Coming from a United Methodist background, affirming a creed was something that Christians simply did by rote in the Sunday service just before the Gloria Patri. But on Saturday night at the Lausanne Congress, the act of professing the Nicene Creed came bellowing out of my soul with a gusto I do not ever recall having in such a recitation.
Often times, the Apostles Creed is the statement most often used in most contexts, but one thing I deeply appreciate about the Nicene is that whereas the former is usually stated in the first person singular, the latter is most often translated and affirmed in the first person plural. To place this use of a creed in context, we at the conference had spent sessions learning about persecution: being stirred by sensational stories of many who have suffered simply for what they believe. Just prior to the creed, the 4000 participants humbled themselves by "taking a knee" and engaging in a session of confession of sin, first personally and then collectively on behalf of our own peoples.
So it was with great solidarity that sisters and brothers from places like Eritrea, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Norway, and Colombia, and even this American declared, “We believe…”
May Christians never forget that when we affirm the Ecumenical Creeds, we are joining with servants and disciples of Jesus the world over. It is not a light thing to declare our faith!
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