Farewell to World Ministries - Jens Braun

Letter from World Missions Committee Clerk:

Goodbye Friends, it is the end of an era. We are finishing one chapter in the book of FUM World Ministries and are beginning to write the first sentences in the next.

My name is Jens Braun, from New York Yearly Meeting and I've been serving for the past few years as the clerk of the (soon to be defunct) FUM Board's World Ministries Committee. In this position I've been involved in activities, on your behalf, that have included hiring staff for field positions, determining guidelines for Yearly Meetings wishing to join FUM, establishing and implementing program evaluation and monitoring procedures, visiting field programs, and supporting FUM staff in their work.

I feel that my most important work with FUM, however, has been to envision - with the rest of the General Board and the staff - a fundamental change for the organization's focus and work in the 21st century.

Many of you have long been involved in Missions. From the American Friends Board of Missions to the World Ministries Commission, and on to the World Ministries Committee, we North American Friends have supported outreach to, and caring for the needs of others around the world. During this time we have built up physical infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. We have worked towards building communities of believers and the institutional structures such as Yearly Meetings to support these communities. In recent years our focus has primarily been to strengthen the institutional capacity and growth of local institutions, churches, meetings and yearly meetings.

But now it is time to move on. Don't worry, this doesn't mean FUM is abandoning its existing programs, but rather that we are engaging in them with an expanded vision and vigor that comes from a century of service, learning, and growth. It is time for us to mature physically and spiritually to a new level of relationships as Children of God.Most of you are aware, from past articles in Quaker Life and from other sources, that FUM has established new priorities for the coming 10 years. I won't describe the process here (read about it in QL, July/August 2004) other than to list the four priorities: Evangelism, Leadership Development, Global Partnership, and Communication. These may not sound "flashy" to you, but they are significant in the change they require from us all, and in the change in the work we have been doing. Part of the change is reflected in an internal FUM restructuring (hence the disbanding of the World Ministries Committee to be replaced by a Global Ministries Committee with an intended representation of FUM’s global constituency. That is why this is the end of an era. And the beginning of an exciting new one.

Now, as an American, I feel my country to be enmeshed in a period of national fear. Many of us don’t like change, and - particularly during periods of fear and change - it is utterly human to resist relinquishing power. Instead, during these times, our tendency is to consolidate positions of strength. Yet, God has called us to face fear and walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we are called to be born anew (and if that is not radical change, I don’t know what is), and we are called to let go of our control by putting total trust in our Creator. FUM’s new vision is risky, it is a change, and it involves altering power relationships. We have been invited to walk further down the path into the heart of God's Kingdom, and we have not been given a map. Nevertheless, we have some knowledge of our immediate terrain and the challenges right before us that God promises to help us through.

As I say goodbye to you for the World Ministries Committee, I wish to share with you some of the challenges before us and I encourage you to hold the discernment process, and all of us actively involved in continuing this journey, in the Light of God. These are not the challenges of institutional survival or financial health. These are the challenges of following God’s will as a community of faith, in a world of desperate need. Though this may be the biggest test FUM has yet faced as an organization, it has seldom been healthier as an institution or more ready to follow an expanded mission.

Challenge #1: Evangelism Evangelism down at its core is not the message we preach, it is the Good News we LIVE. It is a life of love (of enemies and friends), of forgiveness to those who have wronged and wounded us, of service according to our abilities. But mostly it is living our love and devotion to God in this world without letting anything get in the way - especially not (at this time in American history) material goods or national pride. As we reach out, do we live a life that strives to recognize that of God which already exists in everyone we meet?

Challenge #2: Leadership Development Leadership development is the planting of seeds. It is the recognizing and supporting of Gifts. In all of our work , do we seek to nurture others? Do we establish the means for others to practice and hone the skills they need to fully serve in Christ’s fellowship? Do we help pick up those who have made mistakes and encourage them to learn and grow and try again? Do we look for mentors for ourselves and for those whom we can mentor? What are we doing to allow everyone in the community of believers to add their God-given gifts for the strengthening of all?

Challenge #3:Global Partnership Partnership requires of us a true sense of equality and respect. But control and power are not easy to release. In all our work we must find ways to share decision making, share discussions of underlying issues and information, and share responsibility. In truth, we are in a pickle here: FUM offices are in Indiana. Those of us from North American Yearly Meetings are available to FUM staff in ways Friends from Kenya, Cuba, Jamaica, and elsewhere are not, solely due to historical and structural reasons. Best efforts often cannot get non-American Friends to General Board meetings on a regular basis and thus true partnership is limited since it is likewise impractical to hold General Board meetings in Nairobi or Havana or Kingston. We don’t have full answers yet but integrity demands that we seek out ways to build God’s global community of faith based on a foundation that we are all sisters and brothers in Christ with equal access to the Truth and to the love of our Creator. How can we— despite unequal wealth, great physical distances, and the time and economic expense of face-to-face fellowship - build the community to which Christ calls us?

Challenge #4: Communication Communication requires us to listen as much as it asks us to be clear and direct when we speak or write or publish. Communication is a two-way street. We are all familiar with the intent of Quakers to be still in silent expectation and listening to the Spirit as it moves among us. Can we also be still in silent expectation and listening to those around us who may not be used to speaking in the ways we usually listen or in the language we usually hear? Can the words we do speak be words of love—not judgement, understanding - not suggestion, compassion - not problem solving?

My fellow travelers: We are in a world and time where many Christians around us focus on salvation as a one-time occurrence, on conversion, on avoiding Hell. Early Friends spoke not of conversion but of convincement. The difference is that conversion is a goal and an end, while convincement is a beginning and a process. We are convinced, and therefore there is work to do, relationships to build, fellowships to deepen, lives to be equipped and energized. It is a sign of Christian maturity to recognize that the work is not only out there in the world, but also within ourselves and our local meetings and churches. It is both personal and institutional.

Blessings to you,
Jens Braun