Latin American leader shares hopes, expectations for Lausanne 4

“Will there be room for new voices, will there be space for surprise?” requested Valdir Steuernagel in a speech he gave at a gathering of Latin American leaders within the lead-up to Lausanne’s Fourth International Congress (Lausanne 4) in Seoul-Incheon, South Korea, that begins Sunday.

Calling for a renewed affirmation of the Evangelical identification and inspiring new conversations involving Evangelical leaders from each a part of the world, Steuernagel traced the historical past of the motion again to its beginnings in 1974.

He recalled important breakthroughs and ongoing tensions, provided new and timeless views on world missions, recognizing that the duty of the Nice Fee continues to be unfinished. He concluded along with his prayer for what is predicted to be a major occasion in Church historical past.

Again in September 2023, the Lausanne Motion’s regional leaders in Latin America convened a session in Montevideo, Uruguay, that featured keynote audio system Valdir Steuernagel, Norberto Saracco (Argentina), Karen Bomilcar (Brazil) and Jaime Reminiscence (United Kingdom). It was a part of the lead-up to Lausanne 4 the place every area would information individuals by way of a course of that will put together them for the worldwide occasion the place some 5,000 Christian leaders from each nook of the world will strategize about world missions.

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Steuernagel’s speech captured the area’s perspective so properly that World Imaginative and prescient Latin America, along with the regional Lausanne management, printed an edited model in English that would supply a dialog starter not just for Latin People but in addition for individuals from around the globe.

A outstanding theologian and esteemed Brazilian Evangelical chief, Steuernagel served on the Lausanne Central Committee for a number of years and has intimate information of the motion. He was additionally president of World Imaginative and prescient’s Worldwide Board in addition to a member of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Worldwide Council, amongst varied different roles he held over the a long time of his ministry.

The historical past and ‘Spirit’ of Lausanne

“For decades, the Lausanne Movement has been a part of my life. I am a kind of ‘child of Lausanne,’ although a belated one,” Steuernagel mentioned, noting that he wasn’t current on the Worldwide Congress on World Evangelization held within the metropolis of Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974, these days known as Lausanne 1.

The worldwide occasion convened by Billy Graham and Jack Dyan introduced collectively 2,300 individuals from 150 nations, and — underneath the steering of theologian John Stott — produced the landmark Lausanne Covenant that is still influential to at the present time.

“Lausanne 1 was indeed a breath of the Spirit that surprised the broader Christian family and left its mark on the Evangelical world, which was already emerging as a significant stream within the global Christian community,” Steuernagel mentioned.

The occasion “catapulted the Evangelical world, both internally and externally, into a new self-perception, into a visibility hitherto unknown, and into the need to become a dialogue partner with other Christian groups and with the contemporary world itself.”

It got here at a time of elevated missionary exercise, development within the Church, increasing useful resource mobilization and the emergence of worldwide leaders and revered personalities, such because the late Graham.

“Evangelicals now filled stadiums, captivated large audiences, and used television as they had previously done with radio,” Steuernagel mentioned, noting that the Gallup report marked 1966 because the ‘Year of the Evangelicals’ in North America.

However as 1974 got here round, it turned evident that it was certainly a worldwide phenomenon “as there was an Evangelical church flourishing in many other places, notably in various African countries, many Latin American countries, and some Asian countries.”

Lausanne 1 acknowledged this transformation on the occasion and tailored to the modern world, as was expressed within the Lausanne Covenant.

Steuernagel emphasised that it was achieved “in an Evangelical style. A style that never considered giving up its identity, affirming, therefore, the centrality of Jesus, the authority of Scriptures, human sinfulness, the missionary calling of the Church, and the hope for a new Heaven and a new Earth.”

However what additionally occurred on the occasion is that “the gate was open for new conversations” and “open to accentuate identity and mission,” he mentioned, as North American missionary and evangelistic organizations more and more turned worldwide, whereas nationwide church buildings introduced new views to the conversations.

“It is worth noting that Lausanne 1 was a pioneer in allowing the growing Evangelical diversity, with a strong ethnic-geographic aroma, to take the stage, without forgetting how much this diversity was already present in the audience.”

In response to Steuernagel, the event introduced “an element of shock and surprise” to Evangelical tradition that traditionally struggled with range. And he added that “[this] shock and surprise manifested as a latent and continuous tension in the Movement.”

It will be significant for individuals of the upcoming Congress to grasp these historic dynamics as they proceed to at the present time and can possible be felt at Lausanne 4 as soon as once more, he asserts.

‘Evangelization’ versus ‘total mission of the church’: Rising voices from the International South

It turned clear early on that Lausanne 1 could be adopted by a Continuation Committee, which then met for the primary time in January 1975 in Mexico Metropolis. It was there that “tension emerged with significant visibility,” Steuernagel mentioned.

In in search of to outline Lausanne’s mandate, the query arose whether or not it ought to be particularly targeted on evangelizing the unreached, i.e. proclamation, or whether or not it ought to emphasize the “total mission of the church,” i.e. a extra holistic strategy, which the Lausanne Covenant already affirmed.

The committee struck a stability, saying they understood that “‘the advance of the church’s mission’ means encouraging all the people of God to go into the world as Christ was sent into the world, giving themselves to others in a spirit of sacrificial service, with evangelism being primary in this mission.”

Tensions persevered, nevertheless, as leaders from what then turned referred to as the “Global South” continued to talk up.

“These voices reflected the journey of young churches and emerging Christian leaders in search of a relevant Christian experience for their context and in pursuit of a dialogue with their respective realities, questions, cries, and experiences,” he mentioned. “Voices that raised critical questions about an evangelistic practice that emphasized soul salvation at the expense of living an incarnate faith.”

These considerations had been raised at Lausanne 1 by Latin American leaders René Padilla and Samuel Escobar, with Padilla addressing the theme of “Evangelization and the World,” and Escobar discussing “Evangelization and the Quest for Freedom, Justice and Fulfillment by Man.”

They advocated for an evangelistic follow with cultural sensitivity, a missional expertise expressed in social duty and the pursuit of justice, and a life marked by simplicity and sacrifice, as discovered and modeled by Jesus, Steuernagel mentioned.

International South leaders celebrated the Lausanne Covenant’s emphasis on mission “that encompasses all areas of life throughout one’s life.” Leaders primarily from North America, nevertheless, raised considerations “about the need to maintain a focus on the verbal proclamation of the Gospel and on spiritual and personal conversion.”

Steuernagel recounted that in 1975, John Stott responded to a few of these considerations by noting the shortage of International South illustration on the Mexico assembly and the “insensitivity with which some North Americans” emphasised the necessity to “restrict to evangelism” and never give attention to broader considerations as expressed within the Covenant. And in an article titled “The Meaning of Lausanne,” Stott later wrote that he believed regional teams would discover their method in keeping with their very own discernment.