An ecumenical centenary

I studied the 1910 conference as a student and thrilled to the potential unleashed leading to the International Missionary Council in 1921  eventually morphing into the World Council of Churches and strangely even to the 1974 birth of the Lausanne movement. Looking back I think I can see that Lausanne had to happen not as a rival but as a corrective to too much concentration fell on Faith and Order and less on Life and Work. I agree with Keith Ross, chairing the preparation for Edinburgh 2010 who writes about fears that the 'churchy' concerns of the WCC would lead to mission being sidelined. I am intrigued that the two key players of 1910 were lay people (Mott and Oldham). I am glad to read that in 2010 Asia, Africa and Latin America have churches represented. And yet how come as someone active in local ecumenical thinking and committees we have not used this centenray to push for stronger lay leadership and church collsaboiration for mission in our areas and places.

A key concern for me as a workplace missioner is that even now work and the workplace seem to have little significance for the ecumenical churches but a joy thgat those more evangelical are beginning to discover the workplace e.g.People at work preparing to be the whole church. I long for a meeting of minds by all  sides to re engage shaping the people of God to work with God in the mission of God to shape the kingdom of God under the leadership of the Risen Christ.while also shaping the church for church afith and order.