Following the Jesus in the Underside of Megalopolises

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Following the Jesus in the Underside of
Megalopolises

• The Ancient Principle of the Incarnation
• the Modern Reality of Global Urbanization and
  Poverty

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The Heart of the Great CommissionLuke 418, 19

• The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has
  anointed meto preach good news to the poor.
• He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
  prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,
• to release the oppressed,to proclaim the year of
  the Lords favor.
• (central passage in Luke, Acts, refers back to
  the Servant Songs of Isaiah and the Jubilee of
  Leviticus)

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• The Power of the Spirit
• The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has
  anointed me
• The Centrality of Proclamation
• to preach good news
• The Focus of Ministry
• to the poor.

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The Holistic Style and Context of Proclamation

• He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
  prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,
• The Goal of Justice
• to release the oppressed,to proclaim the year of
  the Lords favor. (The eternal jubilee, the year
  of redistribution).
• Conversion and church growth are intermediate
  goals not end goals.

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The Greatest Migration in History

• ½ the world is urban beginning the urban century
• From 19-95 of these cities are urban poor slum
  dwellers, squatters, favelados
• 2 billion people have migrated to the cities in
  the last decades
• All rural population increase has been moving to
  the cities

• Most responsive mega-people
• Group whether Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists,
  animists
• Left behind old gods
• Looking for new social relationships

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John 114

• The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
• We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and
  Only, who came from the Father,
• Full of grace and truth.

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Cities Up the Ganges
NAME OF CITY POPULATION ('95 EST) NO. OF CHURCH MAJOR LANGUAGE NATURE OF CITY RELIGIOUS MAKEUP
Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 982,000 17 1/58,000 Hindi Educational Center Hindus 60 Muslims 35 Christians 2 Evangelical 0.1
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 700,000 20 1/35,000 Hindi
Batala, Punjab 110,000 20 1/5,500 Hindi, Urdu 50? Muslim, 50 Hindu
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 1,469,000 44 1/33,000 Hindi, Urdu Industrial 8-9000 Christians
Chandigarh, capital Punjab Hariyana 1,138,000 25 1/45,000 Punjabis Beautiful Only planned city 1000 believers
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh 1,253,000 25 1/50,000 Hindi Punjabi Marathi Educational Center 70,000 Christians, 30 in churches
Jaipur, Rajasthan 2,000,000 26 1/77,000 Hindi (Marawi) Sindi, Madrassi City of Temples 1000 believers Christians
Jalandhar, Punjab 600,000 7 1/85,000 Hindi Producer of Sports Goods
Delhi, capital of India 10,857,000 34 slums 300 1/36,000 Hindi Power centre, Administrativ
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Five Phases to Global Urban Evangelization

• Phase 1 Mobilization of teams of cross cultural
  missionaries to the slums of the 200 mega-cities
  and 1700 least evangelized cities
• 40 cities, 400 workers, perhaps 1200 globally

• Phase 2 Pioneering initial churches in the slums
  of each city
• Manila, Lima, Mumbai, Delhi, etc

• Phase 3 Indigenous leadership and movements
• of 5000-15,000 in each city
• Latin movements, movements in some African cities
  
• 677 in Manilas slums

• Phase 4 Transformation of some slums

• Phase 5 Transformation of the cities

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The Search for the Knowledge of Jesus (John
1224-26)

• (The model) The hour has come for the Son of Man
  to be glorified. I tell you the truth,
• (Principle of Movements) Unless a grain of wheat
  falls into the ground and dies, it remains a
  single grain. But if it dies it produces much
  fruit (many seeds).
• (The Key) The person who loves their life will
  lose it, while the person who hates their life in
  this world will keep it for eternal life.
• (The Direction) Whoever serves me must follow me
  and where I am there my servant also will be.
• (The Knowledge of God) My Father will honor the
  one who serves me.

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Incarnation Christmas Tinsel or Revolutionary
Universal Principle?

• Profound spiritual act that unleashes the power
  of the good news of redemption and freedom
• Profound economic act that inverts economics into
  cooperative production and creativity and
  redistributive end goals
• Profound social act that creates
  egalitarian-directed social relationships (we are
  brothers and sisters not oppressors)
• Profound political act that facilitates the
  multiplication of small religious, social,
  economic and political organizational units at
  the grassroots, diffusing power to the poor (Acts
  242-44 James 51-6).

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Incarnation

• Profound spiritual act that unleashes the power
  of the good news of redemption and freedom from
  personal sin.
• Incarnation and proclamation must go hand in
  hand.

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Incarnation and the critique of unfettered
capitalism and oppressive socialism

• Profound economic act that inverts economics into
  cooperative production and creativity and
  redistributive end goals.
• Luke 418 is expanded in community in Acts
  432-35
• It challenges collective economic sins and calls
  for collective repentance.

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Incarnation, unity, brother/sisterhood and
equality

• Profound social act that creates egalitarian
  directed social relationships (we are brothers
  and sisters not oppressors)
• It challenges apartheid and discrimination, and
  calls for repentance where men and women oppress
  others.

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The Spirit, Incarnation and Justice

• Profound political act that facilitates the
  multiplication of small religious, social,
  economic and political organizational units at
  the grassroots, diffusing power to the poor (Acts
  242-44 James 51-6).
• Isaiah 421-4 prophesies of a Messiah whose aim
  is the bringing of justice to the earth beyond
  the formation of the church is the full
  establishment of the Kingdom throughout society.
• Do justice, preach grace.
• Who are creating the evangelical theologies for
  land rights, class conflict, labour relations.

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The Call to Follow Jesus

• Call to follow in the footsteps of the master
• Call to proclaim the Kingdom of God
• Call to joyful simplicity here or sacrifice there
• Call to join bands of brothers and sisters who
  have gone ahead
• We have pioneered new structures to facilitate,
  now it is your turn to carry the task forward.
• (give back shoes)