Overseas Ministry Conference (TPM) XIII Report
Anna Saputera – OMC XIII Chairwoman

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Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! On behalf of the OMC-XIII committee, I would like to share the OMC-XIII conference report. Praise be to our God who has led the whole conference which was held on September 1-4, 2006, in Chicago, IL. Despite the delay in obtaining visa, our three speakers, Mr.Stanley, Rev. Sopamena and Dr. Maggay were able to arrive for the conference in a timely manner. Also the 77 participants (consisting of students and professionals) who came from all over the United States could arrive safely and participate in the conference. I would also like to thank OMC-XIII program and logistic committee members who have worked hard to ensure the success of this conference.

At the beginning of the conference, during the Indonesian Update session, Rev Sopamena said that before leaving for the OMC-XIII conference, people in her hometown were in the mood of celebrating 61st Indonesian Independence. However, a question came into her mind, are we truly free? She felt that freedom is sometimes closed, some other times too far away to be grasped, as if it does not exist. As an individual and the citizen of the Republic of Indonesia, freedom and the right to live are only possessed by certain groups of elites. During Soeharto regime, Indonesia went through bitter and painful dictatorship that was full of corruption, collusion and nepotism. However, after Soeharto era, the condition does not get better. People remain poor and become scapegoats of elites’ political agenda. Human rights violations are rampant in many parts of Indonesia till this very second. The government of Indonesia does not have real commitment to carry on reformation. The Republic of Indonesia, from political, economic, social, law, military point-of-view, is marching toward destruction. Concisely, the fundamental urgencies of Indonesia formulated by our speakers and participants of OMC-XIII conference are as follows: lack of people participation in nation-building, inability of the government to let people to participate in it, corruption-collusion-nepotism (KKN), communalism and organized crime, inexistency of law supremacy, terrorism, etc.

What then are the roles of the church and Christians in nation building, especially in the midst of a nation who is marching toward destruction? Dr. Maggay said that there are at least three tasks of Christians and the church in society, i.e. the prophetic task, the priestly task, and the kingly task. The prophetic task is the task in which Christians and the church are called to voice out the truth in the public space, to love justice and criticize injustice happening in society, to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9) and to support the growth of a government who uphold justice and humanity. In priestly task, Christians and the church are called to bridge the suffering of people to the cross of the risen Christ. In kingly task, Christians and the church are demanded to be faithful servants of the God-given dominion on earth. Today’s Indonesian churches and Indonesian Christians, however, have not carried on these callings and tasks faithfully; most of them are focusing on internal church affairs and politics. Christians and the church are also lacking the capability to communicate and translate their theology into daily life values as individuals and citizens of Indonesia. These challenges should direct Christians and church to the needs of reforming the church life to be more faithful in exercising its function in the world: supporting democracy and human rights, empowering and advocating local community’s welfare, and working for social reconciliation.

In this conference, the OMC-XIII committee chose civil society as the theme because we believe that civil society is an instrument, though not perfect, yet seem to accommodate differences, representation, and facilitate coexistence and working together. During Mr. Stanley’s and Dr. Maggay’s presentations, there were various civil society definitions formulated by civil society experts. Though they differ from one to another, there is a common characteristic that runs through all of them. Cohen and Arato define civil society as having at least four main characters: autonomy, free public sphere, public discourse and citizenships. While other expert, De Tocqueville, added that the characters of civil society should also include the existence of voluntary, self generating, self supporting and high interdependency in dealing with states and the presence of law supremacy. Dr. Maggay also presented the journey of Philippine civil society, efforts carried by politicians, middle-class groups, faith-based NGO, and their strengths and weaknesses.

Back to the OMC-XIII theme: “The roles of Christians Intellectuals in the development of civil society”, our roles are to present and disseminate the signs of God’s Kingdom on earth especially Indonesia. Therefore, Indonesian Christians must appreciate their citizenship and effectively take the roles of citizens who should actively inspire, motivate and participate in the development of civil society in their zones. Composition-wise, Christian Intellectuals are minority in a group of minority; therefore, Christian Intellectuals must be creative in transforming their beliefs to values which support good governance and good society, especially in a country full of crises. Finally, here is a brief OMC-XIII finance report. I would like to express my special gratitude to our donors, whom in their limited budgets, still believe in OMC-XIII’s vision and mission. I would like to assure them that the financial support that they provided would not go in vain.

Registration + Fundraising (76 participants + 1 scholarship)	$ 14,250.00
CSS General Fund	$ 1,229.54
Total Income	$ 15,479.54

Total Meals	$ 1,925.00
Total Lodging	$ 6,172.65
Total Documentation/Handbook	$ 392.58
Total International and Domestic Speaker Transportations	$ 5,927.00
Total Speaker Gifts	$ 900.00
Miscellaneous Expenses	$ 162.31
Total Expense	$ 15,479.54

My hope is that the spirit of OMC-XIII will keep burning, and may OMC-XIII conference be a starting point for those of us who for the first time came to OMC conference, and may the conference become a brewing, sharing and sharpening place for the rest of us. Our journey is a long and costly journey, a journey that demands our very souls and lives. However be rest assured that the battle is worth to be fought for.

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