Vista 44: Polycentric Mission and the power of an adjective
In English, an adjective is used to describe a noun, to ‘denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate it’s quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else.’1
A decade or so ago, the adjective ‘missional’ became a shorthand for certain forms of church, Christian lifestyle and leadership. For some, ‘missional’ described the way that the church would become more effective in reaching people with the Gospel; for others it’s ubiquitous use meant the adjective lost much of its power (See Vista 13, 2013)
Today, another adjective is gaining popularity – ‘polycentric’. Like missional, models of polycentric mission and leadership are seen by some as a more effective way of doing mission than previous models. But like missional, could its ubiquitous use without clear definition mean the concept loses much of its power?
This issue of Vista explores the idea of polycentric mission in the context of mission in Europe. Of all the topics we have covered over 40+ issues of Vista, this concept has probably sparked the most debate amongst the editorial team, and the various perspectives in their articles reflect this. Jim Memory begins by describing the concept of ‘polycentrism’ and its impact on European mission.
Harvey Kwyani asks us to consider ‘whose centres, and whose mission’ that polycentric mission describes, whilst Alex Vlasin takes a view from Eastern Europe. Evert van de Poll explores the implications of European polycentrism, and Jo Appleton interviews Joe Handley, author of Polycentric Mission Leadership, a new model of global leadership.
Vista has always been all about considering issues from multiple perspectives so we trust this exploration of the meanings of polycentrism will deepen our understanding and practice of mission in Europe today.
Joanne Appleton, Jim Memory, Harvey Kwyani, Evert Van de Poll, Alex Vlasin