Summing Up The Mission Next Conference

It has been almost a week since the Mission Next Conference and I have been processing the key lessons and ideas. Let me share some very quick summaries for you to consider and link you to my thoughts from the conference.

1. The minute we start questioning motives, we loose our ability to create partnerships between the Global South and the Global North.
2. Little details speak volumes. If we open our eyes to little things that we say and do and how they impact those from another culture, we will have a solid foundation for partnership.
3. As long as the standards for ministry practice are developed in the Global North, the Global South will struggle to have their issues and priorities at the table.
4. If we value status above empowering, then we will never allow new leaders to learn or grow through responsibility.
5. Partnerships are messy but that allows God to get the glory instead of us.

Out of these and many other conversations came a list of possible ways that we can connect the entire world of Great Commission workers. Take a minute to read some of those ideas.

I hope that blogging this conference has been an encouragement to you. I hope that you have been forced to think about things differently and consider new ways of partnering with other cultures.

Underlying all of this is relationship. If we are not out in our world building relationships, working together and praying together, we cannot hope for unity in the Great Commission Effort.

What are you doing to build healthy and strong cross cultural relationships today?

Engaging the Majority World

"The purpose of the 2008 North American Mission Leaders Conference is to challenge assumptions, broaden perspectives, and stimulate actionable dialogue among Great Commission leaders regarding how we relate to the Majority World harvest force." - Steve Moore, president of the Mission Exchange

As the Mission Next conference begins, one of the first things to think about and get your head around is the concept of the Majority World. This is not a new term, but there are so many terms out there that people are using, that it can get confusing.

Wikipedia defines it this way: "The majority world (sometimes capitalized as Majority World) is a term used in preference to the largely inaccurate, out-of-date and/or non-descriptive terms developing countries, third world and the "Global South". In the early nineties, Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam [1]began advocating for the new expression “majority world” to represent what has been known as the “Third World.” The term highlights the fact that these countries are indeed the majority of humankind. It also highlights the anomaly that the G8 (whose decisions affect the majority of the world's peoples) represent a tiny fraction of people in the world."

So what does this mean in missions work? Well, the reality today is that a vast majority of the Great Commission work is being done by people who live in this Majority World. Many reading this blog are from a Majority World country and many others are living in one of these countries.

The reality is that the missions movement of the 20th Century was defined and carried out by the Western developed nations. In the 21st Century the missions movement will be defined and driven by the Majority World.

So what is the role of Western leaders meeting in Denver then? God has a bigger plan than any of us can imagine. While the Majority World is the largest player in this new century, the role of the Western missions movement is still critical.

The key is sincere and humble partnership between the two. Both are God's agents to share the Gospel. This is not a "Door Number 1" or "Door Number 2" discussion. God is going to use all that come in humility and obedience. He will use them all in unique and powerful ways.

So as this discussion begins, lets see what God might do . . .

21 in 21 - A New Generation on Mission

There was an exciting Symposium that happened recently at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. It looked at the 21st Century of missions and what a new generation would bring to it.

One of our facebook group members is a leader at the seminary - David Livermore. See what he said about it and take a minute to check out the presentations:

"At Jon's invitation, I just wanted to mention a symposium we recently convened at the Global Learning Center here in Grand Rapids. With Bill Taylor as our keynote presenter and some 20-somethings of course, we wrestled with the issue of what it looks like to learn from 20-somethings in how they view mission. A great deal of fascinating dialogue ensued. We'll be posting more results from the symposium in the future but for now, you can see some of the presentations at http://grts.cornerstone.edu/resources/glc/symposium"

Some of the presentations include:
- Learning to Listen to 20-Somethings
- Confessions of a Boomer
- Common Ground

This topic is of utmost importance because it is so hard to think outside of our context. We struggle to engage with younger or older generations so many times. However, if you are already in missions, this is the time to understand how a new generation will do missions differently.

If you are one of those 20-somethings (or maybe even younger) who is working through what missions is - be encouraged. Your journey is exactly what missions needs. As you think through the issues, pray about how you will approach it, and innovate with the challenges and opportunities of the day, God is going to use you in incredible ways!

The conference you didn’t go to

This has happened to everyone! You open up a magazine and see an advertisement for yet another conference. As you scan the list of speakers and seminars, you get more and more excited. Then you see the details. Yes, its in Switzerland. Yes, the cost per attendee is huge. Yes, the only hotel you can stay at cost 150.00 per night. “Oh well, so much for that opportunity,” you say as you flip the page.

Well, this time the story will be different. I would like to introduce you to one of the premier conferences in the area of innovation. And the good news is that it is FREE! Well, better said, the conference is insanely expensive but all the content is uploaded to the internet for everyone afterwards.

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a unique event that brings together innovators from these three areas to produce a very exciting event. The speakers are the top innovators and thinkers. This is a great opportunity for you to access some of the newest thinking and apply it to your ministry context.

I would recommend you start with these:
Hans Rosling brings life to data and helps us apply it practically - http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/90

Paul Bennett shares how to innovate with design –
http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/40

Jeff Bezos from Amazon talks about innovation online –
http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/101

Robin Chase, founder of Zipcar, shares about practical conservation –
http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/101

If you are reading this from somewhere in the world where high-speed Internet is not yet your reality, don’t worry. You can also get much of the concepts and ideas through the TED blog: http://blog.ted.com/ .

I hope this resource will help you engage with new ideas and apply them creatively to missions.