The theme adopted for the 21st general council, "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory" is doxological, an ascription of praise to God. It is a solemn reminder that initiative lies with God, not with us, and that it is his kingdom we seek, not our own. In a fresh and provocative manner this theme has been interpreted in five essays in the Bible study for the churches, written by Professor Petr Pokorný, a member of the Comenius Theological Faculty in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

A decision was made by the executive committee to ask several Reformed scholars to produce studies on the three subthemes and to address other crucial issues before the church today, also in preparation for the general council. The results of this project are contained in the Study Guide for Delegates.

In August 1981, a meeting of the authors was convened in Geneva for the purpose of drawing up a position paper on Reformed Witness Today. This document will go to the general council for study and review, and it should form the basis of the message of the council to the 150 member churches of the Reformed Alliance.

My assignment in these introductory notes is a more modest one. It is to reflect on the articles that follow and to make suggestions for further developments. As the theme of the Ottawa assembly is explored, there necessarily arises the question of modalities. What may be regarded as appropriate manifestations of the kingdom and power and glory of God in the world today?

This matter is of more than passing importance for the contemporary church, in part because we stand at the beginning of a period that may witness a significant rebalancing of universality and particularity. The last few decades, dominated by instantaneous mass media that brought distant countries to our living rooms and that made global concerns immediate, have been preoccupied with sweeping problems that begged for sweeping solutions. In the United States, for instance, the influence of comprehensive federal legislation has grown to astounding proportion, reflecting a perception that critical issues are best handled at the most general level, where local influences can be minimized. Without entering upon a discussion of the merits of this point of view, what is striking today is mounting evidence that a move in the other direction is under way. Instead of undertaking the solution of problems in terms of their universal characteristics and dimensions, the new mood seems to recommend a more situation-centred approach, encouraging local experimentation and diversity of response.

Although this trend may not be everywhere apparent, and certainly not in the same degree, it is sufficiently widespread for theologians and church leaders to take notice. There is a temptation to meet this new attitude with a stance of resistance, as though it represented an abandonment of the bold aspirations of the decades just closed. As Allan Boesak would remind us, our struggle often is with principalities and powers that know no regional or national boundaries, and the new particularism properly is regarded with reservation and caution. Still, part of the reason why this shift in mood has occurred is the failure of the sweeping solutions upon which we had come to rely, a failure that in many instances heightened the sense of alienation and helplessness already indigenous to our era.

This is not the place to plead for any advertised social programme, or to endorse one or another of the attempts to rebalance the universal and the particular. It is an occasion, however, to urge the discovery of signs of promise, even "kingdom signs", in the changing attitudes of our time, so that the churches may be better equipped for constructive ministry and witness.

If this estimate of the current situation is substantially correct, it will be incumbent on the churches to reassess their biblical and theological resources for dealing with particularity. Despite its prominence in the Old Testament, the notion of a covenant with a limited group of people, singled out from the rest of the human family and vested with a peculiar mission, has been the source of some embarrassment. More popular has been the tendency to stress the things we have in common, and to regard our differences at best as inconvenient and at worst as "scandals" to the unity of the body of Christ. Yet the covenant community of the Old Testament cannot that easily be set aside with Christ's coming, and the Christian community itself is a testimony to the partiality of God for the particular. We are not, of course, calling for a reinvention of the covenant; the theological task cannot move in that simplistic a manner. There is need, however, for a shift of emphasis from unity in spite of apparent diversity to the authentic contributions of diversity for a modern witness to God's kingdom and power and glory. Lukas Vischer points out for us the enormous variety of confessional stances taken within our own family of Reformed churches, and how those stances have been influenced by concrete situations which had to be addressed. Of necessity we have developed a range of emphases, some of them more appropriate than others to the history and needs of particular groups or even classes. Can these emphases, often embodied in distinctive denominations and perhaps congregations, be accorded genuine importance in the divine economy without making a mockery of Christ's one body?

Daniel Jenkins appropriately cautions that the ecumenical movement faces very difficult times if it fails to recognize that Christian renewal is most likely to come from below. Discovering theologically sound and practically viable ways for the whole to be enriched by the parts, and for the parts to be enriched by one another, may be the distinctive challenge that confronts the World Alliance of Reformed Churches as we move into the decade of the 1980s.

Reflection upon the kingdom and power of God inevitably leads to concern for the place of humanity in God's design. In recent decades, a practical manifestation of this concern has been extensive attention to the question of human rights. Jürgen Moltmann presents us with a helpful synopsis of the several emphases in ecclesiastical statements on the matter since 1948. When one considers what the churches have been saying about human rights, one is reminded of Harry Emerson Fosdick's assertion that liberty was born a twin, a twin whose counterpart is loyalty. A critical theological task for the years ahead will be the reassessment of human rights in the light of community rights, attaching to human communities, including the family, an importance that has been overlooked in recent years. Charles West points out for us that the fact of community, taken by universal humanity as a limitation, is theologically a condition of existence under God. We have very much work to do if the discussion of rights is to get back to essentials. Perhaps the new mood of which we spoke earlier will assist us in reclaiming a sense of the importance of manageable human communities as a locus of rights and responsibilities.

It is particularly important that the Alliance focus attention upon the worship of God as the central act of service in the Christian community. Far from being a substitute for action against the powers of darkness in the world, worship remains the fundamental form of action and a precondition for all else that the believer may undertake.

Its premise is that God continues to act in human lives and human affairs, and that through this form of service men and women are both informed and enabled to live the rest of their days responsibly. Accordingly, safeguarding the purity of worship - keeping it true to its origins, purpose, and contemporary setting - should be high on the agenda for any gathering of Reformed church people. Brother Max Thurian provides for us generous assistance in assessing how the Reformed churches may grow into a body "whose whole existence is inspired by the worship and service of the one Lord."

Let me turn now to the three articles dealing with the subthemes of the general council. Sang Park sets the ministry of Jesus in the context of his announcement of the kingdom, which has both existential and eschatological dimensions. In my opinion, the signs of the presence of the kingdom in an existential sense - when it breaks into human history - are those that heal the rift between individual and community. The outcasts are restored, the poor are fed, and the captives are set free. These are the kingdom signs that may be manifest here and there, even while the society, as a whole may seem oblivious to certain pressing needs. I think Mrs Park underscores the centrality of the particular in the economy of God, while not ruling out universal kinds of actions if they can do more than harm.

André Dumas deals with the power of God by placing the emphasis on empowerment. That is, God's power is manifest not so much in arbitrary actions - the sign of authority in the ancient world and even today - as in his enabling men and women to become children of God. This theme is worked out through an analysis of justification and sanctification, and is premised upon the idea that if the powers of darkness are really the enemy, then the greatest display of divine might lies in breaking the dominion those powers have over humankind.

CS Song, dealing with the glory of God, writes, "And above all, what a power of love! The earth must be the theatre of glory for such love." God is most magnified and adored when his love is most clearly seen. This reminds one of Old Testament images that speak of God's being respected when the Law is revealed to the nations, and of the New Testament witness to him whose ministry was love in action.

Assemblies and councils abound today, in spite of mounting travel costs and the growing disdain for the "noise of solemn assemblies". But they are deemed to be worthwhile and, indeed, essential for the life of the churches, for it is in this context that the particular is heard and the universal is experienced.