JAYNE FEATHERS introduced Dr. David Henderson, Pastor, Covenant Church, whose topic was "What in the World is the Church Doing". Noting that the 
expression can be stated two ways, he gave several examples of ways the church has acted inappropriately through the years. He followed this with the quote, "Christians are the best reason not to believe in Christianity." On the positive side, Christians have been instrumental in the eradication of slavery through the creation of the Underground Railroad, provided medicine, clean water and many hospitals, advocated for literacy and advanced education, fostered the arts and sciences and played a large role in civil rights. So the rest of the quote is, "And sometimes Christians are the very best reason to become Christians."
He reported on the Cape Town Conference where Christians from around the world gathered to discuss the work of the church. Some of the results of the discussions were to renew the commitment to communicate the Christian message; to be concerned for the spiritual well being of people around us as well as societal improvement in the world as a whole; recognize that the U.S. church is no longer the center of the world; and to move the church from past negative practices and attitudes toward new positive and inclusive measures. To put some of what he learned into practice in his church, members are serving the community with no thanks needed; adopting international students at Purdue and praying for a country a week.
Christians are looking at how the church can communicate it's mission in culturally acceptable ways and addressing ethical issues, such as: What is life? Where does it come from? Who is in charge? The same questions are also applied to death.
