Seoul Controversy

It would not be a Lausanne Congress without some controversy or other. Back in the original gathering it was the young Latin Americans, Rene Padilla and Samuel Escobar, who injected the need to address social action into the discussions. Not everyone agreed, but Stott was won over, so the new (or recovered?) emphasis was included in the Lausanne Covenant: 

"Although reconciliation with other people is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty."

Some participants refused to sign the Covenant because of this - I seem to remember that Ruth Graham, Billy's wife, was one of them. And in the subsequent years and especially in the discussions surrounding the Consultation on the Relationship of Evangelism and Social Responsibility in 1982, that issue was hammered out further.

It has never really gone away: irritations resurfaced at John Piper's exposition in Cape Town, in 2010.

And at Seoul the tension emerged again. Theologian Ruth Padilla DeBorst, Rene's daughter, spoke on the Monday evening on justice, and appeared to draw a moral equivalence between the "hostages held by both Israel and Hamas". It was not the only controversial thing to come from the platform that day but it was the most incendiary. And the next morning we received an email from the conference organisers apologising for the pain and offence that the presentation caused.

It would be a very difficult thing to make that judgment. David Bennett, the Congress Director, was doing a sterling job, so I for one would not want to criticise. Somehow, in such a gathering we need to be able to share our views without causing offence. Later in the week, the congress organisers also sent out an email from RPD, in which she sought to clarify her words. 

Another controversy also emerged during the week over the Seoul Statement. This document is meant, as its preamble clearly states, to build on the three previous core documents of the Lausanne Movement. So it was a little odd to me that it was immediately criticised for not adequately addressing this or that. It is a complex task to render such a statement into a form that is faithful, clear, and readily translatable. I will be looking to reread it over the coming weeks, as it deserves careful reflection.

Sense and Sensibility: Two Dimensions of Pioneering Evangelism

[This message was given at the close of a half-day conference with EMF at my church, Freeschool Court Church, Bridgend, Wales, on 19th November 2022. I had been asked to stand in for my friend who was not well.]

We have been listening throughout the morning to the great challenge of taking the glorious message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the dark continent of Europe.

And what a challenge it is!

How can we be faithful in reaching Europe with the gospel in the 21^st Century?

It seems to me that there are two miss-steps we can make as we think through that question:

1.     It all comes down to strategy. We need to research the European scene in careful detail, analysing the social demographics, and interpreting the cultural themes that dominate the minds of her people. Then we need to assess methods of engagement, adopt successful models, manage our ‘human resources’, train a rising generation in the latest in effective mission techniques, invest in dynamic technologies, and develop a sustainable support base to ensure that we can always affirm that “God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.”

2.     It all comes down to the Holy Spirit. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead the ministry. If we are truly spiritual people, we will be filled with the Spirit and we will be able to operate in the power of the Spirit rather than in the power of the flesh. In the spirit of the Proverbs, if in all our ways we acknowledge him, he will direct our paths. And in that way, we will taste success in in such a way that has never before been seen in the history of missions. The Spirit will give us Europe. 

Now, these are really caricatures, and in practice we may be hard pressed to find such extreme thinking in reality. But we can readily find examples of churches and organizations who have adopted one or the other of these models as their general approach.

Why do I say these two approaches to ministry in Europe today are miss-steps? For a simple reason: each, at least in these stereotypical forms, leaves no room for the other. They are totalizing. All you need, say both camps, is this. They are Shredded Wheat approaches: nothing added, nothing taken away.

How should we move forward in the great task of disciple making 20 centuries after the Lord first gave his disciples his final instructions? 

It seems to me that we need to have a two-dimensional approach. And I think we can see that very clearly in the story of the way the gospel first came to the mainland of what we now call Europe, around the year 50AD. Turn with me to Acts 16:6-15.

So in this wonderful story, we observe two dimensions of pioneering evangelism – with apologies to Jane Austen – sense and sensibility:

1.    Sense

Imagine the scene: Paul and his companions are walking through the hot, dry interior of what is now called Turkey. Where are they going? They were not wandering around the Mediterranean Basin in a random manner. 

If you look carefully at Paul’s movements throughout the book of Acts, you will be struck that Paul was intentional in all he did. Remember how he was sent out from Antioch, and how he and Barnabas “went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus” (Acts 13:4)? Why did they go there on their first excursion? We are not told, but that fact that we are told that Barnabas was from Cyprus surely gives us a very strong clue. That was Barnabas’ place. He knew it well. He had connections. They could stay with relatives. He understood the Cypriot mindset and could help Paul to avoid some of the faux pas that every cross-cultural worker knows so well.

But where do they go when they land in Cyprus? The port towns of Salamis where they landed and Paphos from where they sailed for Perga in Pamphylia to the north. And that is what we see on all Paul’s gospel journeys – he makes for important cities and when he arrives proclaims the gospel, often staying until he is kicked out.

Clearly, Paul and his companions were seeking to evangelise according to a plan, according to an approach, according to a strategy. They were in other words, using their sense. Using their God-given gift of intelligence.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he tells them that he had “planned many times to come to you” (Rom 1:13). At the end of his letter, he outlines his whole approach to his ministry: “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation” (Rom 15:20). Then he tells them of his ‘plan’ to visit them on his way to Spain (24). 

In the same way, Paul discusses his plans to visit the church in Corinth (2 Cor 1:15-17).

Now this is important. As we have seen, there are those who suggest that strategic planning is unspiritual. They criticise those who spend time researching the people among whom they are hoping to witness. “Just go out and see how the Spirit leads you,” they say. Strategy is unspiritual.

Not so to Paul. And that is why he and his companions, Silas and Timothy, were on their way through the interior. They had revisited the cities at which they had previously preached: places like Derbe and Lystra. And now they are heading west. Where are they going? They are heading to the Roman Province of Asia. Now that is not the vast continent we call Asia today. Asia in Paul’s day was a much smaller region – a Roman Province. And, more importantly, Paul is heading for Ephesus, the principal city of the province. How do we know that? In v. 6 we read that they had “been kept by the HS from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” But there is further evidence: this verse begins a new act in the drama of the Acts of the Apostles. You can see it is a new act because the previous verse is one of Luke’s summary statements (5).

So Asia is mentioned right at the beginning of this section – of this act. Paul is wanting to preach in Asia, and especially at its principal city, Ephesus. He doesn’t manage to get there at first but gets diverted – more on that in a minute. But after he and his team travel all around Macedonia and Achaia they do in fact end up in Ephesus (19:1). Finally, phew, they arrive in the great city and have such a fruitful visit they end up staying for over two years (19:10). And so Luke can wrap up that act in the drama by showing how Paul’s plan had been successful, even though he had had to get there in a convoluted manner (19:20).

So really, Paul’s ministry in Macedonia and Achaia could be described as a diversion from Paul’s plan. But what a diversion it was. And that leads us to the other dimension of pioneering evangelism:

2.    Sensibility

By this I mean, sensitivity, or the ability to perceive the leading of the Spirit.

Paul and his companions “were kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (Acts 16:6). That would mean nothing if they hadn’t been prevented from carrying out a plan. In the next verse we read that they “tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” 

We are not told in what way the Holy Spirit had prevented them from ministering in Asia and Bithynia. Perhaps there was a word of prophecy. Or a dream. Or maybe it was circumstantial, a river in flood across their path, for instance. We are not told. But whatever it was, Luke tells us that it was the work of the Spirit. And they recognised it as such. That is what I mean when I say they had sensibility, or sensitivity.

And so they pass by Mysia and make their way down to the port city of Troas (8). And it is there, during the night, that Paul has a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’ (9). Well, you would think with such sensibility as Paul evidently had it would be a no-brainer. But read on and how do we find them responding to that vision (10)? Don’t miss it. They “concluded that God had called [them] to preach the gospel to them.” How did they do that? They must have talked it over. Paul could be very strong when he needed to be. But he did not issue a directive. He mulled it over with his companions, Silas and Timothy and now also Luke.

I love that about Paul. He planned, he strategized, he used the sense that God had given him. But he was also sensible – sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in extraordinary ways. And even with such extraordinary leading, he still discussed it with his companions. Wouldn’t you have loved to be part of that team? No heavy handedness, no throwing his weight around, no abuse of power. A far cry from the way that some gospel workers operate.

So, they put to sea and arrive in Neapolis (11). And after disembarking they make their way up the hill on the outskirts of the town, and down the other side, heading inland through the Macedonian scrubland to find the Egnation Way, the Roman road that linked the eastern part of the empire with Imperial Rome itself. And after a few hours of walking, there it is.

They join the road with its marble flagstone heavily rutted by the chariots and carts of numerous Roman legions, and head west for the important Roman colony of Philippi. They can see the rocky hill of the Acropolis up ahead, above the city. And finally they arrive at their destination. It is a small city – less than half a mile across and packed with houses, administrative buildings, a market place and forum, and off to their right, at the foot of the Acropolis, the amphitheatre whose acoustics no doubt Paul was eager to try out.

And we are told that they stay there several days. They need to rest after their journey. No doubt also they are praying that the Lord would open up a door of opportunity for the gospel.

And so it is that, on the Sabbath, they make their way passed the prison on their right and out of the city, and ten minutes later arrive at a small river, where, just as they expected, they find a place of prayer (13). And it is there that they speak to the women who have gathered.

And then read this: “One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth.” And then these wonderful words: “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message” (14).

And that is how the gospel first came to the European mainland.

What Can We Learn from This?

We must always resist the temptation to reduce the ministry that the Lord has given us to a single dimension. It’s not sense or sensibility. It is sense and sensibility. And that means we can learn two lessons for our ministry in Europe today:

1.     The Lord has given us minds. And one of the works of the Spirit in the life of a believer is to elevate our minds so that we can think clearly and be wise in the way we act. So it is entirely appropriate for us to do our demographic research and our social analysis and our cultural interpretation. Because that is a God-glorifying use of our rational faculties. That is why, a few weeks later, Paul could say to the Athenian philosophers, “As I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD” (Acts 17:23). What a thing for the zealous Jew Paul to do! Before he came to Christ, he would not have been seen dead near a detestable idol. But now the Lord had liberated him from that scrupulosity. He would observe their artefacts. He would read their poets. He would find points of contact, the bridges of God, and he would cross them with the gospel. He was not worried about being polluted by false religion. He would reason with everyone who would want to engage with his message.

2.     The Lord has not left us as orphans. He has given us his Spirit. You remember the last words of our Lord before he was taken up into heaven in front of his disciples: “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Spirit would lead them. And he would ensure that the gospel would ring out across the globe. Even to Europe, and the other ends of the earth. And sometimes he will do that by diverting us away from our best laid plans and sending us to a country controlled by the mafia, a university controlled by the thought police, or a sink estate where no one controls anything.

May the Lord give us grace to use the gifts he has given us and the wisdom and sensitivity to recognise when he will have us go out of our comfort zone and step into the unknown, trusting him to lead us. Amen.

Let the Earth Be Glad

 

A sermon series, preached at Freeschool Court Church, to help the local church understand God's ultimate purpose in salvation and our part in joining with him in that work.

1. Declare His Glory (Psalm 96)
2. Discipling the Nations (Matthew 28:17-20)
3. God's Great Concern (Acts 1:8) (not recorded; ms available on request)
4. Witnesses to the World (Acts 1:8)
5. How God Uses Ordinary People (Acts 11:19-21)
6. How God Builds His Church (Acts 11:22-26)
7. The Church in Action (Acts 11:26b-30)
8. The Church in Action II (Acts 13:1-3)
9. The Honourable Church (3 John)
10. God's Ultimate Purpose (Habakkuk 2:14)

Winter into Spring: Reflections on Student Ministry 2019

As winter turns to spring, it has become my custom, over the last three years, to focus my energies on student evangelism. This year it has been my privilege to be involved in four universities. My first trip was to Aberystwyth (my alma mater) to speak at a special Globe Café; after that I joined others to speak and help out at events weeks in Dundee, Newcastle, and Utrecht in the Netherlands. As in previous years, I was invited to these events especially, but not exclusively, in order to help the students with their outreach to international students.

As I experienced in 2017 and 2018, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and tired myself out in equal measure. I was impressed again with the hard work and dedication of the students in each of these universities. A significant core of leaders were joined by others pitching in to help with the many practical jobs that make an event like this work.

These students were ably supported by their staff workers (UCCF in the UK, and IFES, Ichthus, and CFSR in the Netherlands). One or two decisions that were made by the students might have been better had they consulted their staff worker or experienced guest speaker more closely, but it is easy to see this in hindsight, and I am sure the CUs will learn from experience for future years.

In each place, the students created an atmosphere of warm hospitality; there was a true community feel, which a number of guests remarked on. This is surely very significant. By doing this they are creating a ‘plausibility structure’, as Newbigin called it, for the gospel: as people are welcomed into a room or tent by a group of students who share a love for the Lord Jesus, they are presented with an apologetic for the gospel even before anyone opens their mouth. And as public life becomes increasingly rancorous and nasty, such honest friendliness stands out all the more.

I was struck again this year by the importance of the development of ongoing long-term relationships by CU members with their unbelieving friends. So many students I talked to told me that they had been brought along by a friend and in some cases by one with whom they were already reading the Bible. It is lovely to see the patient plodding of CU members rewarded with the acceptance of an invitation to a special event.

The Utrecht mission – Passion Week, as they call it there – was the first for me in Continental Europe. It was only the second Passion Week they had run – the idea is still quite new in the Netherlands. The week was run by a few keen students who worked well together.

The student scene in the Netherlands is complicated: not only do you have Agape (Campus Crusade) and the Navigators operating on campus (just as they are on a few campuses in the UK) but there are also multiple organisations affiliated to IFES. Ichthus, the group that was mainly running the Passion Week has about 120 students in Utrecht but only about a dozen were really involved in the events. The Passion Week has the potential to make a big impact on the university, but it needs to be brought front and centre of what Ichthus are doing, rather than continue as a side show for a special interest group. The result of the lack of wider involvement was a poor turn out for the most part, although, and I don’t know why, the last night was unexpectedly packed.

One of the key issues for the events is the venue. In recent years many CUs in the UK have hired a marquee. In both Dundee and Newcastle, the marquee was pitched bang in the centre of campus. Handing out flyers and inviting students along was easy. The sheer fact of the tent was a draw, but the value goes far beyond that. The CU make it their home for the week – the hard-core sleep in it overnight to keep any equipment from being nicked – and there is always coffee on the brew so people to drop in for a chat. It comes at a high price – Dundee paid £3.5k for theirs but the Student Union paid for Newcastle’s – but it is well worth it.

In Utrecht the group hired a large open room in the main campus building – a sort of balcony of the refectory – for the lunch bars, which also worked well. I was surprised to find, however, that some students struggled to find it.  Such venues need to be well sign posted. In the evening we met in a welcoming church building in the city centre, which I thought worked fine.

I am impressed with the quality of the talks in these events. This year was no exception, though one talk I heard mixed psychobabble with gospel creating a confusing message in my opinion. How important it is to ensure the speakers are up to the challenge of appropriate engagement with faithful content. When the message is clear and true and warmly delivered it is dynamite. I lost count of the times I heard a student say something like this: “I have never heard anything like that before!” How easy it makes the job of the student friend or CU guest as they seek to answer questions and urge them to consider the claims of Christ further.

We had quite a few interviews in Dundee and Newcastle and I was involved in some myself, as the interviewer. These were a mixed bag. CUs need to be careful who they ask to be interviewed. A guest interviewee who has a dramatic story may get carried away and give precious little for the interviewer to grab a hold of. Or the student might be so nervous he is constantly looking down at his script and it all looks so stilted and wooden. As the majority of guests these days are not from believing families, it is best to carefully limit the number of interviewees who have parents who took them to church from their infancy. It simply doesn’t connect with the experience of the listeners. The best interviews I listened to this year were of two students who, just a year before, had been invited along to an event and had trusted Christ. What a testimony!

Enough for now. In the coming days I shall comment on the students I met – national and international, secular and religious.

Sharing Jesus with Hindu Friends

You have started life at your new university. Despite your nerves, you make an effort to meet the other students on your corridor and discover you are next door to a Hindu. Raj is from the Midlands; his parents moved to the UK from India before he was born. Raj is easy to get along with; in many ways he seems just like any other student. But there is no getting away from the fact that there are differences too. There are images of Hindu gods on the shelf in his room, he bows to his parents when they visit, and talks with them in Gujarati.

You have always wanted to share your faith with people from other religious traditions but now that you have the opportunity you wonder where to start. How can I avoid causing offence? Can I talk about ‘God’ if his beliefs about God are different from mine? How should I present the uniqueness of Christ?

This article has been written to help you begin to answer those questions, calm your nerves, help you understand your friend, and give you some tips on how you can share your faith.

Read more here.