I can’t help myself. Every year I make New Year’s resolutions. This year mine included both small and large goals. I want to spend more time in prayer, be more extravagant in extending grace and mercy to people around me, be a better wife, mother and friend, practice more hospitality and send more personal handwritten notes.
I know, I know. Some people say these things are a waste of time. They scoff at resolutions, knowing that most people can’t keep them for more than a day or two. It’s almost the end of January. If you made any resolutions, are you keeping them? Are you any closer this month than last month to that personal goal or to reforming that bad habit? Or have you been sidetracked?
Our pastor is preaching a series this New Year called “F.I.R.E.D. UP”, with the emphasis on resolving to live a life that brings glory to God and leads us to serve Him more fully. Here’s the quick outline:
F reedom from bondage (John 8:34-36)
I nvesting in others (Hebrews 10:24-25)
R esourcing God’s work (Luke 6:38)
E veryone doing their part (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
This past Sunday, the focus was on investing in others. As believers, God gives us His power along with unique gifts and a place of service where we can encourage, equip and evangelize others.
How is God using you, your organization or your church in these three areas?
As a Movement, Lausanne is focused on “making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16a) to mobilize evangelical leaders to collaborative for world evangelization. Lausanne is convening national, regional and international leadership gatherings, facilitating resource sharing among the body of Christ and communicating strategy and action on mission and evangelization.
One year ago this month, Lausanne released The Cape Town Commitment (CTC). Framed in the language of covenant love, the CTC is a biblical affirmation of evangelical faith and provides 33 Calls to Action on world evangelization. These Calls To Action serve as the blueprint for Lausanne’s work for the coming decade.
With its 33 Calls to Action and dozens of Bible references, the CTC can seem a bit daunting. Where does one even “dive” into such a comprehensive document?
Here’s some advice. Over the three weeks I challenge you to read the CTC each day, underlining particular phrases that stand out to you and writing down any comments about what you’re reading:
(A downloadable version of the CTC is available in several languages. A Didasko Files version of the CTC may also be purchased in print.)
Reading The Cape Town Commitment
Day 1
- CTC Confession of Faith
Day 2
- CTC Call to Action
Day 3
- Foreword and Preamble to Part I
Day 4
- We love because God first loved us
Day 5
- We love the living God
Day 6
- We love God the Father
Day 7
- We love God the Son
Day 8
- We love God the Holy Spirit
Day 9
- We love God’s Word
Day 10
- We love God’s world
Day 11
- We love the gospel of God
Day 12
- We love the people of God
Day 13
- We love the mission of God and For Reflection
Day 14
- PART II Introduction and IIA, Bearing witness to the truth of Christ in a pluralistic, globalized world
Day 15
- IIB. Building the peace of Christ in our divided and broken world
Day 16
- IIC. Living the love of Christ among people of other faiths
Day 17
- IID. Discerning the will of Christ for world evangelization
Day 18
- IIE. Calling the Church of Christ back to humility, integrity and simplicity
Day 19
- IIF. Partnering in the body of Christ for unity in mission, the Conclusion and For Reflection
Day 20
- Read the entire CTC
As you read each part of the CTC and then the entire document, I hope you’ll see the beautiful mosaic of faith and action expressed in the document and how important one is to the other. As we approach the CTC prayerfully let’s not only look for a greater understanding of the document itself, but more importantly seek what God would have each of us do in response.
What issues in the CTC are you already involved in and what issues do you feel drawn to learn more?
Over the next few months, we’ll be systematically “unpacking” the CTC by providing a monthly focus on one of the issues. As we move through this next year we’ll hear from leaders around the world who are actively and creatively involved in these issues and you’ll have a chance to interact with these leaders and share your thoughts.
The February focus will be on the Diaspora (Cape Town Commitment, Section II C 5, Love Reaches Out to Scattered Peoples).
Who are the Diaspora and how can we minister to and with them?
In March we’ll look at Business as Mission (Cape Town Commitment, II A 3, Truth and the Workplace).
Can business and mission goals really be integrated?
I encourage you to begin today reading The Cape Town Commitment and exploring the conversation on the issues already taking place in The Lausanne Global Conversation (lausanne.org/conversation).
Have suggestions on ways to improve how we’re doing this? Post a comment below. (And feel free to include any advice on how to keep my New Year’s resolutions, too!)