Page 2090 – Christianity Today (2024)

What better way to kick off a historic missions conference than with a continent-wide evangelistic operation?

“[God] has chosen Africa to carry the touch of the Gospel to the world,’ said Scott Lenning, co-director of the “Mission Africa” events which took place in 18 African nations between March and September. “This is why we see great responses to the Gospel anywhere in Africa today.”

Created in fellowship with the Third Lausanne Congress on Global Evangelization, which kicked off in Cape Town this weekend, Mission Africa paired evangelists from around the world with local ministry organizations at 21 sites from Sudan to South Africa, Liberia to Tanzania.

Lenning, who helmed the operation with co-director Songe Chibambo and Eliot Winks, says that the events “more than matched” expectations. Mission Africa estimates a total attendance of 488,394 at 890 meetings, with 58,245 responses from “Individuals Inquiring About Relationship With Christ.” Organizers are already talking about a second campaign next year, and eventually expanding from Africa to the world.

On the eve of the Lausanne Congress, Lenning and his colleagues told CT more about the operation.

Why did you create these events?

The initial idea for the events was discussed by local leaders in Cape Town who wanted to follow the tradition of Billy Graham at the original Lausanne Congress in 1974, where he had a crusade in Lausanne in addition to the congress. Local leaders did not want to limit the potential evangelistic events to just Cape Town or even South Africa, but to take them to as much of Africa as possible.

What did international evangelists and local churches each bring to the table?

We sought international evangelists, not just Western evangelists, so there could be a truer worldwide range of participation and partnerships. The international evangelists brought a variety of skills and passions ranging from classic community-wide evangelism to working with students or specific “stratified” evangelism approaches. The international evangelists brought the African community the feeling that they were part of an international event that was larger than just the local event. Finances were also partnered with both the international evangelists and the African ministries taking portions of the finances.

Local churches participated by having people trained as counselors and friends inviting friends’ friends to events. Local churches were also trained for long-term follow-up; respondents at the events were referred to local churches for post-mission Bible studies.

Did you sense the movement of God in these events?

Absolutely. Songe and I have adopted a saying to work by: ‘Attempt something so big for God that it is doomed to failure unless God be in it.’ We definitely feel God has been in Mission Africa to see this level of involvement and response.

Even this week, as part of the Mission Africa reporting [at Lausanne], we are challenging new partnerships for 2011 and calling it Mission Africa Stage II. While 2011 may still be focused in Africa, the hope is that in 2012 and beyond, other regions of the world can become host communities.

Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Christianity Today earlier reported on Lausanne, “The Most Diverse Gathering Ever.”

Since October 2009, Christianity Today has been hosting a 12-month Global Conversation on 12 key issues facing the church that will be discussed at Cape Town 2010.

To join the conversations at this year’s congress, visit Lausanne.org/globalinkreg.

Craig Culbreth, the director of partnership missions for the Florida Baptist Convention, has been visiting Haiti for the past 12 years and working with the country’s more than 1,000 Baptist churches. After his most recent visit, Culbreth spoke with reporter Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra about his work.

Countless churches lost property in the January earthquake. How many new churches have been started since January 12?

Since January, 215 brand-new Baptist churches have been started. None of these churches meet in a building. I wouldn’t even call them tents. There are no walls. A piece of plastic has been put up over wood or frames to get them out of the sun and rain.

What are the long-term prospects for these congregations?

Very good. Our plan involves Bible training, working with established pastors for encouragement, and small salary supplements for pastors. We believe everything rises and falls on leadership.

Why should planting new churches be a priority over housing or education?

You have to be on similar tracks that run together. You have to provide for them spiritually, or we’ve become just another relief agency.

Has there been a net gain in Baptist churches?

Yes. We had 891 before the earthquake, and now we have about 1,105.

Were many people in these congregations previously active in a church?

No, just the opposite, in fact. We are finding many new converts from the earthquake experience. We have records of 162,314 conversions since the earthquake. We believe our new churches are made up of these converts. We are after a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a nation that has religious people.

What are the differences between these new churches and the ones that existed before the quake?

All are under plastic tarps versus fixed buildings and full of new believers, so all are eager to learn. Their pastors are leaning heavily on God for everything. The pastors have no American supporters, which is not so bad.

How do church-planting methods change in times of disaster?

The church-planting movement in Haiti is a result of the harvest of believers. We did not seek to start church plants to reach people, but to start churches to preserve the harvest. Big difference. During a disaster, we push for people to come to Christ. When that happens, we seek to start a church with new believers.

Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Christianity Today also posted a story on a church’s rise from the rubble.

Previous coverage of Haiti includes:

Harnessing Haiti’s Football Fever | How one ministry is using Haitians’ passion for soccer to dispel post-earthquake stress. (July 6, 2010)

Idaho’s Impact | Haiti scandal overshadows bigger threat to evangelical adoption efforts. (April 26, 2010)

‘Best Time for a Christian’ | Resilient evangelicals vow to restore Haiti, body and soul. (March 1, 2010)

"Get ready for Sunday," an aid worker warned. "They like to put white people up front, next to the blaring speakers."

He was not exaggerating. Ushers took a group of visiting American Christians to the front of the Baptist church as a deafening six-piece band led a crowd of several hundred Haitians in praise songs on a sweltering summer day.

There were no pews, water fountains, or projection screens. The congregation squeezed onto crowded benches beneath an open tent as a generator hummed in the background. Like many of Port-au-Prince's churches, this one didn't exist a year ago. Sitting in the middle of a tent city on what used to be Haiti's only golf course, it is a child of the earthquake.

"Some pastors died. A lot of churches collapsed in the earthquake," the tent church's head pastor, Jean F. E. St. Cyr, explained. His was one of them: its walls are ruins, its congregants scattered.

On January 15, three days after the 7.0-magnitute earthquake rattled the country to bits, St. Cyr started leading services in the rain and mud. It was supposed to be a few days of worship amid tragedy. But the congregation is becoming a permanent fixture. St. Cyr put down gravel to contain the mud. A group of American friends sent him a tent for shelter. The church is easy to spot with its large white tent nestled near neighboring residential tents, some made out of plastic tarps, sticks, and strings.

The camp, overseen by actor Sean Penn, houses about 50,000 people. Outside the church, women sit on stools and do each other's hair, bathe children in metal bins, and many flock to visiting Americans to ask for food.

St. Cyr is eager to describe his large tent as not just a church but a sanctuary. "We're not in the camp!" he told the congregation. "We're in the kingdom! Your presence tells us God is here."

In-Tent Worship

When it's not raining, between 500 and 600 people pack the church each night, St. Cyr said. Morning services are less popular because of the tradition of wearing Sunday morning dress: ties and suits for men, head coverings and skirts for women. The evening services' casual atmosphere attracts many residents who are hungry and nearly all of whom are unemployed or underemployed.

During the service, Haitians sang with raised hands, many of them holding worn Bibles. A woman holding a bouquet of flowers moved to the front and spoke in Creole. St. Cyr translated into English.

"It's Father's Day in Haiti. If you read the Bible, women come from men. So if you have problems, they come from men," he joked. He left many of her remarks untranslated. "What they just said was a lot of good things about me as a father," he summarized. "But I don't know if they're true."

The music continued as the offering was taken and St. Cyr ceded the pulpit to Dan Carl, a missionary from Omaha who has been serving in Haiti since 2002. Haitian pastors frequently want missionaries to preach at their services, Carl explained, so he gave a brief sermon, mostly in Creole. "Things don't happen quickly here. Sometimes it feels like we're moving backwards," he said before his sermon. "The saints need to be strengthened."

After the service, Carl's wife, Liz, said it sometimes feels like missions work here moves backwards, too. "People will respond to an altar call," she said. "They'll raise their hands to accept Jesus. But you never know if they did the same thing last week."

St. Cyr said he's not seeing the same people come forward every week. Instead, "the church is growing," he said. "We've had 1,400 get saved in the first two months. God allowed people to see who the real believers were."

A greater concern, said Liz Carl, is the fact that American connections can prompt a backlash among Haitians against the Haitian pastors who receive support from Americans.

"A lot of Haitians see pastoring as a way to make money. I'm not telling you it's all of them, but some see it as a business," she said. "The moment they see you with a white person, they think you're getting money."

Suspicion of Western-backed pastors is common in developing countries, but it has perhaps grown amid the flood of aid pouring into Haiti. Several Haitians said leaders—or those pretending to be ones—take money or food and then distribute only a small amount to the group.

"They're just feathering their nests," said 'Big Mae' Marckeson, 20, who lives in a tent near the church. "The earthquake was a breakthrough for some people."

St. Cyr said he does not receive financial support from anyone in the United States, though Haitians still ask him for resources.

"They think I have food on my hands," he said. "They think I have money."

In fact, St. Cyr remains in his damaged house a few minutes away. "It's condemned to be demolished, but I have no other place to go."

That's not quite true. He could easily leave Haiti. St. Cyr attended Florida Bible College (Hollywood, Florida) and Northeastern Bible College (Caldwell, New Jersey). Then he took a pastoral job on Staten Island. In 1997, he returned to Haiti to lead a church. After the earthquake, his frightened wife moved back to the U.S to be closer to her sons in Kissimmee, Florida. St. Cyr said he has not been released from his ministry to join them.

"In a sense, I feel like a soldier. If a soldier can't adapt to his circumstances, he's not a soldier," the pastor said. "Paul had never been in jail, but he learned to praise God [there]."

St. Cyr decided to stay in-country within days of the quake, as people wrestled not only for survival but for spiritual meaning.

"People were saying that it was God's judgment against Haiti," St. Cyr said. "We still have a lot of wicked people around when nice kids are dying. This was my burden here, to let people know that God is not done with us yet. We're here to comfort people. I'm not trying to preach doomsday here. God burned in my heart to give faith to people."

St. Cyr said he tailors his sermons to address the needs of those in the battered tents.

'This was my burden here, to let people know that God is not done with us yet.'—Jean F. E. St. Cyr, Haitian pastor

"It's important for the preacher to remind people what God is doing right now, how God wants to use [them] in this season," he said. "I preach that you have to be loving. If you love, this is the time to love more. I preach a lot about equality. One day, all wealth will be gone."

'Come with a purpose'

St. Cyr is not getting wealthy in the aftermath of the earthquake, but he is becoming a prominent leader. He meets with celebrities who visit the tent city, and with President René Préval, whom he has asked to open the food storehouses. The president is concerned that free food distribution will hurt the economy. St. Cyr agrees that the priority should be on rebuilding Haiti's economy so that people do not have to depend on foreign aid workers for basic needs. But meanwhile, he said, free food is going to waste in warehouses. "Préval listens to pastors, but I don't know what he does with the listening."

St. Cyr has also met countless Christian aid groups working in the tent city, some doing a better job than others.

"I'm a friendly pastor, so don't get me wrong," St. Cyr said. "But I'm tired of seeing people coming and doing nothing. Come with a purpose. God will never send anyone without purpose."

The best thing Christians can do, St. Cyr said, is to share skills with the Haitians so that they can learn to provide for themselves.

"You will see a bunch of people come and leave, and they'll have pictures and tell you they've seen poverty," he said. "If you ask them, 'Did you touch people's lives?' you probably won't get a good answer."

As with many short-term trips, he said, it's often the Americans who benefit from coming to Haiti.

"God ministers to people who have nothing," St. Cyr said. "You American people come down to bless Haitians. Then you see Haitians live joyfully with nothing. Paul said, 'I used to live in abundance, at the same time I was lacking.' Every bad situation is an opportunity to strengthen your faith."

Sarah Pulliam Bailey is

Christianity Today

's online editor.

Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Christianity Today also posted a story on Baptist church plants in Haiti.

Previous coverage of Haiti includes:

Harnessing Haiti's Football Fever | How one ministry is using Haitians' passion for soccer to dispel post-earthquake stress. (July 6, 2010)

Idaho's Impact | Haiti scandal overshadows bigger threat to evangelical adoption efforts. (April 26, 2010)

'Best Time for a Christian' | Resilient evangelicals vow to restore Haiti, body and soul. (March 1, 2010)

A preview of the November/December issue.

Barry Minkow, the former ponzi scheme operator who is now a pastor in San Diego and private fraud investigator, has responded to Christianity Today regarding the claims made about him in LA Weekly.

The paper accused Minkow of:

• Missing a court hearing while instead relaxing at a Ritz Carlton and seeking the advice of an anti-aging doctor.

There are a number of other accusations the paper makes, but these are at the heart of its complaint that Minkow’s redemption story should no longer be considered valid and that he’s scheming once again.

In Minkow’s response to CT he says a number of items in the LA Weekly story are false, others are taken out of context, and others are true but now outdated.

Missing a court hearing. Minkow missed a court meeting, and his lawyers told the judge he had been in the emergency room. Instead, Minkow was at the doctor’s office. He provided to CT a letter from the doctor and the hospital showing that he had been seen by the doctor and hospital staff. The letter states that Minkow “suffered from an apparent food poisoning episode” on the night before the court hearing in Florida, which resulted in blood in his urine. Minkow says the food was from the Ritz Carlton he had stayed at in Los Angeles. “I was stuck in LA,” Minkow said in an email, “trying to catch the red eye because my lawyers wanted a full day of preparation before the hearing. I had to be dropped somewhere and checked into the Ritz at Marina Del Rey because it is blocks away from the airport.” The next day, his doctor wrote, “I am prohibiting him from flying anywhere over the next 48 hours.” Minkow says that while his doctor does work at an anti-aging health facility, he was formerly an emergency room doctor. CT’s attempts to confirm with the doctor have not yet been successful.

Lying to the judge. At some point, while Minkow was sick from apparent food poisoning, he says he likely told his lawyers he was going to the emergency room. Instead, he ended up seeing his doctor. He says it was a simple mix up that the judge was told he was in the ER.

Lying to the public about companies whose stock Minkow bet against. Minkow says he has yet to be proven wrong in the cases he has brought to the FBI and SEC. In some cases, including one mentioned by LA Weekly, fraud perpetrators fled the country and stopped their crime, preventing a successful conclusion. While not every case has been an unambiguous win, Minkow says his record “certainly does not lead to the conclusion that it was all irrelevant and speculative.” He says his work has forced companies to change their behavior and be more open to the public.

Lying to the court about his trading activities. Minkow says he was incorrect when he told a judge that he had not bet against the stock of a public company he was attacking. He says he had simply forgotten that he made an $1,100 trade that was open for just one day. He had provided the FBI with access to his trading account. “Why would I be so stupid” to lie? Minkow asked when he could so easily be found out. “If truth were told about that,” he says, “it wouldn’t have been harmful.”

Still, Minkow says that six months ago, he stopped the practice of betting against the stock of public companies. While a common and legal practice, he says it was becoming a distraction. He says he’s learning the difference between vital and important. “I’m passionate about uncovering fraud and passionate about Jesus. But I got distracted. My loyalties are to the gospel and the pulpit.” He said he is returning to investigating smaller investment fraud cases instead of those of public companies, which require much more time. “That’s why we stopped doing it,” he says. “Even before the article came out our behavior was changed.”

Members of the board of Minkow’s church, Community Bible Church of San Diego, have expressed their ongoing support for Minkow to Christianity Today.

When I entered seminary 12 years ago, I was humbled by many of my classmates. While we all suffered through “suicide Greek” (an intense six-week summer course that only a gifted linguist with a penchant for self-flagellation would enjoy), I learned that some students sacrificed far more than others to follow God’s call into pastoral ministry.

Scott left his position as a Navy pilot, with a stable salary and excellent benefits. David left his management job with a Big Three automaker and relocated his family. He attended classes all day and studied while working as a night security guard. I have no idea when he slept.

Gregory, an engineer from China, brought his wife and two young girls from Hong Kong to Chicago—he’d never seen snow before, let alone 12 inches of it covering his car. In six months Gregory taught himself enough English to successfully translate the New Testament from Greek into English, and then into Cantonese for his congregation in Chinatown.

These pastors represent the power of godly ambition. God’s call upon their lives, and their desire to serve his people, was the engine that drove them to make enormous changes and sacrifices.

But seminary revealed the dark side of ambition as well. On the first day in a small class, when asked to introduce ourselves and say why we had entered seminary, the first student said, “I’m here because I’m going to be the next Bill Hybels.” Really, I thought. Hope that works out for you.

The next said, “My grandfather was a pastor, my father was a pastor, and I’m supposed to be a pastor too.” Daddy issues? The third student revealed his three-year plan to become senior pastor and then transform his congregation into a megachurch. “My denomination wants me to have an M.Div. degree,” he said, “but once I’ve proven I can grow a big church, I don’t think they’ll make me finish the degree.” Good grief, I thought.

Then the scary realization: What if my motivations for being here are just as questionable? That introduced me to the dangerous side of pastoral ambition. It can drive us to make great sacrifices in service to God and others, or it can be a veneer that hides far less noble motivations.

Sometimes our ambition engine needs a tune-up; a realignment toward Christ and away from self-centered desires. Discerning when an overhaul dilemma. There is no “check engine” light on our ministry dashboard, but Scripture offers wisdom in recognizing when our ambitions are misfiring.

Old Testament figures like Moses and Jeremiah were reluctant leaders. They did not seek power or influence, and at times actively resisted God’s call into leadership. But he put a “fire in their bones” that they could not extinguish. They remind us that calling is a result of God’s grace, not a selfish desire for acclaim. But is humble reluctance what we should expect in every godly leader?

Not according to the New Testament. Peter says elders ought to lead willingly and not under compulsion (1 Pet. 5:2). Paul affirms those who aspire to leadership (1 Tim. 3:1). It is clear that when ambition is sparked by our communion with Christ, it can be a righteous energy that drives our ministry. It inspires us to take risks, try new approaches, or venture to new lands. But any fuel that can accomplish so much good carries inherent dangers as well. Ambition, like an uncontained fire, can also be a source of great destruction. The drive to achieve can backfire on a leader causing great harm to families, congregations, and the leader himself.

This issue of Leadership explores the blessing and burden of ambition. What is the difference between a godly and a selfish ambition? How can a pastor resist the many temptations in the world and within the church to focus on self-promotion? How does our individual calling fit within a biblical understanding of community? And how do we discern the nature of God’s call on our lives?

As I learned in seminary, we are all a mix of godly and terribly ungodly ambitions. And in his power and wisdom, our Lord can use even those driven by selfish motives (Phil. 1:15-18), but we certainly don’t want to be counted among them. I hope this issue helps you tune-up your ambition engine to drive you closer to Christ.

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

One of the earliest guides for pastors, the Book of Titus, tells a church leader to address drinking problems in the church, to instruct people "not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine" (Titus 2:3). The need hasn't changed much.

The National Institutes of Health estimate that 17.6 million people—about one in every 12 adults—abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent. It's highly likely that someone I talk with at church this week has a drinking problem. But it usually remains hidden.

I asked Julia Anne and Anne, two churchgoing members of Alcoholics Anonymous, "Is there any way to detect a member's drinking problem? If I suspect a problem, how can I bring it up? And how can I help the person?" Here is their street-smart wisdom.

How to spot a problem

Most people who have a drinking problem don't think they do. They tell themselves, "I don't drink before 5:00, I'm not in the gutter, I'm not living in my car, so what's the problem?" But here are indicators of an underlying issue.

• The person's life is convoluted, and you find yourself wondering, "Why does this situation just not add up?" When I met with Ron, his 20-year marriage was unraveling. His wife's behavior was becoming more eccentric. Nothing seemed to bring stability. So I asked, "How much does Cheri drink?" Ron replied, "More than I do. It's nothing for her to finish a bottle of wine a night."
• The person has difficulty following guidance. When you give direction, they accept it, but they can't follow through—this may indicate an unacknowledged addiction. A 25-year-old man came to me for pastoral help; he was repeatedly taking advantage of women he dated. He didn't want to; he knew it was wrong. Later in the conversation, I asked him, "You seem anxious. What do you do when you feel that way?" and he said, "I drink a few glasses of wine." In his life, alcohol was moving from enjoyment to medication, and it was contributing to his inability to stay chaste.
• The member's loved one says, "He doesn't remember things. I'll say, 'Don't you remember we talked about that?' and he doesn't." That may be due to drinking.
• The person grew up in an alcoholic family. Research shows that alcoholism runs in families. A person with alcoholic parents is at greater risk of developing a problem.

How to bring it up

It's a difficult subject to bring up. I might be wrong, and I don't want to offend. What to do? Julia Anne and Anne suggest:

• Ask about the person's background: "Did your dad or mom, or grandpa or grandma, drink a lot?"
• Ask about life routines: how many hours they work, how often they pray, and "How much did you have to drink in the past seven days?" People with a drinking problem will under-report, so follow up with, "Only that much?"
• If you've built trust, you might ask, "Have you ever thought there might be a connection between what you're facing and drinking?" The person will probably say, "No" or "I don't see that." At that point, ask, "Have you ever wondered if you're a normal drinker?" A normal drinker never wonders that. If the person has wondered, you can put his mind at rest by challenging him to an experiment for 30 days: to drink no more than one drink per day.
• If you feel you can be more direct, ask "Have you ever tried to stop drinking?" Or "If you have a drink, do you stop, or do you want another?" One of the symptoms of alcoholism is what's called "Loss of control, not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun."

How to help

Most people with a drinking problem won't be able to stop on their own. They have a chronic and progressive disease, and they need ongoing counsel and a supportive community—and perhaps medication. They definitely need a physician's care as they go through withdrawal.

The two most well known recovery programs are Alcoholics Anonymous (www.aa.org) and Celebrate Recovery (www.celebraterecovery.com). Celebrate Recovery takes place in the context of a church, which can be helpful to a Christian in recovery. The downside is that in a church setting, people may not be as brutally honest, which is essential to recovery. AA is the granddaddy of recovery ministries, and they know how to help alcoholics. The choice may come down to availability: in my state, Illinois, AA holds 5,100 meetings every week, and Celebrate Recovery holds 59. But there's no forced choice, for someone may attend both.

—Kevin A. Miller is assistant pastor, Church of the Resurrection, Wheaton, Illinois. www.churchrez.org

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Before the busy schedule of Lausanne’s Cape Town 2010 began, an American friend and I took a brief driving tour of Africa’s most European city. Our guide was a retired newspaper editor, and as a colored citizen of South Africa, he had tales to tell about the days of apartheid.

One beautiful part of the city to which he took us stacked its houses up a tall hill, giving the residents glorious, expansive, but expensive views. We parked at the end of the neighborhood’s highest street and climbed a steep dirt path to get the best possible view. The dirt path was unstable, slippery, covered in loose rocks. So on our descent my friend, a Wheaton alum, talked about a lesson she’d learned when she took a mountain climbing course while a student. I learned you should always keep your eye on where you are, she said. Not where you’re going or where you’ve been. If you look ahead or behind, you’ll just freeze.

My friend knew it was a metaphor for life.

So it seemed like a providential moment when Doug Birdsall, executive chair of the Lausanne Movement, introduced the first event for the gathering’s 4,500 participants. He reminisced about the great leaders who led the first Lausanne gathering back in 1974.

He mentioned Billy Graham and John R. W. Stott, Rene Padilla and Gottfried Osai Mensah. But then he said we are not here to recreate Lausanne I. Our purpose was not to restore some sort of missiological golden age. Nor can we solve the missiological problems that will be faced by our grandchildren. Our duty is in the present. Our challenges are in the present. And those are what we are here to analyse and strategize about.

In a talk later that evening, Birdsall referenced several of the conference’s major concerns: how we are to witness to people of other faiths and how we are to cautiously capitalize on the dynamics of globalization. He spoke of priorities: scripture translation and reaching unreached people groups.

He concluded with a call to moving forward in “bold humility.”

This morning, on the conference’s first full day, four plenary speakers will talk about “making the case for the truth of Christ in a pluralistic, globalized world.” Clearly, the ground of pluralism is like the hill my friend and I climbed on day zero–slippery, covered with loose rock. An important element of our strategy must be to look very closely at where we are walking.

The Third Lausanne Congress was officially opened on Sunday night in Cape Town, South Africa. The evening was dominated by history and context. Letters were read from Billy Graham and John Stott, the two leaders most responsible for the first congress in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974. And a brief history of the Lausanne Movement was shared.

A beautiful video was shown tracing church and mission history from Pentecost through the 1910 missions conference in Edinburgh. Much was made of the Edinburgh conference. Many view that gathering 100 years ago in Scotland as the beginning of the modern missionary movement. Of course Edinburgh was dominated by European and North American church leaders with only a tiny number from other parts of the world.

A lot has changed.

After the video all 5,000 delegates stood to sing “Crown Him with Many Crowns”–the same hymn that opened the Edinburgh conference a century ago. And the amazing diversity at Cape Town 2010 was a moving testimony to how effective the 20th century missions movement was. Standing beside me was an African woman, an Australian man, an Asian couple, and a student from Latin America. I have never been in a more international gathering in my life. As I scanned the room I didn’t see groups of white, black, or brown. The room was integrated, for lack of a better term–God’s people from around the globe worshipping together. It was incredibly moving.

I had the sense that we were the fulfillment of the 1910 Edinburgh conference. Certainly those missionary leaders from 100 years ago, now among the “great cloud of witnesses” surrounding us, were smiling. Christ had indeed built his church.

But the gathering did more than look back, it also helped me look forward. Doug Birdsall, executive chairman of Lausanne, reminded us that this Lausanne Congress is the “most representative and diverse gathering of church leaders in 2000 years.” And he hoped that “we find here in Cape Town a sense of being home.” If he meant a sense of our heavenly home, I certainly did. It is quite possible that what we saw is as close to Rev 2:7 as any of us will ever experience this side of eternity. It was powerful.

Amid all the celebrating, the evening also contained some sobering thoughts. Before the opening session, Os Guinness spoke to a group of us during dinner. He also referred to the 1910 Edinburgh conference. The western church leaders in Edinburgh sparked incredibly effective missions to Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Guinness said. But during the same century Christianity took root in these continents, it has slipped away in Europe and North America.

Guinness reminded us that the church must be self-critical and ready to repent where necessary. The western church’s capitulation to modernity over the last century, he said, means Asian, African, and Latin American churches are more likely to learn from the western church what NOT to do rather than what to do. He encouraged us to recapture the missionary zeal of Edinburgh 1910, but to ask God for the humility that the church in the west lacked in the 20th century.

As thousands of evangelical leaders from 200 nations prepare to convene in Cape Town on Sunday, it looks like the more than 200 delegates from China have slim odds of attending.

Organizers of the third Lausanne Congress asked for “urgent prayer” Friday about signs that there may be “a concerted effort to prevent all Chinese participants from attending the Congress.” NPR first reported Thursday that all 230 Lausanne delegates from China’s house church community may be turned back at the nation’s airports. Compass Direct gathers many details here. News even hit the NYT.

The National Association of Evangelicals is calling on China to retract the travel ban. China Aid points out that 200 seats were left vacant at the second Lausanne Congress in 1989 because Chinese delegates were prevented from making the trip to Manila

China’s Foreign Ministry defended the actions to NPR by saying Lausanne organizers communicated secretively with illegal congregations and did not invite members of China’s state-controlled church. “This act has openly challenged China’s principle of an independent, autonomous, self-governing church. It is a flagrant interference in China’s religious affairs,” the statement said.

Compass Direct said a Chinese paper reported that members of the Three-Self Protestant Movement had wanted to attend but “were required to sign a document expressing their commitment to evangelism, which members of official churches could not do due to regulations such as an upper limit on the number of people in each church, state certification for preachers, and the confinement of preaching to designated churches in designated areas.”

On the good news side, Lausanne organizers reported that the Cuban delegation successfully left Cuba and will arrive in Cape Town via London on Thursday.

CT covered the visa difficulties often faced by attendees of Christian gatherings in the U.S. here.