Our world is in desperate need of the gospel. Families are being torn apart, people are being marginalized, those in need are being turned away from refuge, Christians are holing up in their safety zones, contentious remarks overflow daily on social media, and all the while countless people, loved by God, are living without the hope of the gospel. We must ask ourselves, are we living each day with an urgency of reaching our world for Christ as we have been commanded? Or have our hearts grown dull, tired, and overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems and the great task before us? 

Join us from 25-26 June 2019 in Wheaton, Illinois, for this year’s Amplify gathering. The theme, ‘Preoccupied by Love’, calls us to give up what holds us back for the sake of others. It calls us to sacrifice from a deep sense of urgency as we look at the world around us—broken, hurting, and without the hope of a God who loves each person beyond measure. Amplify is also the Lausanne North America Gathering. 

To learn more or to register, visit www.amplifyconference.tv.

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For centuries, European Christianity has been shaped by a strong, over-arching cultural norm: reading! Believers are encouraged to read the Bible and Christian books while ministers form their preaching and service by studying commentaries and works of theology. In fact, the impact of the printed page is more significant than most of us imagine; literacy shapes the very way we process our thoughts and determines how we communicate.

However, across Europe, there are a growing number of communities who use very different forms of communication. Alongside indigenous populations who have always had an oral culture, there are diaspora groups for whom a writing-based culture is not the norm. There is also a growing group of secondary oral communicators—people whose communications are often screen-based and whose thoughts are not shaped by longer texts.

If we want to see Christ take root in these cultures and for his church to grow and thrive, we will need to learn how to communicate with people who think very differently. This is not simply a case of adopting a new fashionable communication technique, but of learning to orientate ourselves to a different way of thinking altogether.

The 2019 European Orality Consultation ‘Back to Orality: Embodying Jesus in post-textual Europe’, held from 26-28 September in Oxford (UK), seeks to draw academics, church leaders, and people from the mission community to learn how to embody the love and message of Christ in primarily oral communities. Alongside presentations from experts in the field, there will be ample time for discussion, questions, and sharing experiences.

Europe is increasingly a post-textual society and we need to learn together how to bear witness to Christ in this changing world.

To learn more or to register, visit http://orality.net/oxford-2019.

Growing up in China, Peggy was not always a young Christian leader. The daughter of a loyal Communist Party member and a devout Buddhist, she came to know Christ in college through a campus fellowship group. Encountering Jesus and growing in discipleship began to shape her own vision and calling as she graduated and moved into senior management positions as a consultant. ‘Jesus not only taught and evangelized, he also helped the marginalized and the needy. So how do we as Christians play a role in the broader community to help the marginalized and the needy?’ In a country where the disabled and poor are largely invisible in society, Peggy desires especially to use her skills in management consulting to empower leaders across China with a heart for the marginalized.

She realized that in order to make this vision a reality, she needed a guided space to reflect on her experiences, targeted learning for her area of interest, and a wider perspective of the world through a diverse and supportive community. In short, what she needed was to enroll in a good graduate program. But she did not have the finances to afford it.

Across the continent in South Asia, Carlos shares Peggy’s conviction that leaders are the key to bringing lasting social change. Early on in his career, he co-founded an award-winning organization that has helped more than 20,000 people become better leaders. He went on to found a community that works to bring socioeconomic transformation in Asia through empowering thinkers, entrepreneurs, and investors to live out their Christian values in and through the workplace. He now finds himself needing a globally-recognized degree as he grows his influence outside the country. But like Peggy, a graduate degree overseas is simply not financially feasible.

Peggy and Carlos are not alone. The problem of not being able to afford or have access to globally-respected graduate-level education was one of the most common issues expressed by the hundreds of carefully selected younger leaders from around the world who met in Indonesia for the 2016 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG2016), of which both Carlos and Peggy were participants. The resulting YLGen (Younger Leaders Generation) is a 10-year commitment by Lausanne to walk with these younger leaders as their influence expands.

Now, three years out from the gathering, a new opportunity has made it possible for them to move forward. Carlos and Peggy are among the first 15 recipients of a full scholarship through YLGen Educate. The new initiative matches partnering universities and seminaries with younger leaders of emerging influence who wouldn’t be able to afford or access graduate and doctoral education otherwise.

‘Not everybody in the world needs higher education to do what God has called them to do,’ says CJ Davison on the YLGen Educate team. ‘But we believe there are specific situations where God is calling young Christian leaders to a significant role—regionally, in the country, or globally . . . and a graduate or doctoral degree might be required in the future for some of these younger leaders.’

In September 2018, Carlos and Peggy began a one-year online Master’s in Organizational Leadership program at a university in the US, and it’s already bearing fruit. For example, Peggy has been able to design a cultural fluency assessment for an Australian leader struggling to lead her Chinese team at a center serving autistic children. ‘That was really helpful for her because she’d never thought that some of her leadership challenges had been simply because she didn’t understand the culture,’ says Peggy.

Through experiencing an education not embedded in his own culture, Carlos has been able to sharpen his thinking about board advocacy and become more skillful in navigating the often choppy waters of cross-cultural teamwork. He cites the real-time case studies of diversity leadership and challenges as giving him ‘the framework to solve the current challenges I face and to equip me for the future’. That future for Carlos includes hopes to establish a school for training young board leaders.

So far, 12 universities and seminaries have partnered with YLGen Educate to offer potential scholarships totaling over USD 750,000. ‘God’s using the YLGen Educate team and the ministry, reputation, and history of the Lausanne Movement to really open up doors that would otherwise not have been opened,’ says CJ. ‘That respect in history and faithfulness has gone a long ways, and institutions know that. That’s why they’re willing to open up incredibly generous gifts to us, and in return, we connect them with the kind of younger leaders they’re looking for.’

Peggy and Carlos represent only a small snapshot of what emerging leadership looks like around the world. But for many younger leaders, a graduate program is the necessary but unattainable key to unlocking their visions. CJ and the YLGen Educate team hope to continue making that key more attainable in the coming years. ‘A big part of our vision would be to expand our range of partnerships with institutions,’ he says. ‘We want to add more programs globally so that younger leaders can study closer to where they live, in a language they are fluent in.’

Thoughtful, well-educated, skilled young leaders in every region are the up-and-coming movers and shakers of the world, whose lives and ministries have the potential for broad, deep impact. To equip and support them is to lay the foundation for a brighter future—for all those whose lives they touch, and for us all.

Learn more about the Younger Leaders Generation initiative and YLGen Educate.

Names in the article have been changed for security.

The Liverpool Diaspora Consultation will be held from 5-8 June 2019 at Liverpool Hope University, UK, on the theme of ‘Christians from the Global South and Diaspora Missions in Europe’. 

This catalytic gathering of leading scholars and practitioners of diaspora missions in Europe will explore the transformation of Christianity over the last century by the Global South Christians in Continental Europe, with the following objectives:

Welcome to the March issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, which is also available in Portuguese, Spanish, and English in audio format. We look forward to your feedback on it.

In this issue we continue our exploration of how we should respond to growing religious persecution around the world, focusing on Islamic State (Daesh) atrocities and legal/political responses to them; we examine how we can present the gospel to cultures dominated by secularism, relativism, and ‘tolerance’ worldwide; we consider how to develop an effective multicultural team in cross-cultural Christian service; and we make the case for the use of local languages and resources in urban ministry.

‘Some of the most glaring recent examples of religious persecution are the mass atrocities perpetrated by Islamic State (Daesh)’, writes Ewelina Ochab (legal researcher and human rights advocate). Daesh became infamous because of its genocidal atrocities against Yazidi and Christian religious minorities in Syria and Iraq in its attempt to establish an Islamic state. These atrocities required an urgent response. Some steps have been taken but have not been fully implemented yet. These include stopping the atrocities, assisting the survivors, and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Despite a growing consensus that Daesh committed genocide and crimes against humanity, not a single Daesh fighter has been charged with either. Justice will not be achieved if we continue to downplay the level of the atrocities. In addition, we need to put the victims and survivors first. They have to have their ‘day in court’ and have an opportunity to tell their stories. Their full participation will also assist the process of reconciliation that is essential to build a better future for the survivors and generations to come. It is also crucial for us all to engage politicians and diplomats to influence our governments’ foreign policy so that they take pro-active steps to protect vulnerable religious minorities and make protecting them a policy priority. This requires a united response. Evangelical leaders could play an important role in uniting the church in a common purpose to protect religious minorities. ‘Unity of purpose is key, and we all have a part to play in this’, she concludes.

‘Much of the formerly ‘Christian’ world is leaving its roots behind and is dominated by secularism (death to religion) and relativism (death to truth)’, writes Ben Pierce (missionary of Steiger International). The Bible is no longer considered the moral compass; rather, everyone is free to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. Young people see the church as irrelevant to their daily lives. Secularization, a trend closely tied to the globalization of culture among urban youth, is impacting cultures in urban centers of every region of the world, including the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. At the heart of any culture are the core ideas that form its view of the world. For the globalized youth culture, these core ideas are secularism, relativism, and ‘tolerance’. In a culture dominated by secularism, relativism, and tolerance (at least as it is liberally defined and applied), it is no wonder that Christianity, with its exclusive truth claims and absolutes, is incompatible. More and more young people reject Christianity because to follow Jesus is to swim against the current of our times—the road is too narrow, the cost too high. As followers of Jesus, we need to respond by developing authentic relationships, by gently challenging presuppositions, by seeking God in prayer, and by stepping through fear. We must boldly preach the cross, take Holy Spirit-inspired risks, and not wait. ‘We may feel as though we have all the time in the world, but we do not’, he concludes.

‘Playing a healthy and contributing role on a multicultural team in cross-cultural Christian service is increasingly part and parcel of the normal requirements of serving Christ well’, writes Scott Moreau (Professor of Intercultural Studies and Academic Dean of Wheaton Graduate School). Over the years many have noted both the benefits and the challenges of multicultural teams. Their development parallels in several ways the process of culture adaptation that individuals go through when they cross from one culture to another. For healthy cross-cultural teams, that process often comes in four phases: 1) the Honeymoon phase; 2) the Shock phase; 3) the ‘Third Way’ phase; and 4) the Effective Synergy phase. The two most significant challenges multicultural teams face in arriving at the Effective Synergy phase are getting stuck in the Shock phase and the ever-changing composition of the team. Teams may get stuck because they cannot move beyond one or more unhealthy approaches to team relationships. Furthermore, multinational teams in cross-cultural ministry are rarely static. How the remaining core of the team handles personnel changes will determine what happens next. Much more may be said about each phase and about getting stuck (and unstuck). This simple overview hopefully helps you put your own team(s) in perspective. Perhaps it makes it easier for you identify where you are as a team, and whether you are stuck or not. ‘If you are, take the time to check out the resources noted in the article—they may provide just the thing you need to progress towards becoming an Effective Synergy multicultural team’, he concludes.

‘Urban ministry has obvious attractions for today’s missionaries’, writes Jim Harries (chairman of the Alliance for Vulnerable Mission). Missiological arguments have also been made in its favour. This articles asks specifically how satisfactory it is for a missionary to reach and engage urban people in regional or international languages and how important it is to make (quite likely ‘costly’) efforts to reach them in their indigenous tongues. The sound of newly introduced ways of life, such as the good news of Jesus, when communicated using non-indigenous languages, will make them appear to be foreign. The categories presupposed in Western languages are not the familiar categories known by people in the majority world. The foreignness of communication means that gospel teaching can appear to be addressing someone else. Furthermore, learning and then using an indigenous language will demonstrate that a missionary is serious in wanting to relate to nationals. Having ears that enable hearing of debates engaged by locals will enable a missionary to begin to understand the local contexts actually faced by native people, as they themselves understand them. Vast literature points to the importance of contextualization in cross-cultural mission, where use of an indigenous tongue enables contextualization. The importance of accurate contextual understanding is the prime reason given in this article for advocating that it is appropriate to use indigenous languages, even in urban contexts, in the majority world. ‘So my practical advice is to use local languages and local resources in what you are doing’, he concludes.

We hope that you find this issue stimulating and useful. Our aim is to deliver strategic and credible analysis, information, and insight so that as a leader you will be better equipped for the task of world evangelization. It’s our desire that the analysis of current and future trends and developments will help you and your team make better decisions about the stewardship of all that God has entrusted to your care. Please send any questions and comments about this issue to [email protected]. The next issue of Lausanne Global Analysis will be released in May.

Introduction 

Religious persecution around the world is on the rise, perpetrated by both states and non-state actors.^[1] Atrocities, including mass killings, physical abuse, rape and sexual violence, abductions, and extortion, are perpetrated against people of faith because they express their religious belief, manifest their religious belief in the public or merely belong to or identify themselves with a religious group.^[2]

This article focuses on the case of Islamic State (Daesh) atrocities committed against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, addressing the nature of the atrocities; the current status of various steps that have been taken in response; and what other steps in the legal and political realms are needed to address the issue of religious persecution.

Daesh genocide against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq 

Some of the most glaring recent examples of religious persecution are the mass atrocities perpetrated by Daesh, one of the most violent terror groups in the world. Daesh became especially notorious for its methods of killings that included burning people alive in cages, beheadings, or throwing people from high buildings in order to punish anyone who opposed its rule.

However, Daesh became even more infamous because of its genocidal atrocities perpetrated against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, and specifically the Yazidi and Christian minorities. These atrocities differ from those perpetrated against the wider population of Syria and Iraq. The main difference is that, in its attempt to establish a purely Islamic state, Daesh aimed at the eradication of these minority groups.

As confirmed in UN Security Council resolution 2379, Daesh has perpetrated crimes including ‘murder, kidnapping, hostage-taking, suicide bombings, enslavement, sale into or otherwise forced marriage, trafficking in persons, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, recruitment and use of children, attacks on critical infrastructure, as well as its destruction of cultural heritage, including archaeological sites, and trafficking of cultural property.’ The real scope of the atrocities is yet to be established and mass graves continue to be discovered.

These atrocities perpetrated against religious minorities were committed with the specific intent to destroy the groups in whole or in part. Minority religions did not have a place under Daesh’s barbaric rule. This is clear from Daesh propaganda calling for killing ‘infidels’, including that featured in its magazine Dabiq, but also can be inferred from the nature of the atrocities themselves.

The response to date

The atrocities perpetrated by Daesh both against religious minorities targeted for eradication and also against the populations of Syria and Iraq in general, required an urgent response. Some steps have been already taken but have not been fully implemented yet. These include steps to stop the atrocities, assist the survivors, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Stopping the atrocities

The Global Coalition against Daesh,^[3] consisting of over 78 partners from all over the world, conducted series of attacks against the factions of Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Despite the common effort, it took over two years to recover most of the territories in Iraq from Daesh. Despite the fact that the Iraqi government announced that the fight against Daesh in Iraq is over and US President Donald Trump has now made a similar claim in relation to Syria, remnants of Daesh remain active in both countries. Furthermore, the situation in Syria is more complex, complicated by the ongoing civil war that undermines effective combat against Daesh.

Despite the successes, even when all factions of Daesh are defeated, Daesh ideology will still remain. More will need to be done to neutralize such ideology in order to ensure that no similar atrocities happen again in the future when the conditions allow.

Assisting the survivors

The survivors of the Daesh atrocities require a wide range of assistance to address their short and long-term needs, including medical aid, humanitarian assistance, and help with homes, businesses and infrastructure in the regions destroyed by Daesh.^[4]

Two and a half years after the liberation of some of the regions previously held by Daesh, some homes are already rebuilt, allowing the lawful owners to return. The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee estimates that, as of January 2019, approximately 9,060 Iraqi Christian families (41,016 people) had already returned to the Nineveh Plains. This constitutes more than a third of the population of the Nineveh Plains before 2014. The sooner towns and villages are up and running, the sooner people will start returning to their homes and so preserve the existence of the minority groups in the region. This would relieve the pressure from other areas and countries that, over the past few years, have seen thousands of IDPs or refugees.

Bringing the perpetrators to justice

Ensuring that Daesh fighters are brought to justice is a crucial step, but it is still far from being achieved:

• Some have been prosecuted or await prosecution in Iraq. However, they are being prosecuted on terrorism charges only and without any involvement of the victims (as witnesses).
• In other countries, including European ones, where Daesh foreign fighters have returned home, only a small number of prosecutions have been undertaken, again on terrorism or terror-related charges only. Many fighters continue to roam with impunity.

With more than 5,000 Daesh foreign fighters originating from Europe (3,700 from the UK, Belgium, France, and Germany alone), there is a serious risk to international peace and security. The response to returning Daesh foreign fighters should be a priority of states’ counter-terrorism strategy, but still raises serious concern.

Despite the growing consensus among international institutions and states that Daesh committed genocide and crimes against humanity, not a single Daesh fighter has been charged with genocide or crimes against humanity. Justice will not be achieved if we continue to downplay the level of the atrocities. Given the gravity, scale, and systematic nature of the crimes committed by Daesh fighters, they should be prosecuted for their role in genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in both domestic and international tribunals.

Since crimes perpetrated by Daesh were not limited to Iraq and Syria, but extended to other Arab countries as well as Europe, the international community must be fully involved to ensure that justice is achieved. Ultimately, Daesh gained the support of tens of thousands of individuals who came from all parts of the world. Hence, the international community needs to work with Iraq and Syria to address these issues together. The precedent set by the international response to previous mass atrocities would provide viable options to progress the prosecution of Daesh fighters. For example, a UN Security Council resolution could enable the International Criminal Court to conduct such prosecutions (as it has done in relation to Darfur and Libya) or establish an ad hoc tribunal (as has been done in relation to Rwanda and Bosnia).

In addition, we need to put the victims and survivors first. We need to ensure that they are fully able to participate in any criminal proceedings taken against Daesh fighters: that they need to have their ‘day in court’ and have an opportunity to tell their stories. This needs to happen on both a domestic and an international level. Their participation in the process is key. Their stories are a part of the larger story of how Daesh perpetrated the ‘crime of crimes’ in Iraq and Syria. Their full participation will also assist the process of reconciliation and forgiveness that is essential to build a better future for the survivors and the generations to come.^[5]

What needs to be done

In addition to the above-mentioned steps, more needs to be done to assist those persecuted for their faith. In order to ensure a future for religious minorities, especially post-conflict, it is crucial that adequate legal mechanisms are put in place and then enforced, thus allowing them to stay in their regions and live in accordance with their religious beliefs:

• Ensuring that the human rights provisions enshrined in constitutions, whether general or specific for minority groups, meet international standards is crucial for the survival of minorities in the countries where they potentially face annihilation.
• However, those rights must also be adequately enforced.

Last year, together with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) (https://acnuk.org), I proposed that this task could be aided by the establishment of a new Iraqi Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief or a Special Envoy on Minority Issues. The mandate could be modelled on the office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief or the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, although with a much narrower geographical focus limited to Iraq. The Special Envoy could prepare annual reports on the situation of Christians (and other religious minorities) in Iraq, the implementation of protective security mechanisms, and on the progress made in ensuring that Iraqi Christians are fully integrated into the society.

Implications

Religious persecution is an issue that affects too many people in too many parts of the world. This will continue or even intensify if we continue to look away, take only symbolic steps, or act too late or not at all. The recent mass atrocities perpetrated by Daesh against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq show what can happen when we fail to act. Such inaction can no longer be justified in light of such atrocities and in light of the suffering of vulnerable religious groups. It is crucial for us all to engage politicians and diplomats to influence our governments’ foreign policy so that they take pro-active steps to protect vulnerable populations and not just make empty promises.

The situation of religious minorities persecuted by Daesh, or any other terror groups that may emerge in the future, also requires a united response. Evangelical leaders could play an important role in uniting the church in a common purpose to protect religious minorities that face the risk of being removed from the social fabric of the Middle East. This does not only mean uniting religious communities or non-governmental organizations but also includes governments and international institutions.

We need governments and international bodies to make protecting religious minorities persecuted for their faith a policy priority. Several NGOs advocate in national and international opportunities for persecuted communities, such as ACN, CSW, and Yazda.^[6] Anyone can support these organizations and so contribute to the effort to preserve the presence of the endangered communities in the region.

In order to encourage this process, I have been advocating the establishment of an International Day Commemorating Victims and Survivors of Religious Persecution on 3 August, the day in 2014 when Daesh attacked Yazidis in Sinjar, before attacking Christian minorities in the Nineveh Plains. A number of NGOs (including ACN, CSW and Yazda) supported the initiative and some 30 British parliamentarians supported an Early Day Motion in parliament promoting the initiative.^[7] The proposal was also included in the US government’s July 2018 Potomac Plan of Action.^[8]

Such an international day could be used to introduce action plans aimed at ensuring the future of religious minorities persecuted for their faith. However, before this happens, it is crucial to engage state and non-state actors to support this proposal. Unity of purpose is key, and we all have a part to play in this.