Global Forum Hailed as 'Unprecedented' Step Toward Christian Unity

He affirmed the commitment of Orthodox Christians to the process towards unity, however, saying, “You and I are living between the first and the second coming of Christ. We are on that road. And in a way that I hope and pray will bring us to reconciliation.”

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(Photo: Christian Today)

Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), addresses the Global Christian Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

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The Rev. Dr. Robina Winbush of the World Council of Churches and Presbyterian Church of the USA reminded GCF participants of the prayer of Christ that believers may be one in order that the world may believe and stressed the need for the body of Christ to stay as one.

“We live in a world that compels our churches to find ways to live out a visible unity in Christ and to offer a common witness to this world,” she said. “Though our analysis of the world we live in often differs, we must not allow this to divide us or to make us fight one another in terms of responding together as Christians.”

There was a general consensus among delegates that the Global Christian Forum was one step in the long-term journey towards Christian unity.

“This gathering here in Nairobi is clearly not an ending. It is rather a beginning,” said Robert Welsh of the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council. “It is the beginning of a new day filled with the promise of brothers and sisters, of siblings, in the one family of God’s love who have been estranged from one another for far too long.”

On Friday, the last day of the forum, delegates affirmed the “value of the forum as an open space for developing new relationships and conversations” as well as the need to “broaden and deepen the circle of participation,” particularly of women and indigenous peoples.”

In an address earlier in the week, Wonsuk Ma of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies stressed in a forum address that Christian unity must continue being considered within the context of mission.

“If mission has divided the church, it is entirely due to human fault. In fact, mission is to bring the church together,” he asserted. “Church unity was rightly perceived within the context of mission, and this should continue … church-together is not only a dream but also a possibility.”

Salvation Army Commissioner Linda Bond, who welcomed the GCF as a “truly sacred space” for “warm Christian fellowship and dialogue,” also appealed for mission to remain a priority.

“I do think mission needs to be at the forefront of our thinking. We need to talk about how to introduce people to Jesus Christ. We need to talk about that in the face of other initiatives. We need to talk about that in the face of the people who don’t know Him,” she said.

In a separate address, Dr. Cheryl Johns of the Church of God in the USA addressed the GCF on the need for Christians in the North and South, and East and West to overcome their prejudices and stereotypes.

“The churches of the South must appreciate the costly legacy of human rights and democracy that is found in the North/West,” she said. “I would ask that the Southern churches and their leaders avoid the temptation of judgment and instead offer the gift of tears for the tarnished beauty they see in the North.”

The Global Christian Forum brought together a number of other leaders including the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia; Chair of the Pentecostal World Fellowship, Dr. James Legget; the President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick; and the recently-elected General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, Dr. Neville Callam.