Monday 26 September 2022

Lausanne Global Analysis 11, 5 (September 2022)


The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdfs of individual articles as below.


The summaries are taken from the Issue Overview by Loun Ling Lee.


Rupen Das

God’s Work of Transformation in the World: Defining ‘Transformation’ in the Invitational Mission of God

‘Nowhere in Scripture are we called to transform the world,’ he [Das] argues. However, he concludes that ‘while God does not call us to transform society, he calls us to be witnesses to the reality of the kingdom of God and the king… in the midst of a culture that robs people of life, by demonstrating compassion, being advocates for justice, and proclaiming a Redeemer in a sinful and broken world.


Héber Negrão

The Arts Are Not a Universal Language: Ethnodoxology and Integrating Local Arts in Worship

Héber Negrão highly recommends the usage of local arts in ‘culturally appropriate worship practices in missionary work.’ The development of ethnodoxology has championed the arts as ‘effective means of communication and, if correctly approached, they can powerfully convey the message of the gospel to the intended culture.’ However, the author notes that ‘there are aspects in every culture that can be used to glorify God, but also cultural expressions that were tainted when humankind sinned.’


Byron L. Spradlin

The Critical Role of Christian Artists and Musicians in Missions: The Need for Indigenous Christian Community Formation

Spradlin advocates for the formation of ‘indigenous Christian community’ where ‘culturally relevant expressions of faith and worship’ are respected. He writes, ‘Artistic communicators and artistic expression specialists stand central to developing indigenous Christian community formation, though often they are not being valued.’ The author’s passion to support and equip them led to ‘the launching of Artists in Christian Testimony International (A.C.T. Intl), a mission agency comprised of musicians and artists, and other creative ministry-initiators of all kinds, each of whom is committed to indigenous worship and Christian community formation.’ Many more mission agencies and churches with sufficient ‘ministry-facilitating structures’, and more ‘in-depth training, equipping those artists who feel God’s call to ministry’, are needed.


Michael Hart

Proclaiming an Offensive Gospel in Cultures of Peace: Building Plausibility Structures

With a special focus on cultures that value peace and tolerance, Michael Hart… argues that ‘proactive proclamation and deep relationships are integral to effectively sharing the good news.’ He proposes, first of all, that we work to understand such cultures, then bridge the gap with the people by ‘building plausibility structures – contexts, systems, or frameworks in which someone’s beliefs are credible’, and finally ‘provide the materials and blueprint’ to build these new structures. However, ‘it is important we recognize the building blocks of tolerance, respect, and affirmation in peace-loving cultures’ if we wish to proclaim the gospel effectively ‘by word and deed.’

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