Warren D. Carter
Budapest, 6.March.03
observation: we, the Church, have made great progress over the past 10-15 years … but it is clearly not enough
conclusion: to keep on doing what we have been doing – even if we do it better than ever – will not lead to widespread transformation of our nations/ region
question: so if we are not likely to achieve the results we are after, by doing what we’ve traditionally done, then how could we use our lives and energy and gifts more productively?
answer #1: or at least the beginnings of one, is to develop and commit to God-given goals, which
(a) provide clear statements of mutually desired outcomes
(b) enable each part of the Body to determine with God’s help,
ü the role(s) God has called each one to, individually,
ü the nature and focus of their service, and
ü the methods they will use to achieve them
the core idea of a holistic strategy for reaching a nation or region is the ongoing process of
§ mobilizing the whole Body of Christ in a geographic area
§ to strategically focus all of its resources on
§ reaching the whole nation/ region with the whole Gospel,
§ resulting in the transformation of society, a nation, and the region
and this is what the CECEE is all about, as stated in our objectives:
To encourage, motivate and
network regarding nationwide initiatives aimed at the Gospel for every
person, a church for every people in each of the countries of central &
east Europe.
To encourage the development of common vision and strategic partnership among all the servants of the Lord focused on each country.
are these goals too lofty?
Bill Bright is famous for saying, “small goals do not fire the vision of man”
the Lord Himself challenges us to work diligently toward the discipling of nations
– we pray that the He will guide you into a stretching new level of challenge & commitment
– to God-sized goals … that only God can help us to accomplish … and when achieved can only bring glory to God
– goals that when summed up, help define and flesh-out a divine strategy for reaching our nations for the Kingdom
answer #2: so, another part of the answer has to be, to better understand God’s strategy
individual leaders or churches or ministries are not called or equipped to do the work of reaching a nation or region by themselves
– no one can carry out every aspect of God’s overall strategy, since all of us are bound by ministry scope, geography, time, personnel, or other resources
– we need each other
this strategy of the “whole Church” is not about unity for the sake of unity
… nor is it about organizing some grand movement or ecumenical structure
… nor is it about standardizing ecclesiological governance, worship style, or peripheral doctrines
… nor is it about gearing up for one great evangelistic event or program
rather, this is all about mobilizing every available resource that the Lord has provided into a concerted, comprehensive, persistent effort to effectively gather every piece of ripened fruit and grain in the white harvest field God has produced for our time
– and in the process, see our nation/ region begin to be transformed
– with each unique aspect of the Body contributing its gifts and resources in the way they see fit, before God, on their particular patch of the field
– and together occupying the whole territory
how can we begin to identify and implement some elements of this divine strategy
Ø by developing comprehensive goals for each nation and the region focussed on evangelism, discipleship, and transformation
Ø by mobilizing the whole Body of Christ toward these goals
Ø by generating the information required to help shape goals and tactics
Ø by persistently keeping to the task
Ø by committing to a solid foundation of prayer
Ø by realizing that the harvest is truly ripe
at the moment in east & central Europe, we are terribly ill-equipped, unprepared, and incapable of gathering in and sustaining the harvest of all people – should the Lord begin today – the reaping of a ready-made harvest
what is your strategy for handling the one-day conversion of just 50% of the population of your city or nation?
only God can bring about the transformation of people and entire nations
… but we must be ready to work in partnership with Him to sustain it
the time to get ready for this harvest is now
… but we won’t get ready by simply working harder at what we’re already doing
it is this overall, comprehensive strategy of “getting ready” that the Church must develop in order to effectively reach any nation, much less the entire region for Christ
answer #3: a final piece of the puzzle that we will be looking at this week, is to better understand the nature and character of the people around us – especially this emerging generation of young people – in order to learn how God is preparing them to hear His message of Hope
each ethnic group or generation needs to be treated as unique … and approached with a level of integrity that says “we understand you”, and “we will adapt our methods in an appro-priate manner to who you are” … rather than expecting them to become who & what we are
this emerging generation is not so different from preceding ones, in that it doesn’t speak the same language, doesn’t seek the same entertainment, and doesn’t have the same social or material needs
– it is different, in that they aren’t looking to the Church or Christianity to provide them with the answers to their spiritual questions
– they simply have no knowledge or memory of a hope-giving Gospel which can help them face the challenges of their generation, era, and world
what we can see, is the emergence of new paradigms for church, many of which are appropriating the style and structural preferences of a post-Communist, post-modern culture
§
this
“reformation” is not like the
one led by John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, Ulrich
Zwingli, John Calvin, Jan Hus, John Knox, Menno Simons, William Tyndale, and others – which challenged the
prevailing doctrines of the church
§
rather it is challenging the medium and methods
through which the message of Christ is articulated
this is potentially
threatening to us – the established leaders in the region
·
our paradigms
and long-held convictions about
“church” may be held up for
examination, or
·
called into
question as to whether or not our style or approach to “church”
is relevant for young people in this new day and age …
and
·
we’re tempted
to blur the line between doctrine and praxis
we pray for God’s grace and wisdom and understanding and discernment in this process
one resulting conclusion, is that we need to better understand our nations in terms of demographics, geography, worldview, ethnicity, language, affinity groupings, social systems and structures, traditional church models, and church history
this is a call to conduct research
the term research covers a variety of objectives and approaches, one of which is an on-going, iterative process, which includes some of these basic steps:
· establishing a baseline of “what is”, to enable the development of systematic strategies and periodic evaluation
· summarizing information for leaders
ü to envision them for action and
ü to mobilize them into cooperative efforts
· once momentum exists, research info helps to motivate the whole Body into action and may help shape community-/ nation-/ region-wide goals
· discerning models of effective ministry that currently exist which can be adapted/ contextualized for broader use
· evaluating progress and influencing future goals
need: provide leadership at a nation/ region level, to determine the highest priority goals and develop an overall strategy
only the Church as a whole can reach an entire nation or region with the Gospel
– each and every segment of the Body is needed to contribute to the overall objective of reaching the nation/ region
– it’s not the private domain of any particular parachurch, missionary, or denominational group
– there is no one event or activity that in itself can result in the discipling of a nation/ region
only the whole Church and its leadership can integrate the many pieces of God’s strategic plan into an effective framework and process for accomplishing its objectives …
only the Church – with its local, denominational, and parachurch ministries functioning as a unit – can rise to the level of strength and effectiveness that can hope to transform a nation or region
only the Church, functioning as a whole, can hope to make progress on fulfilling the Great Commission – each part must seek to understand the whole Body, and then acknowledge what each provides, as a part of the whole Body … co-ordinated for the task of reaping the harvest
each ministry has a strategy to fulfill its particular sense of calling
– which the Lord then uses as component pieces of the overall strategy of the whole Body working together to fulfill its mission in the nation, region, and world
to quote Bill Bright again,
“it is my strong conviction that it is impossible to ask God for too much IF our hearts and motives are pure and IF we pray according to the Word & will of God.”
I no longer merely dream about the transformation of east & central Europe
– I am profoundly convinced that it will happen
it is not that the harvest is barren or unripe or malformed …
God is eager for the harvest to be reaped!
my neighborhood and your neighborhoods belong to God! …
my city and your cities belong to God! …
the nations of east & central Europe belong to God! …
He wants them … and He will have them … every last one of them!
and the Church is God’s chosen instrument for transforming these nations
if God is asking us to be a part of His plan for redeeming these nations, then we must respond with vision for reaching entire nations and the whole region of east & central Europe
only after we recognize and obey this call from the Lord to evangelize the nations, will He enable us to dream and plan how to go about the process of gathering in the harvest of nations for Christ
He wants us to dream and to plan …
He longs to empower us for the task …
IF only we would ask
it is only because of God’s love and by the power of His Spirit, we can reach our nation/ region for Christ
… and since we can, we must!