In Singapore on 11 May 2024 A Rocha collaborated with BGST, CCSG and FES to host a conference on Missional Discipleship and Sustainability. Recordings from all the main sessions can be viewed below.
Keynote: ‘Good News for all Creation’ – Dr Hilary Marlow
Dr Hilary Marlow
Vice-Mistress, Graduate Tutor and Director of Studies, Girton College, Cambridge, and lecturer at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge.
A Rocha International Trustee
The environmental crisis is never far from the news: the destruction and damage caused by global warming, extreme weather events and habitat destruction grab the headlines. The state of the planet is regarded as one of the most pressing global problems, especially among young people. But what part should the Church play in responding to environmental concerns and how should Christians react, both individually and as members of faith communities? This lecture will explore what the Bible has to say about the relationship between God, human beings and other-than-human creation. Beginning with the great commission in Mark’s Gospel, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation” (Mk 16:15), we will consider a number of biblical and theological reasons why Christians should be active and engaged in caring for God’s world. This includes asking how creation care fits into the mission of God and the task of proclaiming the gospel, and how God’s love for his world extends beyond human society to all creation. Finally, we will consider some pragmatic (but important) ethical issues such as what it means to be a good neighbour to the poorest in the world, and what changes we should make in our own lives and lifestyles.
The Challenges Today “Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change—Why Should We Care?” – Dr Rodel D. Lasco
ED, The Oscar M. Lopez Center
A Rocha International Trustee
The global community is faced with daunting challenges as our planetary life support systems start to fray under the weight of human activities. The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the state of biodiversity resources globally and in Southeast Asia. In addition, the presentation will cover how climate is changing, its impacts, and how we can respond to it. The first part of the presentation will provide an overview of how human activities have drastically re-shaped land and oceans ecosystems. As result, we are losing plants and animals at unprecedented rates in recorded history. The second part of the presentation will show the latest scientific findings on rising greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and how this is heating up the planet. The impacts of a warming land and oceans will be presented. Potential adaptation strategies will also be discussed.
Case studies and local efforts – Benjamin Tan, Rev Lam Kuo Yung, Dennis Tan and Phillip Wang
“What on Earth does Missional Discipleship have to do with Sustainability?”— A Panel Conversation with Thu Ha Chow, Isabel Low, Alex Tee and moderator, Dr Lai Pak-Wah
“Kin(g)dom Reclaimed: What does Missional Discipleship have to do with Biodiversity?” – Rev Dr Dave Bookless
Rev Dr. Dave Bookless, Head of Theology, A Rocha International, and Lausanne Global Catalyst for Creation Care
Christian discipleship is often framed in terms of a purely personal spiritual relationship with God through Jesus. This is largely due to the influence of Greek philosophy and Western Enlightenment thinking on western expressions of Christianity, which have then been exported around the world.
However, a careful examination of both the Biblical texts and of Christian history shows that to be a disciple of Jesus Christ has implications for every area of life. There is no divide between spiritual and material or between religious and secular. To say ‘Jesus is Lord’ is to proclaim his Lordship over all of life. As the Lausanne Movement’s ‘Cape Town Commitment’ (2010) states: “If Jesus is Lord of all the earth, we cannot separate our relationship to Christ from how we act in relation to the earth. For to proclaim the gospel that says ‘Jesus is Lord’ is to proclaim the gospel that includes the earth, since Christ’s Lordship is over all creation. Creation care is thus a gospel issue within the Lordship of Christ.”
In this lecture, we will apply this general biblical principle to one specific area: how we, as Christians, are to relate to nonhuman creatures – the myriads of other species that God has created – and thus we will explore the relationship between missional discipleship and biodiversity conservation
Stories of Conservation as Christian Mission: “Creation Care the A Rocha Way” – Dr Jeremy Lindsell
Dr. Jeremy Lindsell, Head of Science and Conservation, A Rocha International
Creation care encompasses a broad range of concerns but for this presentation Jeremy will focus on the conservation of biodiversity. For Christians this means ensuring that what God has made, in all its rich variety, has a home in this world that we are so comprehensively transforming.
Conservation is a values-driven enterprise. As conservationists, our intention is to change something, and for the better. We are both constrained and emboldened by our values in defining the problems we perceive, as well as in the solutions we propose and the manner in which we implement them. In recent years the values that underpin conservation have been under much scrutiny. This session explores what it means to be a Christian conservation organization. A Rocha has five core values that characterise our work: Christian, Conservation, Community, Cultural diversity, and Collaboration. With reference to the work of the worldwide A Rocha family, Jeremy will share how these commitments play out in practice in this particular expression of mission.
