| Lausanne Connecting Point - July 2004 |
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Greetings! The 2004 Forum for World Evangelization is just a few weeks away! Thank you for your prayers for the leaders and participants of the Forum. Please see the Praise and Prayer report below for specific Forum prayer needs. This month's LCWE ENewsletter features reports from 2004 Forum Issue Group 17: Redeeming the Arts and Issue Group 23: Reaching the Youth Generation. For more information on the 2004 Forum go to www.lausanne.org. May the Lord bless you! Naomi Frizzell, Editor The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the International Congress on World Evangelization (ICOWE) held July 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The meeting, better known as the Lausanne Congress, brought Christian leaders from around the world to discuss and plan worldwide efforts to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Out of that gathering, delegates developed The Lausanne Covenant, a definitive statement of Christian belief and lifestyle that has been adopted by many groups as their statement of faith. To mark the anniversary, the Billy Graham Center Archives (Wheaton, IL, USA) has placed a number of items on its web site—including photos, audio files and notes from the 1974 Congress and subsequent meetings. Our thanks to BGC Archivist Robert Shuster for making this information available. By Colin Harbinson (Convener), Mary Jones (Co-Convener), David Potvin (Facilitator)Overview: The rapidly increasing numbers of Christians in nonwestern nations is challenging the Euro-centric understanding. With this dramatic change comes new ways of characterizing the faith. The Western emphasis on (abstract) reason is being overtaken by an emphasis on (concrete) embodiment. The neat clean logic of propositions is being replaced by the more fuzzy-edged accounts of narrative and the communal nature of these other cultures challenges the individualism of the West. Moreover there is an upheaval right within Western culture that calls for change. Postmodern discontent with Western modes of thought is offering new openness to "spirituality" and widespread attention to the aesthetic side of life. It appears in both these situations the language of choice is one that leans towards the arts. The power of the arts to communicate is unquestionable and its presence is everywhere. Unlike the West, the other parts of the world have not relegated the arts to galleries, theatres and concerts halls, but have allowed it to permeate ordinary life and nurture the human spirit in a more consistent way. We are in a transitional moment in history and these important changes must be considered as we seek to give shape to global evangelization. The church in the West has had an uncomfortable relationship to the arts, especially in Protestantism. Clearly there are signs of change. At this time of transition, to neglect the arts is not only to impoverish the Church, but also to diminish its effectiveness in communicating to the world. It's our view that those within the evangelical tradition have for too long ignored or marginalized the arts. The opportunity provided by the 2004 Forum to take up the subject of the arts and its role in world evangelization is timely indeed. The issues are legion, but we have narrowed them down to three on which to focus our conversation. The Process: Members of the Redeeming the Arts IG have responded to a questionnaire from the conveners asking them to identify the most significant issues related to the arts and world evangelism/missions. These responses have been distilled into three categories. Leadership has been established over each category and participants have indicated which one they would like to be their primary focus/contribution. Each of the three groups is now having an email conversation with a view to putting together a focused paper that addresses their issue along with case studies, resources and strategies. Alongside this process, mini consultations are being encouraged. For example, consultations are currently taking place across Canada to address each of the issues. This process will also have the effect of bringing Canadian artists together in a synergistic way to discover how they can work together in the future to see their artistic gifts connected to God's purposes. The interaction of the three groups will then be shared internally in early August, giving each group the opportunity to read and contribute to the others. By September, these contributions will be put together in a comprehensive paper that will be evaluated and refined during the Forum. The issues identified are shown below and the outcomes and strategies will follow from them. The Church (Education): This area received the most response and is echoed by artists everywhere. The lack of understanding, acceptance and validation of the arts within a biblical/kingdom framework, has led to their outright rejection on the one hand or the insistence on a propagandist/didactic approach on the other. This has resulted in many artists feeling alienated from the Church, and/or misunderstood and "used" by the Church resulting in the arts not being connected to the purposes of God. This issue includes the need to see:
The Artist (Discipleship): Until the Church comprehends the nature and role of the arts within a biblical/kingdom framework, the need to disciple and support artists in their gifts and calling will not be identified. Issues include:
Cultural Transformation (Marketplace): We have been created as cultural beings with a God- given mandate to develop culture. Our stories, beliefs and values are affirmed and passed on through diverse artistic expressions. The arts therefore have the ability to profoundly impact and transform the cultural landscape, its worldview and lifestyle. Issues include:
Conclusion: These issues express what we believe to be vital points for serious reflection and research for the Church at this time. Our hope is that the conversation that will take place in the weeks ahead and the paper that comes out of that conversation will be fruitful for the Church, for the arts and for the ongoing task of spreading the good news of the Kingdom. By Roland Werner, Marburg (Convenor)How can we reach the youth generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that is relevant to them? That is the question the over 50 participants of IG23 will be trying to answer at the Forum. IG participants come from many different backgrounds: youth pastors from the United States; evangelists from Europe; church planters from Africa; lay ministers from the Indian sub-continent; university workers from the Balkans and many others. Their diversity is reflected not only in their cultural background but also in the questions and insights they bring to the pre-congress discussion. Tobias from Southern Germany says some descriptions of today's youth seem to contradict each other, but are typical for the youth culture in Germany. Young people, he says, are looking at the future in a positive way, don't want to miss anything, are fixed on today, open for new things, religious in a pluralistic way, materialistic, dream of their own little well-functioning family, egoistic and have no trust and no interest in politics and institutions. Patrick Mba from Cameroon says young people in his country are more interested in the items prized in developed countries which are like a model to them. They listen to and dance to hip hop, R & B, discuss pop stars they watch on cable TV or wear the latest denim jeans because that is being "in." However, they are African at the same time. Asher Bhatti from the sub-continent wrote that young people in his homeland think that they understand life totally in a short period. They show through body language, styles and way of talking that they have everything in the life and then find their own way of spending life. They don't give attention to their elders' advice or church elders or activities. Presently there are more questions than answers, questions we are trying to answer across the continents and denominations as we prepare for meeting face to face. Questions such as:
As more and more answers arise, the discussion gets more and more focused. For me it is exciting to feel the expectation that is building in our Internet discussion and I ask you to pray that God will use our work to help churches reach the young and lost in each country more effectively. Fewer than one-third of all U.S. Protestant teenagers (32 percent) report that they personally read the Bible alone once a week or more often, according to researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion. The majority of U.S. Protestant teenagers say that they read the Bible either less frequently or not at all. Furthermore, of all U.S. teenagers, only about one in four reads the sacred scripture of their religious tradition weekly or more often (26 percent). Large numbers of U.S. teenagers do claim religious affiliations and report attending religious services. But the findings here suggest that far fewer U.S. teens regularly engage in more personal religious practices of faith—like scripture reading—that many religious traditions, especially Protestantism, have long emphasized as crucial for spiritual growth. London's Premier Christian Radio is going national in the United Kingdom. The station has been allocated a channel on the free-to-air digital service Freeview. This means that Premier (once a London-only station) will now be available in a huge number of homes nationwide. Anyone with a Freeview set-top box or an integrated digital television (IDTV) will now be able to receive the service. Ten years ago 30 percent, or three out of every ten people in the country of Uganda, were infected with HIV or AIDS. Today, that number has dropped to six percent of the population, or six out of every 100. It's a significant statistic that the first lady of Uganda credits largely to faith-based abstinence programs for slowing the spread of the fatal disease in her country.Olympic Outreach The Greek Bible Society plans to distribute thousands of Scriptures during the Olympic Games taking place August 13-20 in Greece. The booklet "The Apostle Paul in Greece" contains five chapters from the book of Acts and is illustrated by the Greek artist Stamatis Skliris. The booklet is published in Greek, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic. 50,000 copies are waiting to be distributed by volunteers. In addition, 20,000 New Testaments in modern English are to be handed out to athletes. There is also a New Testament in Modern Greek meant to encourage Greeks to read the Bible.
By Glenda Weldon, Chair, Intercession Working Group
These words speak powerfully to our hearts as we reflect on what we are seeking to accomplish through the 2004 Forum. It is good to take time to come again "into the sanctuary though the precious blood of Jesus" and know the unspeakable joy of His love flooding and renewing us deep within. It is good to take time to refocus on our purpose—for God to birth in us "a New Vision, a New Heart and a Renewed Call " to make disciples of all nations. May we "stir up one another's minds to energetic effort in love" as we continue to pray, plan and work to provide practical outcomes and action steps that will help the Church grapple with the major issues involved in the task of World Evangelisation. Praise God for clear evidence of growing interest, expectancy and involvement around the world in the Forum. LCWE International Director David Claydon reports that scholarships have been awarded to nearly 300 participants from Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and South Asia. We are grateful for the many donations sent in to assist this programme that allows emerging leaders from those parts of the world where the church is growing rapidly, join with leaders from around the world to reflect on how to take the gospel to those who still have not heard or have been unresponsive. Please continue to pray . . .
IG6: Hidden and Forgotten People
IG10b: The Local Church and the Great Commission - Tentmaking
IG12: Future Leadership Praise and thank God for the wonderful time of preparation that He gave the Task Force in June! Please pray . . .
IG13: Prayer in Evangelism Praise God that more of their participants are becoming involved and that they have sufficient funds for almost all those requesting scholarships. Please pray . . .
IG18: Evangelisation of Children Please pray . . .
IG29: Bioethics
JESUS Film Project: We praise the Lord for the recent wonderful reports of an increase in the receptivity among Muslims to the gospel, following the showing of the film "The Passion of the Christ." The JESUS Film Project has been able to build on this interest and distribute the JESUS Film as a way to "hear the rest of the story." God is doing miraculous things as people are coming to Christ in increasing numbers to hear and receive the truth. |
