The spirit and substance of the Lausanne movement, which focusses on spreading the good news of Jesus in the world, is encapsulated in two historic documents, The Lausanne Covenant, and the Manila Manifesto. Now a third communication has been completed and released in final form today. “The Cape Town Commitment: A Confession of Faith and a Call to Action” is the result of the historic gathering of 4,000 Christian leaders from 190 different countries last year in October.
Lindsay Brown, Lausanne Movement International Director, says of the document: “Each generation needs to restate the biblical gospel for its own time. We have sought to bring clarity to the essentials of the gospel, and to express them in a fresh way in our generation. I am thrilled with the rich seam of mission which runs through the whole Commitment. We offer it to the Church in a humble spirit, trusting it will be of enduring worth.”
And Dr Chris Wright, who chaired the statement working group, commented: “The Cape Town Commitment is not the memorial of a moment. It is the conviction of a Movement and the voice of a multitude. It distils a vast quantity of input from the global Church. We profoundly hope and pray that we are hearing not just the voice of Cape Town 2010, but the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ who walked among us there.”
The Cape Town Commitment is substantive, pithy, and might be provocative at points. If many leaders from a wide range of cultures use this as an opportunity to engage with each other in thoughtful reflection on the Christian movement today, The Cape Town Commitment will have served a very valuable purpose.