by Jean Thomas

It goes without saying that the Western world in which we live today would be quite different had it not been for the core message of the Great Commission. In spite of the high ideals of various historical experimentations with a great society, none embodied the element of personal holiness and justice that the Great Commission proclaims. One only needs to look to the regions of the world where Christianity has had a minimal impact to realize the vast chasm that exists between those two worlds.

I refer to the “core” message of the Great Commission in order to differentiate Christ's mandate from the various representations it has taken over the last two millennia. Without fanfare, the simple message of new life in Christ as delivered by the apostles and early church disciples turned the known world upside down. A commitment to Christ was a repudiation of the idolatry and injustices of the Roman society. Many first-century slave owners who were led to Christ by their slaves would set all their slaves free on the day of their baptism because it would be unthinkable to own your pastor. The outcome of the Great Commission in the early church was the glorification of Christ and his message of justice for all.

Then Came Constantine…

Unfortunately, it did not take long for the tables to turn. Once Christianity became the official religion of the empire, the bishop of Rome—some of whose predecessors were either slaves or former slaves during the years of persecution—became a slave owner himself. The consequences of this syncretism of church and state are still felt today. To be a Christian is inconsequential—too often a stepping stone to a political appointment, and absolutely dreadful when the Great Commission itself becomes the excuse for conquest and oppression.

Much injustice has been wrought in the name of the Lord, sometimes even clothed as fulfilling the Great Commission. Slavery was the greatest injustice that was allowed to thrive under the approving eyes of the church. Wherever Christopher Columbus landed, his first act would be to plant a cross, claiming that newfound land in the name of the Lord for Isabella, Queen of Spain. That accomplished, the pilgrims believed the native “barbarians” could be Christianized “en masse.” But because of their unimaginable cruelty and injustice, the pilgrims brought the Indian population of the New World to the brink of extinction. It was again the church, in the person of the priest Bartolomé de las Casas, who stepped in to protect the Indians whose cause he championed. His solution was: Bring black Africans from their homes, ship them across the seas, and enslave them for life; Christianizing them need not be a priority because they are less than human (it is so obvious that they do not have a soul). (Las Casas later regretted his suggestion, but by then the harm had already been done.)

These episodes are not the true reflections of the spirit of the Great Commission. Just as the proposition of one unseeing religious man brought the black slave trade into the New World, so, also, by the tireless efforts of another religious man this unjust and reprehensible system experienced its first major defeat. William Wilberforce dedicated the better part of his life to putting an end to this worldwide injustice. And the Quakers were the leading force in the abolitionist movement in the Americas.

The 19th & 20th Centuries

The Great Commission became a major focus of the church in the 19th and 20th centuries. This movement was unique because it was not a state-sponsored means of conquest or expansion but a genuine thirst to reach lost souls for Christ. As a result, in the spirit of Christ's own anointed orders, the good news was being preached to the poor in the far reaches of the world. As this new generation of missionaries went out, they built orphanages, established schools, and founded hospitals. This era produced giants who will forever be remembered in the annals of missionary history for their pioneering works.

This era of missionary endeavor was dominated by the “English” (people from Great Britain, the United States, and Canada). While not governmentally dictated, a lot of cultural garbage clouded the purity of the Great Commission. After World War II, the emergence of third-world leaders who had originally studied at institutions established by missionaries should have opened more doors for the spreading of the gospel; but in too many cases the reverse happened. We lost China—a tragedy that must have caused Hudson Taylor to turn over in his grave. But more significant is that we lost many of the nations in Africa. Those nations literally turned on their teachers and embraced totalitarianism or communism, and in almost every one of those cases, the root cause was the “English” people's attempt to clothe the Great Commission in Western garb. This was to the detriment of local traditions and culture. The same prejudice that we practiced at home was exported to those countries, making those we meant to reach for Christ feel like second-class citizens in their own countries. The missionary compound was the envy of the neighborhood but the high walls and guard dogs told people to stay out.

Righteousness & Justice: A Disconnect

One can understand how the “English” missionary could separate the calling to preach righteousness from the responsibility to model justice, because those two words are totally different in English. This disconnect between righteousness and justice does not exist in French or H3ish where there is no distinction between the two. So, to the French a person would “seek first the kingdom of God and his justice”; in contrast, to the “English” a person would “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

Just as communism gave a voice to some of the more radical claims of the Judeo-Christian faith that capitalism could never adhere to, so also liberation theology sought to fill the void left by missionaries who treated justice as the illegitimate child of the family. It is not just coincidental that liberation theology is a predominantly Latin American phenomenon. Its root is in the words justice and righteousness. The church magnified righteousness, as she should, but trampled justice under foot. So the rich man could oppress the poor every day of the week and feel no guilt in the pew on Sunday morning, because all was well with his soul. So well, in fact, that if this man heard a reading of James 5:1-7 without having been told that the words were from the Bible, he would be enraged and accuse the reader of being a communist who, therefore, should be figuratively stoned (Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, p. 131). But the justice of God will always cry out for recognition, and the Great Commission will remain unfulfilled until the justice of God rolls down as a mighty stream.

My Story

The first Protestant Church in Haiti was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). In the same spirit that brought the pilgrims to America in search of religious freedom, these church founders were hoping for an environment where they could worship without prejudice. As the missionary establishment followed, the Protestant Church blossomed. A strong independent streak has always characterized the Haitian spirit. This was also true for the survival and growth of the Protestant Church in Haiti.

Long before World War II my father was part of an indigenous movement that sought to take the message of the Great Commission all along the southern coast of Haiti and into the Dominican Republic. Later on my father joined forces with one of the mission agencies establishing the first Bible school in the country. He was already a seasoned preacher and educator when he arrived there both as a student and dean of students. Upon graduation he went about planting churches in Port au Prince and Central Haiti. By the time I was born in the city of Gonaives, he had left a trail of churches. Six month after my birth, he again packed up the family and moved to St. Michel de l'Attalaye for a new venture.

As I grew up, I saw the harmonious relationship of righteousness preached and justice lived out. As I left home for secondary education in the city, again I benefited from the contributions of the missionary movement in the educational field. While attending high school at a missionary school, I heard the testimony of a young man whose parents had been killed in the Congo for the sake of the Great Commission. Despite the tragedy, this young man's greatest desire was to return to that same place to carry that message. Hearing that testimony drew me personally to missionary service.

Carrying the message of Christ involves personal holiness and justice. Since 1982 my wife, Joy, and I have worked and lived in Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti. Operating as the Haiti Christian Development Fund (HCDF), our purpose is holistic Christian community development in this rural Haitian community. Our work is to proclaim good news to the poor. This effort is focused on (1) helping people become reconciled to God, (2) being such a part of this community that we take on the problems as our own and work with the community to create change from the inside, and (3) sharing skills and resources in order to replace poverty with self-sufficiency. Justice and righteousness are twins and it's wonderful to see them work together in legitimate partnership.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Learn more about the ministry of Jean and Joy Thomas in At Home with the Poor.]