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Islamic World School of Leadership
CONFERENCE REPORT
By David Nunn
City Hope Church, London, UK
Was it a tongue or a language? The worship leader’s lifted eyebrows asked the question. This is one of the many abiding memories of the third Islamic World School of Leadership, my first time at the conference held on the shores of the Aegean Sea.
As the predominantly British party gathered at Heathrow, people from other parts of the world were already arriving at the chosen hotel. The purpose of the conference was to gather leaders from churches in places where Islamic influence is strong for training, envisioning, refreshing.
The programme began with a warm welcome from David Devenish (Bedford, UK) and very quickly one was made aware of the nations represented: Pakistan, Morocco, Jordan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Russia, Albania, to name a few. Not quite people of every tribe, tongue and nation but on the way. Sessions tended to be noisy, as speech was simultaneously translated into Arabic, Russian, Albanian and English depending on which nation held the microphone, and the Lord of all these nations was worshipped in a richly varied vocabulary.
Theological and practical subjects
The conference sessions were a well-balanced blend of teaching and discussion, dealing with theological and practical subjects relevant to those living in the Islamic world. There was teaching on understanding the Islamic world, its history and values, along with sessions on helping people through traumatic experiences, leadership development and ethical issues stemming from the different world views and cultural norms of the nations represented.
An excellent teaching session on suffering for the gospel from Andy Martin (Bedford, UK) was followed by an inspirational ‘strengthened in faith’ talk by Martyn Dunsford (Southampton, UK). All the sessions were practical and helpful and remarkably relevant for me, coming as I do from the multi-cultural inner London environment.
Discussion groups enabled us to talk through and apply teaching to each unique situation. In one remarkable session David Devenish spoke on communicating in an oral learning environment, followed by a workshop that produced some hilarious moments as groups were asked to communicate a gospel story or theological point using story form.
All those attending were put in small groups which met to pray and get to know each other, and these were very valuable in developing old friendships and making new ones around the world. However, some of the most valuable times were at the meal table and in the hotel lounge where casual conversations took one into the world of poverty relief in some of the most devastated areas of the world, death threats, the isolation of living in a foreign land, the advantages of modern advances in secure communication, the need for prayer and the joy of discovering friends we had in common.
Death threats and appalling suffering
Another highlight was time in the final sessions which was spent praying for the nations and the individuals themselves. Stories were heard of death threats against people, appalling suffering in war-torn cities and how the Newfrontiers family are seeking to help. Then stories of miracles, healings, salvation and the advance of the kingdom of God in places where only a few years ago there appeared no hope of penetrating the culture but now God is beginning to demonstrate His rule clearly and openly. The church in Pakistan were able to tell us what they were doing to help people through the recent devastation of the earthquake, brought home by the occasional earth tremors that shook the hotel during our stay!
Despite the full programme it was a relaxed environment. Good hotel, good and plentiful food, a gym, swimming pool, and an excursion to a local town and the amazing ruins of Ephesus where the glory of the setting outshone the occasional historical inaccuracy of the guides. Was I really standing in the very place where the Apostle Paul had his tent-selling shop in Ephesus? Questionable…
What stands out most of all is that God is enabling us to be a real part of worldwide mission, as our churches are penetrating some of the most unreached people groups in the world. Members of our churches are giving up careers, security and familiarity to go into all the world, and vibrant indigenous churches are joining us on this mission. |
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