After an unwavering affirmation of God’s Truth in troubled times on the first day of the Congress, Day 2 began to focus on the incarnation of that Truth in our world today. The topics were weighty ones which included among others poverty, reconciliation and HIV/AIDS.
However, unlike our natural tendency towards “this or that” thinking, the proclamation of Truth and its daily incarnation in our world are not being treated as more-or-less important than each other. Instead, there is an opportunity for a “both/and” approach where the Truth is the foundation and, as Ruth Padilla DeBorst said it this morning, we are the “living stones” that make up God’s temple on earth.
Ruth, a Latin American theologian and the Bible expositor today, focused on Ephesians 2 and asked several hard questions:
“Do we envision ourselves as living stones that must fit together with others in order to compose God’s living place? Are we aware that the most powerful testimony of God’s love for the world are the reconciled relations between us regardless of our background?”
She challenged us to consider our purpose as representatives of Christ.
“God grants humankind purpose . . . Our reign with Christ in heavenly places is to be given concrete historical expression in our ethical behavior here and now. Good works are a mark of new life and faithful discipleship. Their absence an indication of their lack.”
You can watch Ruth’s presentations at lausanne.org/conversation.
Those challenges were followed up by discussions on difficult issues that are stretching the Church’s will and ability to be those “living stones.” The discussions were challenging and honest as you can see by just a handful of twitter posts I have selected:
- Sustainability is the key to God's creative and convenantal handy work -Ken Gnanakan #lcwegreen #lcwe
- Food, energy, water. If Christians focused thinking on these three items, we would be far more engaged. -Ken Gnanakan #lcwegreen #lcwe
- Rich Stearns “The American Dream is a nightmare for the rest of the world.” #lcwepoverty #lcwe
- What will historians say about the richest group of Christians in history who spent more on buildings than the poor? #lcwepoverty #lcwe
- If we talk about “poverty” we put the pressure on the poor. If we talk about “greed” we put the pressure on the rich. #lcwepoverty #lcwe
- We need to address the subtle consumerism that we as Christians may not even be aware of #lcwepoverty #lcwe
- 1 Billion people live on less than one dollar a day, but these are individuals, not just stats #lcwepoverty #lcwe
- There is not a lack of world resources, just poor management. Some have too much while others have too little. #lcweresources #lcwe
- peterkgreer “A veneer of Christianity that does not cause us to love our enemies is a dangerous weapon.” My new Pakistani friend at #lcwe.
- The churches of Rwanda has discovered the message of reconciliation in the message of the gospel – A. Rutayisire #lcwe #capetown2010
- yorkmoore Brenda Salter-Mcneil “the legitimacy of the church depends on being reconciled” #capetown2010
- kouya There are more slaves in the world today than at the time of Wilberforce D'Souza #capetown2010
- How do we maintain our holiness, while engaging with popular culture? #lcwemedia #lcwe
The issues are sobering. And Chris Rice quoted two thinkers that are diagnosing some of these challenges at a macro level. In his blog post he shared John Perkins’ quote, “We are over-evangelizing the world too lightly.” What an indictment it is that we have so often trumpeted the foundation of Truth that God has laid but built very little on that foundation through our daily, sacrificial actions.
Rice also quoted Peter Cha, “We need to overcome the global/local divide. We need fresh approaches which integrate global faithfulness and local faithfulness.” This is key as all those involved in the Cape Town 2010 Global Conversation reengage in local ministry. Can we build unity and purpose as a Global Church and at the same time translate that to tangible action in our local communities? Read Chris’ full blog here.
But even with the weight of the issues today, some powerful questions and observations put them in their place. The TSCF Staff from New Zealand asked this question, “What does it mean to sing the Lord’s song as His People in this World, at this time, with a distinctive voice? What must we do to be heard as we call the lost and the unreached to faith in Christ?”
And Skye Jethani finishes his observations of the day with this great encouragement, “There are many more stories to share . . . But what is happening around the world is truly amazing. I will simply say this–be encouraged, Christ is building his church and the gates of hell are not prevailing against it.”
Ruth’s final challenge as she ended her time of sharing today was this, “Let us pledge ultimate allegiance not to the Caesars of the day but to the Lord of History, the only Prince of Peace.”
The “Lord of History” has built us a foundation of Truth on which to stand. And we are His “living stones” embodying his Kingdom on that foundation.
What does that mean for your ministry today?
How will you represent the proclamation of Truth and the demonstration of the Gospel as you strive to pledge your allegiance to the Prince of Peace?