UMN (or UMN projects) and local churches. However, UMN appointees do not plant churches, become involved in church leadership or participate in explicitly evangelical outreaches organised by churches, in line with the guidelines issued in 1994 and re-issued in 1999.
February 2002
VIEWS OF NON-CHRISTIANS ON UMN'S CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
Issues # 1, 2
Introduction:
To collect the views of non-Christians on UMN's Christian identity, within the organisation, a questionnaire was made by Diana Prabha Pradhan and Roshani Shrestha. The questionnaires were distributed to staff of HQ/MSP and nearby projects/units. Out of 45 forms distributed, 17 filled forms were received. The participants’ employment with UMN ranged from 1 year to more than 20 years of service. It is important to note, however, that this limited number of replies thus represents a very small subset of the non-Christians who actually work for UMN.
Findings:
(A) Positive:
· Special concern for the poor (9)
· Feeling of equality, unity, punctuality, honesty and brotherhood. (8)
· Family/homely environment, friendly and co-operative staff. (3)
· Respect each other, dedication, motivation, support for each other (3)
· Unique, many people are employed. (2)
· Work is worship, no restriction for working with other religious groups. (2)
· Helping HMG and people of Nepal in various ways. (1)
· Discipline, hard working and economic (cost effective). (1)
· Career development opportunity, a learning centre. (1)
· Provide work with authority, willingness to share skill and knowledge. (1)
· Professional competence, humility, love and service, participatory, intregrity.(1)
(B) Negative/problems faced by UMN non-Christians:
· No difficulties faced. (6)
· Discrimination between Christian and non-Christian. (5)
· Discrimination towards Nepali Non-Christians when going out to field by villagers (separated during mealtime). (2)
· Others think that staff draw salary in dollars or get money (2), get oppurtunity to visit foreign country regularly and all staff are assumed as Christians. (1)
· Expectation from the villagers as we work for the Christian organization. (1)
· Management is not aware about the dual character of "so-called Christians" (1)
· Debate on religion, social and political views against Christian organization (1)
· Adjustment problem with Christian practices and values at the beginning. (1)
· Nowadays Mission and Vision are very much centralized and it is a one way decision. (1)
· Looking through the eyes of Christianity. (1)
· Blaming staff without good reason. (1)
(C) Miscellaneous comments:
· No answer. (5) No comments. (2)
· Management should be alert to Christians who play dual characters. (3)
· UMN should show values through work rather than through religious belief. (2)
· Why UMN management not open to Nepali staff since 2001. (1)
· To sustain Christian identity UMN partner organisations should apply the values. (1)
· Should not convert religion by providing financial support or force to go to church. (1)
· Committed Christians should be recognised. (1)
· UMN should continue as a development organisation. (1)
UMN APPOINTEE SURVEY 2002
A survey of UMN appointees has just been completed by the Mission Wide Appointees’ Representative. Approximately 54% of those who received the questionnaire responded. A similar survey in 1994 had a response rate of 50%.
Development vs proclamation: About two-thirds of the respondents felt that UMN’s witness should be its development work accompanied by spoken proclamation: “If UMN’s work was just its development work it would be no different from a secular INGO.” About 25% of the respondents felt strongly that UMN’s witness was the development work it does, and others mentioned the constraints of the General Agreement. ”Our witness is the work we do. If done well with our whole heart and soul, it will prompt people’s thinking of the ‘why’ of our work. Answering the question of the ‘why’ can lead to the amplification of the Gospel.” From 1994 there has been a very slight shift towards the proclamation side.
Christian leadership in UMN: The respondents were basically in agreement that they would like all UMN projects to have Christian leadership, but acknowledged that there are not enough qualified and capable Nepali Christians who are willing and able to serve. By far Project Unit Director was the most commonly mentioned break off point that should be Christian. In the 1994 survey, a larger proportion of respondents stated that the post should be given to suitably qualified and experienced people, irrespective of religion.
Special provision to train Christians for leadership: Most people see the critical need for Nepali Christian leadership in UMN at this time: “Not just in leadership positions but we should make provisions for all positions. Less than 5% of UMN staff are Christian. It’s hard to be seen as a Christian organization with such a small percentage.” However, several were concerned about equity and discrimination issues if UMN conducted selective training for Christians. There was also the concern of getting unqualified, even incapable people into positions simply because they were Christian. Several suggested that the church should be encouraged and perhaps facilitated to arrange training programs. In contrast to the 1994 survey, the current respondents were much more likely to strongly agree that UMN should make special provision to train Christians for leadership positions within it.
Closer corporate relationship with Nepali church: The respondents had mixed feelings; some were concerned about the agreement with HMG; others felt that such a relationship would be difficult – with which church? Others felt that UMN might be overbearing. There were several suggestions on how UMN or its appointees could develop a relationship with the Nepali Church on a less formal basis, including appointing people to work under Nepali Christians; partnering with a body of professional and spiritually mature Nepali Christians; supporting Nepali Christian NGOs, including finding out from them how we as an organization can help them; and re-establishing the Church Relations Office.
Starting meetings with prayer: Nearly everyone thought that major meetings should start with prayer. The primary concern was that a project may not have a Christian who is able to lead. Seventy-five percent of the respondents said that there should not be opportunities for other faiths to express their spirituality in devotions in project contexts. They felt that UMN needs to maintain its distinctive Christian identity. The 25% who said ‘yes’ saw opportunities for interfaith dialogue.
The objectives of member body and of UMN are closely linked. Two thirds of the respondents agreed that the objectives of their member body and UMN are very closely linked. But one third were neutral or felt that the objectives differed. The most common specific reasons for a difference in objectives between member bodies and UMN were: the member body prefers to work directly through a national partner, and the member body is perceived to be more concerned than UMN about proclamation.
Involvement in the Nepali church. The vast majority of respondents attend a Nepali church and 46% are actively involved in church activities in addition to worship.
Beverley E Booth
February 7, 20
These options have been generated from the two SWOT analysis charts included in this report (pages 28 and 29) by a small sub-group of the Topic Team. Please note that these are options, not recommendations. As options we believe they are supported by our data, but acknowledge that not every member of the Topic Team would necessarily support each option. Some of the options listed are already taking place. These could be enhanced and encouraged. Some suggestions are included.
