Church Without Walls: Post-Soviet Baptists after the Ukrainian Revolution, 2013-14, Joshua T. Searle, 2016

and even violence in Ukraine and throughout post- Soviet Eurasia. The church can demonstrate solidarity with such groups and affirm the dignity and human rights of all people, regardless of their political views, social status or sexuality. The church can do this without endorsing the lifestyles and opinions of those whose values appear to some Christians to contradict biblical moral teachings. 8! Joshua T. Searle and Mykhailo N. Cherenkov, A Future and a Hope: Mission, Theological Education and the Transformation of Post-Soviet Society (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2014), 99. A church without walls, which sees the dissemination of the values of the Kingdom of God to all spheres of society as an urgent gospel imperative, will likewise influence not just church congregations, but will thus reach out to transform educational institutions, theological think tanks, the media, and all the various infrastructure of civil society. A church that wants to work in tandem with the humanising forces of civil society will be concerned not to consolidate a religious institution based on order and hierarchy, but will be much more involved in building authentic communities of grace. The success of this kind of mission is expressed not in the triumph of Christianity over society, but in compassion for and involvement in society. It makes sense to talk about solidarity as a missional imperative. What is preserved here is the social responsibility, the desire to influence and change, but without the naive optimism about Christianisation and Christendom. Mission signifies not so much a movement from the church into the world, but also a constant Christian presence in the world, not only through evangelistic activity, but also through the sacrament of living. This is not so much a course of action as it is a way of thinking and being. The church’s mission in the world is realised in imperatives to proclaim and encourage, send and convert, to go and teach, but also in non-binding forms, such as being, living, sympathising, loving, salting, and shining the light of Christ in places of darkness. Church without walls is a gospel-orientated vision of renewal that requires a reconnection between mission and discipleship, teaching and preaching, sanctification and conversion. The Great Commission of Christ speaks not about a hasty transfer of the truth, but the long and difficult work of missionary teachers with students, the Christian enlightenment of nations, and the formation of entire populations. Christ’s gospel cannot be reduced to narrow, pietistic notions of “repenting of your sins and believing in Jesus, so you can go to heaven when you die.” The gospel is a call to radical metanoia, to a fundamental reorientation of one’s material relation towards God and towards one’s neighbours. We demonstrate our fidelity to the gospel of Christ, not simply by adhering to sound doctrine, but by living and believing in accordance with the visi