Dr. Martin Erdmann
The first Lausanne Congress was undoubtedly a future-defining event in the history of the Church, for evangelism actually took on a new appreciation among many Christians. The Lausanne Covenant, written primarily by John Stott, attached to the term "evangelism" the additional meaning of being concerned not only with the proclamation of the Word of God, but also to be widely engaged in matters of social justice. Over the years, this broadened scope of Christian mission has had a major impact on the worldwide church, which has felt compelled to urge its mission agencies to implement the guidelines and objectives of the Lausanne Covenant.
The second Lausanne Congress, held in 1989 in the Philippine capital of Manila, resulted in numerous strategic partnerships that emphasized the need to cooperate with the Roman Catholic Church on ethical issues as well as social work and political action, as long as the biblical gospel was not thereby distorted. Moreover, charismatic worship styles dominated the congress events.
The 2010 third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town brought together more than 4,000 Christian leaders from around the world, including such well-known names as pastors Rick Warren, Tim Keller, John Piper and Nicky Gumbel. The Lausanne ecumenical agenda, which had been in the making for years, now came into view for all to see when the general secretary of the theologically liberal World Council of Churches addressed the assembled participants and made the case that Christianity is first and foremost committed to seeking unity in love and putting doctrinal differences aside.
The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, known as the Lausanne Movement, has been working since 1974 to mobilize congregations, mission agencies, Christian networks and Christian leaders to shoulder the cause of world evangelization with united strength.
It is now the largest and most influential institution of evangelical Christianity worldwide - a truly international movement supported by many national congregational associations and church agencies. Over the past nearly five decades, Christian leaders under the Lausanne banner have participated in regional, national, and international consultations, seminars, and conferences to develop strategic plans for evangelizing the world.
It is difficult for some Christians to understand why an organization founded by the most influential Christian leaders of our time would advertise a distorted socio-political gospel. But over the past nearly 50 years, this Lausanne concern has come more and more into focus. The leaders of the Lausanne movement brought political engagement, such as fighting global warming, reducing world poverty, and politically empowering women, to center stage. Accordingly, the proclamation of the Gospel became less important and was only one among several equally important tasks, of the duties assigned to Christians. It is equally worrying how ecumenism is becoming more and more prominent and the thinking of the Emerging Church is taking root.
The third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town was held in October 2010 in cooperation with the World Evangelical Alliance. Some 4,000 leaders from 197 countries attended. According to Douglas Birdsall, executive director of Lausanne, "These leaders, whom the organizers had carefully selected from thousands of applicants, represent the demographic, theological and cultural spheres of influence of the global church." The congress brought together well-known opinion leaders and decision-makers from the fields of the church, politics, education, medicine and the media. The best Christian professionals did not miss the opportunity to give authoritative impulses in plenary sessions and seminars that would determine the future development of global neo-evangelicalism. More than 600 global satellite receivers in local churches were networked so that additional thousands of participants from 91 countries could take part in the events of the Congress without having to incur the travel expenses to South Africa. In addition, the main events of the congress were broadcast over the Internet so that the broadest possible impact could be achieved. In his opening address, Douglas Birdsall said, "This third Lausanne Congress is already being described as the most representative and diverse gathering of Christian leaders in the nearly 2000-year history of the Christian movement."[2]
The importance of the Cape Town Congress among evangelical Anglicans was demonstrated by the fact that a special service was celebrated at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London. In his message broadcast on BBC radio, Rev. Hugh Palmer reminded the assembled congregation of the significant fact that John Stott, who presided over the congregation as rector and rector emeritus[3] for more than 50 years, was intimately associated with the conduct of the first Lausanne Congress. In another statement, Rev. Palmer indicated that John Stott was primarily responsible for drafting the Lausanne Covenant, which was a summary of individual action steps adopted by the participants. An influential document, it stood from that time as a literary monument to the spiritual responsibility Christians take upon themselves in word and deed in service to this world. John Stott's example as a social justice warrior exerted a great influence on countless others, encouraging them to engage in multi-faceted community work, especially in developing countries. Putting Lausanne's concern into practice, the missionaries focus on the distribution of Christian literature, encourage pastors to preach the Word of God, and raise the educational and economic status of many of the poor. These various services are now coordinated worldwide by the Langham Partnership International[4], first under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Chris Wright and currently under that of Tayo Arikawe. Dr. Wright continues to be one of the most prominent theological advisors to the Lausanne movement.[5]
The Cape Town Congress was particularly concerned about the crises of our time. Prominent themes were, for example, the increasing impoverishment of many segments of the population in underdeveloped countries and the accumulation of wealth and assets of affluence among a relatively small upper class, not only in the Southern Hemisphere but also in the West. Other themes of the Congress that affect the spread of Christianity worldwide included the reconciliation of human races, the achievement of social justice, the mitigation of global warming, the increase of women in leadership positions, the right approach to homosexuality, the oral tradition of the Bible, and the conduct of spiritual warfare. These are all issues that fit into the category of dominionism (establishing the Kingdom of God as an earthly kingdom). The book Grasping Power[6] describes in detail the negative consequences of the ever-expanding sphere of action of the neo-evangelicals, especially in relation to the various initiatives of the Lausanne movement. The congress Dynamissio, held in Germany in 2017 and attended by about 5000 participants in Berlin, was unfortunately another milestone on the way of Lausanne to prevent the concern of God: the proclamation of salvation for the sinner in Jesus Christ alone. Wherever this was done in the past, the repentant people experienced holistic and lasting help for time and eternity.
[1] http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/docs/Lausanne/704/ graham.htm
[2] Doug Birdsall, "Why Cape Town 2010? A Case-Statement for the Third Lausanne Congress"; http://www.lausanne.org/gatherings/related/why-cape-town-2010
[3] relieved of his teaching duties, https://www.duden.de/node/136919/revision/558678
[5] Sunday Worship from All Souls, Langham Place, London. Broadcast: Sunday, 17, October 2010, 08:00 on BBC Radio 4.