미래사회를 향한 기독청년의 선교 리더십의 필요에 관한 접근과 대안적 연구

A Study of an Alternative Approach towards the Need for Mission Leadership among Young Christians towards Future Society

Today, the world is marked by confusion and conflicts caused by a lack of leadership. The advance in science and civilization did not bring about a united and harmonious community. Rather, it the opposite phenomena is on the increase. In short, excessive materialistic affluence has made the soul of mankind desolate. Furthermore, many more people suffer from poverty and the feeling of alienation. The resulting sense of mutual distrust, accentuated by the feeling of comparative deprivation, and the generation gap has led to a state of conflict and confrontation. This state is marked by a tendency towards globalization which is ruled by the logic of power and economics. This in turn has brought about the opposing trend towards regional bloc based on cultural homogeneity. The current general state of affairs calls for a leader capable of providing the necessary leadership to solve the global crisis and confusion and mediate conflicts and reestablish order. The current world leadership is lacking in piety and moderation which led them to fall as slaves towards power and materialism. They display clear signs of moral flaws as they foster distrust among the people, making them move about in confusion amidst the insecure and uneasy world. The result of this is a strong distrust towards the current leadership. Thus, the leadership capable of solving these problems must not only be able to realize harmony and unity but must be based on the fundamentally altruistic, communal and ever-trustful faith of Christian spirit. The answer, then, lies in the scriptural leadership based on Christian faith. The Scripture teaches us the meaning of true leadership through the image of self-sacrifice. What enables the leader to overcome self-love and see things in an objective way, gives him the ability to control himself, work for the kingdom of God, seek after the spirit of love and unity and overcome all obstacles is the leadership deriving from mission spirit. Historically, young Christians have taken a leading role in this matter. In particular, during the eighteenth century which is marked by confusion, fear and conflicts, young Christians such as Wesley and Whitfield had attempted to solve the many social, political, and economical problems through the practice of spiritual and religious movements such as spiritual revival movements and student mission movements. The reason they were successful was because the young Christians were visionaries armed with open-mindedness and adaptability. The young Christian mission leadership burns with a sense of altruistic purpose and they are filled with a vision, constantly examines themselves and praying for guidance in order to stay true to God's purpose. As long as they accentuate the vision received from God, grow into leaders deserving of trust and responsibility, maintain the healthy and balanced development of body and spirit, train in the discipleship, and add humility to these, then, they can acquire true leadership qualities as light and salt to the world. The leadership crisis of the world can be overcome by young Christian mission leadership characterized by its oneness, unity and harmony, mutual love, efforts to reduce division and conflict, trust and responsibility. The cause of leadership void in the world is self-centeredness that inhibits efforts to overcome oneself. There can be no alternative world leadership save by following the teachings of Jesus who died for others and taught others to do likewise. Through such leadership, we can overcome unreasonable and conflicting state of affairs and work towards changing the world ruled not by the will of people but where God's righteousness flows like a river.