It’s not the best video clip I’ve ever done, but hopefully it will give you a small glimpse into what’s been happening here.
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God Love Motivation
Posted on October 21, 2010 by wtdavid
You’re probably wondering about that title of the blog post. Hopefully, it will start to make sense as you read on.
Today was our “day off” from the La
usanne Conference. However, the conference organizers had offered a number of ministry site visits in the area. I chose to take in a visit to “The Warehouse”, a ministry that seeks to train churches to address the needs of poverty and injustice in the larger Cape Town area. Currently, they work with more than 75 churches.
Part of the site visit included having lunch in a shantytown village called “SweetHome Farm”, which is actually home to 17,000 people. We ate in a room that served as a restaurant, run by a young woman who is slowly but surely re-building her life, and impacting the life of others. She now employs a 2nd person to assist her. 
Staff from The Warehouse shared how many had been helped to see how they should be involving in helping others, poor as they might be. They shared with these people that God’s love pushes one, moves one to want to meet the needs others, and trust that He will provide for one’s own needs as well. There it was, simply put, God love motivation. Here, in this little restaurant, was a dynamic and active demonstration of the Gospel going so deep into the hearts and lives of people, and the practical, community oriented fruit that arose from a heart mastered by this Gospel.
Do you see the reason for my title? I figured if I wrote: “Gospel Motivation” at the start of this post, you (like I) might have overlooked the supernatural, transforming power of God’s love in moving hearts to bring hope in spiritual as well as tangible ways to others. God love motivation is so different from a “have to do” or “must do” type of motivation. Today was a powerful reminder of that truth, from people who may have so much less economically than I do, and yet are having great kingdom impact.
Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Gospel, Mission | 1 Comment »
Pray Leading to Pray Leading to …
Posted on October 19, 2010 by wtdavid
Around a table like this, the 4500 participants of the Lausanne Congress gather each AM to study the book of Ephesians. It is amazing the silence in the room as everyone takes time to first individually study the text of Ephesians before beginning to share with their table group members. Table A054 is where I meet with Dusan, Daehaeng and Nawal.
Following our group study, the plenary session speaker takes time to share his/her thoughts. Some things that have struck me so far the past two days:
- That chapter 1 of Ephesians is made up of two prayers: a doxological prayer (1:3-14) and a prayer for the Ephesian believers (1:15-23). The doxological prayer gives rise, gives inspiration to his prayer for the Ephesian church.
- This doxological prayer is a deep and profound reflection on the Gospel and the acts that led to redemption; all that God did to bring us to Himself.
- The amazing “breaking in” of God in the midst of our unbelievable hopelessness (chapter two), having been held in the eternal grip of death: “But God …” (2:4). He “re-creates” us in Christ to give us forgiveness, value, purpose and identity.
- Message of the Gospel is a mission of reconciliation, yet are those around us struck by what they see in the church?
These studies lead right into the morning’s theme issue of “making the case for the truth of Christ” (Monday) and “the ministry of reconciliation in the world” (Tuesday). It’s really impossible to try and summarize in a few words, the thrust of the messages. Suffice it to say that this morning we challenged from the Word, by speakers and by video clips to grasp & feel God’s desire to restore all that is broken in our world.
But I would encourage you to see what’s been posted to the Lausanne website of the sessions: www.lausanne.org.
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God Is On The Move
Posted on October 18, 2010 by wtdavid
I actually had another post ready, but tonight’s session made me change my plans. As we entered the auditorium, up on the screen were written the words: “God Is On The Move”. The particular focus was on how God was at work in the region of Asia. Different testimonies were shared of what God is doing in this part of the world. Then a young girl came on stage to share her story. What we heard truly made one recognize that “God is on the move.”
Her father was a close advisor to one of the leaders of a highly repressive regime in Asia. He and his family were forced to flee the country when he was politically denounced. In the country where they found asylum, they were hosted by relatives who lead them to church. There her parents gave their life to Christ. Her mother passed away a few years later, leaving her father and her. But her father now had one objective, to return to his country and share Christ. Leaving his daughter with a pastor’s family, he returned to his homeland. Imprisoned after just a few months, he spent several years in jail. After he was released, he was reunited with his daughter. However, rather than weaken his faith, his time in prison had solidified and grown his faith. His heart broke for his people and he chose to go back once again to his homeland to share Christ.
His daughter has not heard from him since, knowing that he has probably been publically shot for his faith. Several weeks later, she, now alone in her adopted country, saw Jesus in a dream, walking towards her and asking her: “Why have you kept me waiting? Walk with me.” When she woke, she knew she had seen Jesus, and gave her life to Christ.
But that isn’t the end of the story, for with tears in her eyes, she shared how she, like her father, wanted to glorify her heavenly Father by working to share the love of Christ with her people, in her homeland. “Pray for my people,” she said, “pray that my people would know the love of Christ.”
In a sign of unified agreement and commitment to pray, the entire assembly rose to their feet.
God is on the move.
Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Gospel, Mission | 3 Comments »
The Congress Is Open
Posted on October 17, 2010 by wtdavid
Some snippets from the day:
Ramez Attallah of the Egyptian Bible Society, in explaining the purpose of dividing the entire Congress into table groups of six people, encourages us to recognize that there are not twenty speakers, but 4500 speakers and presenters as we speak into one another lives around the tables.
My table has people from South Korea, Serbia, Malaysia, India, and the US. If this is in any way representative of other table groups, the the dialogue just around the table will be a “global conversation.”
A letter is read from Billy Graham where he exhorts the Congress to recognize that many things have changed since the first Lausanne Congress in 1974, and that we should be diligent to assess those new realities of our times. However, he went on to say, some things have not changed over the years: the deepest need of the human heart is still to be reconciled to God; the Gospel has not changed, it is still the message of hope; nor has our mandate changed to go into all the world with the Gospel
Archbishop Henry Orombi of the Anglican Church of Uganda shared how it is a miracle that this Congress is being held in Africa, but that it is equally a miracle that God entrusts His message of reconciliation to us ordinary people.
Singing together the hymn that was the theme song for the Edinburgh 1910 World Missions conference: “Crown Him With Many Crowns”.
1200 participants are pastors; 1200 participants are missionaries; 1200 participants are academics; and 600 are marketplace ministers.
A new song is learned with the refrain: “We who were sin, now shine in righteousness; filled with His life and reconciled in Him.”
Doug Birdsall, chair of the Lausanne Committee, declares the third Lausanne Congress officially open: “May the dialogue begin!”
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On The Way To Cape Town
Posted on October 14, 2010 by wtdavid
I leave tonight for Cape Town (23h20 Paris time), and would appreciate your prayers for traveling mercies as well as for what I shared in a previous post: that I would have a posture of “humble listening”; that I would listen well to others and discern what God is saying to me and to us as a mission community through these brothers and sisters in Christ from so many different nations and people groups.
Thanks for the ongoing conversation. I’ll talk to you from Cape Town.
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Thoughts Along The Journey 