In Asia, for instance, there are almost 5 million Lutherans in an area that long has been loyal to Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism and a host of folk religions. After 50 years of patient missionary work in Asian countries, the numbers and the influence are beginning to reach critical mass. Now African and Asian leaders have something to say to their counterparts in Europe and North America. And the needs in those emerging nations are distinct from the needs in the West, where materialism is Christianity's biggest challenge. The big challenge there is to discuss ways for youths and women to lead into the future without fear of being cast as criminals by their government.
China has a particular problem with young leaders.
But with Lutheran youths making up 20 percent of the delegates and women 50 percent of the federation assembly, those issues will surely be highlights of discussion. Christians run most of the schools, the hospitals, the drug treatment centers and the social service agencies. China will need that assistance as it resumes control of one of the grandest cities in Asia. This diversity within Lutheranism has become a reality because of a shifting church during the past half-century, says Diane Jacobson, a professor of Old Testament studies at Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul. Jacobson will lead one of the North American Bible study classes that will consume most of every morning of the nine-day gathering.