The Lausanne Conference Will Adopt a New Statement on Nature and the Call of the Church

Christians from all over the world will be gathering in a historic meeting in Cape Town later this year. The Lausanne Conference will be attended by some 4,000 Christian leaders from 200 nations to focus on the future of the church and evangelization in the 21st century.

Leaders of the Lausanne Movement are planning to adopt a new document that will follow in the footsteps of the historic Lausanne Covenant, an evangelical manifesto considered to be one of the most influential documents in Christendom.

The highly-anticipated document, referred to as the Cape Town Commitment, will be "rooted in the centrality of the uniqueness of Christ, and on the authority of the Scriptures," say representatives of the Lausanne Movement.

Lindsay Brown, international director of the Lausanne Movement, said the statement would provide evangelicals with a clear definition of the nature and call of the Church.

"There is a lack of clarity when we talk about evangelism and the gospel, particularly in the Western Church,” Brown stated in an announcement on the upcoming document.

“We need to have agreement on the message we are proclaiming," he added.

Brown also said he hoped the Cape Town 2010 gathering would result in a "fresh call to the Church worldwide to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching in all of the world – not only geographically, but in the sphere of ideas."

Cape Town 2010 will be the third international Lausanne Congress held since 1974 when a committee headed by world renowned evangelist Billy Graham drew over 2,700 evangelical leaders from 150 countries and ultimately produced the Lausanne Covenant.

For the upcoming gathering in Cape Town, leaders associated with the Lausanne Movement and the World Evangelical Alliance will examine the world and today’s culture to discern where the Church should invest its efforts and energies to most effectively respond to Christ’s call to take the gospel into all the world and make disciples of all nations.

"This is a critical moment for the global Church, with pressures from outside and dissension within,” remarked Doug Birdsall, executive chair of The Lausanne Movement.

“We trust the Cape Town Commitment will be a clarion call for unity around the primary truths of the Gospel.”

In addition to the 4,000 Christian leaders who will attend Cape Town 2010, thousands more are expected to participate in the gathering through the web and other media.

Cape Town 2010 will be held Oct. 16 -25 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

WCC says that Church Growth in China is 'Unique and Explosive'

An official with the World Council of Churches has said that the Chinese church is experiencing unprecedented growth.

Mathews George Chunakara, WCC's Director of International Affairs and Public Witness, stated that there had been a "unique and explosive growth" of Christianity of late.

"I have been visiting China for the last 15 years. I am astounded to see the tremendous growth there. Their worship places are now overflowing," Chunakara told New Delhi-based Christian Today in an interview.

"It is not just the poor you see in churches,” he added. ”Even the rich and educated are embracing Christianity. Beijing and Shanghai are the proof.”

There are estimated to be about 130 million Christians in China today compared to only 3 million in the early 1970s.

While in the past the Communist government clamped down on religious activities, the growth in the Chinese church has largely been viewed with a benevolent eye.

"The Chinese government will not raid unless provoked,” Chunakara said. “Now being the fastest growing economy, they know the importance of a harmonious society. To promote such a society, they are giving religion a special role."

Just one example is the Communist Government’s amendment of the Chinese Constitution two years ago to accommodate the role of religion.

"You could not expect such a thing to happen 15 years ago," Chunakara said.

There is still occasional persecution of Christians but mainly against those belonging to unofficial house churches.

Chunakara also noted that, in general, the Church is growing rapidly in many Asian countries. He concluded: “Not only China, in many Asian countries the Church is expanding. More people are coming to God. In addition, the participation of young people is absolutely remarkable in comparison with those in West. There is genuine spiritual eagerness among the grassroot level people.”

Controversial Ground Zero Islamic Centre Receives Go-Ahead

On Tuesday of this week, New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission refused landmark status for the building at the centre of the ‘mega mosque’ controversy near ground zero in New York.

The landmark status claim was a last ditch attempt by the vociferous opponents of the mosque who say that building it so close to ground zero is disrespectful to the victims of the Twin Towers attack. Supporters of the idea have argued that the proposed building is two whole blocks away from ground zero, and that the building itself is far more than just a mosque but an Islamic centre that is in part designed to promote religious tolerance.

The preservation commissioners voted unanimously against the landmark status for 45-47 Park Place. Even had the commission voted in favour of landmark status then they still could not have prevented the group behind the proposal from building a community centre, they could only have prevented them from demolishing the building or radically changing its exterior.

Brian McLaren: Why I support Anne Rice but remain a Christian

In a recent article written for CNN Belief Blog, renowned author and speaker Brian McLaren detailed exactly why Rice had his fullest sympathies but that he could entirely go along with her decision to ‘break up’ with Christianity.

In his opinion piece, McLaren stated that her choice and reasoning is far too fascinating and complex to “simply be praised or blamed, agreed with or quarreled with.”

McLaren details Rice’s faith path from an upbringing in Roman Catholicism before spending most of her adult years as a reasoning atheist. Her decision to return to Christianity in her fifties culminated in a drastic change in her writing career as she moved away from her vampire novels to writing about Christ.

McLaren mentions that the Rice break up with Christianity has been jumped on by the media because of its sensationalist angle. Rice’s disillusionment though is not with God, but with his followers. Rice makes it very clear that she has “quit Christianity.” She asserted that she just could not belong to the “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group” known as Christians unless she becomes “anti-gay … anti-feminist … anti-artificial birth control … anti-Democrat … anti-secular humanism … anti-science … anti-life.”

In McLaren’s opinion, the sensationalism of the story is hiding some of the more interesting facts behind it all. He writes: “Her (Rice’s) brief announcement raises lots of fascinating questions. For example, when a person quits Christianity in the name of Christ, what do you call that person? If Christianity means “following Christ’s followers,” what do you call someone who wants to skip the middlemen? Some might say you call such a person a Protestant: Anne’s reasons for leaving Catholicism aren’t terribly different from those of Martin Luther nearly 500 years ago.”

McLaren goes on to assert, however, that in his own personal experience, being a Protestant does not solve these problems. This is because there as just as many “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous” Protestants as Catholics, if not even more, and their theological prejudices exclude many. The differences between both Protestants and Catholics often seem far removed from the radical compassion espoused by Christ.

McLaren says that, “I reached a conclusion very close to Anne’s in my book A New Kind of Christianity: “I do not believe in Christianity the way I believe in Jesus. I am a Christian who does not believe in Christianity as I used to, but who believes in Christ with all my heart, more than ever.”

It is for this reason that McLaren feels that he can in no way “condemn or criticize” Rice in any way and feels that her stance may influence various church powers to listen more carefully to how ordinary people in the street feel about faith.

However, McLaren asserts that he cannot go as far as Rice has in formally leaving Christianity, although he is often tempted, citing last week’s decision by a major church to stage a ‘Burn a Quran Day’ as being a case in example. McLaren balances his feelings of disappointment in other Christians with a recognition of his own shortcomings, prejudices and blind spots. Secondly, McLaren feels that there is no religious effort which offers an improved alternative on Christianity’s best efforts. McLaren believes that all religions needs to acknowledge and learn from their many failures.

Thirdly, McLaren states that “… if I’m going to have solidarity with one failed religion, I might as well have solidarity with them all. So rather than surrendering my identity as a Christian, I’ve redefined it so it doesn’t mean that I feel superior to anybody. Instead, it means that as a failed member of a failed religion, and I’m in solidarity with all other failed members of failed religions … and with people who have dropped out of failed religions as well.”

McLaren concludes his article with the following thought: “Perhaps it’s this truly catholic (small-c) solidarity in failure that really counts most, for Catholics, Protestants, and everybody else. Those who leave religion and those who stay can work to expand that gracious space of solidarity, which, I think, is what Jesus called ‘the kingdom of God.’”

(Brian McLaren is a popular Christian writer, speaker, networker and ‘emerging church’ thinker. He has authored books such as “Generous Orthodoxy,” “Everything Must Change,” and most recently "A New Kind of Christianity.").

(To read the full article, please go to http://religion.blogs.cnn.com).

First Human Trial of Embryonic Stem Cells Approved

A California-based biotechnology company, Geron Corporation, announced on Friday that it had been granted permission by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct the world’s first human clinical trial of a therapy involving embryonic stem cells, says the San Jose Mercury News.

The trial will involve the injection of stem-cell treatment into patients with severe spinal cord injuries in the anticipation that this process would assist the re-growth of damaged nerve cells and thereby enable patients to regain movement.

Original approval for Geron’s trial was granted way back in 2009 but in animal testing the corporation found that small cysts were developing with alarming frequency. Even advocates of embryonic stem cell research have voiced reservations about this particular trial, noting its history with animals.

Embryonic stem cell research is already controversial since it entails the embryo’s destruction during the process of harvesting the stem cells. Pro-life groups, therefore, contend that it is an unethical process and equate the research with abortion since it destroys another potential life. Furthermore, they also argue that adult stem research is an alternative that is both ethical and has proven results.

Supporters of this kind of research emphasise that embryonic stem cells are highly versatile and can mature into any tissue in the body. Ultimately, they hope that it can be used to develop organs for transplant and help regrow damaged nerves.

During President George W. Bush’s tenure, federally funded embryonic stem cell research was limited but under President Obama greater freedom and federal funds have been made available.

Geron’s research, if successful, has the potential to make significant inroads into severe health problems such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

A date for the trial has not been set yet, but Geron does intend to begin before the end of 2010. So far Geron has spent 15 years and more than $150 million on this therapy treatment.

Food Shortages Will Niger Hard Say World Vision

The Christian aid agency, World Vision, which has been working in Niger since 1995 has said that the current food shortage crisis they are experiencing is the worst since 2005. And what makes this situation even more serious is that this West African country’s annual “hunger season” began earlier than usual this year putting more than of their population at risk.

“There aren’t many places in the world where you have an annual ‘hunger season,’ but Niger is one of them,” said Judy Moore, the emergency response director in Niger for World Vision. “Unfortunately, this year, poor harvests and a lack of rainfall meant the hunger season began earlier than usual.”

World Vision has identified 53 cases of severely acute malnutrition in a three-week period in just one area of Niger (Koma Bangou). In 2009, the same center identified just 22 cases in the entire year.

“This is the worst food shortage we’ve seen in Niger since 2005,” reported Moore. “We’ve even heard reports of parents feeding their children ‘galgu,’ a plant normally used to feed cattle, because they can’t find anything else to eat.”

In collaboration with the World Food Program, World Vision is distributing food in several different regions of Niger and these interventions are expected to increase food availability for more than 500,000 people.

World Vision has also formed a partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organization to distribute seeds for the planting season to 10,000 households throughout Niger.

Last week, the United States’ Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance granted World Vision a sum of $1 million to implement an emergency nutrition intervention in Niger.

Around 28,000 malnourished children will be assisted over the course of one year. At this stage, 58 percent of Niger’s population is severely food insecure, and 1.5 million children under 5 are suffering from malnutrition.

Studies have found that Niger’s ongoing food insecurity is due to last year’s poor harvest and also because most of the population lacks sufficient income to buy food for their families. The cereal harvest has fallen by 30 percent and pasture, critical to livestock herders, has fallen by 60 percent.

The national survey conducted by Niger’s government last December reported that some 7.8 million people, or nearly 60 percent of Niger's population, are running out of food. And according to a recently leaked government report, nearly three million people are expected to face "extreme" food shortfalls this year.

(Photo: World Vision / Ann Birch)

Anne Rice the 'Vampire' Author Gives Up On Christianity

Last week, Anne Rice, the author of numerous vampire novels, including the famed ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ declared that she had “quit being Christian."

Rice ‘broke up’ with Christianity on her Facebook page saying that she found it “simply impossible … to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.“

“For ten ...years, I've tried,” the 68-year-old noted. “I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

A day earlier, Rice had blogged about a news article regarding observations made by the head of a youth outreach ministry, who allegedly described Muslims who demand the execution of homosexuals as “more moral than even the American Christians.”

“This kind of thing makes me weep,” Rice wrote. “Maybe commitment to Christ means not being a Christian.”

A few hours later, Rice quoted Mahatma Gandhi, who said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Rice went on to question the term “Christian,” asking when a word becomes “unusable … so burdened with history and horror that it cannot be evoked without destructive controversy.”

Twenty-four hours later, Rice confirmed that she was definitely “out” and said that she refused to be anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-artificial birth control, anti-Democrat, anti-secular humanism, anti-science, and anti-life in the name of Christ.

“In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian,” she concluded.

While some have understood Rice’s pronouncements as a rejection of her faith, the famous author later clarified that her faith in Christ “is central to my life.”

“My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me,” she wrote in her Facebook fan page.

But to the former Vampire author, “following Christ does not mean following His followers.”

“Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become,” she concluded.