“Together with other Christians whose theology, worship traditions and local contexts may be quite different from our own, we are called to discipleship that has transformative potential,” said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on Tuesday 1 May at the General Conference 2012 of the United Methodist Church in the United States.

“It is time to follow Jesus Christ into the unknown, even into what might cause fears.”

Tveit said these words in the conference’s “ecumenical day” sermon on the theme “Discipleship by the Sea” in Tampa, Florida, USA.

Tveit shared theological reflections on the concept of ecumenical discipleship and shared examples of churches’ struggles working for justice and peace.

“Ecumenical discipleship strives to balance seeking to know and making peace with not fully knowing all the mystery of Christ. The common journey causes us to recognize that we can move before knowing everything,” he said.

In his sermon Tveit also introduced the theme of the upcoming 10th Assembly of the WCC, “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.” The WCC assembly will be held in Busan, Korea in 2013.

Read full text of the WCC general secretary’s sermon

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