The Third Lausanne Congress On World Evangelization

After a long process, I've been selected to attend the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town in October 2010. It's a huge privilege to be asked to attend as a representative of the Church in Scotland, coming as it does in the year of the 100th anniversary of the 1910 World Missionary Conference. My hope is that the small part of the Church of which I am part will play its full role in reaching the world with the love of God shown in Christ.

Here's what it's all about:

We are living in a time of enormous threat and amazing opportunity for the church. The life and witness of the church around the world is being assailed by external pressures while simultaneously being weakened by internal troubles.  Yet the church also faces unprecedented global opportunities for the spread of the gospel and open doors for ministry in regions traditionally closed to the witness of Christ.  Unfortunately, a concerted and well-reasoned response to these global issues and opportunities has been difficult because the church, and evangelicalism in particular, is highly fragmented.

Even so there is reason for hope.  Next year 4000 leaders from 200 countries will come together 16-25 October 2010 for The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization: Cape Town 2010.  These leaders, carefully chose from thousands of applicants, will represent the demographic, theological and cultural realities of the global church.  Young and old, men and women, mission leaders, pastors and theologians, Kingdom-minded leaders  from the worlds of business, government, education, medicine and the media – the Congress is drawing the best minds and most creative and courageous leaders the church has to offer.  In addition to the 4000 leaders who will be onsite in Cape Town, this Congress is providing an historic opportunity for people around the world to participate in Cape Town 2010 through the Internet-based Lausanne Global Conversation and Cape Town GlobaLink.

GLOBAL ISSUES
Together these leaders will wrestle with six issues that are of paramount importance to the future of the church and world evangelization, in terms of profound theological reflection and strategic action.  The Church is the most thoroughly global entity in the world with the majority of Christians now in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.  Together, we must establish a new global equilibrium for the church whereby we relate to one another on the basis of our shared vision, our shared calling, our shared wealth and our shared poverty and come together to address these issues:

1. The Challenge of the New Atheism.  World evangelization is based on foundational truth claims about the uniqueness of Christ, the centrality of the cross and the authority of Scripture.  In light of the aggressive attacks on truth by the New Atheism, we must make a compelling case for TRUTH.  We cannot afford to lose the battle for the minds of this generation or the next.
2. The Impact of Hedonism.  We are bombarded everyday with images and messages that serve to undermine our moral and biblical foundations.  The church is being impacted by nominalism, superficiality and the troubling consequences of the prosperity gospel.  We must respond with a prophetic critique of the church which calls us to AUTHENTICITY and INTEGRITY.  We must call Christians to a deeper level of repentance, renewal and discipleship.
3. The Reality of Islam.  Islam is a missionary faith with a global vision.  With a very deliberate strategy, Islam’s mission and impact has spread beyond the Arab world to significantly influence universities and governments in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.  The church must develop an equally deliberate strategy that enables us to live in fidelity to the gospel, influence public institutions and faithfully witness to men and women in all WORLD FAITHS.
4. The Globalized World.  Mega-cities, Diaspora, New Technologies, Social Networking, Political Corruption and Uncertain Futures for the Next Generation, are only a sampling of the challenges and opportunities of a Globalized World that require us to establish NEW PRIORITIES for world evangelization.
5. The Brokenness of Our World.  If our witness is to be prophetic, we must identify with the pain and suffering in the lives of individuals, families, communities and nations.  Not only must we connect with the brokenness but we must also be people of hope and peace as agents of RECONCILIATION, emphasizing the core theme of Cape Town 2010, “God in Christ Reconciling the World to Himself.”
6. Seismic Shifts in Global Christianity.  Global PARTNERSHIPS for world evangelization, unlike anything possible in the previous twenty centuries, are now attainable as we develop relationships that are based on mutual respect – acknowledging that God has called us to be one in Him.  These new partnerships, increasingly led by visionary leaders from the majority world, will also involve more lay people who comprise the vast majority of those who bear witness to Christ in this Century.  By sharing the best available resources and best practices, together “the whole church (will) take the whole gospel to the whole world.”

Its going to cost around £1750 for conference fees, flights and accommodation. I'm trusting God for this amount and inviting friends and family to support my participation in the Congress in prayer and financially. If it's appropriate for you to donate, please use the button below. I'll be updating the blog regularly with news about the Congress.

Comments

[Jimmy]

As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control
and the Judgement to come,
Felix was afraid and said
"That's enough for now. You may leave.
When I find it convenient,I will send for you"

Acts 24:25.

[who?]

That looks like a brilliant conference David, and well worth the money. It's so important to ensure church leaders can maintain a global perspective. Here's hoping people will be generous with their christmas prezzies to Gadgetvicar!

[ryan]

Hmm, so, if people had to choose, should they contribute to this or bailing out Wesley Owen? ;-)

[ryan]

Hey, I've got an idea : why don't you enlist St.Silas' many talented musos to do a Live Aid-style charity single to support the send-GV-to-the-conference cause? I'd pay good (well,some) money to hear their version of Jingle Bells, It's Raining Men or We're Sending Our Love Down The Well :-).

NB - Given the location,are you not bitterly disappointed that said conference isn't in June/July 2010?

[GadgetVicar]

It would cost a whole lot more to go during the World Cup. How much work do you think we'd get done anyway?

"VicarAid"! Now that would be fun. Have I ever shown you my Geldof impersonation?

[ryan]

Is it like the Bono one but without the shades? ;-) Am (pleasantly) surprised that you've never adopted SirBob's (albeit apocryphal) "Give us your foo---' money!" approach when appealing for funds ;-).

[Billy]

Looks like the new atheists have you worried:-) What exactly is a new atheist anyway? Was Hume a "new atheist"? Maybe someone can tell me so I can mould into a stereotype.

Why do fundamentalists capatilise TRUTH? Sceptics are open to persuasion, it's just that christinity has failed to persuade us. Fundamentalists however are closed minded.

A tip from a non believer - when the church actually agrees on what you can or cant do or can or cant believe about the origins of humanity, then you might not look like you are actually getting some instruction from your god. This is the most bizarre thing about those who "KNOW" the TRUTH. They cant agree

[GadgetVicar]

I guess we all worry one another in some way, or we wouldn't bother checking out one another's blogs?

Maybe this conference will be an opportunity for at least some believers to get some agreement going.......

[ryan]

Good point Billy - it struck me the other day that the glaring failings in Alpha-style popular apologetics mean that - for all their proponent's pretensions of Saving the World - it's really a creepy form of manipulation aimed at those psychologically predisposed to react to it (the stereotypically middle-class who want to assuage their guilt over spending too much money on property/in Waitrose?); Fundamentalists (c.f Left Behind guff) revel in fantasies where the world burns whilst their cult is glorified. There must be thousands (millions?) of people who go through a process like : are told, politely and otherwise, that Christians have to regard the Bible as literally and eternally true; realise that this historical record (to say the least) means that 'Synagogue of Satan' or 'Pharisee' references are not an article portrayal of Judaism ; decide that Christianity per se must be a nonsense. They have not 'lost' their faith - they have been pushed away from it by the hubris of fundamentalists. It boggles my mind that, in 2009, there are still Christians claiming that Judaism has no concept of grace, or purveying 'Christianity is too wacky to be invented so it must be true' (surely - cor ad cor loquitur - the story of the Incarnation and Passion resonate on our deepest levels?) or 'the gospels must be eyewitness acounts because realism [define?] wasn't invented[overnight?] until centuries later'(are you really suggesting that a text not fitting easily in a pre-existing literary form - assuming, for the sake of argument, that one concedes the conceit - is less likely than it being a literal account miracles? 'Miraculous claims require miraculous evidence' as yer man Hume would say.

Kudos to Fr.Gadgetvicar for attending (with the SEC Big Bish) The Wave yesterday! And I daresay that most piskies, despite a small number of reactionary fundamentalists in evangelical churches, would have no problem for defending the science of Evolution.

NB : If you're going to do a 'Lesbian Bishop Elected in LA - Down With This Sort of Thing!" blog post David,then, in the interests of consistency (given Lambeth 1:10's condemnation of violence against gay people) I hope you'll be denouncing the Ugandan Church (well-represented at GAFCON?)'s support for the anti-homosexuality bill that will lead to a genocide against gay people? What would Bono do?

[Billy]

Hi Ryan,

My big concern is what they mean by the battle for minds. Given religious history in general (and the SCP agenda as an example) I suspect some form of christian taliban may be on the cards.

GV, I wonder how you change the mind of someone who believes god is telling them to do something. At least with creationists I can challenge their philosophy and present evidence. When someone has a conviction, then they "KNOW" their authority out ranks anything that you say.

The word NOT should not have been in this sentence "you might not look like you are actually getting some instruction from your god"