My Review of the New 2010 Edition of Operation World tagged: , , , ,

My Review of the New 2010 Edition of Operation World

Posted by in Church & Missions

My copy of the 2010 seventh edition of Operation World just arrived in the mail. For those of you who are not familiar with Operation World, but have a love for missions and a desire to see the Great Commission fulfilled, you need to get familiar with it. Operation World, in addition to being the quintessential prayer guide for world evangelization and missions, is likely, in many aspects, the best source available for getting a good overall picture of what God is doing around the world today.

If, for instance, you want to have a better understanding of a kingdom-focused perspective on world events, Operation World is one of the best one-volume sources there is. While not going into depth on political issues, there is some key information for each country and region of the world that will help you to develop a perspective shaped not only by the worldly influences that drive the secular media but concerns specifically tied to the advance of God’s Kingdom. This paragraph on Egypt (written in 2010) is a great example:

The government is in a precarious position, between the Muslim Brotherhood, the silent majority, minority groups, strident anti-government bloggers and international pressure on some issues. It seems to lack the willpower to root out corruption; failure to address this and the issue of police violence only strengthen the hands of the Islamists and critics. Water issues are becoming very serious and, combined with population growth, intensify both poverty and unemployment. Pray that corruption would be rooted out, justice done and fair laws passed and then carried out in the interests of the people (p. 315).

But the main focus of Operation World (as is that of the Kingdom of God, as I understand it) is not politics, but rather evangelism, discipleship, and church growth. As the title of the book by Patrick Johnstone, the main author of earlier editions of Operation World, states: The Church is Bigger than You Think. The truth is many Christians, both in the United States and around the world, as well as among Southern Baptists and other Christian and/or Evangelical groups, have a very myopic vision of the mind-staggering ways in which the Body of Christ is growing around the world, and the many different flavors and affiliations in which this growth is frequently packaged. Becoming familiar with the vast and varied information in Operation World is a good way to cure this myopia.

I was first exposed to earlier editions of Operation World during my time as a short-term missionary with Operation Mobilization in the 1980s. As the section on “A Brief History of Operation World” states, in 1976, “George Verwer of Operation Mobilisation became involved. He pressed for a new edition, which was completed in 1978. This was the first edition published by STL (now Biblica). George has ever since remained Operation World’s greatest supporter and promoter” (p. xx).

When it comes to categorizing the statistical growth of Christianity around the world, however, there are many issues that make this extremely complicated. Different sources rely on different criteria in some of the ways they present their information. For instance, one of the leading alternative sources for information on the world Christian movement is the World Christian Database (successor to the World Christian Encyclopedia).

According to Operation World, 2010:

Having relationships to different networks and sources, OW and the WCD often inform each other in areas where the other is less strong. Broadly speaking, mainline denominations and Catholic and Anglican groups tend to be more closely linked to the WCD, evangelical and charismatic groups to OW.” Also, “Definition of evangelical. This is, perhaps, the most significant difference between WCD and OW. OW largely continues using the same definition for evangelicals and the same methodology as in past editions. The WCD uses a radically different measure of evangelicals (related to historic denominations with links to the Reformation) and of Great Commission Christians in all MegaBlocs. OW’s evangelicals are theologically defined and in size, fall between the WCD’s narrower evangelicals and much broader Great Commission Christians (p. 966).

When my wife and I first went through IMB orientation in 1994, David Barrett, Anglican researcher and editor-in-chief of the World Christian Encylopedia, was working as an adjunct staff member. I was concerned at the influence his ecumenically friendly view taken toward world Christian statistics and the evangelical movement at large might have over strategy decisions and resource allocations at the IMB.

Since that time, though, Barrett has moved on, and the IMB has adopted a position more in line with that taken by Operation World. As a matter of fact, my special 2001 copy of the sixth edition of Operation World was co-published with the IMB and includes an introductory section giving an overview of the work of the IMB and Strategic Directions 21.

The Definitions section (appendix 6) of the 2001 edition of Operation World contains the following entry:

evangelicals (with a small ‘e’): A term not used in Operation World. Now used by the 2001 World Christian Encyclopedia to signify all those likely to be interested in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. This category is so broad that we felt it was not a category we could employ here with profit. It is synonymous with the term ‘Great Commission Christian’ which is also not used in this book (p. 756).

The Definitions section (appendix 5) of the 2010 edition of Operation World abandons the idea of differentiating between “small ‘e’ evangelicals” and “large ‘E’ Evangelicals,” but, in essence, categorizes evangelicals in the same way earlier editions categorized “large ‘E’ Evangelicals”:

evangelicals: All who emphasize and adhere to all four of the following:

*The Lord Jesus Christ as the sole source of salvation through faith in Him, as validated by His crucifixion and resurrection.

*Personal faith and conversion with regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

*Recognition of the inspired Word of God as the ultimate basis and authority for faith and Christian living.

*Commitment to biblical witness, evangelism and mission that brings others to faith in Christ

Evangelicals are largely Protestant, Independent or Anglican, but some are Catholic or Orthodox. It is one of the TransBloc movements in this book.

This definition is very close but not identical to the definition introduced in David Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s as the Bebbington Quadrilateral, which offered crucicentrism, conversionism, Biblicism and activism as the four qualities of evangelicalism.

The definition of evangelicals and the statistics relating to them are so fundamental to the contents of this book that it is important for the reader to understand the implications. It enables a measurement of the size and spectacular numerical growth of evangelical Christians over the past few decades.

Evangelicals are enumerated in OW as:

All affiliated Christians (church members, their children, other participants of the faith community) of denominations that are definitely evangelical in theology as explained above.

The proportion of the affiliated Christians in other denominations (that are not wholly evangelical in theology) who would hold evangelical views, whether Western in origin or otherwise.

This is a theological and not an experiential definition. It does not mean that all evangelicals as defined above are actually born-again. In many nations, only 10–40% of evangelicals so defined may have had a valid conversion and regularly attend church services. However, it does show how many people align themselves with churches where the gospel is being proclaimed as such (pp. 958–59).

It is important to point out that Operation World, in all editions, also differentiates between Evangelicals and Christians. The 2010 entry for ‘Christian’ in the Definitions section reads as follows:

Christian: Anyone who professes to be Christian. The term embraces all traditions and confessions of Christianity. It is no indicator of the degree of commitment or theological orthodoxy. The primary emphasis utilized is that of recognizing self-identification as well as accepting the Scriptural principles illustrated in Matt 10:32 and Romans 10:9 (p. 958).

Another feature of the Operation World system of categorizing Christians is what it calls the TransBloc Movement Table. For OW, the three “TransBloc” classifications of Evangelical, Charismatic, and Pentecostal overlap in some instances, and do not in others:

Evangelical percentages for 1960–2010 are carefully derived according to the methodology described in Appendix 6. The greatest degree of accuracy is for denominations where evangelicals are necessarily 0% or 100% of the denomination by virtue of its articles of faith. Accuracy is reduced and assessment more subjective in lands where there are large state or traditional churches to which a majority of the population belong and where there is not a clearly established evangelical movement within that church. The denominational tables in the digital version give the assigned estimates. These evangelical percentages are the unique contribution of Operation World to the global body of knowledge regarding the Christian faith.

Renewalist movements, in concept, encompass all followers of both the Pentecostal and charismatic/neocharismatic renewal movements in the Holy Spirit, across all denominations in which they are found.

Charismatic percentages for 1990–2010 are derived as described in Appendix 6. Adequately accurate assessments of the denominational breakdown of charismatics before 1990 are not obtainable.

Pentecostals are defined by denominational type and are exclusively within the Protestant and Independent MegaBlocs. All Pentecostals are, by definition, both charismatic and evangelical and therefore a subset of both. This is indicated by indentation in the table.

The inter-relatedness of these three TransBloc movements is complex but has to be faced, because it represents the real world in which we live. Evangelicals and charismatics are found in at least five of the six MegaBlocs in varying proportions. There are Christians who are both evangelical and charismatic, evangelicals who are not charismatic, charismatics who are not evangelical and there are Christians who are neither charismatic nor evangelical. Pentecostals are both evangelical and charismatic by definition. But there are also evangelical charismatics who are not Pentecostal. This is the most common difficulty readers have with Operation World information; failure to appreciate this complex issue often leads to many misunderstandings of the dynamics of the Church (pp. xxx–xxxi).

All of this is, evidently, quite complicated. But such is the reality of the world in which we live. And I, for one, am thankful for a resource like Operation World that attempts to take a biblically informed and carefully thought out approach to all this.

Some interesting examples of the way all this plays out in individual cases portrayed in Operation World, 2010, can be seen in what follows.

The Example of Malta

In the 2010 edition of Operation World, it states that the population of Malta is comprised of 1.3% evangelicals, or 5,245 total members, while the total percentage of charismatics is 4.2%, or 17,333 members. At the same time, it states, “There are around 500 evangelicals in the 10–14 Protestant congregations and house churches in Malta” (p. 569). The explanation given for this is: “The majority of charismatics and even evangelicals are found within the Catholic renewal movements in Malta” (p. 568).

Personally, I am pleased that OW does not consider the majority of Catholics in Malta to be evangelicals. This is made clear in the following statement: “The most religious nation in Europe, Malta has deeply Catholic sensibilities. The majority regularly attend mass and over 80% feel that their religion is important to them. However, not many Maltese enjoy a personal walk with the living Lord Jesus. Pray that their strong religious tradition may serve as a door into and not a barrier against greater commitment to the Kingdom” (p. 569).

The difference between the over 80% that Operation World classifies as devoted Catholics and the apparently 1% or so of the Maltese population it classifies as evangelical Catholics is significant. I think it is also interesting that there are apparently more than 3% of the Maltese population that Operation World classifies as charismatic Catholics, but not as evangelicals. On the basis of my brief experience in Malta, as well as my extended experience in Spain, I think this vast divergence is likely accurate.

However, I have personally met and prayed together with charismatic Catholics in Spain who, on the basis of my conversations with them on both doctrinal and experiential questions, I believe to be truly born-again members of the Body of Christ. I do not necessarily agree with their decision to remain in the Catholic Church, nor with their particular interpretations of various passages of Scripture, nor with some of their personal practices. But I cannot deny that they have an authentic saving relationship with God by way of faith in Christ, due to His grace freely offered by His substitutionary atonement on the cross of Calvary. And, as we seek to understand what God is doing around the world, and adjust our view of missions and our allocations to Great Commission ministry accordingly, I believe it is important to take all this into account.

The Example of Brazil

Another interesting example for me is that of Brazil. As in the majority of Latin America, according to Operation World, the majority of those classified as evangelicals are also classified as charismatic and/or Pentecostal. However, Operation World, while recognizing this reality, at the same time squarely faces some of the deep problems embedded within much of the charismatic/Pentecostal world:

Numerical rather than spiritual growth is the emphasis of too many groups, to the point of dishonest inflation of numbers and disregard for discipleship. As a result, churches have ‘multiplied’, but congregations are filled with immature, unfed spiritual infants whose faith is overly based on emotionalism, petty legalism and the personality of leaders. Such zeal without maturity leads to spiritual error, nominalism, widespread church-hopping without commitment to a particular church and large-scale backsliding.

Prosperity theology has shaped much of Pentecostalism in Brazil, with those on top of the pyramid enjoying celebrity status and lifestyles — as well as financial scandals — while millions of poor hold out for a miracle of healing or financial blessing. Pray for a right balance between expectation of blessing and daily sanctification.

Leadership models are sorely lacking, as witnessed by the scandals and moral failures of some high-profile leaders characterized more by their wealth, power and lack of accountability than their humility and faithfulness. The celebrity bishop model is unsustainable, and there needs to be new ways of shaping and growing leaders who will be well suited for bringing discipleship and societal impact to Brazil’s evangelicals (p. 165).

There is much more that can be said, and should be said, about the 978 pages of rich content of the Operation World, 2010 edition. For instance, it takes what I consider to a be a balanced view in its presentation of the world as divided into political nation-states and ethno-linguistic and other people groups.

Best of all, though, a new copy can be obtained at amazon.com for the amazingly low price of $14.41. However, it will probably be worth the few extra bucks to get the package that includes the accompanying CD-ROM for $26.39.