FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE19 May 2016, Oxford—What does the church’s mission have to do with the environment? A new book emerging from the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network tackles uncomfortable questions.
Lausanne’s The Cape Town Commitment affirms the care of creation as ‘a gospel issue within the Lordship of Christ’. As a first step in exploring what this must mean for the church, a global consultation was hosted in Jamaica in 2012, drawing together some of the sharpest evangelical thinkers in a range of disciplines. Coming from 23 nations, they worked first to identify the most critical issues concerning the environment, and then to explore how these relate to the mission of the church.
The resulting volume compiles the work of biblical scholars, theologians, biologists, environmental researchers, and community organizers. It looks squarely at topics like climate change, urbanization, and population growth, and features a variety of case studies from around the world. Contributors include Prof Sam Berry, Sir John Houghton, and leaders of the A Rocha movement.
In the Introduction, Lausanne Catalyst for Creation Care, Rev Ed Brown, notes that the book is driven by two core convictions: First, that ‘creation care is indeed a gospel issue’, and second, that we are faced with a crisis that is ‘pressing, urgent, and that must be resolved in our generation’. ‘It is our prayer that this book will inform the global creation care movement, and that it will encourage many church leaders, pastors, educators, and missionaries to join in our vital task’, said Ed Brown.
This latest addition to the growing Lausanne Library marks the start of a new series. ‘Our plan over the coming years is to explore major issues of global significance, arising from the Cape Town Commitment’, said Julia Cameron, Director of Publishing. ‘Our distinctive is to bring together specialists from all parts of the world: thinkers, writers, and reflective practitioners.’
A formal launch will take place in central London on 6 June with Chris Wright from Langham Partnership and Las Newman from the Lausanne Movement as keynote speakers.
New Book: Creation Care and the Gospel: Reconsidering the Mission of the Church (Eds: Colin Bell and Robert S White. Hendrickson Publishers, 350pp. 978 1 61970 725 2 £19.99; $29.95)
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FOR EDITORS AND MEDIA
Invitations are available to the formal launch in central London at 6.30 pmon 6 June 2016. Send inquiries or requests for interviews to Attila Nyári at [email protected].BACKGROUND
The Lausanne Movement grew out of the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization convened in Lausanne, Switzerland, by Rev Billy Graham. John Stott was chief architect of The Lausanne Covenant. The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (October 2010) in Cape Town, South Africa, brought together 4,000 Christian leaders representing 198 countries. The Cape Town Commitment serves as the blueprint for the Movement’s activities. Learn more about the Movement.
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