Recently I asked a question of the active and growing facebook community for Lausanne. I asked expecting to get some response but was excited to see my question pick up speed and receive around 20 responses. This is just a small example of the global conversation building around the Lausanne Movement.
So what was my question? I asked . . . “If you had to explain to someone what the greatest need in global evangelism is, what would you describe?”
I agree that this is a big question that could be thought about in many different ways. That is part of why I asked it. I wanted to get a sense for how people might communicate the greatest need in global evangelism.
And what I found is very interesting and worth some thought as we interact with this together. As I studied the comments, I found that I could break them down into three groups:
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Aspirational comments that spoke of things eternal and the global scope of the effort
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Tactical comments that spoke of specific solutions that could be applied, measured and duplicated
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Incarnational comments that spoke of the desire to face these needs with a holistic perspective
As we are interacting through the Global Conversation Web site, on facebook, via twitter, at lunch tables and in churches, I think we need to be mindful of how different people approach the great challenges of global evangelism.
I don’t look at any of these and say, “That is not important!” In fact, each one of these inputs is a key piece to what we are learning in community. The essential piece is to know who you are speaking to and what they bring to the table. If you are interacting with someone who sees the evangelism needs at 30,000 feet and you are taking a very tactical approach, you might be frustrated with the lack of detail and measurable solutions. If you are approaching the evangelism needs from an incarnational approach and your counterpart is taking a tactical approach, you will feel like their solutions are focused on programs rather than transformed lives. And we could slice it many other ways. The important thing to realize is that these ways of thinking (and many others) exist and define people’s approaches.
We need to be inspired, we need tools and techniques and we need to look at our ministry holistically. In short, we need each other to meet the challenges of global evangelization.
Participate: As you read people’s responses below, think about how you would answer that question and ask yourself how you can learn from the groups that approach the question differently.
Engage: Watch as you respond to key discussions within Lausanne and in your broader ministry context and try and identify the way you approach issues. Ask God to help you understand how He has designed you for His service.
Own: If you are in a discussion and people are not connecting, be the one to help them understand why and find the tools to engage in a God-honoring discussion that leads to Kingdom work being accomplished.
See the facebook responses below . . .
Aspirational Comments:
- God so LOVED the world that…
- Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
- That there would be enough workers for the harvest.
- Our "Mission": Worship the one, true living God and follow Jesus as His disciple, then go to all people everywhere to make worshipers of the living God and disciples of Jesus Christ. Repeat process until the King returns.
- The heart of Christ.
- Go back to sharing biblical Gospel.
- salvation
Tactical Comments:
- Make the Gospel relevant to those that you are telling it to
- Gumption
- Equipping the saints for the work of ministry from an international platform.
- three things: senders, sent ones, and cents…
- If each one of us "christian"really tried our best to live just a part of what we preach… The Holy Spirit would reach,teach and Evangelise. John 13:35
- Get the Word out.
- Supporting the hundreds of thousands of native missionaries barely surviving on $2 a day. They are the key to reaching all nations.
Incarnational Comments:
- Is getting people to incarnate evangelism as a life's style among their community: relatives, friends and neighbors.
- In over 30 years of research at the Institute, the biggest problem is Christians not being real, faithful and fruitful giving our Lord a bad rap…
Them. - Christ-likeness.
- Obedience