Five of my colleagues and many of my friends are heading to Capetown.

I chose not to, not because I don’t want to be there, but in part to continue to serve the Gospel here in Aotearoa/New Zealand.  That doesn’t mean I’m not going to be involved and engaged.

The gathered congress has impacted the world not in its gathering but in its diaspora, in its breaking and parting.  The gathering is the crucible for forging understanding, agreement, difference and debate. The coming together in prayer and praise is hard to forgo and impossible to replicate elsewhere.  

But here – here in the everyday reality is where the principles and practice, understanding and commitment will be worked out.  I’ll be writing and thinking, reflecting and responding from a distance.  

New Zealand at times feels like the edge of the world – it is one of the most recently inhabited lands (settled by the Polynesian forebearers of Maori 1200-1000 years ago) – but it is at the forefront of technological experimentation and secularisation. Our communities are emerging from multiple expressions global diaspora as we grapple with post-colonial life and a radical enthic diversity in our future. We are a Pacfica, Asian, European and Maori, we see the tensions and challenges of intergenerational mission and ministry and we sense the call of God to live for Him as long as he grants to us.

Here in this context I’ll be reflecting on the impact of the gospel into the 21 century, gathering the thoughts and reflections on friends and colleagues at the congress and seeking to draw in voices from around the world.