The Christian movement is remarkable. Of course, terrible things have been done and continue to be done in its name that we continue to confess and lament. At the same time, it has shown a great capacity to adapt and spread. To the point that now one in three people in the world identify with it, nearly 2.7 billion people. This happened despite an unpromising start among poor, powerless people in a postage-stamp sized country and the leader of the movement being killed.
I have had the privilege of experiencing some of its consequent diversity. As a young minister, I travelled with others to churches behind the then Iron Curtain. We visited Romania ruled by the despot Ceausescu. He built an opulent castle while people lived in abject poverty. Years later, I met the pastor who began the uprising that toppled him. The pastor had criticised Ceausescu so the feared secret police were coming to arrest him. The congregation surrounded the manse. From that small gathering of Christians on a street in Timisoara, the uprising spread until three weeks later, Ceausescu was removed. It took great and sacrificial courage by people against what seemed a powerful and violent foe.
More recently, I visited the Presbyterian Church in South Sudan. That newish nation had the worst health and education statistics in the world. Civil war had raged for more than a generation. When I was there at the end of 2013, an agreement had achieved a fragile peace. I was flown on a UN plane to the city of Malakal, about the size of Dunedin. Two weeks later, war resumed. Malakal was destroyed. It felt like one of the most hopeless places on our planet.
Yet there I met a group of church women who were determined that one day their children would go to school. They prayed and agitated for peace with fierce determination. They embodied hope. One day they will prevail.
We have lived in Alexandra for five months. I love walking and riding beside the river, the mighty Mata-au. The power of its flow is evident, hence its Maori name. I believe that as the river flows and keeps flowing, so the movement of God in the world keeps on until one day it will bring peace to all creation. The Jesus movement is unstoppable, just as 12 became 2.7 billion.
It is hard to sustain that belief amid war and the threats of war so evident now. Yet I want to stand with the people of Romania and South Sudan and millions of others who against incredible odds, work and long and pray for peace and the harmony of all creation.
This is our noble calling as followers of Jesus. This is what it means to be church. This is what it means to be part of our congregation. I am thrilled to join with you in this incredible enterprise.
Shalom, Kerry
Kerry Enright is a retired Presbyterian minister. Mavis Duncanson and Kerry moved to Alexandra early this year to be nearer family. He has been a minister for 42 years in New Zealand and Australia. By heritage of the Waikato, his waka is Tainui.