Lima Vision Conference Part 2

Last week I (John) had the privilege of attending a Biblical Worldview conference in Lima Peru. The conference was sponsored by two separate organizations that have very close ties to Food for the Hungry. Disciple Nations Alliance led by Darrow Miller, and World Harvest lead by Bob Moffitt were the two host organizations. Both Darrow and Bob have previously worked for FH in some capacity and have developed a great deal of the content and ministry strategies for the organization. The conference tackled many important issues that Mission organizations and churches face today but the focus was on the transforming power of the gospel to not only break the spiritual bonds of sin and death but to free whole societies from deception and poverty. The three dominating worldviews today are animism, secularism, and biblical theism. Most people living today find themselves embracing one of those three perspectives on life. It is also to be noted that most people have no idea what they believe but their culture has morphed their thinking without them knowing it. Animism is the view that sees reality as essentially spiritual. The physical world is maya illusion. It is animated spirits. This would be the religions that hold to the belief, generally speaking, that everything is a god. The earth, rain, water, sky etc. (Very popular here in Bolivia as the Catholic church over the years has become very syncretistic with the native Inca religions.) Secularism sees reality as ultimately physical. By definition this model denies the existence of a spiritual or transcendent reality. This materialistic worldview is free from absolutes and man is now able to decide what is right and wrong, true and false. Many Americans unknowingly accept this very atheistic perspective. Finally, Biblical Theism holds that because God exists an objective reality exists that is known and has been established by God. Reality is ultimately personal because it has been established by the ultimate person. This worldview, based on the truth of scripture, allows communication between the physical and spiritual realms. Through means such as general revelation, the Bible, and the living word himself, Yeshua, man has personal communication with the living God. It is important to understand these basic elements because your worldview is the way in which you view how the world works. Thus, it ultimately drives the life decisions and perspectives you will take. Starting from this foundation the conference built upon the issue of poverty and how the worldview plays an integral part in how a person sees the issue of poverty. The Bible speaks a great deal toward the issue of poverty and throughout the weekend we looked at the different causes of poverty and the way in which God’s people and the church are called to deal with it. Building off the premise that the root of poverty is a lack of Biblical worldview the speakers truly challenged us to renew our minds and begin to crack the deception of our secularistic culture and begin seeing the world through the lenses of scripture. These men offered some powerful insights into the heart of God and the role in which the church plays in discipling the Nation. God is not only interested in individuals but also in nations. I encourage you to read the book “Discipling Nations” by Darrow Miller. The book will further your thinking and challenge you to see the issue of poverty from a new theistic perspective. It's a great read and truly a foundational element in the ministry of FH. I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and made some great connections for future ministry.

For those who wonder what Lima is like, it’s big, polluted, and busy. The transportation system is absolutely crazy and I felt like “frogger” every time I tried to cross the lanes of traffic. Thanks Jennie for watching Ella and letting me go, it was a great weekend but I am glad to be home!

Our group from Bolivia. Yes, they only speak Spanish

They hide some pretty weird things in soup

John Standing at Washington Park in Lima

Bob Moffitt, John, and Darrow Miller

Conference participants.