Today was a little more intense than the first day here at CIU, where I am taking a course based on the Lausanne conference on World Evangelization going on in Capetown, South Africa right now.

The day was intense mostly because of a few of the issues that we were talking about and the videos we watched.

We started the day listening to Vaughan Roberts (View part 1 and part 2) do an exposition of Ephesians 4. Some of the important things I remember him saying were:

  • With all of the things that are supposed to bring us together, we are as divided as ever (in the world).
  • In a world of division, our world should look to the diverse group represented in church and say, “Wow, how those Christians love each other.”
  • Christian unity requires a proclamation of the gospel.
  • Unity doesn’t mean uniformity.
  • The truth is not a weapon to be used on those who disagree with me.
  • Love demands truth telling/

We then watched Dr. Paul Eshlemen speak on Unreached and Unengaged People Groups (see video).

We then celebrated the life of Billy Graham and the legacy he has left for world evangelization by watching this incredible video with highlights of his life.

John Piper did the exposition on Ephesians 3 (watch part 1 and part 2), which was enough to make my head spin. It was pretty heavy stuff. I’ll have to watch the video again to try to see if I can understand all that he said. He certainly challenged us on a number of points.

We finished the day talking about globalization and how that is a challenge to world evangelization. One of the phrases that the Dr. King said, “The flip side of love is suffering.” It really made me think. I’m sure I’ll write something on that soon, but I’m chewing on the concept and asking God to help me love more.