Today we were invited to look deeply into the brokenness of our world – the lonely child, the abandoned wife, the unemployed father, the elderly sick and dying; to explore the impact of wars, injustice and inequity. Arising from our group study of Ephesians 2, our theme was reconciliation: man to God and man with man.
Here are a few of the many quotable statements of this second full day:
“There is more slavery today than in the time of Wilberforce.” According to U.N. estimates, there are 27 million slaves worldwide. Add to this number the 250 million Dalits of India, 250,000 of which are serving as temple prostitutes. “The ‘untouchables’ of India constitute civilization’s longest lasting slave system.” Their cry? “Bring to us the alternative society of the church of Jesus Christ.” – Joseph D’Souza.
“When Jewish and Palestinian believers look at one another and say, ‘I love you,’ the world will know the true power of the Good News of Jesus Christ” – the perspective of a Messianic Jew and a Palestinian Christian.
During the Rwandan Genocide, one million Tutsis perished in a 100 day massacre. Until that moment, Rwanda was considered the most Christianized country on planet earth. What went wrong (from an African perspective)?
1. A lack of contextualization of Christian truth
2. A non-holistic presentation of the Gospel (a sterile catechism not based on real life)
3. Messengers (missionaries) that preached love and modeled otherwise
4. An unhealthy relationship between church and state.
A perspective on the crisis in the Balkans from a Serbian believer (at my discussion table) who is currently serving in Montenegro, “I have found no organization that can bring us together to laugh and share joy outside of Jesus Christ” – (making reference to the failed attempts by the European Union, the U.N. and U.S. to promote peace in his region).
During the evening, our focus was on the Middle East. An Iranian leader shared that during Lausanne I (1974), they could only account for 500 believers in all of Iran. Since then, there have been more conversions that in the previous 1300 years. In his words, “Iran is the most open country in the world.” Of course, persecution is intense and repression is brutal.
Throughout the Middle East, the overall percentage of Christians is shrinking, due to immigration (spurred on by fear of persecution) and the high birth rate of Muslim families.
Personal Reflections:
The mood today was much less ‘festive,’ as we considered the brokenness of a world dominated by sin and its effects. In the midst of universal pain, what is the role of the church? To what extent are evangelicals guilty of placing so much emphasis on the life to come that we can turn a blind eye to the here and now? I remember raising that type of question in a seminary class, and receiving a very simple answer. “Jesus,” I was told, “said ‘the poor you will always have with you.’” End of discussion.
It wasn’t until later that I found the rest of the verse, “and you can do good to them any time you choose.”
While true missionaries have always been committed to a Gospel in word and deed, I think we owe a debt to the emerging generation of young people who are challenging our often dualist approach to ministry. God created us as whole persons, and the true gospel impacts us holistically. Yes, like many I am concerned that the pendulum not swing to the other extreme. Yes, the emerging generation is making us uncomfortable with what at times appears to be an overemphasis on meeting physical needs. Like young people have always done, they are challenging many of our traditional categories and methods of doing ministry. But they are also the most globally connected and sensitive generation in history. They have grown up conscious of the reality that their world is broken. My prayer is that together we will find a God-honoring balance of ministry for the whole person in the real world in which God placed us.
A little more about our movement toward Lausanne:
Yesterday I reflected on the reality that, save for a few exceptions, the bulk of our movement chose to remain on the sidelines during much of the history of Lausanne. I certainly remember little to no favorable reviews during my formative years in college and seminary. But our movement toward the center of evangelicalism was encouraged and nurtured under the leadership of GBIM by my predecessor, Tom Julien, who was committed to leading the Grace Brethren back into the mainstream of the evangelical movement. At least four specific actions taken by Tom are worthy of mentioning here. First, he brought GBIM back into the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies (EFMA; now called The Mission Exchange). This opened the door for GBIM staff to develop personal and professional ties of fellowship with the leadership of other evangelical mission agencies, and marked the beginning of our reintegration on a national level. Second, he sent representatives to the Global Consultation on World Evangelization, held in Seoul, Korea, in 1995. This action sent a strong signal that we were committed to integration with evangelicals on an international level. Third, in 1997, Julien led the GBIM Board of Trustees to adopt a Comprehensive Plan that included the following Vision Statement:
A global movement of reproducing churches faithful to the Brethren heritage who are aware of the significance of the times and thrust into the mainstream of the movement of the Spirit of God in the fulfillment of their mission.
Finally, during his fifteen year tenure as Executive Director, Julien actively pursued ministry partnerships with like-minded evangelicals and evangelical mission agencies. GBIM and the FGBC owe a great debt to this visionary leader, who weathered storms of criticism from some quarters and succeeded in bringing our movement into closer alignment with the global evangelical community.
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