For most of us who live within the stream of the global economy and global ministry world, we have been conditioned to manage time and effort around events and key milestones. That is why events like the upcoming congress in Cape Town, South Africa are so important.

But today I want to talk about something that we tend to ignore. That is the power of “PRE.” What is PRE? Simple…it is all the pre-event things that prepare you to be in the right place spiritually, emotionally, relationally and intellectually to take the greatest advantage of the event you are attending.

So often we show up with little or no preparation

and it shows in our participation.

So my challenge to you today is to take the preparation for Cape Town 2010 seriously – whether you will be attending the event in South Africa, attending a GlobaLink site or participating through the Global Conversation, Facebook and Twitter.

No matter how you will participate, the impact it will have on your life is directly related to the investment you make in the PRE months, weeks and days. Here are a few simple ways that you can be preparing based on the categories I described above:

Spiritually: Participate in the Ephesians study leading up to the days of the Congress. Click here to download the study.

Emotionally: Download the prayer guide for each month leading up the to Congress and use this to guide your prayers as you get ready for what God is going to do through the event and beyond. Click here to download the latest prayer guide.

Relationally: Participate in the Global Conversation and begin interacting on the issues ahead of time. This will help you get to know other people who are invested in the cause of Global Evangelism. Click here to enter the Global Conversation.

Intellectually: Take time to read each of the Advance Papers ahead of the event and commit to write comments on as many as you can. This is a significant amount of work but without this investment you will not have the foundation related to the issues to engage people strategically at the event. Click here for a complete list of Advance Papers and links.

Well, we have a lot to do! But be encouraged. God will give you the strength to prepare well and will honor your investment. I look forward to seeing the fruit of your PRE work as I share your input via social media and this blog.  

The Lausanne Movement has always been about ideas, but it used to be that those ideas were shared by a much smaller group – those who could attend the congress or read the resulting papers, for example. Today the ideas the movement is generating are available to many more Christians all over this planet. And as the circle of voices widens, so do the opinions and perspectives.

I have seen the discussion in the Lausanne Global Conversation and in other venues become more dynamic and alive as the last few months have progressed. As it has grown and the types of input have increased, the disagreement has also increased. Thankfully, it seems like the discussions have been very positive and respectful even in disagreement.

But this brings up the issue that one of our Lausanne Blogger Network members addressed in her recent post in the conversation, “What to do when two people who love Jesus have two different points of view?”

That is a fair question isn’t it. Leslie Keeney recounts an example of when she and another believer did not agree and she goes on to ask for input on how to engage with people you disagree with in love. (Make sure to join her conversation!)

One of the starting points of any response to this question has to be humility. When humility is a growing virtue in our lives, we are less likely to believe that we have the all the answers and other believers don’t. Another key is community. When we are in a dynamic community of believers where there is mutual accountability and encouragement, then we look at disagreements very differently than if we are coming into a discussion from a position of isolation.

Within this context of humility and community we are then able to tackle issues as we struggle through them together. Because our humility tells us that we do not hold the complete understanding of all truth, we realize that we are still growing in our understanding of truth. Because our community holds us accountable to the truth, our fellow believers instruct us and help us to stay focused on the journey that God has each of us walking in faith.

The result is clarity as we learn more and more about our Savior in humble community. Unfortunately, the result is seldom certainty. Certainty is greatly desired by many of us, but in the end it represents our desire to retain control. One thing is for certain, in our walk with Jesus, He wants and deserves the reigns of our lives, our actions and our learning.

Participate: Pick an article in the Global Conversation that you disagree with and begin asking questions and probing with an attitude of humility and commitment to community.

Engage: Think back to the last time you had an argument with another believer about what you understood as truth. Replay the event and ask yourself how humility and community might have changed that interaction.

Own: If you see people within the Global Conversation beginning to argue, step in. Hold them accountable to speak truth in love and to grow together as they learn. Make sure you pray before you write anything and continue praying for them once you have hit “Submit”