Europe Leadership Conference Calls Churches to be 'More Subversive'

The Church in Europe needs to respond to growing secularisation with intelligence, curiosity and a subversive mindset.

These were just some of the findings of the 2020Conference, Strategic Leadership Consultation 2007 held in Spain last weekend.

Invited church network and national ministry leaders gathered from across Europe to discuss the future shape of Europe and how the church can influence this in a positive and proactive way.

Launching the event, summit host Mal Fletcher, director of Next Wave International, said: "We have come here to discuss how the European church can fulfil its cultural mandate: to be 'a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.'

"Christ used the word 'city' here because churches should represent, in microcosmic form, what the city can be if it lives under kingdom values.'

Joel Edwards, General Director all the Evangelical Alliance (UK) was among the special contributors at the summit. He told the delegates from ten nations that to have influence the church must join the discourse of the culture. It must ask: "What is the culture talking about? and then join the discussion with curiosity."

"We also need to raise churches where citizenship is an issue," he added. "The early Christians were able to say to the Roman culture, which placed a high value on citizenship: 'You don't want to kill us, because we are your best citizens!'"

The forum was challenged to develop a more minority posture, with Christians behaving like Daniel in Babylon or Joseph in Egypt, with a subversive and creative edge.

Renowned evangelist Arthur Blessitt shared his experiences of taking the Christian message to presidents, kings and other influential world leaders.

Blessitt is famous for carrying a 12-foot cross on what the Guinness Book of Records called "the world's longest walk," visiting every nation on earth since 1969.

He is also known for his involvement in the conversion of US President George W. Bush in 1984.

In a session entitled 'The Miles Hill Generation', Mal Fletcher spoke of addressing European culture at the level of ideas. "Ours is a culture that celebrates thought," he said. "We have a worldview which addresses some of the major conceptual ideas of our time. We need to equip our people to deal with ideas."

The summit also featured a recorded TV interview with author, speaker and social researcher Winkie Pratney, which focussed on shaping the future for new generations.

"Kids today are bored," said Pratney. "We've stripped much of the creativity out of our culture by abandoning its lines of creative tension, its absolutes."

"This is an extreme generation and when their extremeness is switched toward righteousness, they become awesome!"

The Strategic Leadership Consultation is held annually at the beginning of May. For more on this year's event, and coming events, visit www.nextwaveonline.com