The Jamaica Call to Action is unique not only in the two concise convictions on which the document is based (see the previous post), but also because of the comprehensive and specific ‘Calls’ that make up the core of the document. These cover everything from lifestyle to theology to economics to agriculture.
Here is a brief analysis of these calls and the fields of study to which they apply:
- For all of us: #1. A new commitment to a simple lifestyle. Lausanne actually called for a simple lifestyle in one of the early documents of the movement (Lausanne Occasional Paper #20), a call that we understand anecdotally was controversial even in 1980. This call leads the list as a recognition that nothing we attempt corporately will matter much if it does not come out of lives that are committed to action as well as words. Living “within the proper boundaries of God’s good gift in creation†is an implicit acknowledgement that we live in a limited, closed system, and that self-restraint is not only necessary but good.
- For theologians: #2. New and robust theological work. [Read more…] about The Jamaica Call to Action (Part 2): Ten ‘Calls’