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What future for the Lausanne movement? | Matthew Cresswell Relations with China continue to pose a challenge to evangelical Christians' global vision as they meet in Cape TownThis week, more than 4,000 evangelical Christians from 198 countries have flocked to Cape Town for The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation. Although lacking more than 200 Chinese delegates, who were barred from attending by the Chinese government, the organisers believe it may be the "most representative gathering of the Christian church in history". US evangelist Billy Graham's original Lausanne conference in 1974 changed the way evangelicals thought, acted and went about their mission. However, whether Lausanne III will build on that legacy without its world famous preacher – now aged 91 and unable to attend – remains to be seen.Many of the Chinese delegates were turned away just hours before their flights. According to reports, the Chinese government accused the conference leaders of inviting members of China's underground house churches and not inviting members of its official state churches. But the conference has denied this, saying it invited representatives of the China Christian Council (CCC) and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The executive chair of the Lausanne Movement, Doug Birdsall, said: "The Lausanne planners have no intention of challenging the Chinese government's principle of independent, autonomous and self-governed churches. We recognise the nature of the Christian community and their contribution in Chinese society while respecting China's established institutions."It was hoped that Lausanne III would be a landmark in improving relations with the Chinese authorities. But this week only demonstrates that China is still not at ease with many international evangelical movements. At the last Lausanne Congress in Manila in 1989, 200 seats reserved for Chinese delegates were also left vacant, having again been barred by the government. More than 20 years on, the situation is the same.Graham convened the International Congress on World Evangelism in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 1974. The conference produced the Lausanne Covenant, which evangelicals regard as one of the most significant documents in recent church history. Not only did it call for a renewed mission to the world, but it argued for a more holistic approach to evangelism. Instead of just preaching at people and handing out a few gospel tracts, Christians were encouraged to commit to social justice and to think more globally.Fifteen years later this was built upon on at the Manila conference. Here delegates formed more than 350 partnerships around the world. However, the conference happened just months before the fall of the Berlin wall. Suddenly the world they had planned for changed dramatically, rendering much of their work void.Mark Greene, executive director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, has some insights into Lausanne's legacy. "I think one thing the Lausanne movement did achieve through 1974 was to help the evangelical wing of the church see how concern for people's everyday needs, and in particular the poor, is an intrinsic part of the good news," he said. "Sitting there in the abrahamic covenant is a call to make the world a better place. The effect of 1974 meant that the notion to serve the poor didn't mean you were giving up on the gospel – which says if you don't know Jesus then there are dire consequences – instead it meant you are demonstrating one of its core values."He and others argue that without Lausanne many modern Christian organisations, would look very different. However, Greene fears Lausanne III may not be tackling a certain need – the task of discipling the world's converts. "This week a man from Rwanda, attending the conference, made the basic point that 90% of Rwandans were Christians and, yet, they still saw a terrible genocide, why was this? It was because they hadn't been discipled in the gospel of Jesus. They weren't told that being Christian means not hating Tutsis if you're a Hutu, or not hating Hutus if you're a Tutsi."Graham's legacy remains at the heart of the Lausanne movement. There is frequent video footage of his preaching rallies being shown at the Cape Town conference. But can this movement perpetuate his momentum? The conference hosts some of the most influential evangelicals in the world including the Alpha Course's pioneer Nicky Gumbel, US pastors Rick Warren and Tim Keller – both authors of best-selling books – and a host of African bishops, including Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda. But is there a firebrand like Graham? A man who could sell out stadiums, schmooze with presidents and start worldwide movements, whether you believed a word he said or not.Ruth Padilla DeBorst from Costa Rica, a spirited woman preacher and a rising star on this scene, believes the Lausanne movement has a future. She serves as General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship and this week made history by being the first woman to exposit the bible in a main Lausanne conference meeting, although there were murmurs of a mini boycott of her talk. "I think that God uses different people, in different ways in different times, and Billy Graham was a catalytic force in his day," she told me. Given the glowing reports of her speech at the conference, many delegates would no doubt want Padilla DeBorst to take on Graham's mantle.ChristianityReligionChinaMatthew Cresswellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Canadian at Gitmo pleads guilty to all charges By BEN FOX 2010-10-25T16:12:47ZGUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- A Canadian accused of killing an American soldier as a teenage al-Qaida militant pleaded guilty Monday as part of a deal that avoids a war crimes trial for someone labeled a "child soldier" by his defenders.... hosted.ap.org |
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