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Fall seven times, stand up eight. Japanese proverbCHAPTER 13 The Quest Goes On
Every so often, another expedition makes the news by reaching the 29,028 foot peak of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. It has become so common place, we hardly pay attention. Yet it hasn't always been that way.
Since the mid-1850s, mountain climbers have tried to scale Mount Everest. Avalanches, strong winds, and thin air had prevented successive teams from reaching the pinnacle until Sir Edmund Hillary succeeded in 1953. Hillary was part of a larger expedition that took a novel approach of scaling the mountain from the south side which earlier parties had deemed unclimbable. Their advance up the slopes began on March 10th. As they went, they set up a series of camps, each time with fewer members and less equipment. Finally Hillary and Nepalese tribesman Sherba Tenzing reached the top on May 29th and entered the history books.
The Global Consultation on AD 2000 was the first attempt by a new breed of Great Commission climbers. Since the 1910 World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, this century has witnessed more than 200 major international congresses of Christian leaders. Each has made a unique contribution. But few before GCOWE attempted to scale the formidable mountain of world evangelization by AD 2000. Now an attempt has been made. But the quest is not complete.
Like the team that sets out from base camp at dawn to scale a steep rock face and doesn't make it, GCOWE took aim but fell short in three key ways:
The Global Consultation did not approve its working documents in any final revised form.Significant feedback was collected through the working groups, but concerns over process and presuppositions overwhelmed the original rationale for a collectively implemented action plan. This left an immediate question in the minds of many whether the Great Commission world would move in a stronger thrust toward the development of cooperative efforts.
The Global Consultation did not end with an official mandate to continue its work through a follow-on program.Despite the fact that more than 85 percent of the participants responded affirmatively to continuation, no global task force was commissioned to serve the AD 2000 movement. Here the Steering Committee felt that over-sensitivity to the 15 percent who objected was better than lack of sensitivity to those who wanted a continuing function.
The Global Consultation left many leaders uncertain about the course of a collective AD 2000 movement.Although the Consultation produced a rousing manifesto for AD 2000, much of what was hoped for was not attained during those five days. The unexpected resignation of the Steering Committee leadership dashed the hopes of many, infuriated some, pleased others, but left everyone startled.
Despite these detractions, the Global Consultation did move the cause of world evangelization to a higher plateau in three key ways:
The Global Consultation gave tremendous impetus to regional and national AD 2000 consultations. Due to continental meetings and national leadership gatherings, many countries, especially those in the Third World, are moving forward to launch national AD 2000 world evangelization programs.
The Global Consultation allowed for good interaction between participants on the principles and presuppositions of AD 2000 thinking. This was mainly done through its six featured case studies of AD 2000 programs. Through steps like this, networking and communication among AD 2000 programs will increasingly play an important role as we move into the nineties.
The Global Consultation fostered an international identity for the AD 2000 vision. This was documented before the Consultation through research, but not experienced until the event. As this identity grows in the nineties, global planning for evangelization will increasingly be recognized as a whole- church, whole-mission endeavor.
Speaking of the significance of the Global Consultation, Dr. Vinson Synan, Chairman of the North American Renewal Service Committee, said:"GCOWE 2000 was truly a historic moment for the Church. Churches and ministries that had never talked together pledged cooperation in completing the task of world evangelization by the end of the century. There was a dynamic coming together of AD 2000 movements from groups as diverse as Southern Baptist, Catholic, and Pentecostal. The vision, data, and resources shared in Singapore will set the agenda for the Church till the end of the century. It was a 'kairos moment.'"
Like Hillary's expedition, the Global Consultation did not complete its mission in the first week, nor even in its first month. Yet I believe nothing that was hoped for has been irretrievably lost. We have not reached the pinnacle, but camp is now at a higher altitude. A new day is dawning, and the summit awaits for others who have the strength to try again before the night comes and the window of opportunity is closed.
Copyright 1989 by the AD 2000 Global Service Office. --30-- To purchase The Countdown Has Begun by credit card, call 719-636-2000 or use the order form to fax or send your order in. |
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