Report of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC)
The following is a slightly adapted excerpt from the report given by Kai Kjćr-Hansen at the seventh international LCJE conference in Helsinki. Omitted are more business related matters and financial statements. The LCJE Bulletin has informed about these matters from time to time. On page 20 there is a short summary of the responses to some of the matters the ICC Report dealt with. On page 21 there is a proposal by Gerald Anderson and some responses to it. In the next issue of the Bulletin we will have more about the groups that were formed as a result of networking at LCJE Helsinki 2003.
Proposed Actions by the General Meeting, New York 1999
The General Meeting at the Sixth International LCJE Conference, New York 1999, recommended four points for consideration by the newly elected International Coordinating Committee (ICC). I will briefly sum up what has been done in this field, but before this I want to draw attention to a few provisions, although they have been mentioned before.
- LCJE is not an organization but a loose network. ICC believes that LCJE should continue to be a loose network.
- LCJE is what its members make of it. ICC can do some and, in cooperation with the area coordinators, a little more. But our loose network functions proportionately to the LCJE members’ involvement. The individual members can make a difference. And they are welcome to make this difference.
- ICC considers that its main task is to help create platforms where the purpose of LCJE may be fulfilled with the help of LCJE members.
- To gather and catalogue information useful in Jewish evangelism and to furnish such material in an occasional publication.
- To provide a platform on which Jewish missions can meet to co-ordinate strategies.
- To monitor and report trends in the Jewish community.
- To stimulate theological and missiological research related to Jewish evangelism.
- To arrange for consultations that will be useful to those engaged or interested in Jewish evangelism. In other words: It is neither for LCJE nor for ICC to decide what is going to happen to ideas put forward on LCJE-arranged plat-forms. It is up to individuals and agencies to take over and cooperate as much as they want.
The General Meeting’s proposed actions contain five points, the last one being a request for support of MAC (Messianic Action Committee in Israel), which resulted in some debate in New York. Since this point is not especially addressed to ICC, ICC has not dealt with it specifically.
1. LCJE and Coordination of strategies
General Meeting 1999: “WE RECOMMEND that the ICC consider how to improve the role of the LCJE as a platform for leaders in Jewish missions and in the messianic Jewish movement to coordinate their strategies, share their resources and develop cooperative efforts.”
ICC: Since the last conference, LCJE meetings have been held in most LCJE Areas. LCJE-NA is the only chapter that holds a meeting every year. This year’s meeting in Dallas was the 20th North American meeting. The number of meetings held in the respective areas very much depend on the coordinator. To create platforms where leaders can meet is and remains LCJE’s primary task.
We note that in 2001, for the first time in LCJE’s history, a meeting was held for CEO’s – in Norway, hosted by NCMI. We also note that some Lutherans, as an offshoot of the New York 1999 conference, held a conference in Israel in 2001.
And then we ask ourselves: Why is it that the Helsinki 2003 conference has become the biggest conference in LCJE’s history. I have only one answer. And no, it is not because it is held in Finland! My answer is that several agency members and others have seized the opportunity to have their own meetings or consultations either before or after the LCJE conference. Before this conference, Chosen People Ministries have had their own staff conference. After the conference the Caspari Center will have an international board meeting. Joint Mission to Israel – a Scandinavian project – are also going to meet. And so are Jews for Jesus. Other things could possibly be mentioned.
This is to use an international LCJE conferen-ce as a platform. We very much hope that something like this will happen again in four years’ time when – God willing – we will be having our eighth international conference. Where? Proposals are welcome!
Another platform which has come into being since last time is LCJE’s homepage (www.LCJE.net). It began as an LCJE-NA project but has later become the LCJE international website – thanks to the hard work of Theresa Newell and her assistants, Sean and Cindy Osborne.
2. LCJE’s link with LCWE and denominations
General Meeting 1999: “WE RECOMMEND that the ICC and the area coordina-tors strengthen the ties of the LCJE to the LCWE and to missiologists worldwide as well as making proper representation to the leadership of denomina-tional churches.”
ICC: We fully agree. The links to LCWE have been maintained on various levels since 1980, when LCJE began as a task force. In the period since 1999 the links to LCWE have been strengthened through Theresa Newell and Tuvya Zaretsky. We recommend that LCJE members, in the contexts where they move, make an effort to stress the necessity and obligation to carry out Jewish evangelism.
In connection with the planning of the conference Celebrate Messiah, over the New Year 2000-2001 in Jerusalem, ICC endeavour-ed to put Jewish evangelism on the program. The conference was cancelled, however, because of the political situation.
Since Jewish evangelism is not a separate track at the Lausanne Forum in Thailand 2004, it must be a challenge for those of us who participate to remind the forum of Jewish evangelism – and to put our experience of it in other contexts.
3. LCJE and Youth
General Meeting 1999: ”WE RECOMMEND that the ICC and the area coordinators of the LCJE consider how to facilitate fellowship of young people with a calling to Jewish evangelism, and that the ICC consider to invite one or more representatives from its younger members to its meeting on the same basis as area coordinators may participate in the ICC meetings.”
ICC: We are very much conscious of the need to recruit young leaders – not least when we consider LCJE’s future. We note that in 2001 there was a young leaders conference immediately before the annual LCJE meeting in North America. In the Bulletin we have given room for young leaders to express their specific concerns. They were taken into account in the planning of Helsinki 2003 and some of them are speakers at this conference. In 2002 the first youth organization became a member of LCJE, namely the youth branch of the Danish Israel Mission.
ICC is open to the idea of having a Young Leaders Conference in 2004 or 2005, if the young leaders themselves want it – and will contribute to the work on it. We are ready to meet the suggestion that one or two young leaders participate in ICC’s meetings. But there may be better ways to include them before the LCJE baton is passed on to them. ICC meetings may not be the optimum forum, since much time is spent on deal-ing with business matters.
ICC suggests that young leaders (35-40 years) at this conference discuss such questions in their own forum and put forward a proposal that ICC subsequently will deal with. The initiative is now theirs!
4. The Purpose Statement of the LCJE
General Meeting 1999: “WE RECOMMEND that the ICC discuss the purpose statement of the LCJE, report on this discussion to the next general meeting and then also bring necessary proposals for change that may strengthen the role of the LCJE network as we want to bring our commitment to Jewish evangelism into the next millennium.”
ICC: We see no reason to change – or to suggest changes – of LCJE’s purpose statement as such. It is fine as it is, but it may be applied in new ways. Based on a paper written by the international coordinator and the secretary, and discussed by ICC on its meeting 12 February 2002, ICC asked the secretary, Bodil F. Skjřtt, to write article that reflected this discussion. The article is printed in LCJE Bulletin No. 69 (August 2002), pp. 17-18).
The basic idea is that the internet can be used for effective networking between the conferences. Let us have a slot on LCJE’s international homepage called: Join the discussion. An LCJE member can insert his or her ad on LCJE’s homepage asking people to contact him/her regarding a specific subject related to Jewish evangelism, and then an LCJE interaction and discussion group has been set up. It is up to the group to find out how much it leads to. If they want it, results can occasionally be published on the LCJE homepage or in the Bulletin.
ICC suggests that interested parties meet for a discussion of this project at the conference. What a fine thing if a few discussion forums on the net could be set up this year!