Guinness Is Good For You

I had some Guinness yesterday morning and it was good for me. Not the black stuff, though my doctor tells me it is good from time to time. This was the real thing – Dr Os Guinness, great great grandson of the Dublin brewer. A social critic, acclaimed thinker and speaker of great repute, in his fifteen short minutes, he showed us why.

Given the briefest of moments to share something of significance on ‘truth’, not a word was wasted. In clearly measured and meaningful tones, Guinness reminded us that “truth is a person, not a proposition”. He showed us that truth matters and that the gospel truth speaks to our highest dilemmas and deepest traumas of society.

He gave six reasons why truth matters supremely:

1 – Only a high view of truth honours the God of truth. Truth is first and foremost a matter of

theology. Those who weaken truth weaken their view of God.

2 – Only a high view of truth reflects how we come to know & love God.

3 – Only a high view of truth empowers our best human enterprises. As Christians, we think in believing and believe in thinking.

4 – Only a high view of truth can undergird our proclamation and defence of the faith.

5 – Only a high view of truth is sufficient for combating evil & hypocrisy.

6 – Only a high view of truth will help our growth and transformation in Christ.

Elsewhere I’ve posted some frustrations that evangelism hasn’t always been central and the dominant theme so far in this congress. Guinness clearly illustrated that he believes in the importance of evangelism, and in his analysis of truth, he helped me see afresh the truth of the gospel and the importance it plays in the proclamation of Jesus. I don’t often partake of Guinness, but having drunk it in, I’ll be tempted to indulge more often.

Pass the baton!

(Spotted in Cape Town - No Vacancies?)

I’m passionate about a number of different things in life. One of the things you’ll hear me talk about regularly is sport. I love most, but Rugby League is one of the finest. However, my passion for sport pales into eternal insignificance compared with the joy of knowing Jesus personally and the privilege of making Him known globally.

You may wonder why I’m talking about things of relative insignificance like Rugby League, when I’m at a conference on global evangelisation. Believe it or not, I’ve seen similarities between Rugby League (& sport in general) and the task of world evangelisation. In the midst of checking the news on an intermittent internet connection, one BBC website article stood out – it was discussing the task of bringing through a new generation of younger leaders who would carry the baton in the English Rugby League team. For England RL, the difficulty has been exacerbated by a number of significant injuries to older players, forcing a squad for the upcoming Four Nations tournament with only two players over 30and three players aged 21.

I realise you may not know or care about Rugby League. To be honest, I love the sport, but in the grand scheme of things, it is nothing. I do care passionately about seeing Jesus proclaimed to the whole world, and particularly to those who have not yet heard of Him. The similarity between the two was not lost on me – sat here at Lausanne, the overwhelming feeling for me has been of the old school holding fort and preventing a new generation from taking the baton and running with it.

For success in leadership, whether it be in sport or in Christian leadership, there must be a correct balance between allowing older and wiser heads to exert their influence and younger, probably more risk-taking leaders to give it a go. One of the many failings in British sport has been the repeated retention of the old guard with no attempt or desire to bring in and develop a younger generation. My fear is that in the task of world evangelisation that the same is being done.

Seeing this in action in a world congress of global leaders is heart-breaking and disappointing. It leaves me disappointed and at times, despairing. However, I’m not prepared to leave it there. Sometimes (as in the England RL team currently) due to circumstances, there is no choice but to bring through younger leaders. However, there are also times when younger leaders leave the older gate-keepers with no choice. If younger leaders provide an excellent example in spite of opposition and take up the baton, no matter what resistance to it that they face, the church will be all the better for it.

I’m reminded of those great words from an old man to a young man “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12) I will take up the baton of leadership, I will encourage other younger leaders to take it up. I will learn from those who have gone before, but I won’t let them keep hold of the baton. If we are to see the world reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we need the older people to do that, but we must release the reins and allow younger people to lead, to take the initiative in global evangelism.

Privilege & prayers

This morning, I heard from a good mate of mine. It's someone I would love to see trust in Jesus and follow Him, but someone I'm miles away from, so my contact with them is sporadic. As I heard their news & enjoyed friendship, I couldn't help but think of how I want God to work in their life & how He has called me to be a faithful friend and witness to them. It's what I call nitty-gritty Christianity - the day to day discipleship issues of living the Christian life & seeking to bring other people to Jesus, so they would meet Him, love Him, trust Him & follow Him.

At the end of this week, I head away to the Lausanne III congress. In 1974, Billy Graham & John Stott (among others) were significant in bringing together Christian leaders from across the globe to "reframe the Christian mission of evangelisation in a world rife with social, political, economic, and religious upheaval". Out of that, came the Lausanne Covenant, which articulated Christian conviction and mission to see the whole world evangelised with the Good News of Jesus. From that initial event, numerous other gatherings have taken place around the world, notably the Lausanne II gathering in Manila in 1989.

I feel privileged to have been invited to the congress through my involvement in evangelism in the IFES world. My friend Lindsay Brown, is the Executive Chairman of the Congress. In chatting with him when he stepped down from his position as the IFES General Secretary said "If God gives me another 10 years or more of active work, I want to use them to bring as many people to heaven with me as possible." I like that kind of thinking. Lindsay is a man of action and has committed himself to investing in developing evangelists in Europe through the IFES movements there. It's that kind of action I would like to see happen here in NZ, the South Pacific and beyond. In 1989, a group from Scotland went to Manila & from that, Mission Scotland formed and has been significant in sharing Jesus in Scotland. I'd love to see that happen in the countries I feel deep affection for (NZ, England, Armenia, Turkey & N.Ireland), the countries I have connections with (Wales, Ecuador, Russia, India, USA, PNG, Vanuatu, Cambodia, Japan, Spain, Argentina, South Africa, Niger, some of the Eurasian countries & countries in Asia, Australia, Fiji & many more) & countries I have no connection with at all.

As I head away with colleagues from TSCF & a group of about 20 from across NZ, I feel a mix of emotions:
* Privilege for the invitation when so many who would love to be there can't.
* Expectancy. I look forward to hearing, telling & musing on stories & ideas of evangelism from across the world.
* Excitement at the chance to meet with old friends & make new friends. Already chatting with a friend who serves as General Secretary for a European IFES movement in a lonely situation has excited me about meeting him and encouraging each other in the work.
* Thankfulness to BMI (the airline who I don't always feel thankful for!) for frequent flier miles that I was able to use for my flights.
* Sadness that Jen & Sam can't come with me. We knew when we married that the things God has called me to do will involve time away from each other. I am thankful to God for Jen & her regular sacrifices which enable me to be involved in my work.

I have some fears:
* I fear that in the midst of another big conference that the primacy of the gospel & the telling of it becomes lost in some of the big ideas the congress is hoping to cover. Lausanne is not just another conference, it's not just a gathering of Christian leaders worldwide to discuss theology or ideas - it's a movement to mobilise world Evangelical leaders to collaborate for world evangelisation.
* The possibility of the congress just being a talking shop concerns me. Again, talking with Lindsay Brown he recognises that danger and is committed to endeavouring to prevent that. The real work is at the coal face globally as each attendee goes back to their home situation to speak of Jesus and develop/encourage others to share Jesus daily.
* I am concerned the Congress could be a fortress for the bastion of "the old guard" who should pass on the baton of leadership in the task of world evangelisation but who can't or won't let go for whatever reason. This morning, I watched some of the Relay races at the Commonwealth games. The teams that did not finish or were disqualified were all at fault in the same areas - they either dropped the baton or held onto it too long. May God protect us from spiritually making the same mistake.

Then I have some hopes:
* I hope that Lausanne III will spur me on in my work, that it will refresh me in my own evangelism and inspire, challenge & encourage me as I seek to help our TSCF students in their evangelism.
* I hope that the NZ party are similarly spurred on so that together we can see NZ reached with the gospel of Jesus.
* I hope that worldwide, this congress is a water-shed in world evangelisation - that it's an event that we look back at and say "Surely God was in it."

Above all, I have some prayers. They are quite simple really - that God would use this event to speak to me that in my life and work, I would do my part to see the whole world reached with the Good News of Jesus and Him crucified. My prayer is that God would not just speak to me, but to each attendee, as well as those connecting in with Lausanne from around the world, so that from it, we would have a great sense of clarity and purpose, a renewed energy and enthusiasm, and a sustained dependence and trust in God to do His work as we do the work He has called us to.

And in case I forget, the task of world evangelisation is completed one person at a time. So, my prayer has to be that God would save my friend (& others) and in His goodness & plan to use me in the privilege of being His ambassador and witness.