On Oct. 21, during the 27th General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), four theologians reflected on the day’s theme: “Persevere in God’s Mission in Areas of Crisis.”

Their calls — for more accessible theology and more courageous compassion — came from analytical minds, open hearts, and the shared experiences gathered during the General Council, now in its eighth day.

Profound Challenges

The Rev. Dr. Jooseop Keum, general secretary of the Council for World Mission, reflected that as the world faces profound challenges, Christians are called to a renewed Reformed witness — and to act now.

“There are immediate and present dangers to many individuals and communities in our world,” Keum said. “The world is deeply wounded.”

He described the global situation as “catastrophic.”

“Despite occasional glimmers of hope, we are faced with the death-dealing forces of necropolitics that prevail in our world order,” he said. “Creation is groaning not only metaphorically but biologically.”

Keum asked, “What does it mean to persevere in your witness when the very definitions of humanity and justice are being rewritten by empire?”

He called for a future vision of the WCRC in which people live simply and share abundantly.

“Sharing their wisdom, compassion, and spirituality are the true markers of intelligence,” he said. “The most radical confession remains the simplest: God is God of life, and life belongs to God.”

Colonialism Still Infiltrates

Dr. Wibke Janssen, head of the Department of Theology and Ecumenism for the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, addressed how colonialism continues to infiltrate systems and structures.

“Striving for justice is complicated and exhausting,” she said. “You truly need perseverance to walk the way of justice.”

Janssen noted that today’s believers are connected to the prophets, who refused to separate spiritual life from social justice.

“I ask myself how the richness found here may impact the everyday life of our churches in the next seven years,” she said.

Navigating the Layers

The Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, expressed appreciation for the wealth of content presented during the General Council through speeches and publications.

“It will take some time to navigate the layers of information,” she said.

Thompson noted that the world — and the church — are changing.

“We live in a changing world, one in which technologies intersect the life of the church,” she said. “The acceptance and use of AI is still new in the church.”

She also named authoritarianism and nationalism as challenges that theology must confront.

“The theological work of the WCRC must be central in its witness and push back against ideologies that claim to be Christian — but are not,” she said. “Truth-telling is a criterion for prophetic witness.”

The call for restitution, Thompson added, is theologically sound.

“Theology that does not connect with the lives of the people is a static and not a lived theology,” she said.

What Are We Hearing?

The Rev. Dr. Dario Barolin, a pastor of the Waldensian Church in Uruguay, urged believers to live out Reformed theology in rich and diverse ways.

“We need to be aware of how we talk and listen to each other, especially with issues that are sensitive to us,” he said. “We need to try to discern what our sisters and brothers are saying to us — and what we are hearing.”

Barolin called for a WCRC theology that reads the signs of the times and has the courage to name those responsible for suffering.

“We speak of the suffering of creation,” he said. “It is essential that we name — by name and surname — what causes that suffering. Who is responsible?”

He emphasized that accountability and grace go hand in hand.

“Those responsible are not forgotten by God,” he said. “They are called to conversion.”

Barolin lamented that violence, power, extortion, and weapons are increasingly affirmed and tolerated as organizing forces in the world.

“It is not only the end of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he said. “It is a new declaration that affirms the power of death as the new law.”