| Lausanne Connecting Point - November 2008 |
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NO TRANSLATION AVAILABLE In This Issue:
 The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (Cape Town 2010) is less than two years away! The congress will bring together 4000 leaders from 200 countries to wrestle with the great issues of our time as they relate to the future of the church and the future of world evangelization. In addition, plans are underway for many more thousands of leaders to participate in the Congress virtually.Thank you for your prayers and support for this very important Congress. Please pray with us that God would be honored in all that is accomplished regarding the selection of participants and the development of the programme. To learn more about the recommendation process for participants to attend Cape Town 2010, please go to http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010/participation.html To make a donation online to support the Congress, please go to https://give.lausanne.org.  Author, scholar and missions strategist Dr. Tetsunao (“Ted”) Yamamori has been named president/CEO of WorldServe Ministries. Yamamori has served as the Lausanne Movement’s International Director and a Lausanne Senior Associate. Today he assists Lausanne as a senior advisor. WorldServe will focus its revitalized ministry efforts on helping the vulnerable and needy attain both physical and spiritual transformation and will work even more closely with indigenous ministry partners. “The ministry has been involved in several countries through its distribution of Bibles, Christian literature, disaster relief, church planting and ministerial training,” Yamamori says. “But WorldServe has decided to narrow its focus to China and Cuba, where it has had particularly meaningful and successful ministries.” President emeritus of Food for the Hungry International, Yamamori is also a senior fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture of the University of Southern California and is adjunct professor of holistic mission at Asbury Theological Seminary. “Ted Yamamori brings a wealth of experience to this new challenge,” notes Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries. “But more than that, he brings his passion for the lost and real-world wisdom. I expect WorldServe to reach new heights of effectiveness under Ted’s leadership.” Ben Homan, president of Food for the Hungry, says Yamamori “has again responded to God's call to extend His love around the world. Food for the Hungry gives thanks that God has raised up this Christian statesman for WorldServe.” Born and raised in Japan, Yamamori earned a Ph.D. in sociology of religion from Duke University. From 1998-2003, he was visiting professor of ethnology at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing. Yamamori has written or edited two dozen books, including Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement, Holistic Entrepreneurs in China: A Handbook on the World Trade Organization and New Opportunities for Christians, and Witnesses to Power: Stories of God’s Quiet Work in a Changing China. WorldServe – http://www.worldserve.org/ By John W. Morehead, Director, Western Institute for Intercultural Studies
 From 16-19 October, Trinity International University (Deerfield, Illinois, USA) hosted the post-Christendom spiritualities consultation co-sponsored by Trinity, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization’s issue group on postmodern spiritualities and new religions, and the Western Institute for Intercultural Studies. The consultation brought together leading evangelical scholars and practitioners from countries such as Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. This combination of geographical locations, coupled with differing areas of specialty and approach provided a refreshing depth and diversity to a consideration of new religions.  The four day event began with putting the consultation in the context of the Christian study of new religions by Dr. Michael Cooper (Trinity Graduate School). Following Cooper’s presentation, a plenary session with Dr. Stephen Kennedy (Trinity Graduate School) addressed an important and neglected topic in evangelical circles; the rights of indigenous people to sacred sites. Dr. Kennedy discussed the legal, ethical and religious aspects of this topic, especially with reference to the struggles of Native American peoples, and provided an empathetic perspective with which to begin the consultation. During the consultation participants also heard from, among others, Dr. Gordon Melton (Institute for the Study of American Religion) on changes in the “New Age” or New Spiritualities; Dr. James Beverley (Tyndale Seminary) on the emerging church movement; Dr. Ross Clifford (Morling College) on the significance of the new religions in popular culture and the importance of combining a pastoral approach with a subjective evidential apologetic for post-Christendom spiritualities; and Dr. Gerald McDermott (Roanoke College) who discussed the church’s earliest theologians and apologists and how they responded to the religious movements of their culture in the first centuries of the Christian era.  The final day of the conference I moderated a panel discussion on the topic of syncretism and contextualization in missions. Participants included Clifford, McDermott, Melton, Dr. Terry Muck (Asbury Theological Seminar) and Ole Skjerbaek Madsen (In the Master’s Light, Denmark). This panel looked at the significance of syncretism in intercultural engagement and the communication of the gospel. While panelists urged caution in contextualization in light of syncretistic possibilities, they also noted the opposite danger of under-contextualization for fear of syncretism. In addition to the plenary sessions, parallel sessions were held on topics such as neo-spiritual milieus, new approaches to understanding Mormonism, American Buddhism, possible spiritual aspects of hip hop, the Druze, new religious movements in Illinois, a pneumatological contribution to a theology of religions, Burning Man Festival as new spiritual outlet and Western Christianity. The Lausanne Movement issue group on postmodern spiritualities and new religions also met in connection with the consultation. Group members from five countries discussed the history of the issue group since the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization and its ongoing accomplishments and activities including the Trinity Consultation. The content of the Trinity Consultation on Post-Christendom Spiritualities, including video sessions and a training guide, will be available soon at the Sacred Tribes Journal website.
By John Godson, vice chair of Lausanne Intercession Working Group
As we pray together this month, I’d like to start by sharing with you a Bible passage I hope will be an encouragement to you. Jesus said: “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them” Luke 18:7 There are times when God seems to be silent though we call unto Him in prayer. Our inclination at such times is to give up and cast away our hope. But let us never cease to pray. By and by He shall answer. Perseverance in prayer is a sign of our faith in God. Please be praying with us for the following requests:
Thank you so much for praying. God bless you.  This month, the focus is on the Persecuted Church. Countless faithful followers of Christ are suffering discrimination, physical abuse and sometimes death. In this issue, you can read the following articles:
You will also find articles on:
In December we will seek to Understand the Influence of Church History in Today's Evangelism. |
