“Sent to Preach the Gospel”
First Day of CBE International Conference in Toronto – July 18, 2008
Faith-friend writes:
The second half of this year’s Conference’s title is: “Women and Men Using Their Gifts for the Great Commission” and it was clear from the first general session today that we would be emphasizing having a heart “for the nations” in this conference.
Our opening speaker, a senior vice president from Coca-Cola, spoke of her Christian theology of work – that her company has global influence and she sees her work, in that company, as a way to aid the carrying out of the Great Commission. Not only can she practice Christian ethics in the workplace and evangelize people she has contact with at appropriate moments, but the work creates improved environments where people are enabled to hear the gospel by having jobs, improved social conditions through the company’s philanthropic work, etc.
She quoted Michael Novak as saying, “A business enterprise is…with the exception of Christianity, the greatest transforming power of the condition of the poor of the earth.”
This first speaker came from a family of ministers, missionaries, etc, but she felt led by God to the business world. She had no role models of women in business, but it proved a good fit for her giftedness. Though business is often condemned as exploitive, she commented that we need “more people in business who understand how and desire to glorify God in the product and process of their work.”
The focus on the need of people of all nations to hear the gospel as well as to receive real aid for poverty, disease and hunger brought us back to the urgency for more Christian workers to be released around the world in the afternoon panel discussion. We need to have “a full team” – women as well as men, allowed to do that for which God has gifted them. One speaker in the panel session said, “Imagine if you kept half your soccer team on the bench. There’d be no way to win. Isn’t it just the same for the Christian community charged with bringing the gospel to all people?” With half the team on the bench, we’re hard pressed to carry out this mandate from God. We were reminded by personal anecdotes and stories of others from the speakers that oppression of women, in general, and in the Church is still very real and painful.
But, notes of hope were sounded in this panel session of missionaries – stories were shared, for example, of more Indian leaders being open to gifts-based ministry, men and women working together, and of urgency for the gospel in India. Indigenous women church planters and women house church leaders having fruitful ministries in other parts of Asia were also described. One panelist noted, “This is the most exciting time for expansion of the gospel we have ever known.” Wherever there have been great movements of God, he said, “There has been a hunger for the Word, creativity in worship, holiness, evangelistic effort, AND equality of men and women!!
