Executive Committee | 2009The Thanktuary ‘Millennium Mission’—Core VIsion & Values

• Why is this a ‘Millennium Mission’?
• We are entering a millennium of unprecedented opportunity: on the one hand, we step into the 3rd millennium since the dawn of a new age inaugurated by Jesus, and as Lord of heaven and earth Jesus continues to accomplish his purposes; on the other, it is the dawn of the 1st millennium after the fall of the Soviet Union and the manifest failure of Marxist revolution. Jesus lives, Marx does not. What are the implications? Merely the triumph of capitalism, or is there more? And what about the promise of "other" utopias pursued by radical Islam and less vocal fellow travelers? We dare not be passive or silent about any of this, as if denying the positive potential, ignoring deadly threats, or retreating into rapture-oriented escapism was the "Christian" thing to do.
• Marx's dialectical materialism—the greatest poltical and ideological threat to freedom and spread of the gospel since Rome— has bowed before the human hunger for freedom to choose purposeful opportunity: Marx's classless collectivism turned out to be an oppressor of people because it enslaved meaningful creativity, the heart of purpose and opportunity. At the same time, raw neo-liberal capitalism, if more creative, can be just as materialistic by making money and possessions ends in themselves; unbridled, it can be just as oppressive by concentrating power and wealth in the hands of a few. This shows that the problem lies not with any political or economic system, as if Capitalism were the solution to the problem of Marxism; rather, the problem is with human nature—the beast lies within. Thus, capitalism, too, fails to provide a big enough purposeful opportunity because it fails to change human nature.
• In the face of this, suddenly out of a shadowy subterranian world Radical Islam explodes with extreme violence sparking terror in the hearts of millions. The real story, however, is the ghost of ‘the prophet,’ a supposed reformed, resurrected, peace-loving Islam following in the wake of both Marx and Radical Islam with a transnational utopian vision replacing both the failed vision of Marx and the feared vision of the radical Islamists. Neo-Marxist intellectuals, mourning the loss of a myth to follow, embrace this equally mythic Islam and gleefully declare that the 21st century will be the "Century of Islam."
• In light of this, the Millennium Mission is to bear witness to the glory of Jesus as Lord of all history by claiming as his the 21st Century and as much of the Third Millennium as pleases him—if he returns in glory and power tomorrow, we will be found working, not merely waiting. Thus, we do not compete with either failed Marxism or restyled Islam. Rather, we believe, pray, and work in the power of the Holy Spirit to manifest the presence of the kingdom of God around the world and in all dimensions of human existence as he enables.
• "Behold, I will create a new heavens and a new earth." Isaiah 65:17
• "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
• The ancient promise from Isaiah, Paul says, is fulfilled and is being fulfilled in Jesus. Yes, it is an enlarging fulfillment; that is, in his humiliation, passion and resurrection Jesus inaugarated a new creation, a kingdom of promise that will find ultimate fulfillment in his return to Planet Earth in glory and power—but it is present and at work right now: Jesus is the Lord of History, now, ruling and overruling events on Planet Earth.
• "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2
• It follows that we should participate fully in this salvation. You see, God does not save souls; he saves whole people, or if you prefer, he saves people who need to be made whole in body, soul and spirit. Your body, then, is as much the focus of God's salvation as is your soul or spirit. So St. Paul confers this blessing:
• "May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24
• In accord with ancient Judeo-Christian thought, the Bible sees you as a unified "whole" that can be viewed from different perspectives. Thus, while we talk about "body, soul and spirit" as distinct entities, we do so as a matter of convenience. Like a ball is a sphere with surface and volume, yet a single whole entity, so you are a whole person with body, soul and spirit, not a collection of separate parts, but a unified whole whom we can describe from different points of view.
• Therefore, you are important to God as a whole person—all of you matters to him. So all of every person matters to him. So Jesus commissioned his Church, not to "save souls," but to make disciples of persons who would become whole people. Since the mission is to persons, not merely souls, our success will be judged by how we have treated persons with bodies needing saving as well as souls:
• "When the Son of Man comes...the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to visit you?’ The King (Jesus) will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" See, Matthew 26:31-40

• Core Vision and Values
• We embrace and share the biblical vision of the dynamic of praise empowering prayer, a dynamic that has been granted in God's wisdom to the weakest of the weak, children and infants who in praise are able to "silence the foe and the avenger." Although counter-intuitive, through praise the weak vanquish the foe who would otherwise crush them, blaspheme God, and destroy God's handiwork, the cosmos given to humanity.
• "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise [stength] because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." —Psalm 8:2 (NIV).
• Such is the power of praise. The Hebrew literally says "out of mouths of babes and sucklings you have founded strength" (Psalm 8:2 HERITAGE Bible), but this strength comes forth as praise, according to Jesus in Matthew 21:16, and is thus "powerful praise."
• We also embrace and share the biblical vision of redemptive justice as the natural corollary of praise empowering prayer to enable the weak against the oppressor. This vision is woven into the scriptures from start to finish.
• "Say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water." —Isaiah 49:9,10
• The prophet's vision of justice as restoration, freedom, and provision for all people merged with the Psalmist's vision of praise empowering prayer to enable the weak provides the core values of the Thanktuary's Millennium Mission. This compound vision shapes our views, guides our actions, and provides near-term, intermediate and ultimate objectives for our work.
• Remarkably, while intensely spiritual, this vision is also thoroughly human, earthy, and magnanimous. Further, it is illumined by a divine mandate that is unrelenting and unequivocal. It champions the cause of hurting, impoverished, and helpless people by empowering them with a comprehensive resolution of the foundational human dilemma of alienation from the Creator, from fellow creatures, and from the creation itself. Thus, biblical justice both requires and provides for reconciliation with God, with fellow human beings, and with the cosmos entrusted to our care.
• Therefore, we value the good news of God's kingdom "on earth, as it is in heaven," the present potential as well as the future hope, and thus the vast potential inherent in the message of reconciliation.
• From a biblical perspective, poverty is the result of alienation from God, the creation, and our fellow humans. It follows that the seeds of abundance reside in reconciliation. Where these are dormant, they are yet potent, and vibrant with expectation of the sons of God receiving their full rights as sons, not in a mere super-spiritual exhibition, but in identification, proclamation and productivity on behalf of the world's poor.
• "He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth, and he will be their peace." Micah 5:4,5
• It follows, then, that we value magnanimous abundance "life to the full" and believe that poverty, wherever it is found, is an enemy of all humanity, and therefore that an obligation of wealth is to fight poverty aggressively and effectively.
• "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:10,11
• We value all people of the world but we have a special affinity for the poor, not because there is value in poverty, but because there is intrinsic value in people enslaved by poverty and enormous potential in their latent abilities.
• We believe in the latent abilities of all people to create new wealth within the context of their own indigenous economies when linked to regional and the global economies in fair and just ways. For these, and other reasons, the God of Justice has a special affinity for the poor.
• "Listen: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?" James 2:5-6
• We value life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, opportunity on a level playing field. This means that to the extent the playing field can be leveled, and opportunity equalized, we value both governmental and non-governmental positive assistance in economic, civil, and political processes, especially as these affect the poor of less fortunate regions of the world. These regions are especially important because theirs is the field most often skewed by the twin injustices of unequal opportunity and deliberate exploitation.
• It follows that we highly value meeting together to share in praise, prayer, and celebration of God's presence in his people working with us for the fulfillment of his purposes in heaven and on earth.
• "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. " Ephesians 5:19-20.

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