Lausanne commitment

The Lausanne commitment is a voluntary, Christian evangelical commitment from 1974, which aims to actively promote the spread of Christianity. The declaration was formulated during a conference entitled “ International Congress for World Evangelization ” and approved by more than 2,300 people.

history

The conference took place in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Lake Geneva , at the invitation and under the chairmanship of the US evangelist and preacher Billy Graham . Among the approximately 2,700 conference participants were around 150 leaders from various churches and free churches .

content

shape

The Lausanne Declaration is written in the form of a non-denominational confession of guilt, divided into 15 articles, in which first the authors, then also the subsequent signatories, regret not having done enough to spread the Christian message. The declaration expressly emphasizes belief in the Ecumenical Creed of Nicaea , which was formulated in 325. The signatories express their will to devote themselves more intensively to the spread of Christianity. The declaration was largely written, initially exclusively in English, by Pastor John RW Stott . Translations are now available in more than 20 languages.

preamble

“We, members of the Church of Jesus Christ from more than 150 nations, participants in the International Congress for World Evangelization in Lausanne, praise God because He has given His salvation and we rejoice in the fellowship that He gives us with Him and one another. God's work in our time moves us deeply. Our failure leads us to repentance. The unfinished business of evangelism challenges us. We believe that the gospel of God is good news for the whole world. By His grace, we are determined to obey the commission of Jesus Christ in proclaiming His salvation to all humanity, in order to make disciples of all peoples. That is why we want to reaffirm our faith and our resolve and publicly express our commitment. "

items

The first three of the 15 articles of the Lausanne Commitment explain from an evangelical point of view God's plan of salvation, the authority of the Bible and the uniqueness and universality of Jesus Christ . The following articles discuss the nature of evangelism and how it is put into practice. In addition to the question of social responsibility of Christians, the relationship to other cultures is also dealt with. The last four articles deal with the spiritual background of evangelism, dealing with evil, possible persecution of Christians, the work of the Holy Spirit and the anticipated return of Christ .

reception

For the widely ramified evangelical movement, the Lausanne commitment became an important theological consensus document. The setting aside of ecclesiological peculiarities and themes in favor of an evangelistic missionary commitment is the main feature of the movement shaped by this paper. The Lausanne commitment is therefore one of the most important documents of evangelical mission theology and evangelical cooperation within the evangelical movement.

In Germany, the Lausanne Movement Germany was founded in connection with the German Evangelical Alliance and the Working Group Missionary Services (AMD) in the Evangelical Church in Germany as a result of the joint commitment .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Lausanne Movement Germany (ed.), 25 years Lausanne Movement - Horst Marquardt takes stock, Stuttgart
^ Reinhard Hempelmann (ed.), Handbook of evangelistic- missionary works, institutions and communities, Christian publishing house Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 1997, page 233
↑ ^a ^b J. Gordon Melton: Lausanne Covenant . In: Encyclopedia of World Religions . Encyclopedia of Protestantism, No. 6 . Facts of File, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-8160-5456-5 , pp. 334 (English).
↑ Lausanne Movement Germany (ed.), Lausanne Obligation, page 1, Stuttgart, 2000
↑ Reinhard Hempelmann: Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism. In: Journal of the Catholic Academy in Bavaria 'to debate'. Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions, May 2007, accessed on May 16, 2020 . Reinhard Hempelmann: What is Christian Fundamentalism?
^ Klaus Fiedler : Lausanne commitment . In: Hans Dieter Betz u. a. (Ed.): Religion in the past and present . Concise dictionary for theology and religious studies. 4th edition. tape 8 , no. 5 . UTB, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8252-8401-5 , p. 121 , col. 1 .

[lb-1] Lausanne Movement Germany (ed.), 25 years Lausanne Movement - Horst Marquardt takes stock, Stuttgart

[2] Reinhard Hempelmann (ed.), Handbook of evangelistic- missionary works, institutions and communities, Christian publishing house Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 1997, page 233

[jgm-3] J. Gordon Melton: Lausanne Covenant . In: Encyclopedia of World Religions . Encyclopedia of Protestantism, No. 6 . Facts of File, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-8160-5456-5 , pp. 334 (English).

[4] Lausanne Movement Germany (ed.), Lausanne Obligation, page 1, Stuttgart, 2000

[5] Reinhard Hempelmann: Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism. In: Journal of the Catholic Academy in Bavaria 'to debate'. Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions, May 2007, accessed on May 16, 2020 . Reinhard Hempelmann: What is Christian Fundamentalism?

[6] Klaus Fiedler : Lausanne commitment . In: Hans Dieter Betz u. a. (Ed.): Religion in the past and present . Concise dictionary for theology and religious studies. 4th edition. tape 8 , no. 5 . UTB, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8252-8401-5 , p. 121 , col. 1 .