KEY LEADERS GATHERED IN SINGAPORE RESOLVE TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL TRAINING IN DIASPORA MISSION

Key evangelical educators, business leaders, and mission agency directors from around the world gathered last month in Singapore to discuss diaspora training for the global church and to prepare for the forthcoming Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology from Regnum Books. Deliberations focused on setting priorities and developing strategies for effective institutional and informal training in diaspora missiology and culminated in the crafting of the Singapore Resolution which reflects several areas of consensus about the way forward in equipping the next generation of researchers and practitioners of diaspora mission. Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori, President Emeritus of Food for the Hungry and former International Director of the Lausanne Movement, was among those at the consultation. He concluded:

“Those gathered in Singapore affirmed the importance of advancing diaspora missiology to grapple with the issues facing the church today. In the coming decade, churches will experience the fruit of God’s blessing among the peoples on the move beyond belief.”

The consultation of some 40 participants were convened by the Global Diaspora Network (GDN), an international body of leaders originally commissioned by the Lausanne Movement at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa in 2010 to lead the global Church in fulfilling God’s missional purposes among diaspora peoples. Participants characterized the gathering as a strategic follow-up to the Manila 2015: Global Diaspora Forum which brought together hundreds of leaders from around the world. Dr. Miyon Chung, theologian and professor at Morling College (Australia), was among those who left Singapore with a clearer sense of vision and strategy:

I found the consultation in Singapore and the upcoming compendium, Scattered and Gathered, to be powerfully relevant and significant. The greatness of the Church can no longer be assessed by the magnificence and opulence of cathedrals but in the effective utilization of God’s people on the move. In Singapore, I gained valuable insights and tools on how to nurture and equip the Church for missions in the 21st century.

Dr. Joanna Felciano-Soberano, Academic Dean of Asian Theological Seminary (Philippines) echoed this sentiment:

The first thing that I have done upon my return from Singapore is to reflect on the conversations and action plans within my own seminary context. I have been more conscious to include diaspora conversations in my own classes and now must work on the diaspora missiology curriculum template for our missions department. I am now more aware of the critical role of the Church and the seminary in orienting and informing the community of faith on the compelling challenge of reaching the diasporas with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hosting the consultation was the Singapore Centre for Global Mission and its National Director, Lawrence Ko. Ko said that churches must embrace the “new thinking” known as diaspora missiology and begin to understand and engage “the people on the move in our borderless world.”

The official meetings of the consultation were held from 2-5 March 2016 in Singapore and moderated by Dr. Sadiri Joy Tira, Lausanne Movement Catalyst for Diasporas. Dr. Tira often referred participants to the Seoul Declaration on Diaspora Missiology and the Cape Town Commitment call to action on diaspora, explaining that the Singapore Resolution is following up on the mandates of those statements.

In addition to crafting the Singapore Resolution, participants reviewed the forthcoming Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology, considered sample syllabi from diaspora mission courses being taught around the world, provided feedback on the Lausanne Global Classroom curriculum on diaspora mission, and developed a basic curriculum framework for training in diaspora missiology.

[In addition to my official report above, let me add a word of thanks to those who supported me and Borderless in our participation in this event.  I was able to personally attend as well as help three other participants from the majority world to come as well thanks to your generosity.  While in Sinapore, I used down time to have a number of very fruitful meetings with other partners.  Thanks so much for standing with us! -- Cody]

In Memory of Richard Twiss

I did not know Richard Twiss personally.

I had been around him a few times during the past several years, but doubt very seriously that he would have known who I was.  We were both a part of the United States delegation at Cape Town for the third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. I remember Twiss then begin associated with some other world Christian leaders who were striving to hold the Lausanne leadership's feet to the fire on diversity issues.  My impression of Twiss was that he was ever a prophetic voice to the Church, seeking to ensure that ethnic minorities and majority world voices were not silenced by those who are used to being in charge.

I also have a faint recollection of Twiss leading a too-brief time of prayer and worship at an American Society of Missiology gathering several years ago.  As I said, it was far too brief and the context was extremely limiting.  However I remember feeling like this was a man who was a friend to the kinds of things that were only just beginning to stir in my heart regarding indigenous art forms, contextualizaiton, and the like.

What stands out most in my mind, strangely enough, is that I've thought for some time that Richard Twiss made more sense than anyone else on the issue of syncretism.  I believe firmly that a definition that Twiss wrote back in 2005 deserves to be the standard definition of the term in all missiological conversation on the matter.  In fact, I've been using as such for a while now.  Wrote Twiss:

“Syncretism can be described as a way of thinking that says by performing or participating in a particular religious ceremony or practice, you can alter the essential human spiritual condition in the same way that Jesus does, through His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection from the dead, because they are parallel truths.”

So, my thinking in writing today is that this was a man who made a positive impact on my life for Christ's sake.  It is up to those who knew him well to truly eulogize him.  [Red Letter Christians has a couple great examples here and here.]. For my part, I simply wanted to say that while I'm certain Twiss and I wouldn't have seen eye-to-eye on every issue, I nevertheless feel blessed to have encountered him.  I rejoice that he leaves behind a legacy of writings that I can continue to work through.  And I am sad that he has died.  I heard first from Dr. Soong-Chan Rah and had no hesitation in retweeting something that I couldn't help agreeing with:

RT @profrah: Christianity lost a spiritual giant today. Please pray for the family of Richard Twiss.

Farewell, Richard Twiss.  You are someone that I had hoped to get the chance to know and interact with more in-depth.  Lord willing, I will get some coffee with you one day when I also get home.

Send me to Manila: Annual Meeting of the Global Diaspora Network

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Greetings friends, family and ministry supporters! 

I’m excited to let you know that God has provided an opportunity for me to make some cool trips this year.  The first one is coming up in March (18-23).  I’ll be heading to Manila, Philippines for the Global Diaspora Network advisory board meeting.  Many of you know that I’ve been serving with the GDN since its beginning (http://globaldiaspora.org).  The GDN is now focused on two major projects.  The first is planning a major international forum to be held in Manila in 2015.  The second is the creation of a compendium on diaspora mission which we intend to launch soon after the forum.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to play a key role in both in an effort to mobilize more and more Christians to engage in mission to, through, and beyond the scattered people of the world. 

Will you help me to make this upcoming trip to the Philippines? Unlike many of my colleagues in the GDN, I do not work for a major organization that is able to provide a travel budget.  So, I am dependent on your support to be able to travel to other nations to serve the Lord.  If you are willing to pray for and support this upcoming trip, please make a gift by visiting this link:

 http://www.tibm.org/immediate.html 

and selecting “Global Diaspora Network Meeting”.  The preset amount is for a gift of $25 but you can easily increase the amount by simply increasing the “quantity” on the order form.  As always, your gift is entirely secure and fully tax-deductible.  For your information, we estimate the total cost of the trip to be about $1800.

Cody's Scatterings: My Journeys • At #NAYLG12 - Unreached People Groups work group....

Please Check this out for immediate prayer!!

Cody's Scatterings: My Journeys • At #NAYLG12 - Unreached People Groups work group....:

Migration is Symphony

Photo by Stringberd

I just completed my mid-year self-evaluation as a Diaspora Missions Catalyst for my organization.  This gave me the opportunity to reflect on diaspora a bit and consider why I feel it should be a primary concern of the Church today.  The following are the first two paragraphs of my evaluation. Here you get a sense of what's going on in my heart in this field:

The consistent and overwhelming teaching of Scripture is that God is the sovereign superintendent of all human movement on the earth.  From his original commission to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28), the sending out of great diaspora heroes such as Abraham, Moses, and Daniel, to the Great Commission itself, God’s missional purposes have always been centrifugal in trajectory.  Migration is symphony, orchestrated according to the perfect will of the Triune God who, for the sake of mission, determines the times and exact places where people should dwell (Acts 17:26-28).  It is “a missional means decreed and blessed by God” (LCWE, 2010).  The Church, globally and locally, must embrace the purpose of God in the ever-increasing movement of people and be committed to faithfully engaging in mission to, through, and beyond diasporas.

Thus far during 2012, I have sought to be faithful to the task of catalyzing mission to, through, and beyond diasporas.  In the following pages, I have attempted to summarize my work in this field and I hope you will see evidence God’s hand of blessing at work and that the Spirit will prompt you to worship and thanksgiving as a result.  As I have pursued this work, I have grown increasingly convinced that the 215 million diaspora people in the world today represent the absolute “tip of the spear” of God’s active redemptive mission in the world.  I doubt it is possible for a Christian denominational body or mission agency to neglect diaspora mission and simultaneously be faithful to follow God’s leading in mission today.  God is on the move in the people on the move!

What Languages Should You Learn to Reach the Least-Reached?

What languages should missionaries learn in order to reach the absolute least-reached peoples in the world? Here is an article and a list of 112 languages that was featured in a recent edition of Lausanne World Pulse:

Lausanne World Pulse - Perspectives Articles - No Christians, No Scripture, No Missionaries: Update to the List: "It is imperative for those of us who follow Christ to disciple all peoples. Of the many peoples that need missionaries, which are highest priority? We believe it is the groups which, so far as we know, have no Christ-followers among them, no books of the Bible, and no missionaries with the intent of bringing the gospel to them."

Lausanne Global Analysis

I don't know a whole lot about this just now, but it sounds like a pretty great resource that is coming to the Global Church in 2012 via the Lausanne Movement. Read on . . . 

Lausanne Global Analysis

Important to the development of good Communication strategy is reliable information.  During 2012, the plan is to launch The Lausanne Global Analysis: 

"The Lausanne Global Analysis delivers strategic and credible information, commentary and insight from an international network of evangelical analysts so that global Christian leaders will be equipped to address the issues impacting world evangelization."

Currently the idea is that the LGA will be written by teams of evangelical Christian researchers in research centers around the world.  They would be tasked with providing a monthly (2012), bi-weekly (2013) and then weekly (2014), report on socio-cultural, political, economic and religious events globally along with analysis of how these events and actions impact the body of Christ and the spread of the gospel.  These reports will provide the solid, credible information leaders need to pray, plan and work together to share Christ more effectively.  It’s our hope that the LGA will be freely distributed as widely as possible online on Lausanne.org, through social media and in print (possibly with the help of our Lausanne Regional Communications Managers).  Read Darrell’s Jackson's article. 

Road to Manila: Lausanne Diasporas, One Year After Cape Town 2010 | The Lausanne Global Conversation

My friend, Joy Tira, has posted an exciting article on the Lausanne Global Conversation updated the Church on diaspora mission happenings during the past 12 months. Joy leads the newly formed Global Diasporas Network which was commissioned by the Lausanne Movement at Cape Town 2010 and on which I serve as "Diaspora Missions Catalyst". I hope you will take some time to read this and that it will stimulate you and your church to embrace more fully what God is doing among diasporas.

Road to Manila: Lausanne Diasporas, One Year After Cape Town 2010 | The Lausanne Global Conversation: "It’s been almost a year since my last post during the height of Lausanne III or Cape Town 2010, in Cape Town South Africa. Since then, I have been on the move and have not been blogging lately, but Lausanne Diasporas (LD) is alive and well. It is kicking into the new millennium.
Before I re-launch into the blogosphere, let me give you a brief rundown of Lausanne Diaspora’s activity in the past 12 months.
Recall that the “Diaspora Agenda” (i.e. evangelizing, discipling, and mobilizing the people on the move) was presented and articulated during the October 20th multiplex and plenary session. It is evident that the Global Church, as represented by the World Evangelical Alliance and Lausanne Movement, has embraced the “Diaspora Agenda” as presented and articulated in the Seoul Declaration on Diaspora Missiology. Also read through the Cape Town Commitment statement on “reaching out to scattered people” in section IIC.5 below:
"

Leaders in India Gather to Address Corruption - Lausanne Movement

Applauding this ...

Leaders in India Gather to Address Corruption - Lausanne Movement: "On September 2, 2011, Christian leaders from across India gathered together in Bangalore in an unprecedented and historical meeting to discuss the issue of corruption particularly in the church. Named “Operation Nehemiah”, the meeting aimed to “bring together concerned senior Christian leaders in India to deliberate on the issue of corruption and to create a united movement with a vision to make the Indian Church corruption-free.”"

Lausanne World Pulse - Global Diaspora Network Meets for First Time in Paris

This posted a while back, but I just came a cross it today. Definitely one of the coolest little meetings I've ever been to.

Lausanne World Pulse - Global Diaspora Network Meets for First Time in Paris: "The Global Diaspora Network (GDN) was formed in October 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa, by Joy Tira, the Lausanne senior associate for diasporas. GDN is a catalytic movement that motivates and mobilizes diaspora Christians to partner for global missions.

The GDN met for the first time on 21 February 2011 in Paris and was hosted by LifeAgape through the leadership of Henri Aoun, LifeAgape president (and GDN advisory board member). Two decisions of the event included the need for the GDN to call a global diaspora (missiology) congress in 2015 and to accelerate the use of technologies in evangelism and discipleship for the “people on the move.”

GDN replaces the Cape Town/Lausanne III event-specific Lausanne Diasporas Leadership Team (LDLT) and functions under the umbrella of the Lausanne Movement."

The Lausanne Global Analysis of Highly Contextualized Missions

Recently, a rich article was posted to the Lausanne Global Conversation entitled "Highly Contextualized Missions: Surveying the Global Converstation".  Since the article was focused on one of my favorite topics I wanted to direct your attention to it.  Mainly, I think you should just read it, but I will make a few comments below.

On page 2 of the article, we find:

Syncretism is a related topic in the global conversation. Some feel that the Lausanne Theology Working Group is unfair in suggesting a tenuous connection between contextualization and syncretism, as if there is a causal relationship between the two.[3] Syncretism is a problem where ever there are new believers, regardless of the degree of contextualization. It is a false dichotomy to imply that less contextualization leads to less syncretism. The Cape Town Commitment also warns of syncretism when addressing contextualization under the heading “love respects diversity of discipleship.” Cody C. Lorance, an active Global Conversation contributor involved in both church planting and insider movements among Hindus, rejects the notion that such a link exists.[4] He and many others desire a scale that indicates movement towards Christlikeness, which is necessary in all new fellowships, rather than unhelpfully contrasting contextualization and/or syncretism. Comments on similar articles by other users, however, indicate that many feel there is a greater danger of syncretism in this kind of ministry.

Well, it's cool to be referenced in the article.  I think this paragraph is a good summary of one of the main issues that I've been trying to call attention to.  The author seems to support the view that I hold on this issue.  Again, I believe that there is no necessary link between the pursuit of contextualization and syncretism.  As for the Cape Town Commitment, I have applauded the fact that it seems to dismiss this supposed link.  I’ve posted two blog articles on this topic.

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11913

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11128

Definitely there are those who believe that contextualization essentially leads to syncretism.  However, I have never come across an article that seeks to prove this in some way other than anecdotally.  I suppose that such articles exist, please do direct me to them if you know of them.

Also on page 2 of the document, we find:

The discussion of church planting versus insider movements begins with the C1-C6 scale that describes the spectrum of Christ-centered communities, developed by John Travis in 1988.

First off, I would take issue with the phrase "church planting versus insider movements".  We must be very careful about painting with too broad a brush on this issue.  So much of the debate and discussion regarding contextualization breaks down because someone assumes all proponents of contexutalization believe and do the same things.  I suppose it is possible that their are advocates of contextualization that would describe themselves as being anti-church planting.  However, I've not met any.  Most of us prefer to use a word other than the English term "church", since we are working among non-English speakers, but that is not the same thing as being against the establishment and extension of God's Church.  Most of us want very much to establish local communities of Christ-followers in our mission fields.  So, the term "versus" seems quite out of place.

Beyond that, I am disappointed that this article reaffirms the idea that the C-scale is of central importance to the discussion of contextualization.  It absolutely is not.  Travis's scale perhaps has served a helpful purpose within the context of Islam and contextualization.  However, it has proven inadequate in many ways.  H.L. Richard's attempt to adapt the scale for mission among Hindus is laudable, but the fundamental flaw remains.  That is, with both scales, the unspoken assumption drawn by nearly all is that eventually one falls off the scale into heresy.  Whether that is at C5, 6, 7, or 15 -- all seem to agree that eventually contextualization leads to syncretism.  In response to this line of reasoning, I always want to ask, "How contextualized was Jesus? How incarnate, human, Jewish, Galilean did he become?"  Isn't the only answer, "Fully"? 

The discussion of contextualization must not BEGIN with Travis's scale.  It must begin with the word of God and a careful consideration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  

Moving on now to page 3:

By contrast, C3 and C4 churches are more culturally appropriate and are therefore more inviting to Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, as well as more likely to become movements. There are two main differences between the two: C3 believers use only neutral cultural forms (such as folk music) and call themselves “Christians;” C4 believers adapt what they believe to be biblically permissible religious forms (such as certain feasts or styles of worship) and call themselves “followers of Jesus” (therefore separating themselves from the term “Christian,” which often has a connotation of Western or foreign influence).[12]

I simply wish to challenge the idea that non-Western cultures make such distinctions such as "neutral" and "religious" in terms of the forms found in their contexts.  This distinction between the sacred and secular is a very Western one and I don't often see it among my Hindu friends.  To them, buying a car can be every bit as much a religious or sacred experience as going to the temple.  Celebrating a festival can be as non-sacred as going to work.  The impulse to sort forms into categories such as "neutral" and "religious" flows out of a failure to do cross-cultural mission incarnationally.  Sadly, Christians from non-Western nations have imbibed this sorting impulse from their Western counterparts.  The result is often so arbitrary as to be utterly ridiculous to the outside observer and even more so to the non-Christian in that context.  We should be reminded of the Scripture which states with clarity, "So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." (1Co 3:21-23)

All things are ours for the glory of Christ.  The missionary call is a call to a kind of possessio.  

And now a final thought from page 5:

The fact remains that less than 1% of the world's Christians ever share their faith with a Muslim.

What is so personally hurtful to me in all of this is the level of criticism I receive from people who themselves couldn't be bothered to share the hope of Christ with a Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist.  I have literally been accused to my face of heresy by individuals who have lived among Hindus all their lives and have never sought to share Christ with them.  Others have told me in one conversation that they "hate" Hindus and in another that they oppose my efforts to contextualize the gospel.  

In a current situation that I am dealing with here locally, a South Asian pastor has opted to abandon the context in which he lives in favor of trying to form his own church out of members of two other Nepali churches in another city.  Since the pastor came to me requesting financial support from my mission board, I asked him the key question:  "Why aren't you trying to reach out to the Hindus that you live among?  There are so many in your city and there is no witness at all among them?"  He gave a roundabout answer that can be summarized as, "It is too difficult."

This pastor prefers to spend his time accusing our church of heresy and syncretism than to reach out to those who have yet to hear about Christ.  Very sad indeed.  

A Video Recap of Cape Town 2010

Doug Birdsall directed us to this video recapping the Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town last year.  My heart was stirred and I began to sob as I watched.  Oh Lord, what am I doing with what you gave me?

Session Transcripts from Orlando 2011

In case you are interested in the goings on of Orlando 2011. Transcripts from the plenary sessions are now online here:

Mission America Coalition - Orlando 2011

Lausanne Younger Leaders Team: Cape Town Convictions

Okay, today I wanted to share with you a little known document that has arisen out of Cape Town 2010.  It is called "Cape Town Convictions" and was produced by the Lausanne Younger Leaders Team.  I have posted it in full below with a few of my own comments in highlighted italics.

Lausanne Younger Leaders Team: Cape Town Convictions

The Lausanne Younger Leaders Team (YLT) celebrates the faithfulness and grace of God that was displayed at Cape Town 2010.  It was an amazing gathering of global Christian leaders, and we are excited for the future of the global church with great hope for growing unity, humility, truth, passion for Christ and His mission, compassion for the lost and hurting, and partnership toward the whole church bringing the whole gospel to the whole world.

We particularly rejoiced over the fellowship in Cape Town of the 1000 leaders under the age of 40 from around the world. [Well, we did rejoice, but let's not overdo it. I mean young leaders are not the Messiah or anything. We also rejoice in our elders. In fact, we want to ask them to invest in us, to pour themselves into us more and more.] We not only represent the future of the global church, but all of the issues, challenges, and opportunities discussed and prayed about in Cape Town will impact our generation and our world more than any other generation represented at the Third Lausanne Congress.

Cape Town 2010, however, was an event, and we have a sober and hopeful conviction that the event did not exist for itself but rather to serve the vision that the Lord has given to Lausanne and to the global church. Therefore we invested a significant portion of the week of the Congress together in discussion, prayer, and consultation with younger leaders, older leaders, and valued counselors and mentors toward the goal of leaving Cape Town with a unified understanding of and commitment to our calling, our values, and our plans for the post-Cape Town years informed by what we learned and experienced during the Congress. [Wow, that was a tough sentence to get through. I think the reality is that most of us don't feel that there was enough prayer, but okay. And I'd rather us be talking about leaving Cape Town with a "unified understanding of and commitment to God's calling, God's values, and God's plans ...".]  Here is a summary of those convictions.

Our Calling -

1)    We reaffirm our calling to advance the purposes of God through Lausanne towards the goal of world evangelization and the whole church bringing the whole gospel to the whole world [Amen. Though I wish there was less dissension among the younger leaders as to what "evangelization" actually entails.]

2)    We have deep conviction about the stewardship we and the Lausanne Movement have been given for global younger leaders who represent both the present and future; Cape Town will impact the younger generation more than any other; it will impact OUR world [Well, okay. I know what is meant here, but come on. It isn't "our world". It is going to be the world of those over age 40 for a good half-century more. Let's not float them out on blocks of ice just yet.]

3)    We commit to participating as a vital part of the Lausanne Movement as movement - not to exist for our own perpetuation or to set up inflexible organizational structure but to facilitate relational links, facilitate dialogue & partnership, and seek to connect the greatest needs of global younger leaders with the best resources (people, ministries, information) [This is a good affirmation. To keep Lausanne like it has been from the beginning, a light-on-its-feet movement.]

Our Values -

1)    We reaffirm our commitment to displaying Christ-like humility and joy in words, attitudes, and actions

2)    We reaffirm our commitment to Christ-honoring relationship building within the Lausanne Movement both inner-generationally and inter-generationally; in particular we commit to and ask for your continued commitment towards developing deeper trusting and entrusting relationships with the Lausanne Board and the IDD's (International Deputy Directors).

3)    We reaffirm our conviction that God has called our team to trust Him first and foremost, to also trust the leadership that He has placed over us, and to ask also for the trust of the Lausanne leadership to pursue by faith the purposes and passions that He has given to us

Our Plans -

1)    CONNECT

We rejoice that the Lord has provided an amazing network of global younger leaders.  This YLN (Younger Leaders Network) consists of YLG '06 (Younger Leaders Gathering 2006) alumni, regional YLG alumni, Cape Town 2010 alumni, and even the possible inclusion of GlobaLink alumni.  We feel a call to connect this YLN through:

a)    Utilization of a younger leaders section of the Global Conversation that we hope can be a source of on-going connection and cooperation post-Cape Town; this will include the establishment of subgroups for regions, ministry area foci, and other affinity groups in multiple languages [I applaud this, but haven't seen it take place yet. Wish people would engage the GC more.]

b)    Continued organizing of national and regional YLG's with IDD support focused on gathering starting in 2011 through 2014

c)    Prayer and planning towards the Third Lausanne YLG in 2015 [Well, this would be fun. The Global Diasporas Network is also looking at 2015 for a global consultation. I wonder how many other organizations are planning something during that year. I'm hoping there won't be a conflict.]

We affirm that we are not event focused, but events contribute towards the depth, breadth, and richness of the movement and its purposes. 

2)    INFORM

There is an evident eagerness and desire among the younger leaders to get more involved in inner-generational and inter-generational activities of Lausanne.  There is also a general lack of awareness of what people can get involved in and how.  Towards that end we will focus over the next year in systematic introductions of Lausanne working groups to the YLN.  These will likely start with the LDWG (Leadership Development Working Group) and other groups particularly focused on and relevant to younger leaders.  This will take the form of consultations with various working group leaders and clear descriptions of the vision, activities, and opportunities of these working groups for younger leaders.  One working group will be highlighted every 3-4 months.

3)    EQUIP

We cannot do everything, but we can focus on the most important things.  We choose to focus our efforts for younger leaders in the areas of mentoring and partnerships.  Mentoring is a priority as it is crucial towards the healthy spiritual development of younger leaders.  Partnerships and collaboration training and facilitating is crucial towards the connecting, mobilizing, and collaboration of younger generation leaders for the purpose of the fulfillment of our vision to see the whole church bring the whole gospel to the whole world.  We will focus in the years to come on three areas: [Yay! Mentoring. Note this http://codylorance.blogspot.com/2010/10/from-younger-leader-to-my-elders-thanks.html]

a)    Mentoring through the development of the Lausanne Younger Leaders Mentoring Partnership.  This will be a program sponsored by the YLT and facilitated by MentorLink and other similar ministries with potential for 1000 younger leaders partnered with 200 mentors.  A dedicated website will be developed with the possibility of new research and technologies being developed to aid in this endeavor. [At Orlando 2011, the desire for mentors was among those top-tier requests given by younger leaders. So, this seems to be a very important point.]

b)    Collaboration Implementation Training (CIT) will be offered as a part of the regional YLG's.  This will focus on training younger leaders in how to move from vision/passion to the building of strategic ministry partnerships, all towards the goal of the whole church bringing the whole gospel to the whole world.  In addition a core network of global younger leaders will be trained to mentor younger leaders who are currently in their teens and early 20's.

c)    Resource mobilization towards the goal of world evangelization efforts in our generation.  We will pray and work toward the development of a culture of generosity and stewardship through Biblically-based teaching and the strategic deployment of resources.  This will be supported in partnership with the Resource Mobilization Resource Group of Lausanne and other similar groups/organizations.

We, the YLT, ask for your prayers, counsel, and support towards these endeavors.  The future is at stake, and we rest assured that the future is in God's hands. 

"Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it." (Ps 22:30-31)

Michael Oh (coordinator)

Grace Samson   

Adel Azmi

Gabriela Gencheva

Jacob Isaac
Marcell Steuernagel
Mark Kolo
Rike Huettmann

Remo Paul

Larry Russell (advisor)

5 Challenges for the Illinois Baptist State Association: #2 Giftedness

Sorry that I've kind of dropped the ball on posting on this topic. I had fully expected to have more time than I did during last week's travels. Anyway, let me get right back into it.

What I'm doing here is a series of posts that originate from a message I shared at the Illinois Baptist State Association last month to a number of the missionary leaders.  I'm sharing with you my 5 challenges to IBSA (our state-level association of Southern Baptists) that I believe represent something of what God is saying to us, especially in the wake of Cape Town 2010 -- the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.  You can read challenge one here.  Now let's move on to the second:

2. Illinois Baptist State Association must create (in our individual minds, hearts and in our corporate ministry structures - including reporting systems, evaluation methods and more) new categorizations of value that transcend the smallness of finances, formal education, technology, and "measurable" results.

When I was at Cape Town 2010, I had the privilege of eating dinner one night with Ruth Ndaruhutse of Rwanda. Here's the story:

In the midst of my first full day at CT2010, I was wandering around the convention center looking for a place to eat my dinner. To be completely honest, it felt a bit like high school. I—young, relatively unknown, naturally shy, and easily intimidated—scanned a giant ballroom packed with Lausanne delegates. My eyes landed on a half-full table of Nigerians and one Rwandan, Ruth Ndaruhutse. I timidly took one of the empty seats at the table as Ruth was getting ready to leave. We exchanged a few pleasantries and then, to my delight, she settled back into her chair. Ruth sighed in a kind, motherly sort of way and began to tell me her story.

Ruth Ndaruhutse is Rwanda’s national coordinator for the Pan-African Christian Women Alliance. In the capital city of Kigali, she spends her days ministering to women who have been victimized in various ways by the genocidal massacre of 1994. She and her team take care of widows, orphans, rape victims, and others and teach skills that empower them to earn a living. She teaches them about forgiveness and reconciliation. She teaches them about Christ. In other words, she incarnates the Savior in a truly remarkable way.

Over dinner, Ruth took her time with me. Imparting to me what I’m certain was only a shred of her spiritual giftedness. She had persevered right on through the unspeakable tragedies of her country. She told me about the losses and the pain—unimaginable stories or cruelty and evil. I had to ask, ‘How, sister? How do you do it? How do you forgive?’ She replied with profound simplicity, ‘You cannot grieve for 15 years. You cannot stay in the past. You have to hope for the future —so, it’s like that. It’s like that.’

Ruth and so many others have helped me to see that one of the great lessons of Lausanne III is that, as taught in Ephesians, the Spirit of God has distributed the gifts of grace to each Christian in the whole Body of Christ (Eph. 4:7). Consequently, one of the keys to the pursuit of equilibrium in the Church is to recognize this global giftedness and our tremendous individual need of it. This requires the creation in our minds and hearts of new categorizations of value that transcend the smallness of finances, formal education, and technology. Fung challenged Christians to:

Think beyond just money terms. God’s resources are more than money. In the global family, as the body of Jesus Christ, many of us will bring different gifts. Some will bring and model faithfulness in the context of suffering; and some will model perseverance in the context of poverty and injustice; and some will model godly leadership in their context; and some will model critical theological and missiological reflection beyond the Western paradigm; and some will bring years of experience of commending the Lord Jesus Christ in the context of another world religion. And all of us will contribute together and we will bring a fuller understanding of what it means to be the whole Church bringing the whole Gospel to the whole world.[i]

The Cape Town Commitment states:

We urgently seek a new global partnership rooted in profound mutual love, mutual submission, and dramatic economic sharing without paternalism or unhealthy dependency within the Body of Christ across all continents. And we seek this not only as a demonstration of our unity in the gospel, but also for the sake of the name of Christ and the mission of God in all the world.[ii]

So this is the view of global equilibrium in the Church from the perspective of CT2010. It is a view that recognizes both the corporate richness of the body of Jesus Christ and the poverty of isolation. In it, there is no room for the participation in God’s mission of a fragmented and fighting Church—‘a divided Church has no message for a divided world’.[iii] We must humble ourselves to the reality of giftedness in Christian brothers and sisters that we did not expect to be rich by developing a more biblical understanding of what is valuable and by acknowledging our own personal poverty. And we must do this all for the sake of the gospel and Christ, our only center.

In IBSA, we must find practical ways to recognize, value, and utilize the diversity of gifts that exist throughout the body of Jesus Christ.  IBSA must recognize that we need people like Ruth. We must know that we are rich when she comes to the table and poor when she does not.

How do our current attitudes and structures in IBSA blind us to certain kinds of giftedness?  What do our current structures say about what we value? How can we change so as to not be cut off from so much of God's richness?

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[i] Fung, ‘Partnership’.

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

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

5 Challenges for the Illinois Baptist State Association: #1 Diversity

Yesterday, I introduced a new series of posts that originate from a message I shared at the Illinois Baptist State Association last month to a number of the missionary leaders.  My plan is to present here, over the next several days, a series of 5 challenges to IBSA (our state-level association of Southern Baptists) that I believe represent something of what God is saying to us, especially in the wake of Cape Town 2010 -- the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.  So, without further ado, here is challenge number 1:

1. Illinois Baptist State Association must intentionally and diligently seek to bring as much diversity to the table as possible.

Cape Town 2010 was one of the most significant gatherings of Christians the world has ever seen.  In terms of sheer breadth of representation, it was the most diverse gathering of Christ-followers in history.  More than 4,000 selected participants from nearly 200 nations represented practically every sphere of the Body of Christ.  This was accomplished as the fruit of a rigorous process of seeking to draw Christian leaders from every segment of the global Church.  A kind of selection grid was put in place to guide this process:

- 60% of participants were to be under the age of 50; 10% under 30
- 35% were to be women
- 10% were to come from the marketplace

Beyond this, strict quotas were enforced that ensured that the majority of participants really were from the majority world.  My own table group at Cape Town was a microcosm of the global Church.  Six people from six nations.  Four men. Two women.  Three over 50.  Three under.  One under 30.  The benefit of this diversity is perhaps hard to explain, but it was unmistakable.

I've mentioned before my encounters with a number of people there.  The richness, depth.  One of these individuals was a woman from Uganda, a nation now in turmoil.  Both of us young leaders.  Both intrigued by what God is doing among diasporas.  Even now, we are seeking God's will for our ongoing collaboration and partnership in mission.  Our meeting was providential.  God is only beginning to reveal to us his intentions in the long-term relationship that has been forged.  And yet, without this intentional will to represent the breadth of Christ's body, neither of us would have been there.

I compare this with an experience a close friend of mine shared recently.  He had been asked to go to a meeting within our Southern Baptist Convention.  The meeting was to be focused on missions strategy in the U.S. -- how do we plant more churches and reach more people groups?  My friend went to this meeting stunned to discover that his was one of only two black faces in the room.  Nearly everyone was a white American.  The impression he got was that the perspective of immigrant, non-white Christian leaders was not valued.

Is it?

Do we recognize that God has distributed his gifts throughout the body of Christ and that no one segment of it can truly know it all, do it all, or even dream it all?  Or is Illinois Baptist State Association rather dominated by white, American-born, males who are unaware of the richness in Christ's body that they are depriving themselves of?

A few years ago, the two Karen-speaking (Burma) churches in our state association were invited to perform at the state convention.  They sang and even did some baptisms.  It was great, but this isn't the same thing as truly bringing people to the table.  The leaders of these churches, who carry with them a depth of faith and richness of gifts and experiences that most of the rest of us do not, need to be recruited, mobilized, raised up, cultivated -- brought to the table.  Who God has made them to be must be leveraged for the sake of the to-big-for-any-one-of-us mission to which the Spirit has called us.

In our gatherings, committees, hiring practices, trainings and events, team, and more we must seek out this diversity.  If God has truly distributed the gifts of the Spirit all over the Body (and He has, Eph. 4), do our actions prove that we hunger for all of the gifts, experience, value, and richness that God has ordained?  If not, it is no wonder we experience such want in our mission endeavors, for we have cut ourselves off from God's supply -- the body of Christ.

5 Challenges for the Illinois Baptist State Association: Introduction

Been putting this off for too long.  Last month, I had the honor of speaking at the weekly chapel service of the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA).  This is a small gathering of prayer, worship, and Bible study that the Springfield-based missionaries of the Southern Baptist Convention enjoy.  I was asked especially to share with IBSA from my experience representing them at Cape Town 2010, the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.

My goal in sharing was to seek to bring to these IBSA leaders what I felt that God was saying to our part of the Church.  In the end, I felt led to bring a series of 5 challenges to IBSA.  Though I felt somewhat intimidated in front of these leaders -- all sort of "outranking" me in our denominational structure -- I felt it was important to share with confidence and to avoid any hesitations.  This is, I believe, what God's Spirit is saying to us.  These are His challenges to us.

The feedback was very positive and I left deeply encouraged.  There was even something of an encore and plenty of fruitful conversations that followed.  Now that it has been a few weeks, I want to post these challenges publicly.  If you are a follower of Christ involved with the life of IBSA, you will be especially interested in my posts during the next few days, as I plan to simply post the 5 challenges as 5 posts over the next 5 days.  If you are not involved in IBSA, you may still be interested to know what our small segment of Southern Baptist brothers and sisters in Christ are talking about.  It is actually quite relevant to you as well.

Today, let me just close my post by directing you to a scripture that I brought before the IBSA last month as our launching pad.  It comes from 2 Corinthians 9:8--

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

Of course, I presented this text in the wider context of chapters 8-9.  I would encourage you to reflect on these two chapters and consider how Paul speaks about the purpose of God for want and plenty in the Body of Christ.  Especially read 8:10ff.  Paul assumes association and collaboration in the body of Christ.  Paul believes that the plenty of the Corinthian Christians is designed by God for the sake of meeting the needs of Jerusalem Christians -- and vice versa.  His assumption is clear:

God has designed and decreed want and plenty in the body of Christ to demonstrate to us all, in an utterly convincing way, that there is one Body and that no single part of it has all the gifts necessary for advancing the gospel and finishing the Great Commission.  That is, if we want to be in the will of God, collaborative mission and kingdom partnership are non-negotiable.

Indeed, God is able to make all grace abound to us, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, we may abound in every good work.  But if that's not our experience, if instead we see only need, lack, inability to carry on the work of our mission for a lack of human, financial, or other resources what does this indicate?

The experience of perpetual want in our mission seems to point to a kind of disconnect between us and the body of Christ.  God's primary means of meeting our needs is through the Church.  But if our view of the Church is too small, narrow, weak, flimsy, or whatever -- well, we should not be surprised by our enduring neediness.  It isn't that God hasn't made provision.  It is that we are able or willing to connect with His means -- the body of Christ.

That's enough for now.  I would guess that most will not have read this far anyway.  But do take a look at the blog during the next 5 days.  I want to present 5 challenges to IBSA that flow out of the principle that I've just elucidated.  

HIV / AIDS Testimonies from Cape Town 2010

Here are some powerful testimonies of the goodness of God in the face of HIV / AIDS.

Human Trafficking Video

This video was also shown at Cape Town 2010.  It focuses on the topic of human trafficking.

Diaspora Missions Short-Film

This is the promotional video that we are using for the Global Diasporas Network to introduce the topic of diaspora mission to Christ-followers.  It was premiered at Cape Town 2010.