DW: We actually don't have that finalised yet. At the International Leadership meeting in Budapest in June 2007 a possible list of topics for the programme was canvassed. There were many more than can be handled in one congress.
One of the difficulties we face is what is important and key to a particular country, or region, may not be a key issue in another place. We need to distil out the global issues that can be addressed from a plenary situation and how that issue can be discussed with a particular region's concerns.
Some of the issues that have been raised and are highly significant to world evangelisation are: HIV and Aids, urban evangelism, holistic mission, using the communication revolution - the whole phenomena on the web and the virtual world, reaching Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, environmental issues, migrant/refugees, religious pluralism, the uniqueness of Christ, [and] trafficking of people like children at risk.
These are just some of the issues and of course, there are the ongoing challenges such as gender issues, theology of suffering and martyrdom and lack of morality.
There are opportunities that the Congress presents such as, encouraging the re-evangelisation of the West and in particular Europe where Christianity is almost dead. In many of the western countries Christianity appears to be on the decline but it is certainly on the increase in the Global South and in Asian countries.
So what do we do about re-evangelising the West, which at one time was the bastion of Christianity? People went to their death in those countries for the sake of Christ. Now the churches are empty and what should our response be? Training leadership in urban areas, the ongoing issues of women in leadership roles, treating them as full partners and bringing women out from under oppression, the diaspora [and] learning from the diaspora church, and learning from southern churches especially African churches [and their] history.
The really key issues need to be distilled so that [the Lausanne] World Congress [is] on global evangelisation and key issues that globally need to be addressed. In the end Lausanne is about the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world and so it is global issues we must address. There will always be a myriad of issues but what are the key strategic ones affecting us at this time that it would be important to bring 4000 people together to discuss?
The delegates must be strategic people who are thinking globally. Not those who are simply talking about these things but those who are actually doing and achieving and who are strategic in their work.
CT: The Lausanne Committee and the World Evangelical Alliance seem to be forging a closer relationship. Is this trend being followed here in Australia?
DW: We had an Australian committee meeting and we are talking about what we are doing with the Evangelical Alliance here in Australia. The Better Together conference is such a joint venture.
We are both really about the same course - that is, world evangelisation. I think the Christian world is keen to see organisations work together as we cannot do it alone. Together we can achieve far more than being separate.
CT: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.
