A Theology of Indigenous Leadership
In Luke 4:18, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 as the purpose and focus of his entire mission on earth. Jesus proclaims:
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners...
I suppose that even if I could type for centuries, I would still not run out of things to say about this passage. Nonetheless, for our purposes it is suffice to say that the ministry of Jesus was especially directed at a certain kind of people, namely, the brokenhearted, the captives, and the prisoners. Now, it has been the tendency of some to over-spiritualize Jesus’ concern for this group of people by saying that Isaiah is merely implying a spiritual captivity and a spiritual imprisonment. Surely, Isaiah has the spiritual aspect of the Messiah in mind, in the sense that the Messiah would come to liberate everyone from their sin. However, if we take the context of Isa 61 seriously, it becomes evident that Isaiah is speaking in concrete terms about the actual outcasts and oppressed of society. I believe this primarily because Isaiah goes on to say that these very people will perform physical tasks such as rebuilding the ancient ruins and renewing the ruined cities (Isa 61:4). If the captivity, brokenheartedness, and imprisonment were merely spiritual then why would Isaiah refer to physical and communal realities just a few verses later? Hence, the prophet and Jesus are expecting the spiritual coming of the Kingdom to have an actual physical, emotional and socio-political effect in the world of those who are “insiders” to the problems of the city and the tough places of society.
Jesus’ ministry to the indigenous is to bind them up (a hebrew term used for bandaging a wound), proclaim freedom, and to release them. The emotional baggage of their past will be dealt with and healed. Further, Jesus will “bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (3). But does the gospel stop there; does it end at what the Messiah will do for the broken, the poor and the despised? Applied to us, is the role of the missionary merely to serve the subservient recipient to which he or she ministers or is there more? There is much more! Jesus wants to transform people in order that they can display his glory and transform the world around them. Notice the emphasis on they:
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
Is. 61:4
(Emphasis mine.)
In sum, the Messiah, as the exemplary missionary, comes as the Hero to the community of the broken in order to transform them into heroes who will solve (some of) the problems of their community—fix what is broken, rebuild what is destroyed, and restore what has been lost. Therefore, the heroes in the ministry of the gospel of the Kingdom begin as poor, broken, blind, imprisoned, oppressed, crushed, etc. Nevertheless, we must have the eyes to look upon them with a vision of the Kingdom. This is the vision of a Kingdom-leader’s capacity to see what is really there in the community they serve and what should happen when the kingdom comes in a person’s life and neighborhood. God’s passion is to fix the broken and to heal the brokenhearted so that they may even eventually lead those who once led them. When we are abiding in the life of Christ, we can expect the poor mourners to become Oaks of Righteousness. We should expect this to happen! Ministry marked by the Power of God and His Spirit will begin to embody these realities because this is what God has said He would do. In other words:
“God doesn’t need new players to win the game, rather it is his strategy to win with the losers”
The Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) borrows this old Chinese proverb:
Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have:
But of the best leaders When their task is done
The people will remark "We have done it ourselves."