1 / 48

Evangelicalism and Its Future

. What does it mean that we part of the Evangelical Free Church?? When we say we are evangelicals, what do we mean?? Today the term is used with various meanings ? sociological, political, theological ? which carry with it significant implications.? In light of this, do we no longer use the word, or

luz
Download Presentation

Evangelicalism and Its Future

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

    1. Evangelicalism and Its Future Gregory C. Strand Director of Biblical Theology and Credentialing EFCA 2009 Leadership Conference June 24, 2009

    2. What does it mean that we part of the Evangelical Free Church?  When we say we are evangelicals, what do we mean?  Today the term is used with various meanings – sociological, political, theological – which carry with it significant implications.  In light of this, do we no longer use the word, or do we work hard at defining the word rightly?  We will focus on what this term means biblically and theologically, and trace the evangelical movement through history.  We will also attempt to address the future of evangelicalism, and how it is that we will, by God’s grace, keep the evangel, the gospel, the good news, at the center of evangelicalism.

    3. I. Introduction

    4. “What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia, all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say, “Yes, sir” and “No ma’am,” and the churches would be full every Sunday…where Christ is not preached.” Michael Horton, Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008), 15.

    5. II. The Demise of Evangelicalism

    6. Michael Spencer, “The coming evangelical collapse,” The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html Blog: http://www.internetmonk.com/

    7. “We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West. “Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the "Protestant" 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century. “This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good. “Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I'm convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close.

    8. “Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. There are three kinds of evangelical churches today: consumer-driven megachurches, dying churches, and new churches whose future is fragile. Denominations will shrink, even vanish, while fewer and fewer evangelical churches will survive and thrive. Despite some very successful developments in the past 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can withstand the rising tide of secularism.

    9. “The confrontation between cultural secularism and the faith at the core of evangelical efforts to "do good" is rapidly approaching. We will soon see that the good Evangelicals want to do will be viewed as bad by so many, and much of that work will not be done. Look for ministries to take on a less and less distinctively Christian face in order to survive. Even in areas where Evangelicals imagine themselves strong (like the Bible Belt), we will find a great inability to pass on to our children a vital evangelical confidence in the Bible and the importance of the faith. The money will dry up.”

    10. III. Key Works – Attempts to Define

    11. Attempts to Define John D. Woodbridge and David Wells, ed., The Evangelicals (Abingdon, 1975). Kenneth S. Kantzer and Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Evangelical Affirmations (Grand Rapids: 1990). John K. Akers and John Woodbridge, et al., This We Believe: The Good News of Jesus Christ for the World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001). The Gospel Coalition, Don Carson and Tim Keller http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/

    12. Some Key Works David W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992. Alister McGrath, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995). Iain H. Murray, Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the Years 1950 to 2000 (Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 2000). John R. W. Stott, Evangelical Truth: A Personal Plea for Unity, Integrity and Faithfulness, Christian Doctrine in Global Perspective (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2005). Douglas A. Sweeney, The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005). Michael A. G. Haykin, ed. The Emergence of Evangelicalism: Exploring Historical Continuities (Nashville: B & H Academic, 2008).

    13. History of Evangelicalism Series: People, Movements and Ideas in the English-Speaking World (IVP Academic) Mark A. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whietefield and the Wesleys (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2005). David W. Bebbington, The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody (Downers Grove: InterVarsity 2005). John Wolffe, The Expansion of Evangelicalism : The Age of Wilberforce, More, Chalmers and Finney (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2007). Geoff Treloar, The Disruption of Evangelicalism: The Age of Mott, Machen and McPherson (forthcoming). Brian Stanley, Global Diffusion of Evangelicalism: The Age of Graham and Stott (forthcoming).

    14. Changing Face of Evangelical Christianity Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford, 2007). Philip Jenkins, The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South (New York: Oxford, 2008). Mark A. Noll, The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009). Soong-Chan Rah, The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2009).

    15. IV. Important Statements

    16. Not long after the great Evangelical awakenings, the Evangelical Alliance, led by Thomas Chalmers in 1846, stated its faith in a cluster of nine affirmations: 1) the inspiration of the Bible; 2) the right and duty of private judgment in the interpretation of Scriptures; 3) the Trinity; 4) human depravity; 5) the mediation of the divine Christ; 6) justification by faith; 7) conversion and sanctification by the Holy Spirit; 8) the return of Christ and judgment; 9) the ministry of the Word.

    17. In 1910, five fundamentals were identified to distinguish Evangelicals from the liberalism that threatened the church: 1) the miracles of Christ; 2) the virgin birth of Christ; 3) the satisfaction view of the atonement; 4) the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures; and 5) the bodily resurrection of Christ.

    18. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “What is an Evangelical?” a series of lectures given in 1971 to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students contained in the book, Knowing the Times (Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1989). Note how thorough Lloyd-Jones’ definition of an evangelical is. As helpful as it is, it narrows too much.

    19. Guiding Principles – Preservation of the gospel Learning from history Maintaining negatives No subtractions or additions

    20. General Characteristics – Entirely subservient to the Bible Always watching Distrusts reason and particularly reason in the form of philosophy Takes a particular view with regard to the sacraments Takes a critical view of history and tradition Always ready to act on his beliefs Always simplifies everything Always concerned about the doctrine of the church Tremendous emphasis put upon the rebirth Interest in revival Always gives primacy to preaching Always concerned about evangelism

    21. Essential The necessity of opposition to doctrinal indifferentism (anti-ecumenical). Scripture: the only and full authority Creation, not Evolution The Fall and Evil (historicity) One Way of Salvation (atonement) The Church: Contemporary Issues

    22. Secondary Truths Not Essential to Unity Election and predestination Age and mode of baptism Church polity Prophetic interpretation: pre-, post-, a-millennial Sanctification Charismata, the spiritual gifts

    23. J. I. Packer, The Evangelical Anglican Identity Problem (1978). (These six “fundamental convictions” are picked up by Alister McGrath, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 55-56.) The supremacy of Holy Scripture. The majesty of Jesus Christ. The lordship of the Holy Spirit. The necessity of conversion. The priority of evangelism. The importance of fellowship.

    24. David W. Bebbington, The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody, A History of Evangelicalism (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 21-40. (These were originally spelled out in his highly praised work, Evangelicalism in Modern Britian: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989)). In these pages he spells out four marks of evangelicalism, a quadrilateral of priorities.

    25. The Bible, biblicism (“The place of the Bible, always the supreme evangelical court of appeal, can be explored first.”[p. 23]), The Cross, crucicentrism (“The second distinctive aspect of the evangelicals was their attachment to the doctrine of the cross. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary was the way in which the salvation described in the Bible was won for humanity.” [p. 26]), Conversion, conversionism (“A third characteristic of the movement was that its members looked for conversions.” [p. 31), and Activism (“The final mark of the evangelicals was an eagerness to be up and doing. This activism was in a sense a logical corollary of the awareness of having undergone conversion.” [36]).

    26. Timothy George, “The Unity of Faith: Evangelicalism and ‘Mere Christianity,’” in Touchstone 16/6 (July/August 2003). “Evangelicalism is a renewal movement within historic Christian orthodoxy, a movement that has been shaped synchronically by four historical complexes or ‘moments,’ which continue to shape Evangelical theology and identity today.” (p. 59). The Trinitarian and Christological Consensus of the Early Church. The Protestant Reformation. Evangelical Awakenings. The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy.

    27. V. Definitions

    28. Sociological (Social Sciences) (consider the many polls and surveys done by Gallop and Barna) Political (cf. Tony Campolo, “Red Letter Christianity: A New Name for Progressive Evangelicals”: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/red.letter.christianity.a.new.name.for.progressive.evangelicals/22438.htm Historical (cf. the History of Evangelicalism series by IVP Academic)

    29. Sociological, historical and theological, e.g. Bebbington and Packer Biblicism Crucicentrism Conversionism Activism (cf. Haykin, The Emergence of Evangelicalism, for a helpful, more thorough response)

    30. “Is it altogether appropriate that an activity like evangelism, an experience like conversion and an observation like the need for fellowship, even with their theological underpinnings, should be set alongside such towering truths as the authority of Scripture, the majesty of Jesus Christ and the lordship of the Holy Spirit. . . . When we are trying to define our essential evangelical identity, that we distinguish between divine and human activity, between the primary and the secondary, between what belongs to the center and what lies somewhere between the center and the circumference.” (Stott, Evangelical Truth, p. 24)

    31. “one must distinguish between, on the one hand, the gospel as what God has done and what is the message to be announced, and, on the other hand, what is demanded by God or effected by the gospel in assorted human responses. . . . The gospel is what God has done, supremely in Christ, and especially focused on his cross and resurrection. Failure to distinguish between the gospel and all the effects of the gospel tends, on the long haul, to replace good news as to what God has done with a moralism that is finally without the power and the glory of Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended, and reigning.” D. A. Carson, “Editorial, Themelios 34.1 (2009), 1-2

    32. Biblical/Theological Define too narrowly – we end up with greater precision but exclude unnecessarily. Define too broadly – we end up with a general statement that is too imprecise.

    33. “They relate to the three persons of the Trinity – the authority of God in and through the Scripture, the majesty of Jesus Christ in and trough the cross, and the lordship of the Holy Spirit in and through His manifold ministries. Conversion, evangelism and fellowship are not an addition to the first three as much as an elaboration of them.” (Stott, 25)

    34. VI. Evangelicals and the Gospel

    35. “In seeking to define what it means to be evangelical, it is inevitable that we begin with the gospel. Both our theology (evangelicalism) and our activity (evangelism) derive meaning and importance from the good news (evangel).” (Stott, 25)

    36. Evangelical Method Formal principle – authority of Scripture, sola Scriptura. It alone is norma normans, i.e. the norming norm. Material principle – substance of what we believe the gospel is; what we believe is shaped by Scripture. The material is always tested by the formal.

    37. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 The Origin of the Gospel (Stott, 26) Question: Where does the gospel come from? Answer: It is not a human invention or speculation, but the revelation of God. It is not “human wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:17) or “the wisdom of the world” (1 Cor. 1:20; cf. 1 Cor. 2:6), on the contrary, Paul calls it “God’s wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:24; 2:7).

    38. The Substance of the Gospel (Stott, 26-29) Question: What does the gospel consist of? Answer: In the eyes of the non-Christian world it is not wisdom but foolishness; not power but weakness. . . It is God’s wisdom and God’s power. Where are these found, then? Only in “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

    39. 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Christological: The gospel centers on the person and work (the life, death, and resurrection) of Jesus Christ. biblical: The gospel is essentially the message of the whole Bible.

    40. historical: The gospel is not philosophy or advice on how to find God, but rather news of what God has done in history to find and save us. theological: The gospel tells us that sin is first and foremost an offense against God and that salvation is first to last the action of God, not our own.

    41. apostolic: The gospel is passed on to us by Jesus' disciples as authoritative eyewitnesses. personal: The gospel must be personally believed and appropriated.

    42. universal: The gospel is for every tongue, tribe, people, and individual. eschatological: The gospel includes the good news of the final transformation, not just the blessings we enjoy in this age. To the six from Stott, Don Carson adds the final two in “The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-19), The Gospel Coalition, May 2007.

    43. The Efficacy of the Gospel (Stott, 29) Question: how does the gospel become effective? Answer: It does not require the contrived, flower eloquence of the Greeks to make it work. . . . In place of rhetoric he trusted in the Holy Spirit. He put no confidence in his own wisdom or power. On the contrary, because of his personal “weakness, fear, and trembling,” he looked for a demonstration of Spirit’s power.

    44. To sum up, the origin of the gospel was not speculation but revelation; its substance was not the world’s wisdom but Christ’s cross; and its efficacy was not due to rhetoric but to the Holy Spirit’s power. Thus, the gospel comes from God, centers on Christ and his cross, and is confirmed by the Holy Spirit. (Stott, 29)

    45. Distinction between a boundary-bounded set and a center-bounded set. “my center-bounded set,” Michael Wittmer http://mikewittmer.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/my-centered-bounded-set/

    46. VII. Related Issues

    47. Evangelicalism and Denominations Global Evangelicalism Evangelicals and Catholics Together

    48. VIII. Evanglicalism’s Future

More Related