Lausanne Observations

Greetings from a cafe at the “Convesia” hall where Lausanne 2024 is happening. I am having my morning coffee ang getting ready for the third full day here. I thought some of my readers might enjoy a few observations from my experience as a participant.

There are about 5,000 attendees, I am told. The plenaries are impressive, with a huge screen curving across the front of the auditorium. The speakers have emphasized many of the dominant themes in mission, including unity, the centrality of the church, and the rising global south workforce.

This leads to my first big takeaway. Past Lausanne events have typically been idea driven. 1974 produced an emphasis on the remaining task of world evanlization, 1989 focused on the 10/40 Window, and 2010 was the Capetown Committment. This event (which they call L4) seems to be a shift from ideas to collaboration. Each afternoon there are “Gap” sessions about significant gaps in the Great Commission and how we might meet the challenge of those gaps through collaborative action. I don’t think this event, at least up to this point, is going to leave us with a big mssiological idea as past events have. It will be interesting to see if this change from ideas to action takes hold. A key feature will be the use of a single digital platform. Will this be adopted by the global church? Time wil tell.

Yesterday they published the Seoul Statement. What surprised me was not what it said, but what it did not say. There is no significant emphasis on evangelism. Discipleship gets a section (which is great) but not evangelism. I think Billy Graham would be scratching his head on this, as Lausanne has had a historic focus on world evangelization.

There have been breakouts as well. Yesterday I attended Rick Warren’s session on the revamped vision for Finishing the Task (FTT). He is basically resurrecting the PEACE plan from the early 2000s. It was classic Rick Warren. That man can preach when he is holding a microphone. It did seem a little out of context, with Lausanne asking for broad collaboration on gaps while Rick was calling for people to join him in fulfilling the Great Commission through FTT. Well, all hands on deck. I pray that both meet with incredible success.

For me personally the richest portion has been the many people I have been able to meet that I would otherwise not be able to see face to face. From old field acquaintances to new relationships with other leaders, it has been very productive for me. As I finish this post, I am off to meet a Twitter/X friend that I have never in real life.

Please pray for those attending this key event. I feel privileged to be here among a sea of wonderful Great Commission advocates.