A Defective View of Hell or a Defective Heart

Without a doubt, this was one of the key moments at Lausanne. 

Posted at Desiring God:

On Lausanne's website, John Piper's exposition of Ephesians 3 is among the most watched, most discussed, and highest rated sessions from last month's congress in Cape Town. I mention that only to suggest that what he says in it has really struck a cord with those who've heard it.

It was an important and timely word. If you're interested in hearing it yourself, you can now watch or read it on our website.

The high point of the message is when Piper makes this plea to listeners (pardon the length—the context is necessary):

If God had not put Christ forward to bear his own wrath, if Christ had not become a curse for us, as Galatians 3:13 says, then all the nations and all Jews would have perished under God’s wrath and entered into everlasting suffering in hell, as Jesus said in Matthew 25:46.

The reason I draw out this implication of the cross is to hold together in this congress and in the church of Christ two truths that are often felt to be at odds with each other, but don’t have to be.

One truth is that when the gospel takes root in our souls it impels us out toward the alleviation of all unjust suffering in this age. That’s what love does!

The other truth is that when the gospel takes root in our souls it awakens us to the horrible reality of eternal suffering in hell, under the wrath of a just and omnipotent God. And it impels us to rescue the perishing, and to warn people to flee from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

I plead with you. Don’t choose between those two truths. Embrace them both. It doesn’t mean we all spend our time in the same way. God forbid. But it means we let the Bible define reality and define love.

Could Lausanne say—could the evangelical church say—we Christians care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering? I hope we can say that. But if we feel resistant to saying “especially eternal suffering,” or if we feel resistant to saying “we care about all suffering in this age,” then either we have a defective view of hell or a defective heart.

I pray that Lausanne would have neither.

Why Jethro? The Wisdom of What God Doesn't Say

I found this intriguing as a lesson in spirituality and leadership, with perhaps additional implications in missiology.  From John Bloom:

God gave very detailed instructions to Moses regarding the construction of the tabernacle and the keeping of the law. So isn’t it interesting that God didn’t tell Moses how to perform his role as judge in Israel?

Instead he allowed Moses to struggle with an overbearing workload for awhile and then sent Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law and priest of Midian (a pagan priest?), to give him counsel. In Exodus 18, Jethro observes Moses’ administrative approach to judgment and then gives sage advice on delegation. The outcome was a much more effective and efficient way of serving the people.

Why didn’t God just tell Moses that from the beginning? Why Jethro? I think one very important reason is that God speaks with clarity and preciseness everything that is required to make his people holy throughout the generations—every promise to be trusted and every commandment to be obeyed. But outside of that, he leaves much to our figuring out. And when he guides, it’s usually indirectly.

The vast majority of our methods or systems are not to be considered sacred. God does not intend for every church, denomination, or organization to structure by thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, which is what we would do if we thought this was God’s official way of organizing people.

I love the Bible. God is so wise. He is as intentional in what he does not say, as he is in what he does say.

So in our prayers for strategic and administrative wisdom, we should expect God to send us Jethros and not some special revelation.

Does the “Kingdom” Make Sense to Muslims?

Why do we hear the Synoptic Gospels talk so much about the Kingdom but then the Epistles talk so much about Jesus?  Newbigin explains (chapter 5):

In Jesus the kingdom is present.  That is why the first generation of Christian preachers used a different language from the language of Jesus: he spoke about the kingdom, they spoke about Jesus.  They were bound to make this shift of language if they were to be faithful to the facts.  It was not only that the phrase “kingdom of God” in the ears of a pagan Greek would be almost meaningless, having none of the deep reverberations that it evoked from someone nourished on the Old Testament.  It was that the kingdom, or kingship, of God was no longer a distant hope or a faceless concept.  It had now a name and a face – the name and face of the man from Nazareth.

Sometimes I feel that my “Kingdom” talk has the same effect on Muslims as it did on first century Greeks.  In my experience, Muslims interpret “Kingdom of God” as simply meaning “God’s Creation.”  I know kingdom talk is quite popular in Muslim ministry these days, but can anyone else relate to this issue I’m having? 

In any case, it is always a sure thing to just talk about Jesus.

Related Post: The Kingdom, the Cross, and the Church

Mobile Phone-Empowered Ministry

Having short videos on my cell phone to Bluetooth has been a fantastic addition to my witness.  So I was glad to see this recent article in IJFM: The Little Phone that Could: Mobile-Empowered Ministry (HT: TH). 

Here is a nice quote for those expatriates who are content with owning a lame mobile phone (aka my wife):

What a strange world we live in, a world where we highly literate, technologically savvy expatriates who live and work with “backwards” illiterate tribal peoples find ourselves lagging years behind those same people in our use of portable communications and media technology. My western co-worker, for instance, still purchases his mobile phone on the basis of whether or not it has a built-in flashlight with little concern for the fact that the phone has no camera, memory, or Bluetooth connectivity (that’s not to say I haven’t often wished my phone had a flashlight too!). Meanwhile, the local youth among our people are trading in their phones every few months for the latest model and spend hours each day using them to view and send one another songs, videos, and poetry. This is not something unique to the people I work with—the U.N.’s International Telecommunications Union estimates that there are now more than five billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide!

You need to get a phone that has Bluetooth capabilities- for Jesus!

How convenient would it be if the mobile phone you carried had a veritable toolbox of songs, poetry and/or videos that point to Christ and which you could share with people you came into contact with throughout the day?…  The great thing is that viewing and sharing photos, music, and videos on mobile phone is now so common among the people group I live among that whipping out my phone and sharing one of these video or audio files with them is completely natural!

Videos can make the gospel viral:

Missions strategists tell us that our outreach should be reproducible by those we are seeking to reach. The ubiquity of the mobile phone’s presence and Bluetooth phone-to-phone connectivity make mobile media ministry eminently reproducible. We simply send Bluetooth videos on to those interested in them and they can then replay them and show them to others. Those other people, in turn, can show them to their friends who in turn can send them on to their wider circle of friends. Rather than solely reaching our limited circle of acquaintances and friends, mobile phone media has the potential to reach thousands and even tens of thousands.

Bluetoothing is not a magic bullet that will start CPMs around the world- it’s just a tool that can be useful.  And by the way, the iPhone is only cool if you can Bluetooth from it.

From the conclusion:

Mobile phones are the most widely used media technology among the unreached today… Are we investigating the amazing new abilities that mobile phone technology brings to the table? Do we recognize that the mobile is the next generation of mass media subsequent to TV and internet, and that its abilities surpass those of the previous generations? Are we finding ways to use these new capabilities to spread the glory of God among the unreached? I challenge you to think strategically while acting quickly to harness the potential mobile phone outreach offers in bringing the gospel of Christ to the lost.

Here are a couple sites in Arabic that have good short videos:

• http://www.hikayaat.com/en/home (most universal files are “Other 3gp”)
• http://www.sabeelmedia.com

Here is a short English video for Muslims that is available for translation into any language.

Below is a Sabeel Media video on Jesus healing the man with a withered hand:

Stories of the Prophets Jesus اليد الذابلة والمسيح المنتظر from Sabeel Media on Vimeo.

Former Christian Minister - How I Came to Islam

What are the Indications that a Muslim Has Left the Kingdom of Darkness?

From the website of Greg Livingstone, under the Ministry Issues tab, What are the Indications that a Muslim Has Left the Kingdom of Darkness?:

What are the indications that a Muslim has left the Kingdom of Darkness and entered the Kingdom of God’s Beloved Son? I.e., ‘been born again’? Indwelt by the Spirit? Clearly become an obedient follower of Christ Jesus?

1. S/he has come to understand the facts re: Who Christ Jesus is, and what He was accomplishing in His visit to the earth-the ONE sent from Allah to ransom him, bringing him acceptably to God.
2. S/he has faced up to fact that he has been a rebel, demanding his own desires, and despite carrying the title, “muslim”, ignoring, not truly submitted to, Allah.
3. Confessing his sin in heart felt repentance for his disobedience, then determining to look to Allah to change him
4. Coming to understand that he must rely on the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross as a subsitutionary atonement.
5. S/he should memorize the titles attributed to Jesus in the N.T., i.e. “Lord of Glory”.
6. Recognize that Christ is alive, having broken the power of death, and that he is returning to rule the world in peace, removing all suffering.
7. He is determined to know what God wants through the Scriptures, and to obey, and practice everything Christ and His apostles taught. “God said it, I believe it, that settles it”.
8. Daily asks what does God want…
9. Called to new community UMMA, and is determined to live out the “one another” commands demonstrating the difference Christ living in him will make, as a witness.
10. Desires to forgive those who offend him, and help believers who need reconciliation.
11. To love his neighbour by seeking to bring them also into Christ’s Kingdom
12. Understands it has been granted to him not only to believe, but also to suffer for His sake, therefore he will confess Christ as his Saviour and Master.
13. He lives as a ‘good steward’…“seeking first the Kingdom of God”, i.e. to discover his gifts and role in establishing need-meeting house churches where Christ is not known.

Here is a nice video chronology of the Livingstone’s 50 year ministry.

Should Christians support laws that ban Muslim women from wearing the face veil in public?

From Christianity Today, Christians Should Defend Muslim Liberty:

Joseph Cumming, director of the reconciliation program at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale Divinity School, David Johnston, author of Earth, Empire and Sacred Text, and Christine Schirrmacher, a scholar with the Institute of Islamic Studies of the Evangelical Alliance in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, discuss whether Christians should support laws that ban Muslim women from wearing the face veil in public.

Christian commitment to religious liberty is rooted in Jesus' teaching, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31). When Christians dialogue with Muslims, a vital concern we rightly address is restrictions placed on Christians in Muslim-majority countries. If we want Muslims to uphold religious liberty for Christian minorities, we must defend religious liberty for Muslims when they are the minority.

Some respond, "We will defend Muslims' freedom when Muslims begin respecting freedom for persecuted Christians in Muslim-majority countries." Concern for the suffering church is right (Heb. 13:3), but immediately after the Golden Rule, Jesus adds in the Luke passage, "Do good … expecting nothing in return" (6:35). We must defend liberty for others whether or not they reciprocate. Christians should set a moral example for the world, not wait for others to lead.

But does Islam really require a face veil? This is vigorously debated within the Muslim community. Most Muslims worldwide interpret Islam as requiring a headscarf but not a face veil for women. A minority of Muslims sees the face veil as mandatory or recommended, while an opposing minority sees even headscarves as unnecessary. Should the state adjudicate this debate?

To answer this following Jesus' do-unto-others principle, consider the parallel issue among Christians. Most Christians interpret 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 as not requiring women to cover their heads. But a significant number of Christian women (notably in non-Western and African American churches) do cover their heads in Sunday worship. And some (e.g., traditionalist Mennonites) conscientiously cover their heads throughout the week. Though we each have opinions on this exegetical question, we would not want the state to adjudicate it for us. If we would not want this for ourselves, then Jesus' teaching strongly suggests we should not impose it on Muslims.

But is the veil inherently oppressive to women? In some contexts (for example, Afghanistan under Taliban rule), women have been forced to wear face coverings against their will. In such circumstances, defending women's human rights as equal before the law is a legitimate Christian concern (Gal. 3:28).

Nevertheless, many self-respecting, articulate Muslim women make a conscious choice to veil, or they advocate their sisters' right to do so. Some even see their modest clothing choice as a feminist statement.

When the state compels them to uncover themselves in public, they feel violated. Jesus' do-unto-others principle suggests we let Muslim women speak for themselves about what their clothing choices mean to them.

But what about security when we cannot see people's faces? The state has a legitimate concern to ascertain the identity of people entering sensitive locations like airports. In such venues, however, we already offer women the option of being checked in private by female security personnel.

Jesus' words about logs and specks (Luke 6:41-42) suggest we first must defend Muslim fellow-citizens' liberty in our country, and only then will we "see clearly" enough to ask Muslims about treatment of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. This may make us uncomfortable, but Jesus never said discipleship was anything but costly.

Islam and the Goal of Love

From William Chittick on Tabsir:

Love, in short, aims at communion, union, unity. Tawhid is the assertion of oneness and unity, but it is only an assertion, not the reality. Love is the energy that drives the quest for integration. The assertion of unity and the transforming energy must work together to overcome disjunction and disarray, to achieve togetherness and harmony, to actualize oneness and union. Tawhid provides the orientation, love the force. Without tawhid, love is dispersed and scattered; without love, tawhid is empty talk.

That the word “love” expresses the goal of tawhid is a common theme in the literature. Many explain it in terms of “the sentence that expresses unity” (kalimat al-tawhid). That is, the four Arabic words “(There is) no god but God,” the foundation of the Islamic creed.

Achieving the goal depends on overcoming the illusions set up by false realities, aberrant loves and misleading desires. In the language of Sufism, the false realities are called “others,” meaning everything that distracts the heart from the Absolutely Real. Rumi explains that love actualizes tawhid in these terms:

Love is that flame which, when it blazes up,
burns away everything except the Everlasting Beloved.

It drives home the sword of “no god” in order to slay other than God.
Look closely–after “no god” what remains?

There remains “but God,” the rest has gone.
Bravo, O great, idol-burning love!

(Mathnawi, Book 5, verses 588-90)

Read the whole thing.

Tim Tennent's blog, 'Global Talk'

Friends,
I just want to make you aware of Tim Tennent's blog, Global Talk.  In my humble opinion, he is without a doubt one of the sharpest missiological thinkers in the world today (and a pretty sharp dresser too!).

Is the C scale too one-dimensional?

Issues of identity are incredibly complex.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_identity.

Is this too one-dimensional?

Cape Town 2010: Looking Back (Video)

Cape Town 2010: Looking Back at the Congress (5 Minute Video)

The Gospel and its Results Should be Neither Confused nor Separated

From Tim Keller in Gospel Theology:

What is the gospel? It is not about everything the Bible teaches. It is about how our relationship with God is put right through the work of Jesus Christ.

What are the results of the gospel? They include the eventual healing of the world and all the other alienations resulting from the disruption in our relationship to God. Racism, hunger and poverty, the ravaging and exploitation of the environment—all these enormous problems will ultimately be solved on judgment day, because the rupture in the relationship between God and humanity has been mended through Christ. The gospel is not just incarnation and atonement but also resurrection—Jesus is the first-fruits of the future renewal of the world. Therefore, the gospel—what Jesus has done to put us right with God—points forward to the day when we will also be put completely right in every other way.

The gospel and its results/implications must be carefully related to each other—neither confused nor separated. This is very close to Luther’s dictum that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that remains alone. His point is that true gospel belief will always and necessarily lead to good works, but salvation in no way at all comes through or because of good works. Faith and works must never be confused for one another, nor may they be separated.

In the same way, once your alienation from God is healed, your other alienations will begin to be healed within and around you, partially now and fully later. Gospel-changed people will be moved to serve their neighbors and use their gifts and resources to alleviate psychological, social, and physical suffering, because of the hope and love the gospel brings.

Having said that the gospel and its results must neither be confused nor separated, we risk making two overgeneralizations. Some people over-emphasize the distinction, and they fail to adequately stress how the gospel always leads to community and justice and peace. On the other hand, some under-emphasize the distinction, giving the impression that gospel work is synonymous with making the world a better place.

I have heard people preach this way: “The good news is that God is healing and will heal the world of all its hurts; therefore, the work of the gospel is to work for justice and peace in the world.” The danger in this line of thought is that the good news becomes a divine rehabilitation program for the world, rather than an accomplished substitutionary work. “Believing the good news” means joining that program, rather than receiving Christ’s finished work. In other words, the gospel becomes primarily a salvation by practice instead of a salvation by faith.

As J. I. Packer says, “The gospel does bring us solutions to these problems, but it does so by first solving…the deepest of all human problems, the problem of man’s relation with his Maker; … and unless we make it plain that the solution of these former problems depends on the settling of this latter one, we are misrepresenting the message and becoming false witnesses of God.”  J. I. Packer, quoted by James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Comprehensive and Readable Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 319.

The Tension Between the Pilgrim and Indigenous Principles

(HT: JP)  Talking about the book The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in Transmission of Faith by Andrew Walls, Justin Taylor says “Many mistakes in Christian witness and cultural engagement can be traced to ignoring this biblical tension and giving excessive weight to one end of the pole to the exclusion of the other.

Walls explains that “Church history has always been a battleground for two opposing tendencies; and the reason is that each of the tendencies has its origin in the Gospel itself.”

He first looks at the “indigenzing principle”:

On the one hand it is of the essence of the Gospel that God accepts us as we are, on the ground of Christ’s work alone, not on the ground of what we have become or are trying to become. But, if He accepts us “as we are” that implies He does not take us as isolated, self-governing units, because we are not. We are conditioned by a particular time and place, by our family and group and society, by “culture” in fact. In Christ God accepts us together with our group relations; with that cultural conditioning that makes us feel at home in one part of human society and less at home in another. . . .

The fact, then, that “if any man is in Christ he is a new creation” does not mean that he starts or continues his life in a vacuum, or that his mind is a blank table. It has been formed by his own culture and history, and since God has accepted him as he is, his Christian mind will continue to be influenced by what was in it before. And this is as true for groups as for persons. All churches are culture churches—including our own. (pp. 7-8)

Then Walls looks at the “pilgrim principle” of Christianity:

But throughout Church history there has been another force in tension with this indigenizing principle, and this also is equally of the Gospel. Not only does God in Christ take people as they are: He takes them in order to transform them into what He wants them to be. Along with the indigenizing principle which makes his faith a place to feel at home, the Christian inherits the pilgrim principle, which whispers to him that he has no abiding city and warns him that to be faithful to Christ will put him out of step with his society; for that society never existed, in East or West, ancient time or modern, which would absorb the word of Christ painlessly into its system . . .

Just as the indigenizing principle, itself rooted in the Gospel, associates Christians with the particulars of their culture and group, the pilgrim principle, in tension with the indigenizing and equally of the Gospel, by associating them with things and people outside the culture and group, is in some respects a universalizing factor.

The Christian has all the relationships in which he was brought up, and has them sanctified by Christ who is living in them. But he has entirely a new set of relationships, with other members of the family of faith into which he has come, and whom he must accept, with all their group relations (and “disrelations”) on them, just as God has accepted him with his. Every Christian has dual nationality, and has a loyalty to the faith family which links him to those in interest groups opposed to that to which he belongs by nature. (pp. 8-9)

Here we can see these principles on a chart:

	Pilgrim Principle	Indigenous Principle
But Not of the World—and Be In It	“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:16).	“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15)
Separate—and Participate	“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6:17).	“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world . . . since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality” (1 Cor. 5:9),
Confront—and Adapt	“The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them. . . . Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:6-11). “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12).	“Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands . . . so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess. 4:11-12). “[I pray] that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2).
Refuse Conformity—and Contextualize	“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:2)	“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:32-33).

“May God give all of us grace to find and maintain the gospel balance.”- JT

How long until we see ekklesia?

What is ekklesia?  Ekklesia is the NT word for ‘church.’  Louw and Nida describe the meaning of ekklesia as “a congregation of Christians, implying interacting membership.”  The definition continues:

Though some persons have tried to see in the term ἐκκλησία a more or less literal meaning of ‘called-out ones,’ this type of etymologizing is not warranted either by the meaning of ἐκκλησία in NT times or even by its earlier usage. The term ἐκκλησία was in common usage for several hundred years before the Christian era and was used to refer to an assembly of persons constituted by well-defined membership. In general Greek usage it was normally a socio-political entity based upon citizenship in a city-state (see ἐκκλησίαc, 11.78) and in this sense is parallel to δῆμος (11.78). For the NT, however, it is important to understand the meaning of ἐκκλησίαa as ‘an assembly of God’s people.’

Lesslie Newbigin further describes the meaning of ekklesia in chapter 2 of “The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission”:

The community that confesses that Jesus is Lord has been, from the very beginning, a movement launched into the public life of mankind.  The Greco-Roman world in which the New Testament was written was full of societies offering to those who wished to join a way of personal salvation through religious teaching and practice.  There were several commonly used Greek words for such societies.  At no time did the church use any of these names for itself.  It was not, and could not be, a society offering personal salvation for those who cared to avail themselves of its teaching a practice.  It was from the beginning a movement claiming the allegiance of all peoples, and it used for itself with almost total consistency the name ecclesia – the assembly of all citizens called to deal with the public affairs of the city.  The distinctive thing about this assembly was that it was called by a more august authority than the town clerk: it was the ecclesia theou, the assembly called by God, and therefore requiring the attendance of all.  The church could have escaped persecution by the Roman Empire if it had been content to be treated as a cultus privatus – of the many forms of personal religion.  But it was not.  Its affirmation that “Jesus is Lord” implied a public, universal claim that was bound eventually to clash with the cultus publicus of the empire.  The confession “Jesus is Lord” implies a commitment to make good that confession in relation to the whole life of the world – its philosophy, its culture, and its politics no less than the personal lives of its people.

The Christian mission is thus to act out in the whole life of the whole world the confession that Jesus is Lord of all.

We should hope our ministries among Muslims will eventually lead to robust, indigenous expression of ekklesia in their lands.  But are we naive in thinking that may happen in only a couple years?  Might it take a generation or more?

Cape Town Day Six Recap - Abdul

It's hard to believe the conference is over.  What a whirlwind / mountaintop experience.  Had great times the past few days with Joseph Cumming, Ligon Duncan, Michael Oh, Chuck Van Engen, Jason Mandryk, and so many others.  But here are just a few things that will really stick out in my mind as I travel home:

1. The absolute passion with which the Believers from a Muslim Background serve Jesus in their contexts.  These brothers from all over the Muslim world are on fire for Jesus, and unafraid to share it.
2. The picture of Palestinian and Jewish Believers in Jesus praying together for peace, and for the Prince of Peace to reign on the earth in and through their lives.
3. Lindsay Brown's closing address, in which he said some of us may not be at the next Congress because of martyrdom.  He told the story of the Somali leader who was there in 1989 and after turning down a job at the UN in New York to stay in Mogadishu and serve his people, was martyred the next year.  He should have been here at Cape Town, but he is with the Lord now.  It was a call for endurance in suffering.
4. Taking communion tonight alongside a brother from Russia in a wheelchair.  I prayed for him as I cried with him.  Then a Jewish Believer came alongside us and hugged him and cried with him too.
5. Listening to my sisters from Uganda praise the Lord in every circumstance this week, even (especially) when something wasn't perfect, they chose to praise!  One of them, Sarah, was healed from AIDS and has an amazing testimony.
6. Listening to the Gospel being read in Chinese with an aching heart for the 250 Chinese delegates who were detained at the Beijing airport and unable to come.  Just wait until Lausanne IV, there will be so many believers in China by then that the whole Congress will be in Chinese instead of English!

I am sure I will have more reflections as I travel home - some of them might be worth posting.  But if not, just know that I will come away from this conference with an absolute and rock solid confidence in the beauty of what God is building in his global church, along with a sober reminder of the suffering that is yet to come before our Lord returns in glory on that great day!  It was truly a little piece of heaven tonight as believers from almost 200 nations worshiped together in loud celebration of the grace of God displayed in the Crucified and Risen Lord!  Indeed, for this will will worship him forever!  And that is why I do what I do - because I want multitudes of Muslim people who have so little chance to hear the TRUTH about Jesus to be there with us.

Cape Town – Day 6 – Warrick

This is the last day of the congress.  It has been fun and edifying and long and intense, but now we need to get back to the real world!

I have loved soaking in Ephesians the last few months, and especially opening each morning of this congress by listening together to God speak to His Church through Ephesians.  Such an amazing, deep, rich book.

This morning was appropriately focused on partnerships.  Partnership is hard, and it requires a death to self- that we would die to power in order to see others advance the Kingdom together.  Edinburg in 1910 showed an imbalance of Westerners, but the 21st Century does not “belong to Asia.”  Asians can make the same mistake that Westerners made in the past.

We need to push for a true global equilibrium.  We have to work together.  There is no one single center of Christianity.  It does not help to speak of the “center of gravity” existing in the South.  Jesus is the center.  We all have a wonderful story to tell.  The day of the single superstar is over.

This congress has been very multicultural and very diverse, yet I feel we can have true, long-lasting friendships that inspire us to work together to “reconcile the world to God in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:19).

Lausanne III has been a profound experience, and I am grateful for the networking that I feel will benefit the partnerships I belong to.  Getting everyone involved in engaging unreached people groups is what it is all about.

Personally, I have see God answer two prayers for myself; that he would enlarge my vision of himself in Christ, and that he would enlarge my heart for sharing the gospel with the people among whom I serve.  Amen. Thank you Jesus.

Cape Town – Day 5 – Warrick

A. Each morning has featured a short video in a series called Scripture in Mission.  These videos raise awareness aimed at eradicating Bible poverty in our world today:

Scripture translation is the number one needed priority throughout the world because it’s impossible to do ministry without a biblical foundation. Look at the present reality in the 6,909 spoken languages of the world.

1. Only 451 languages have a complete Bible.
2. Another 1,185 groups have a New Testament.
3. 843 language groups have only a portion of Scripture. It is estimated that there are 2 billion people in these 2,028 language groups without any Old Testament. It is extremely difficult to make disciples without the Old Testament Scripture explaining the character of God.
4. Nearly 2,000 language translations have begun work, but as yet do not have one complete book. BUT HERE IS THE TRAGEDY:
5. 2,252 language groups do not have one verse of Scripture and no one
   is working on them. What can we do to change this? Increasing our
   efforts to launch the Oral Story Bible would be an important first step.

B. Chris Wright presented on… but I missed it because Abdul Asad and I were talking to Common Ground people!  My four concerns of Common Ground (and C5 in general):

1. Shallow ecclesiology (we want to see the full expression of the church- fellowship is not ekklesia).
2. Reduced understanding of the Gospel (it’s about more than just salvation- we want to see transformation). 
3. Unrealistically positive view of Islam (the key issue is not “What does it mean to be a Christian?” but “What does it mean to be a Muslim?”).
4. Interpretation of “remain” 1 Cor. 7 (I don’t think that text is germane to the conversation).  Related to this a narrow view of spiritual regeneration- it actually means something as it relates to our socio-religious identity in Christ.

The leader from Common Ground is a good guy and he heard these criticisms and actually wrote them down.  That’s a good example for me, to genuinely listen to criticism. 

C. I attended a breakout on Leadership Development: Issues and Solutions.  A leadership covenant is here. Random notes from the session (here is a picture I took of their model): 

• Good training provides a benchmark.  But even the best of training can’t close the gap between knowledge and change.  Most of “Leadership Development” is really just “Leadership Training.”  Only 3-5% of leaders who get training (without coaching) demonstrate any change in their leadership behavior.
• Coaching/Mentoring is a developmental relationship.  It provides ongoing assessment, challenge, and support in the leader’s real life (Job Assignment).  It has to happen on the job. 
• Training in combination with coaching is what actually works.  Training happens concurrently with coaching.  Knowledge and experience should go together. 
• What Jesus did with his disciples was mentoring.  Coaching is a little bit different technically.  But the point is that there must be a developmental relationship between the mentor and the leader for change to happen.
• Leaders cannot be mass produced.  More time with less people is the key idea.

Cape Town – Day 4 – Warrick

Vaughn Roberts on Ephesians 4:1-16 this morning.  Notes:

• Unity is a fact, not an achievement.
• Theological pride is a barrier to unity.
• Christian unity requires a proclamation of God’s Word.
• Tension of unity in diversity: when man freezes water, they all look this same- like ice cubes.  But when God freezes water, they all look different- like snowflakes.
• We have a famine of the Word of God in our churches.

Eshleman on priorities in world evangelization.

• 100,000 missionaries in the world.
• 3,000 missionaries work in places where there is no church.
• Key questions in determining priorities: Where is the church not present? What are we going to do about it?
• Watch this awesome video that played in the session:

• Tears of the Saints from HistoryMaker on Vimeo.

Lunch with Woodberry.  He gave out a couple copies of the new edition of Seed to Fruit that is coming out. This is an important book.

Breakout session on orality. I need to learn to tell more stories, especially because almost everyone learns this way!!!

Stop Spiritual Oppression

From a Cape Town Advance Paper Missing Peoples: The Unserved "One-Fourth" World: Especially Buddhists, Hindus & Muslims:

Over one quarter of the peoples of the world still have no opportunity to hear the message of God’s love or see it demonstrated in action. Dare we call this lack of response on our part, which leads to needless suffering and hopelessness on their part, anything less than “spiritual injustice?” Today these Missing Peoples have virtually no choice with respect to the gospel. They have yet to follow the One who said, “Follow Me,” not because they have rejected His call, but because they have never heard it.

Whenever someone goes missing, especially children and youth, the whole community quickly mobilizes to search for them. Why hasn’t that happened with all these Missing Peoples? What does it say about our priorities as a global Church when 3% of workers and less than 1% of the finances given to mission go toward seeking out these Missing Peoples?

Most people come to faith through a relationship with someone they know and trust. Yet over 8 out of 10 Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists do not personally know a single Christ-follower. What are the implications for the Kingdom? Every day which passes without reaching out in friendship to these Missing Peoples means they miss out on the opportunities we all take for granted—to know Jesus personally, to be filled with his joy and peace, to have his Spirit in us, to experience abundant life and have his power to help change society.

Imagine the impact if, rather than simply continuing to justify our own arenas of ministry, we invested our collective energy in addressing this spiritual injustice, and said, “Yes, we as a worldwide church are not going to allow this to continue.”

Quote Correction

The quote was wrong on the post Cape Town – Day 3 – Warrick.  It should read:

For Christ’s sake we Christians care about all suffering, especially ETERNAL suffering.

The ironic thing is that Piper said if we get this right, it could solve a lot of tension.  And then I can’t even get the quote right!

Piper, Livingstone and Keller - What a Day 3 - Abdul

Piper hit a homer this morning by making sure we keep the atonement at the center of our prophetic mission as the Church - I won't give more details except to say you should watch the video!

Piper also hit on the reality of suffering's role in advancing the gospel.  When he finished (to a rousing applause), Libby Little, the widow of Dr. Tom Little (who was killed along with 9 other team members on a medical mission in Afghanistan this August) came out to speak.  She shared some of his final journal entries (which were eerily prophetic), including the blood-stained Scripture notes from his last message to his colleagues before they were killed.  Not a dry eye in the place.  She got the second standing-O of the conference (the first being the N. Korean teenager on night one).

Her exit was followed by a fervent time of prayer to our sovereign God who, as Piper loves us to remember, works all things together for good for those of us who love God and are called according to his purposes.  I can't wait to hear about those who will believe in Jesus from Nuristan because of Tom and his team's witness to them, sealed in blood.

I had lunch with Greg Livingstone.  What an amazing man of God.  We had such a good time that we had to schedule another meal this week.

Finished off the night with a nice chat with Tim Keller at the Gordon-Conwell alumni reception.  Keller then told what I thought was a joke about a young, starstruck, but rather short conference attendee who tried to shake his hand several times but could only reach up to his belt.  Everyone laughed pretty hard.  Like I said, I thought it was a joke until I read Warrick's post.

Cape Town – Day 3 – Warrick

Today was the best day so far.  Great emphasis this morning on preaching the gospel in the midst of suffering and persecution.  There were some short videos shown on contextualization that I thought were really helpful and appropriate as well. 

Piper did an awesome job with Ephesians 3.  He brought up the tension we were all feeling between evangelism and social justice (yesterday was a focus on our broken world and the many problems humanity faces-- to some here it felt like evangelism was being sidelined) and offered this reconciling sentence:

For Christ’s sake we Christians care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering.

Basically, Piper says if the suffering in this world doesn’t move you to action, then you have a defective heart.  But if you don’t care about eternal suffering, you have a defective view of hell. 

I ran into Chuck Van Engen and had a 20 minute talk about it (totally a really cool guy!).  He says this issue is a tension that can’t be solve in theory.  He believes a covenant relationship with God in Christ is foundational, but he wouldn’t put a “priority” on evangelism over social action.  Since he was game to spend a little time with a dork like me, I offered this illustration for his appraisal:

Evangelism and social action are distinct but inseparable activities, while evangelism is central.  Which is more foundational for human existence, air or water?  Both are necessary and you’ll die without either, but breathing is more principal than drinking.  This is how evangelism relates to social action; one should not exist without the other, but evangelism is focal.

I’m trying not to “bifurcate” (HT: JR) the issue.  Anyways, Van Engen said he liked my illustration, but that we don’t really have any good models right now.

Next up were several hours of identity issues for MBBs with Joseph Cumming.  I will only offer a couple notes here.  Basically he says (we all agree) that the issue is extremely complicated.  But because it is extremely complicated, therefore we should recognize that there is not just one answer for everywhere in the world. Cumming was very adamant that MBBs themselves should sort out the issue, and any advice we offer should be done as equals and not superiors.

One thing Cumming mentioned also is that he doesn’t want to use the world “insider” or “insider movement” anymore.  It is an unfortunate and unhelpful term because we all agree (even C3 and C4) that new believers should remain inside their communities.  Interesting.

We discussed points of controversy in respect to C5:

1. The comparison of Islam to Judaism, i.e. Messianic Muslims
2. The fact that syncretism is clearly condemned in the Bible
3. The meaning of the Prophethood of Mohammed
4. The charge of deceit
5. The charge of avoiding persecution
6. The legalistic nature of Islam
7. The attitude some “Muslim followers of Jesus” have toward the the worldwide body of Christ
8. The charge of a low Christology

Cumming gave both C3/4 answers to those questions as well as defended it from the C5 perspective.  I still think the hermeneutical hinge is one’s view of Islam.  And I don’t think we could define Islam for every context and for every believer.  Thus the complication.

Anyways, Keller rounded out the day with his case for urban mission.  (I saw him earlier in the day and I wanted to shake his hand, but he was too tall.)  Keller’s church seems like the best model we have that joins together evangelism and social action?

Cape Town – Day 2 – Warrick

This morning we talked about the importance of both the vertical and horizontal aspects of reconciliation from Ephesians 2.

I had a chance to meet Joseph Cumming and talk with him (his Arabic is awesome).  I invited him to become a blogger here on Circumpolar.  We’ll see what he says!

Good conversation with Dudley Woodberry too.  I wanted to join him for a lunch conversation he was having on the Insider Movement, but he told me it was a private lunch.  At least I tried.

Spent time also talking with with Evelyne Reisacher.  She has seen hundreds of Muslims in France come to faith.  Evelyne and Dudley will be presenting something on fruitful practices among Muslims in a few days.

I’ve only seen Abdul Asad a couple times.  He’s really busy running around trying to get autographs.  Instead, I’ve been in strategic meetings trying to advance the gospel among all the nations.

Cape Town – Day 1 – Warrick

This morning was a great exposition of Ephesians 1 by Ajith Fernando.  Os Guinness gave a strong challenge to stand firm on truth. 

I had lunch with Rick Love (and my mentor who I’m rooming with).  He’s a colorful guy and he helped me think through some issues.

Meeting lots of cool people.  Highlight of the evening session on Asia and the suffering church was a testimony of a 18 year old girl from North Korea.  Not a dry eye in the place.  We also watched a video on Billy Graham.  He is definitely one of my heroes.

God is on the move and my heart is growing for evangelism.

Day One Recap

What a great first day of the Congress!  The morning expository session on Ephesians 1 was led by Ajith Fernando, whose insights were piercing.  We then heard from Carver Yu and Os Guinness (yes, he is the grandson of the Guinnesses) about standing up for truth in a pluralistic world.  Os didn't pull any punches in his condemnation of evangelical weakness on this issue, and the delegates loved it. 

During break time I got to talking with John Piper.  I asked him if we could get two of his books translated into Arabic to help strengthen the believers in Muslim countries.  The first is "Filling up the Afflictions of Christ" and the second is "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God".  Only after we said good-bye did I realize that I hadn't provided him with the names of any Arabs who could do that.  The entire day went by before I saw him again at the reception for the unveiling of the new version of Operation World.  Anyways, he had this big smile on his face and he said, "Guess what? Ten minutes after you left this morning my Arab friends from Country X came up and asked if I needed anything translated!  They said they can have both books done soon."  He had that big old smile going - the smile that he flashes when God does something sovereign, which is like one of his favorite things seeing that he is a seven-point Calvinist!

I attended the afternoon multiplex session on pluralism in a globalized world, which was very informative and sobering, particularly the part about the challenge that faces the church in Europe. 

Before dinner there was a reception for all the US delegates, hosted by Lon Allison and his team.  We got to hear from the likes of Robert Coleman and Vonnette Bright about how the Lausanne movement got started back in the 60's before the first Congress happened in '74. 

The evening plenary focused on Asia and the worldwide persecuted church.  Even though our brothers from China were detained at the airport and unable to be with us, they sent along a recording of a Chinese worship song to share with us, which was moving.  But the highlight of the night had to be the testimony of a young North Korean girl whose entire family has either died or been killed for the Gospel.  After having a dream of Jesus (seems it doesn't just happen to Muslims!), she yielded her heart to him and now wants to return to North Korea and work for human rights.  She received a standing ovation and was brought out for a curtain call.  I think all 4,000 of us were weeping with her as we clapped and then prayed. 

At the end of the plenary, I went with Bill Taylor (President of the World Evangelical Alliance) to the ceremony for the unveiling of the latest (7th edition) of Operation World.  It has been completely updated and revised for the first time since before 2001.  Jason Mandryk took a small group of us through the process of writing and publishing it.  We then prayed over the book that it might unite and mobilize the global church for mission even more than the previous editions.  Jason gave me a copy and told me to take it back to the country where I live.  What a great brother, and what a strategic ministry.

 

"Uncle Bill" prays for Jason and the book