A Christian College President Reflects on Lausanne 4

Editor’s note: This article is part of forum discussing the fourth Lausanne Congress. It is not an official Lausanne Movement forum but an opportunity for Lausanne delegates to share their thoughts about the fourth Lausanne Congress, the Seoul Statement, and the future of the mission. You can read the entire series, from diverse voices around the world here.

I serve as president of Gordon College, a 135-year old Christian institution that is deeply intertwined with the story of global ministry and American evangelicalism. My office was formerly occupied by Harold John Ockenga, first president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

It was an honor to be a part of the fourth Lausanne Congress (L4), a beautiful demonstration of the church across the world, celebrating together and focusing on the timeless principles of the Bible and the good news of the Gospel. It was mentioned that there was more diversity assembled in Incheon than at the Olympics. Two hundred and five nations sent athletes to the 2024 Olympics, and a similar number of regions sent delegates to the Lausanne Congress, perhaps more given that over 6,000 joined virtually. Lausanne’s manifestation of the church—not defined by geography nor by time—can lift evangelicalism above the internecine debates which often inhibit the Great Commission in the United States and elsewhere.

Whether the term evangelical is preferred or not, the global church rooted in core Christian faith beliefs celebrated communion, recited the Apostle’s Creed, worshipped and prayed together, and responded to an ongoing call to action. For the many Christian colleges and organizations wrestling with how to describe their Christian identity and mission, the Lausanne movement and documents provide a consistent articulation of serious, orthodox belief and faithfulness rising above the material and political agendas that may confuse or dilute the power of the gospel. 

And yet, controversial opinions around the Seoul Statement created a buzz alongside the activities in the convention hall, partially due to a different process than had been deployed for the Lausanne Covenant of 1974, Manila Manifesto of 1989, and the Capetown Commitment in 2010. These documents are important assertions of the evangelical approach to spreading the gospel and reaffirming the core beliefs of the church around the world. When these documents, including the Seoul Statement, demonstrate agreement, there is a beautiful reflection of unity around the authority of Scripture and the church worldwide.

When there is controversy or disagreement, we can also celebrate the opportunity for deeper discussion toward understanding. One need not be discouraged by the differences over the Seoul Statement or disagreements over topics such as Israel-Palestine, climate change, the Holy Spirit, or even dispensational eschatology. When these conflicts and differences over strategies for collaborative action are discussed, the Church can model productive disagreement rooted in a common source of truth. 

For today’s college students, there are not many exemplary moments like these that can show a process, even one evolving in real time, that brings those differences to the surface and calls on the courage of participants to respect their differing opinions. The Lausanne movement can allow for contrary opinions but point back to a common source of truth that guides obedience and experience. We have seen in recent years many ministry leaders yielding to the temptation toward political or cultural disagreement that sour many on the truth and beauty of the Gospel.

At Gordon, our campus research on rising generations suggests that the entrepreneurial spirit of young Christians leads them away from older models of Christian organizations and toward ownership of new initiatives of Christian spiritual formation. This was on display at the Lausanne Congress as younger participants were fully engaged in worship and collaborative action. Our college students are often compelled to grow deeper in their walk with Jesus Christ by artistic creativity such as we witnessed by painters Bryn Gillette and Lexie Newsom as well as music by Korean church choirs, the Gettys, and Isaiah6tyOne worship band. We heard testimonies from the Younger Leaders Gatherings and from those who were engaged with worship and the arts.

As younger Christians steer away from traditional structures of faith engagement, there are opportunities for them to shape the Church of the future in positive directions. At Lausanne, the focus on the arts, the workplace, collaborative action, and the work of the Holy Spirit in revival and repentance showed that the church of the future may take a different form but can still promote the Gospel. 

As the 50-year legacy of Lausanne was celebrated and invoked often, it made clear that Christian organizations started in 19th and 20th centuries must adapt or die. We have found this true in the realm of Christian higher education and it applies to the array of evangelical mission-driven organizations, many of which were present at Lausanne. The story arc of post-Enlightenment modernization and industrialization shaped the way that Christian churches, missionary movements, parachurch organizations, and colleges were founded over the last century or more.

This organizing impulse created a benevolent empire during the Second Great Awakening, which was repeated in the founding of global missions outreach in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, youth ministries in the mid-20th century, and media-focused evangelistic ministries in the latter 20th century. However, with a rising rate of controversies and moral crises over the past four decades, confidence in personality-driven ministries has rapidly declined.

In place of many of the evangelical subculture of organizations will be a renewed emphasis on integrating Christian faith into the workplace and endeavors across the business, scientific, and nonprofit landscape. The Christian workplace faith movement is already decades old and growing rapidly with pointed challenges for the public reading of the Bible, openness to integrating Christian principles into business practices, and a robust debate on the role of faith and reason in corporate and scientific spaces. Aligned with this emphasis on the workplace as one of the more effectives venues for declaring and displaying Christ is the emphasis on action to address the most pressing issues of our day, including gap areas which the state of the Great Commission identified as stagnant areas of engagement in need of new energy.