Sinsinawa
Spectrum
A Congregation News Magazine
Building Communities for Mission
by Barbara Dannhausen, OP, Director of Mission Integration
Sr. Barbara Dannhausen, OP
Throughout his ministry, Jesus worked to transform the culture by confronting the value system and beliefs of the society. From the very beginning, people questioned his actions and eventually turned against him. However, by the time his ministry on Earth came to an end, he had also formed a community that would continue his work to transform the culture. He called together a diverse group to form into a community that was committed to his mission. In Mark 1:17–18, Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Jesus worked with this community inspiring them by his example, wisdom, and preaching. In Luke 9:1–6, Jesus called the 12 together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the dominion of God and to heal. He led his disciples to new insights and developed a relationship with them that opened their minds and hearts to “know” who he was. He taught them “how to” and even reinforced the fact that they would suffer for what they believed. In Luke 9:23–24, Jesus said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” The disciples were to continue Jesus’ mission to transform the society, the culture, and the world.
Their mission was not an easy one because every culture also challenges the Gospel. Paul, a convert himself, soon discovered that his relationship with the Church in Corinth was not sufficient to bring about the reign of God. Time after time, he had to call the Church of Corinth into accountability. Time after time, the members needed to be corrected and the message repeated. These early disciples were the mission leaders in their time. They worked continually to probe the depths of the mission of Jesus, to integrate it into every aspect of the culture in order to bring about the reign of God thus transforming the culture.
Dominic, in his day, continued the mission of Jesus. He formed a community dedicated to the study of Scripture to contemplate and to witness to and preach the message of Jesus. Friars in this community formed by Dominic were the mission leaders of that time.
The Dominicans of Sinsinawa, a community founded by Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, have been mission leaders for over 150 years. We, as mission leaders, work side by side with our coworkers to form communities in our educational ministries. We not only have the responsibility to probe the depths of the mission of Jesus but also to lead our coworkers to new insights and develop relationships with them to open their minds and hearts to “know” who Jesus is and to know “how to” carry the mission into the future to build the reign of God. This is the legacy we give to our coworkers in ministry. Our coworkers now have the responsibility to build communities that are dedicated to the study of Scripture and the mission of Jesus, to contemplate, and to witness to and preach the message of Jesus.
Mission leaders need to understand the organizational culture of the institution, be committed to personal conversion and transformation, be aware of the scope and depth of the cultural issues, and be intentional about participating in and leading the systemic change of the institution. Organizations do not transform―people do.
Our legacy to our educational communities is to ensure that each person touched by the mission becomes a MISSION LEADER challenged to personally change, to maximize the potential of the institution, and to have an impact on the world.