One of those responsible for leading the younger leaders movement within Lausanne, Michael Oh, wrote this afterward:

During the reception for younger leaders, where we had close to 1,000 in attendance, I mentioned that many had been asking about the future of Lausanne and the future of the global Church. So I asked the young people gathered there to look around the room and into each other’s eyes. And I said to them, “Welcome to the future.”

Jesus showed up with a message. My job at the congress, which nobody envied but everybody was keen to encourage, was to chair the Statement Working Group.

We were tasked to listen for the voice of the Lord coming through the deluge of voices in all the plenaries and groups, and a deluge it was. It was like trying to catch Niagara Falls in a bucket. We hope to release the full Cape Town Commitment, Parts 1 and 2, in January 2011.

But what struck me towards the end was how often we had heard two themes coming through again and again ”” the same voice, saying the same things: “Make disciples” (don’t just count decisions to believe in me) and “Love one another” (and stop chopping up my body among you with your brands and labels, your ignorance and arrogance). And I thought to myself: “Two thousand years ago an Ethiopian met Jesus and brought him to the top end of Africa, through the scroll of Isaiah interpreted by Philip. How wonderful that two thousand years later our Lord is meeting us at the bottom end of Africa and giving us the same fundamental message.”

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Popes, like musical composers, tend to weave certain major and minor themes throughout their body of work. If you want to know which compositions they regard as turning points, therefore, look for the ones where they step outside their own skin — breaking with the instincts of a lifetime in order to accomplish something new.

For instance, when Benedict XVI stood next to a Muslim mufti for a moment of silent prayer in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque in 2006 ”“ despite his longstanding theological reservations about interreligious prayer ”“ it offered a clear signal of his commitment to Islamic/Catholic reconciliation, which was especially crucial in the wake of his Regensburg address just two months before.

By the same logic, Benedict XVI’s decision earlier this year to create a “Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization” also would have to rank as a carefully considered roll of the dice, because this is hardly a pope enchanted by bureaucracy.

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Healthy and growing churches pay close attention not only to their members but also to those who are not yet a part of the flock. New people are the lifeblood of a growing church. We want to ensure that nothing impairs or cuts off the flow of new people to the church.

[Parish clergy]… need to be aware of five significant facts about first-time guests looking for a church home….

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Read it all–pages 3 and 4 once you download the pdf.

Professor Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, immediate past Rector of Sunyani Polytechnic, on Saturday said sacrifice, financial and material resources and total devotion were necessary to improve on the dwindling membership of the Sunyani diocese of the Anglican Church. He said structural reform, unity, patriotism and commitment constituted the requisite essentials of the Anglican Church “to propagate the gospel, rescue the perishing and win souls for Christ”. Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah was speaking on the theme: “Let Us Rise and Build,” to climax a five-day programme and fund-raising to mark the first anniversary of Rt. Rev. Dr. Festus Yeboah Asuamah, third Bishop of the Anglican diocese of Sunyani.

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You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words “compelle intrare,” compel them to come in, have been so abused be wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.

–C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy (Harcourt Brace, 1956), p.228

12 Cities | 12 Conversations – Cape Town 2010 from ConversationGatherings on Vimeo.

It is a good question they are asking: What can the American church learn from leaders in other regions of the world?

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Update: Skye Jethani identifies those in the video discussion here.

Show us, O Lord and Master, in this new day in which we are called to witness for thee, how we may effectively present thy claims to those who are outside thy Church. May thy Holy Spirit fill us with love for them and deepen our understanding of their needs; and grant that our lives as well as our lips may so commend thee to them that they may come to find in thee the Way to the Father, the Truth that sets them free, and the Life that is life indeed; for the glory of thy name.

–Frank Colquhoun

A new book, “The State of Church Giving,” says congregations have waning influence among charitable causes because their focus now seems to be on institutional maintenance rather than spreading the gospel and healing the world.

The 20th annual study by Empty Tomb Inc. reaffirmed a “long-term turning inward of congregations” exhibited by a dwindling share of church donations spent on benevolence and evangelism. It also found a dip in money given to churches during the 2008 recession, even while donations to religious organizations overall increased.

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Wrestling with dramatic changes in how Americans practice their faith, many clergy members are willing to wait months to get guidance from Gallagher or someone like him. These consultants have become a small industry, roaming the country to challenge the definition of “church.”

When they work with congregations, they put everything on the table ¿ including whether the pastor and the church building are even necessary. Perhaps worshippers could meet in a movie theater instead. Or consider sharing a pastor with some other church. Or ditch their Sunday morning services for a time more people would find convenient.

Consultants routinely press their clients to stop being so fixated on their real estate, routines and rules. They argue that there are plenty of people who don’t have any interest in sitting in pews and listening to sermons. The challenge is to come up with a way to engage them.

“The role of the church and the clergy is dying, but I think it needs to,” says Tom Brackett, another minister-consultant who works on church development for the Episcopal Church. “The church doesn’t have a mission. We are part of God’s mission.”

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(ACNS) Young people have not inherited the rebellious hostility to the Church of their parents’ generation, although for many of them religion is irrelevant for day-to-day living. These are two of the findings of an informative new book The Faith of Generation Y, authored by Sylvia Collins-Mayo (sociologist of religion), Bob Mayo (parish priest in West London), Sally Nash (Director of the Midlands Centre for Youth Ministry) with the Bishop of Coventry, Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth (who has five Generation Y children).

Reporting a study of over 300 young people in England aged between 8 and 23 who attended Christian youth and community work projects in England, The Faith of Generation Y (those born from around 1982 onwards) provides an empirically grounded account of the nature of young people’s faith ”“ looking into where they put their hope and trust in order to make life meaningful. The book goes on to consider whether Christianity has any relevance to young people, and asks whether the youth and community projects in which they participate foster an interest in the Christian faith.

The findings from the study ”“ which make essential reading for church leaders, youth workers, missioners and teachers ”“ suggest that for most young people faith is located primarily in family, friends and their selves as individuals ”“ defined as ”˜immanent faith’.

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Even though there is nothing above on the screen if you click on play I assure you Chris Wright will appear–watch it all; KSH.

Ever since Martin Luther Christians have been calling for new reformations, with varied levels of seriousness. (In 1982 Robert Schuller published Self-Esteem: The New Reformation.) However, Chris Wright’s call on Saturday morning of the Cape Town 2010 congress had a note of unusual authenticity. His address was followed by Femi Adeleye’s take-no-prisoners talk on prosperity teaching, which he labeled “another gospel.” More to the point, much of Saturday was devoted to repentance and prayer, as participants were asked to reflect deeply on their lack of humility, integrity and simplicity.

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At the evening session, the Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam of Nigeria, the international deputy director for English, Portuguese and Spanish-speaking Africa, told Western Christian leaders at the conference to stand up and Africans to applaud them for the sacrifices of Western missionaries in bringing the Gospel to the continent.

“As a result of their obedience, God has been at work in Africa,” said Para-Mallam. “Africa has moved from a missionary-receiving continent in 1910 to now [in] 2010 a missionary-sending continent. Missionaries will be leaving Africa to Europe, from Africa to the United States of America, from Africa to all over the world.”

“The church in Africa is the church of the future,” he declared.

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There was resounding applause today as Chris Wright issued an unequivocal call for a second reformation in the world church.

Addressing the Third Lausanne Congress on world evangelisation today, the renowned theologian said Christians had lost their integrity and succumbed to the idolatry of power and pride, popularity and success, and wealth and greed.

“What do you think is the greatest obstacle to God’s desire for the evangelisation of the world? It’s not other religions. It’s not persecution. It’s not resistant cultures.

“The greatest problem for God in his redemptive mission for the world is his own people.

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When asked about the messages emanating from the Cape Town 2010, Dr [René] Padilla said ”˜I am thankful that we can now talk openly about the social dimension of the gospel.’ Referring to the relationship of evangelism and social responsibility, Padilla recalled the analogy once given by his longtime friend, British theologian and churchman John Stott. Aged 89 and a lifelong bird watcher, John Stott advocates that proclamation of the gospel and the social dimension of the gospel go together like ”˜two wings of a bird.’

René Padilla remarked that the level of disquiet he received in 1974 was rather intense. Given the climate of Cape Town 2010, it would appear that things have clearly changed.

While taking part in a panel focusing on Latin America, René Padilla articulated three priorities facing evangelicalism in particular, and the Church as a whole. At the top of the list is what the senior statesman calls ”˜true discipleship, modelled after the original disciples of Christ.’ His other concerns, seen as interrelated and of equal importance, are globalization, which he claims breeds an unjust economic system, and the stewardship of God’s creation.

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(ACNS) The second full day of the Cape Town 2010 Congress focused on the role of the church in the ministry of reconciliation””reconciliation of women and men with God’s creation, reconciliation between people of different economic status, and reconciliation between people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds.

Ruth Padilla DeBorst, the General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship, began the day by leading participants through a study of Ephesians chapter two. She provided thoughtful insights about the nature of God’s transformative power in changing people and societies.

“Jesus made peace by doing justice, by restoring to rightful place and right relations those who were being deprived of them by unjust systems, human greed and abuse of power,” Ruth Padilla Deborst said. “God lives wherever men and women together allow the Community-of-love to imprint God’s image on them, to speak reconciliation into being in their midst, to tear down all humanly constructed walls and spiritually bolstered exclusions so that unity becomes visible, to remind them that once we were all together in death and that our lives, our value and our purpose depend entirely on God’s unmerited grace. God yearns to build the world church today into his earthly dwelling place.”

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Dr. Jensen stated that “through Connect 09 the Lord has blessed our renewed commitment to the community, as a way of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all.”

Based upon “the figures we have, and using considerable caution, we grew numerically in 2009. Perhaps by even as much as five per cent” or 3000 people.

“To grow at all is significant; to grow by anything like that percentage is sensational,” Dr. Jensen said.

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You can participate (really) in eight different languages–check through it carefully.

Check out this hugely significant event which begins today.

Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday outlined his most tangible initiative yet to try to revive Christianity, creating a Vatican office for re-evangelizing Europe and other traditionally Christian regions where the faith is falling by the wayside.
In an official decree, Benedict said the new office would work with bishops to promote church doctrine, use modern communication methods to get the church’s message out and mobilize missionary-type activities using members of religious orders and new religious movements.

But even on its first day of existence, the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization ran into an all-too-typical Vatican snag: The four-page decree instituting the office was issued only in Latin and Italian, even though the pope announced the office’s creation four months ago.

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What is the biggest obstacle to the growth of the church in Britain today? Creeping secularisation? Richard Dawkins? Infighting over women bishops or gay clergy? Let me make another suggestion: how about the continued existence of pews?

For the first 1,500 years of the church’s life, pews were extremely rare. In most medieval churches people stood or sat on the floor, with only a narrow bench around the edge of the building for seating. Eastern Orthodox churches never got around to having pews ”“ still today in Russia and Greece, worshippers stand.

When they did gradually get introduced, pews were a mixed blessing. They were intimately connected with social division and hierarchy, with pews ranked according to social standing. The rich would have large grand stalls at the front and woe betide anyone who sat in the wrong one. They were exclusive then, and they are exclusive now. Pews today effectively exclude the 90 per cent of people who are not regular attenders of services.

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Part of the 20/20 vision had been the truth that mission united us and issues divided us. Since 2003, issues have divided us. While some leaders say we are still doing 20/20 mission, most people in the wider church know this initiative was dead on arrival.

As a consequence, we have returned to our long-standing decline. In only a few more years, the very viability of our church’s structure will begin to be called into question ”” the signs are already there. In the years that followed 2003, I have come to the conclusion that the Episcopal Church is headed toward about 1 million members in 2020, an average Sunday attendance around 400,000 and around 6,000 mainly small congregations. The 20/20 initiative was, among all things, a concerted effort to bring revitalization and growth to a long declining mainline church. It failed and we are now faced with an institutional decline that, save a direct intervention and miracle by God, cannot be reversed. There is insufficient leadership, desire, or institutional will to change.

The failure of the 20/20 initiative, combined with the subsequent controversy around human sexuality, has placed our community in a very precarious position. I am not suggesting that we return to the 20/20 initiative, but I do believe that our community urgently needs toaddress our current realities and find leaders who can point us toward a more hopeful future.

–The Very Rev. Kevin Martin in the October 8, 2010, Living Church (p.10).

I do not like the new way the website is laid out at all–it is very user unfriendly. In any event, use these numbers to get a sense of where your diocese has been.

Then go to the link at the end of this sentence and enter the name of your diocese (and parish if you desire) and you can see some of the data from 2009 (Click on the “Studying Your Congregation and Community” words under Research if you have any trouble).

The House reconvened in the afternoon and discussed “The Changing Contexts for Evangelism in the Third Millennium: Developing Leadership for Evangelism.” During this portion of the program, the bishops heard from the following:

Bishop Diane Bruce of Los Angeles addressed the changing demographics of congregations, stressing that what is necessary is the three-fold welcome of radical hospitality, listening, and love. Time is needed to learn about the community, to “honor and welcome those among us” through language needs as well as community needs, such as a communal meal after services (important in the Asian populations).

Bishop Michael Smith of North Dakota said his diocese is racially diverse, with six First People congregations on four reservations, as well as those of Swedish descent and Sudanese; one-quarter of the clergy are people of color, 50-50 split of men and women. He believes people need to grow in their own sense of discipleship He further believes there needs to be an invitation to grow as disciples, which requires people willing to be transformed from church members to actual disciples of Jesus Christ.

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The Bishop of Warrington has issued a rallying call to the town’s community ahead of Back to Church day next Sunday, September 26.

Bishop Richard Blackburn is hoping people who have not been to church for weeks, months, or years will try the modern church.

Congregations have been handing out invitations to friends and family, and the bishop wants to further extend this invitation to the whole of Warrington.

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With the London Olympics less than two years away, in Southwark Diocese work has begun to engage with the mission opportunities presented by the games.

A Diocesan Olympic coordinating group was formed in 2009, with local clergy from each of the four Olympic sites (Greenwich Peninsula, Greenwich Park, Woolwich and Wimbledon), plus representatives from the Board of Education, Youth & Children’s Group, Mission Department, Southwark Cathedral, Communication and Resources – and two former Olympic athletes, Lorna Boothe from Mitcham and Shaun Lightman from Selsdon.

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Almost 100 parishes across the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne will take part in Back to Church Sunday (BTCS) on 12 September.

“The idea is that through a personal invitation to a friend or acquaintance those who have stopped attending church will return,” explained Paul White, Bishop of the Southern Region, who is co-ordinating Back to Church Sunday for the Diocese.

The theme of the day is ‘Come as you are’, designed to reassure guests that they are welcome in church without expectations and without feeling they have to measure up to a particular standard.

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Using a two-sides-of-the-coin approach ”” traditional liturgy and social outreach ”” St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Hollywood, has found success in a transitory neighborhood and an often anti-religious culture. In the process, it has become a model for catechetical training, new-member retention and fundraising.

“If you want snobby ”˜privileged at prayer’ go to Beverly Hills,” said longtime parishioner Michael Ensign. “We’re a funny little outpost at Hollywood and Gardner; a real ship of fools. But we’re clear about who we are. We’re messy and very human, but in messiness is God.”

Ensign has been at the church for 22 years. He is a career actor and veteran of too many movies and television series to list (including Big Love, CSI, and Boston Legal).

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