I love the word “advance!” It communicates momentum, action and intentional activity. But in a world where everything is moving at lightning speed, the advance can loose some of its punch.
The truth is that unless we know where we are going, advancing is simply an act of physical movement without the intentionality that we desire to see. This is true with the Lausanne Congress just as it is true with so many other arenas of ministry.
So I want to pose a challenge to you that is critical to the success of the congress in October. Lausanne is currently releasing what they call “Advance Papers.” These are the work of key groups of thinkers around the main topics of the congress. The idea is that these Advance Papers will become the catalysts for your ideas and input in order to inform the events on the ground in Cape Town.
Only one problem—the movement can’t advance without the effort of people like you (whether you are going to the congress or not) to review these papers, add to the conversation and engage on the issues.
Before we get to the “calls-to-action” at the bottom that I always have, let me share a few thoughts on what it takes to advance a movement:
- You don’t advance a cause unless you spend the time.
- You don’t see the foundation of a movement develop unless you come prepared.
- If we want to see breakthroughs in our efforts towards global evangelization, we have to invest in understanding the issues.
- Even if we spend time, prepare and seek breakthrough as we understand the issues, we will not see global impact unless we are interacting with the same vocabulary, topics and content.
I know that each person reading this blog wants to see evangelism advance and at the same time I know that each person is very busy in their ministry/professional lives. So here is what I suggest . . .
Engage: Take the topic that you responded to and commit it to prayer over the next few months leading up to the congress. Ask God to give you insights and for insights to those interacting on the topic online and in person.
Own: Pick a meeting you are leading this week within your sphere of influence and challenge each person there to read one of the papers and respond.