The Cape Town Commitment: Articulating our Christocentrism

A Christocentric communion should result in discernable corporate commitments of both belief and action. A lack of such commitment betrays a lack of true Christocentrism, for where Christ is present there must be transformation. Knowing this, the historic gatherings of the Lausanne Movement have always produced documents of profound significance in terms of both their theological affirmations as well as their practical, missional commitments. The Lausanne Covenant has stood as the pinnacle of these documents since its writing in 1974, the crowning achievement of a gathering that has been said to have ‘saved the unity of evangelicalism’.[i]

Now, out of CT2010, a third great Lausanne document has been produced that stands in harmony with its predecessors, the Lausanne Covenant and Manila Manifesto, but which engages the burning questions and issues of a new generation. Furthermore, it builds and arguably improves upon the examples of those earlier documents in its representative nature as a truly corporate document, in its skill in marrying theological conviction to practical commitment, and in its value as a confessional and pastoral guide. The Cape Town Commitment is the new banner for Lausanne and models for the global Church what the literature of a movement should look like.

A Corporate Document

The Cape Town Commitment may be said to be a truly corporate document. It is presented in two parts. The first is entitled, ‘For the Lord We Love: Our Confession of Faith’. It consists of an articulation and affirmation of a number of key doctrines including the existence and triune nature of God, the deity and uniqueness of Christ, the inspiration of Scripture and more. The primary work on this section was initiated by a diverse group of theologians from around the world. The longer and second part of the Commitment, ‘For the World We Serve: Our Call to Action’, arose completely out of the content and proceedings of Cape Town 2010, the several hundred remote GlobalLink sites, the Lausanne Global Conversation, and other related sources. This has been called the ‘listening process’ of the Congress[ii] a process that has included a careful and tedious gathering and mining of data from presenters, delegates, observers, and others. The work was entrusted to a small international group of men and women, the Statement Working Group, led by Chris Wright. 

 Chris Wright, chair of the Lausanne LTWG, has served as the principle architect of the Commitment and has testified:

The Cape Town Commitment is not just the memorial of a moment—however significant that moment was, at Cape Town 2010. It is, I think, the conviction of a movement and the voice of a multitude - not only of those who were there at the Congress, but also of those who participated through the Global Link and in the Global Conversation. It distils a vast quantity of input and I am grateful to all who contributed - the team of theologians who began the process, the army of presenters at the Congress, the Cape Town Statement Working Group, and the many unknown friends who emailed helpful comments. We profoundly hope and pray, however, that in this statement we are hearing not just the voice of Cape Town 2010, but to some degree also the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ who walked among us there.[iii]

Literature that Facilitates Movement

Most statements of faith are merely that—statements. They are essentially static recitations of theological convictions. In my denomination, they play an important role at the incorporation of a new church into the broader association but are soon shuffled away into a new member’s orientation packet or posted to an infrequently visited ‘About us’ page on the church website. Even in churches where creeds are utilized regularly in the liturgy, they function only to affirm doctrine. They are, by definition, what we believe. They say very little, if anything, about what we should do. The Lausanne Movement has helped the global Church see its need for a different kind of creedal literature—literature that facilitates movement in Christ. The Cape Town Commitment has modeled this in three primary ways.

First, the commitment has married doctrinal affirmations with missional commitment through the covenant language of love. We do not simply believe in the Trinity; we love him. We do not simply believe the Bible; we love it. And loving leads to concrete action. So for example, the expression of our love for God the Son—his birth, sinless life, ministry and miracles, death on the cross, resurrection, ascension, and return—leads naturally to committing ‘ourselves afresh to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching in all the world, knowing that we can bear such witness only if we are living in obedience to his teaching ourselves’.[iv] This ‘love language’ facilitates movement by demonstrating that a biblically-based theological foundation that is loved is truly a springboard for gospel living.

Secondly, the Cape Town Commitment recognizes that movement in Christ requires a laying aside of ‘every weight and the sin which clings so closely’ (Heb. 12:1) and has thus made confession and repentance a vital part of the content of the document. Language of confession, lamentation, and repentance appears more than 25 times in the Commitment and includes lamenting the ‘scandal of our shallowness and lack of discipleship’ and calling for ‘explicit repentance where Christians have participated in ethnic violence, injustice or oppression’.[v] Thus humbled before Christ, the forgiven and unentangled Church can move forward in its mission with freedom and grace.

Finally, the Commitment models for the Church the literature of Christocentric movement through its intentional instruction to Christian leaders. It is a kind of modern day, pastoral epistle in that it actually gives clear, specific direction to local church leaders. Pastors, in particular, are encouraged to ‘facilitate more open conversation about sexuality’, to ‘teach and preach the fullness of the biblical gospel’, to equip all Christians apologetically and evangelistically, to ‘teach biblical truth on ethnic diversity’, and more.[vi] Such clear instruction shows the way forward, providing a kind of roadmap for our movement in Christ.

 The design of the Cape Town Commitment is worthy of prayerful study. I believe it stands as one of the great contributions of CT2010. Missiologist and Congress delegate Stanley Green was correct in saying that if embraced by the evangelical community, ‘the Commitment will reshape that community in ways that auger well for the health and unity of the church and for the advance of God’s mission in the world’.[vii] Together, the three historic Lausanne documents have shown us that statements of faith need not be mere static recitations of doctrinal beliefs divorced from action, commitment, worship, and discipleship. The Commitment may even have eclipsed the Lausanne Covenant in its ability to promote movement through theological affirmation and commitment, confession, and instruction.

Go and study the Cape Town Commitment now!

[i] T. Houston, ‘Cooperation in Evangelism and the Lausanne Covenant, online:http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index/php?loc=kb&view=v&id=4651&fto=1701&sfto=lausanne%20covenant&, 1 January 1989 [accessed 5 January 2011].

[ii] The Lausanne Movement, ‘The Cape Town Commitment’.

[iii] C. Wright, Email to Cody C. Lorance, 7 January 2011.

[iv] The Lausanne Movement, ‘The Cape Town Commitment’.

[v] The Lausanne Movement, ‘The Cape Town Commitment’.

[vi] The Lausanne Movement, ‘The Cape Town Commitment’.

[vii] S. W. Green, ‘Report on Cape Town 2010’, International Journal of Missionary Research (35:1, 2011), 7-10.

Lest we Forget: The Manila Manifesto

I was only 12-years-old when it was first written, but having just now finished reading through the "Manila Manifesto," I can testify that this is a document that we must not forget about or neglect.  Structured similarly to the newly submitted Lausanne Theology Working Group paper "The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World", The "Manifesto" is powerful, direct, and timeless in its wisdom.

As I read, I was struck by how insightfully this document speaks to many of the great issues of our time and, for that matter, to many of the advance papers that have been submitted for Lausanne III. I’m still very new to the Lausanne Movement, but it has been my sense that while the Lausanne Covenant is often spoken of and promoted, the Manila Manifesto gets comparatively little attention. May we move away from this tendency. God clearly worked to gather His Church in Manila in 1989. His Spirit was operating in them to produce the Manifesto as a weighty and prophetic message to the whole Church. This much becomes abundantly clear in simply reading the text.

I hope and pray that as at the Congress, the Manifesto will be affirmed and allowed to speak into our conversations and context.  A few items to make specific note of:

1. Statements of Repentence -- the Manifesto contains several statements of repentance that the Church as a whole hasn’t been faithfully living out.  For example, there is this, "In the past we have sometimes been guilty of adopting towards adherents of other faiths attitudes of ignorance, arrogance, disrespect, and even hostility.  We repent of this." The fact that the new LTWG paper contains very similar statement is evidence that this repentance hasn’t actually taken place.  We must examine these statements of repentance in the Manifesto (and the Lausanne Covenant as well, as Chris Wright has pointed out) and consider how we must actually go about repenting.

2. The careful affirmations of and exhortations about distinctions between clergy and lay roles are important and speak to some of what has been written in an advance paper by Willy Kotiuga and elsewhere. The Manifesto statement does an excellent job of affirming the Biblical distinction while also challenging those problems that we all agree exist. Says the Manifesto, "[God] calls some to be evangelists, missionaries, and pastors, but He calls his whole Church and every member of it to be His witnesses."

3. The Manila Manifesto provides an excellent mediating statement on the issues of gender roles in the Church. I see this statement as doing a better job of addressing the issue than the newer statement produced by the LTWG paper.  In the Manifesto we read,

"God created men and women as equal bearers of his image, accepts them equally in Christ and poured out his Spirit on all flesh, sons and daughters alike. In addition, because the Holy Spirit distributes his gifts to women as well as to men, they must be given opportunities to exercise their gifts. We celebrate their distinguished record in the history of missions and are convinced that God calls women to similar roles today. Even though we are not fully agreed what forms their leadership should take, we do agree about the partnership in world evangelization which God intends men and women to enjoy. Suitable training must therefore be made available to both."

This, in my view, is as powerful statement that the Church can unite behind and it should be a model for us as we consider any statements made on this issue at the Congress.

4. The Local Church section of the Manifesto is simply profound and needs to be read. It goes a long way in answering some of my questions regarding the idea of local church v. local franchise that were raised after reading the LTWG paper.  Also, in includes a powerful "determination" to "turn our churches inside out" in the wake of Lausanne II. This itself calls attention to the for us to examine the "determination" statements that have been made in the past at Manila and Lausanne to see if we have indeed been faithful to carry them out.

5. A paragraph in section 11 speaks to the issue of modernization and technology.  It confesses that "we have not struggled as we should to understand" such things. Again there is a determination statement about intentionally engaging in critical and Christ-centered ways new technology. And yet, years later, we find ourselves in a very similar place with respect to new technologies.  The statements here were made in a day when our present technologies couldn’t have been anticipated.  Yet, they speak powerfully to our context. Note, "We have used [the world’s] methods and technologies uncritically and so exposed ourselves to worldliness." Again, I am reminded of the importance of allowing our Manila predecessors to speak to us in Cape Town through the Manifesto.

Much more could be said. I know you all have much to read, but let me encourage you to at least print off and take a copy of the Manila Manifesto with you on the plane.  Please allow the Lord to speak to you again through those who have gone before us.

Calling the Church to Confession and Revival

"The message of Jesus Christ cannot be proclaimed by people who have nothing to repent of." -- John Raines

Let me begin by directing all of my readers to two important places.  First, much of what I'm about to write is coming from my time of carefully and prayerfully reading through Christ Wright's critically important Cape Town 2010 Advance Paper entitled "Calling the Church Back to Humility, Integrity, and Simplicity." So many great papers have been submitted for the upcoming Lausanne Congress, but this is one that I especially hope the Global Church -- including yourself -- takes very seriously.  What Wright has done in highlighting and commenting upon thepoints in the Lausanne Covenant that express sorrow and failure may seem immensely simple, but it is nonetheless poignant and timely.  If you've not had a chance to read Wright's paper, I sincerely recommend pausing at this point in my article and doing so.

The second and (Wright would agree) more important place to point you to today is the Lausanne Covenant itself.  If you are not familiar with this, the Lausanne Covenant is a masterful work of the global Church created through the first Lausanne Congress in 1974.  The covenant has now become one of the most influential documents in modern Christianity. The Covenant is more than a statement of faith, it is a commitment (hence, "covenant") to a missional course of life. I and Trinity International Baptist Mission commend to you the Lausanne Covenant.  Our church and mission team has spent the past several months studying the covenant and have now officially adopted it, incorporating it into our church constitution.  I wish more churches and ministries would do the same.  It has been especially helpful to use John Stott's study guide of the Covenant, The Lord We Love, to guide our study.

What I offer to you today is perhaps even more simple than Chris Wright's paper.  I can only hope that it is somewhat as helpful. As I read through Wright's paper, I found myself writing down notes in my journal -- questions really -- related to each point of failure, sorrow, and shame that he was mentioning.  One thing led to another and I ended up with a list of self-examination questions.  My second step was to seek out pertinent Scripture verses and passages for each question.  Having done that, I took the time to sit before the Lord, reading and reflecting on the Scripture and confessing my sin.  The whole experience was quite important for me.  So much so that I've shared the list of questions and Bible verses with our church family encouraging them to do the same.  And now, I want to share this with you.

The reason is simple, there is a relationship between confession and revival.  They tend to lead to each other.  As Wright already referenced several Scriptural examples of this in his paper (specifically Deuteronomy 29-31, Joshua 23-24, 2 Kings 22-23, and Nehemiah 8-10), I'll cite a different kind of example. Take a look at the first six minutes or so of this interview with Ray and Anne Ortlund as they recount their experience of what happened one cold week at Wheaton College in 1970.





Note the connection between confession and revival, revival and confession.  It got me wondering.  God has done great things through such revivals in the past, but He's never before gathered such a group of leaders as what will come to Cape Town next month.  More than 4,000 of the best leaders the global Church has, from 200 nations.  What if God did more than inspire and enlighten our minds?  What if He started a revival among us?  What if?

Well, it is in that spirit that I offer you the following list of questions and Scriptures.  My encouragement to you all is that you will take the time to sit before the Lord (whether you are actually going to Cape Town or participating from afar) and ask yourself each of these.  Prayerfully read the accompanying  Bible verses as well.  Confess your sins and failures.  Let God cleanse you and revive us.  May He do so on a global scale.

Questions for Self-Examination & Confession

1. How have we become conformed to the world? (Romans 12:2)
2. How have we withdrawn from the world? (John 17:15-18)
3. How have we concealed the cost of discipleship? (Matthew 10:38)
4. How have we betrayed the gospel? (Galatians 1:6-9)
5. How have we lacked a living faith? (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
6. How have we lacked genuine love for people? (Romans 13:8)
7. How have we lacked scrupulous honesty? (Ephesians 4:25)
8. How have we identified the Church with specific cultures, political groups, or ideologies? (Matthew 6:33, Isaiah 55:9)
9. How have we failed to respond to poverty? (Isaiah 61:1-3)
10. How have we failed to respond to injustice? (Isaiah 61:1-3)
11. How have we failed to adopt a simple lifestyle? (Matthew 6:19-21)
12. How have we pursued church growth at the expense of church depth? (Colossians 1:28-29)
13. How have we led as dominators rather than as servants? (Mark 10:42-45)
14. How have we been deceptive about the Bible and gospel? (Romans 16:18)

Questions for Prayer, Discernment, and Obedience (following Chris Wright's "three key challenges" mentioned in his paper)

1. How do we move from the idol of power to humility?
2. How do we move from the idol of success to integrity?
3. How do we move from the idol of greed to simplicity?

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."  (1 John 1:1-2:2)