General Assembly: International Perspective
Hans Deventer returning home to the Netherlands following the 2001 General Assembly in Indianapolis.
As I reflect on my first visit to a general assembly, the word that describes it is "huge." When you come from a small district of 11 churches and 1,600 Nazarenes, a general assembly is like nothing you have ever seen. The venue, the exhibit hall, the number of delegates, the number of visitors, the hotels, the organization, everything is simply "huge."
Yet, to merely define the event by the word "huge" does it injustice. As I walked around in San Antonio in 1997 talking to people, seeing all those different faces, watching people meet and greet each other, it seemed like something more was going on. What could that be? We see a common cause. At general assembly, we find Nazarenes from all over the world who speak various languages and have many different faces, habits, and cultures. Yet, they are united in their desire to love and serve the Lord with heart and soul. They bond in their craving to take the gospel to the very ends of the earth.
Thank God, when we look at this multi-ethnic crowd, that dream seems less idealistic than one might think. But is this it? The general assembly is "huge," it is international, and its delegates share a goal. I still believe it involves more. More than anything else, I would say the general assembly is, at the deepest level, an expression of who we are as a church. The fact that all these people sing together, pray together, discuss together, vote together, elect together, share stories, and listen to one another says something quite profound about who we are, or at least, who we want to be. No wonder we sometimes hear people refer to that "great general assembly in heaven" where we all will meet to worship and praise our Lord. There will be no distinctions in heaven, no separate assemblies for Africans, Americans, or Asians. We will see one God and be one people.
So, did I find a perfect, heaven-like assembly, either in San Antonio in 1997 or in Indianapolis in 2001? Or should we expect this in 2005? Everyone who has been around any church for some time knows absolute perfection belongs to God alone. People, though they have the best intentions, will still think, act, and talk differently. I learned this quickly when I began participating on NazNet, an international Internet forum for Nazarenes. Sometimes discussions can be heated. It is not strange for Christians who earnestly want to serve God, but don't think alike, to strongly disagree. I found that this has a lot to do with our worldview and values, which are more influenced by our cultures than we might think. Discussions at general assembly are quite similar.
Yet, the very fact that all these Nazarenes get together to seek God's will for our church in the first place, speaks volumes.
If you come to Indianapolis in June 2005, you will not find 100 percent unity. You will find people who seek to love and serve God with all of their hearts, souls, minds, and strength"but who carry this treasure in pots of clay. They may be fragile, limited in view, erring on some issues, and right on others. Yet more than anything else, together, they display this one fundamental conviction: the Body of Christ knows no boundaries. We may struggle to understand one another (different languages and cultures can be barriers), but we still belong together.
Some memories last. I still remember standing alone near the River Walk in San Antonio, listening to a Latin American band play their joyful music. Suddenly, I felt so European, very much a stranger in an alien land. These feelings can show something very existential: We all are, as Peter says, "aliens and strangers on earth" (Hebrews 11:13), on our way to the heavenly country. Wherever we live, we are indeed "longing for a better country" (Hebrews 11:16). Surely, it is wonderful to meet fellow travelers along the way who are heading in the same direction and to have a foretaste of that "great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne" (Revelation 7:9) praising God. Every four years we are reminded that while the local church is part of the one Church "whether in Mississippi or Papua New Guinea."
The fact remains that only by working "together with all the saints" do we truly grasp "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (Ephesians 3:18, emphasis added). We actually need each other more than we realize.
Hans Deventer is a layperson and the Netherlands District Advisory Board secretary.
Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.
