Theological News On-Line

Issue 33    November 2004	'Promoting Biblical Truth by Networking Theologians'

Published by Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance

Editor: David Parker dparker@pacific.net.au
email distribution: Dr.Paul C. Murdoch Murdoch@ead.de

Welcome to WEA Theological News On-Line - this is the on-line version of our printed quarterly, WEA Theological News (ISSN 0260-3705). WEA TN On-Line is issued approximately monthly. The content of the printed and on-line versions overlap but are not identical. We also publish Evangelical Review of Theology. For more information, visit our website www.worldevangelical.org/tcpubs.html#ert

We welcome news reports on theological matters for both versions - they can cover theological institutions, conferences, publications, faculty, trends and developments, etc. of interest to evangelical theologians around the world.

For more information on the work of the Theological Commission, contact the Executive Chair, Dr Rolf Hille at rolf.hille@albrecht-bengel-haus.de

In this issue:

•  Cameo of new TN member - Dr Carver Yu
•  Environmental Stewardship Study Book Now Available
•  Forum on World Evangelization - Summary Affirmations

Cameo of new TN member - Dr Carver Yu

The WEA Theological Commission has added new members, and still has vacancies for more. One of these is Dr. Carver Yu of Hong Kong. This is a short cameo of Dr Yu who was appointed to the TC in September 2004 to replace his college, Dr Wilson Chow, a former vice-chairman, who had served recently again after a break of a few years, having been associated with the TC and its related bodies from quite early in the history of the movement.

Dr Carver Yu is Vice President and Professor in Dogmatic Theology at the China Graduate School of Theology of Hong Kong (see more below). He graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary with M. Div. and Th. M. degrees before returning to Hong Kong to join the founding faculty of CGST in 1975. He later studied at Oxford University and was conferred the D. Phil. degree in 1981.

For ten years from 1984 to 1994, he was seconded to Hong Kong Baptist University to serve as the Head of the Religion and Philosophy Department. He was elected as Member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, in 1991-93.

Dr. Yu is a theologian deeply concerned with the present condition of our culture. He has been actively engaged in discussions on the Christian critque of both the modern and postmodern culture. His book, Being and Relation--A Theological Critique of Dualism and Individualism in the West (Edinburgh,1987), is an attempt to get to the ontological roots of the spiritiual predicament of our present age. He is also deeply concerned with the relevance of the Christian faith to the reconstruction of Chinese culture.

Dr. Yu is an ordained minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His wife serves as General Secretary of the Hong Kong Presbytery of the denomination. They have a son and a daughter.

About CGST

China Graduate School of Theology (CGST) is an indigenous, inter-denominational, evangelical and graduate level theological institution. Established in Hong Kong in 1975, its vision actually began in the mid sixties in the USA. CGST is committed to developing spiritual leaders for the Chinese church by training pastors, missionaries, theological educators, Bible teachers and lay leaders for various forms of Christian ministry.

At the turn of the century, as CGST stepped into its next phase of development, it began an ambitious campus re-development program. Now, with the completion of the Devon Road campus, and with better facilities, it is in a good position to admit a larger number of students. Presently, it has 170 full-time students and 340 part-time students. It has just launched a doctoral program.

Environmental Stewardship Study Book Now Available

The book, Responsible Stewardship of God's Creation, which has been written by Dr. Ken Gnanakan of Bangalore India as a TC study project, is now available. The cost is US$5.00 and it may be ordered from Theological Book Trust PO Box 9529 Bangalore, India 560095 or from the TC office, 17 Disraeli St, Indooroopilly, Q, Australia 4068. The book is a 'successful blend of spiritual, biblical, analytical, apologetic and practically oriented aspects' and is suitable for local church, individuals, action groups and students.

Forum on World Evangelization - Summary Affirmations

The Lausanne Forum on World Evangelization which met in Pattya recently issued a statement of 'summary affirmtions' reflecting the work of the 31 study groups which were the focus of the conference. For the interest of our readers, here is the text of that statement. Plans are underway for the publication of the 25,000 detailed reports of the groups.

"A new vision, a new heart and a renewed call" has been the theme of the Lausanne 2004 Forum for World Evangelization, held here in Pattaya, Thailand from September 29 to October 5, 2004. 1530 participants from 130 countries have attended the 31 simultaneous consultations of the Forum on urgent issues most relevant to world evangelization.

There has been a spirit of working together in serious dialogue and prayerful reflection. Representatives from a wide spectrum of cultures and virtually all parts of the world have come together to learn from one another and to seek new direction from the Holy Spirit for world evangelization. They committed themselves to joint action under His divine guidance.

The dramatic change in the political and economic landscape in recent years has raised new challenges in evangelization for the church. The polarization between east and west makes it imperative that the church seek God's direction for the appropriate responses to the present challenges.

In the 31 issue groups these new realities were taken into consideration, including the HIV pandemic, terrorism, globalization, the global role of media, poverty, persecution of Christians, fragmented families, political and religious nationalism, post-modern mind set, oppression of children, urbanization, neglect of the disabled and others.

Great progress was made in these groups as they grappled for solutions to the key challenges of world evangelization. As these groups focused on making specific recommendations, larger strategic themes came to the forefront.

There was affirmation that major efforts of the church must be directed toward those who have no access to the gospel. The commitment to help establish self sustaining churches within 6000 remaining unreached people groups remains a central priority.

Secondly, the words of our Lord call us to love our neighbors as ourselves. In this, we have failed greatly. We renew our commitment to reach out in love & compassion to those who are marginalized because of disabilities or who have different lifestyles and spiritual perspectives. We commit to reach out to children and young people who constitute a majority of the world's population, many of whom are being abused, forced into slavery, armies, and child labor.

A third stream of a strategic nature acknowledges that the growth of the church is now accelerating outside of the western world. Through the participants from Africa, Asia and Latin America, we recognize the dynamic nature and rapid growth of the church in the South. Church leaders from the South are increasingly providing exemplary leadership in world evangelization.

Fourthly, we acknowledge the reality that much of the world is made up of oral learners who understand best when information comes to them by means of stories. A large proportion of the world's populations are either unable to or unwilling to absorb information through written communications. Therefore, a need exists to share the "Good News" and to disciple new Christians in story form and parables.

Fifthly, we call on the church to use media to effectively engage the culture in ways that draw non believers toward spiritual truth and to proclaim Jesus Christ in culturally relevant ways.

Finally, we affirm the priesthood of all believers and call on the church to equip, encourage and empower women, men and youth to fulfill their calling as witnesses and co-laborers in the world wide task of evangelization.

Transformation was a theme which emerged from the working groups. We acknowledge our own need to be continually transformed, to continue to open ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to the challenges of God's Word and to grow in Christ together with fellow Christians in ways that result in social and economic transformation. We acknowledge that the scope of the gospel and building the Kingdom of God involves, body, mind, soul and spirit. Therefore we call for increasing integration of service to society and proclamation of the gospel.

We pray for those around the world who are being persecuted for their faith and for those who live in constant fear of their lives. We uphold our brothers and sisters who are suffering. We recognize that the reality of the persecuted church needs to be increasingly on the agenda of the whole body of Christ. At the same time, we also acknowledge the importance of loving and doing good to our enemies while we fight for the right of freedom of conscience everywhere.

We are deeply moved by the onslaught of the HIV/AIDS pandemic - the greatest human emergency in history. The Lausanne movement calls all churches everywhere to prayer and a holistic response to this plague.

"9/11", the war in Iraq, the war on terror and it's reprisals compel us to state that we must not allow the gospel or the Christian faith to be captive to any one geo-political entity. We affirm that the Christian faith is above all political entities.

We are concerned and mourn the death and destruction caused by all conflicts, terrorism and war. We call for Christians to pray for peace, to be proactively involved in reconciliation between Christians and other faiths and avoid all attempts to turn any conflict into a religious war. Christian mission in this context lies in becoming peace makers.

We pray for peace and reconciliation and God's guidance in how to bring about peace through-our work of evangelization. We pray for God to work in the affairs of nations to open doors of opportunity for the gospel. We call on the church to mobilize every believer to focus specific consistent prayer for the evangelization of their communities and the world.

In this Forum we have experienced the partnership of men and women working together. We call on the church around the world to work towards full partnership of men and women in the work of world evangelism by maximizing the gifts of all. We also recognize the need for greater intentionality in developing future leaders. We call on the church to find creative ways to release emerging leaders to serve effectively.

Numerous practical recommendations for local churches to consider were offered. These will be available on the Lausanne website and some of the working group papers will be published as Lausanne Occasional Papers. It is our prayer that these many case studies and action plans will be used of God to mobilize the church to share a clear and relevant message using a variety of methods to reach the most neglected or resistant groups so that everyone will have the opportunity to hear the gospel message and be able to respond to this good news in faith.

We express our gratitude to the Thai Church which has hosted us and to their welcoming presentation to the Forum. We are profoundly grateful to God for the privilege of being able to gather here from the four corners of the earth. We have developed new partnerships, made new friends and encouraged one another in our various ministries. Notwithstanding the resistance to the gospel in many places and the richness of an inherited religious and cultural tradition, we here at the Forum have accepted afresh the renewed call to be obedient to the mandate of Christ. We commit ourselves to making His saving love known so that the whole world may have opportunity to accept God's gift of salvation through Christ.

The Lausanne 2004 Forum on World Evangelization, Pattaya, Thailand, October 5, 2004

www.lausanne.org

Reflection: Some Verse by Garry Harris, Australia

Danger Zone

Standing in faith before the manger,
Our peace is shattered by the thud
Of a God who came to outsiders.
Reshaping the structure of our carefully-hewn universe,
He has reconfigured our priorities,
And converted the manger-scene into a danger-zone.

Thought-Prayer

Thought-prayers, as sirens shatter darkness.
Thought-prayers, as recollected loved-ones cascade through consciousness.
Thought-prayers, at our dying hour as faculties abandon.
Thought-prayer: that micro-millisecond of communion when we are
instantaneously aware of God.

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