He has showed you, O people, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God! —Micah 6:8 NIVI
The memories of child prostitutes on the streets of Bangkok are still swirling in my head. Even as the Lausanne prayer team walked and prayed through the streets of Thailand, one prostitute begged them to take her home. How can we encounter such suffering without longing to make a difference?
Days after returning from Thailand, I was invited to participate in the Micah Challenge Launch at the United Nations in New York. More than 20 of us gathered in New York City to discuss how we, as Christians, might make a difference; how could we address global poverty—clearly a gender issue.
Considering ways of mobilizing the church on behalf of the poor, is in essence asking churches to relieve the burden primarily of women and children. Women, after all, are the poorest, most abused and oppressed group on earth. I began to wonder if God was speaking to me; to us as a CBE community.
This has been a year of listening to the voices of global Christian leaders and to the voices of global victims. God has clearly called us to join hands with egalitarian leaders around the world by hosting our International Symposium in the UK, participating in the Lausanne Conference for World Evangelization, and writing books on equality with Christians from many countries.
Is God also asking us, as a CBE community, to devote some of our resources to articulating a biblical basis for issues beyond women’s equal service alongside men in church and the home? Could we also speak biblically and prophetically regarding gender and justice?
Our mission is to equip believers with biblical materials that empower the full partnership of men and women. We have expounded the cause of biblical equality through academic materials, popular resources and yearly conferences through- out the Western world. For nearly two decades, CBE has developed biblical materials on equality for organizations, denominations, churches, families and the academy.
Is God now asking us to consider the call of Scripture to advance gender and justice? What did Jesus mean when he said that when we give food and water and clothing to the needy that we are doing it for him (Matt. 25:31–46)? Is this part of our calling? This is my question to you, the CBE community.
I am eager to hear your thoughts, and most importantly, I covet your prayers as we listen to God and one another in order to make strategic decisions for the future. Please join me, as we prayerfully ask how we might serve Christ, with our eyes on the Scriptures, our hearts open to the Spirit, and our ears listening to the global challenges of the gospel.
