Stephen Tollestrup (TEAR Fund)
Lausanne III was as expected a mixed bag of highs and lows. In terms of the high points, the wide representation from the Church of the developing world, youth and women was extraordinary and welcome. The social-justice message and concern for transformational Christianity from leaders like Ruth Padilla and Chris Wright were uplifting and challenging. I thought, too, that the desk groups worked well. For the most part worship was robust and energising. The food given the nearly 5000 mouths to feed was almost biblical! Great kai. I was surprised as well at the openness and traction that we had in the Pacific Forum, and even within the smaller Kiwi contingent.

On the negative side, I found the larger afternoon meetings fairly unsatisfactory. I went to two, but found them too broad and unable to get to the heart of the issues being discussed. I stopped going after the second day of them. I personally found the conservative speakers, like John Piper and surprisingly Os Guinness, not in touch with the new evangelical dialogue. I also felt there was a bit of hubris from the leaders at the front. I thought the final evening closing ceremony was completely over the top - an exercise in theatrics. I know many found it inspiring.

The question for me wasn't whether this Lausanne was needed. There are some very salient issues demanding the Church to wake up and address, e.g., emergent church, shift from north to south, Palestine, Islam, violence. Personally, I think the event was way too superficial, and perhaps more time needed to be given at a deeper level to consider these. To this extent it may have been better served by reducing invitations by half. Many, many participants I spoke to were along for the ride rather than deep engagement with the issues.

Rosemary Dewerse, Laidlaw College

Key highlights from Lausanne for me were the great mix of people from many different nations and so the constantly interesting stories being told from the front and over food, the testimonies that we heard across the conference (I really appreciated the challenges coming to us all from context-specific experiences rather than speakers talking in generalisations, which happens at too many a conference), and the opportunity to meet in table groups and in particular explore God's word together in a form that encouraged wrestling with the words on the page rather than just one speaker's interpretation. Regarding the latter, it was disappointing not to have more time to discuss - a problem across the whole information-filled conference - and therefore dialogue at a deeper-than-surface level. As leaders we would have been ready for that.

Things that I will take away to ponder and implement come for me from the mixture of Lausanne and an Anglican conference I attended the day before in Cape Town: the need to be soaking all things in prayer and to be expecting the natural and supernatural (my non-charismatic background misses something, I am thinking, by not looking for the latter); the comment that we tend not to speak, gossip or even live the Gospel because we are not thoroughly converted ourselves - a challenge to preachers and educators in particular; and the challenge that real commitment means taking risks and being willing to lay down our lives - so much of church life gets bound up by petty politics while those around us (and possibly even ourselves) are going hungry. I am often too willing to settle for less on all of these fronts in the busyness of everyday life.

Jim Chew, Navigators

I am still processing all the input from Cape Town with the host of issues. We in NZ must respond to what the LORD is saying to the Church here? I continue to pray for the kind of unity and collaboration that will impact our spiritually needy nation and advance the Gospel of Jesus AND his kingdom in every level of our society.

My Cape Town highlights:
1. The moving testimony of the North Korean girl who lost her father through persecution and now is preparing to share the good news to the North Koreans.
2. The closing communion service was unforgettable in worship and remembrance of our Lord, concluding with the grand climax ‘Crown Him with Many Crowns'.
3. The Table Group fellowship - I led an amazing group comprising a leader of the evangelical churches of Ethiopia, a Canadian pastor, a US young woman in her 20s newly married and empowering communities to work against HIV/Aids and Water Crises in Africa, a German student worker, a South African leader bringing about reconciliation and restitution.
4. Two speakers in the plenary - Ruth Padilla DeBorst (on Ephesians 2) and Chris Wright (on Calling the Church to Humility) ministered most to me.
5. The need to develop the younger generation of Christ-like leaders who will advance the Gospel.
6. I had the opportunity of meeting up with seven young leaders I've been mentoring since the Younger Leaders Gathering in 2006 (including Michael Oh who leads the Lausanne Younger Leaders) and will continue this relationship.

Issues for the New Zealand Church:
1. Our churches to be more holistic in the development of Christ-followers (whole life disciple-making - empowering believers in their workplace and wherever they are) to advance the Gospel.
2. Theological education to be relevant, contextual, and missional.
3. Collaboration in the diversity of ministries that will impact our increasingly multi-cultural society - including internationals at our doorstep.
4. The whole church - Roman Catholic and Protestant - having a strong voice to the Government on issues of justice, morality and values that are biblical, that will be listened to because of the quality of life and character of church leadership. May God raise up a William Wilberforce for New Zealand with a team of God-focused influencers in society (like the Clapham group)!
5. Work among the young - to grow a new generation of Christ-followers passionate for Him.

Steve Maina, NZ Church Missionary Society

I personally found the sessions by Calisto Odede on Integrity, Ajith Fernando on God's cosmic plan of Salvation, Chris Wright and Femi on Humility Integrity and Simplicity most impacting. In addition, Os Guinness's message on Truth is one I hope to listen to again and seek its application in New Zealand's pluralistic society.

The many testimonies from Christians who have experienced severe trials and persecution were also challenging. Evening sessions on ‘God's on the move' brought renewed confidence in a God ‘who cannot be stopped' by the challenges in the world today.

As a newcomer to New Zealand, I am only just beginning to understand the spiritual landscape in New Zealand. The message by John Stott was quite helpful. For one thing, the deepest needs of the human heart have not changed - the need to be reconciled to God ... Nor has the Gospel changed ... Nor has Christ's command to His disciples changed to go ... proclaim the Gospel.

While we may be looking for new techniques to propel the Church forward in its mission, I have come back more convinced than ever that a renewed confidence in the Gospel is what is needed in New Zealand and a commitment to work together to see God's Kingdom grow!

Daily conversations with people from different countries on the table groups and around meal times enabled me to experience many ‘God moments' and to build partnerships that I am keen to develop further. I also enjoyed the regional gatherings, hearing ways in which we can apply the Cape Town experience in our context. While there is a lot we can learn from others, the Kiwis, too, have much to offer and we should not lose sight of that as well.

Although the mid-conference free day was an opportunity for many people to recuperate and do some sightseeing, mine did not turn out that way. I tried twice making my way to visit Robben Island, but the tour was cancelled due to weather conditions. I was disappointed. I also missed going to Table Mountain as the clouds did not clear. However, I appreciated going to Guguletu Township and meeting a pastor (in her 70s). I heard an amazing story of the courageous steps she took to share the Gospel and support her community in the dark years of apartheid. What struck me most was the spirit of reconciliation she expressed. This little experience profoundly helped me connect the big theme of reconciliation at the congress with the grass-roots context where the rubber meets the road, or as I learned Africans put it, ‘where the grass becomes goat'!

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