By: Jason Turbeville on January 25, 2019
In some circles the descriptor Evangelical is a derogatory term. With churches like westboro baptist church (left in lowercase on purpose) calling themselves evangelicals and the rise of the alt right in defiance of the alt left and calling themselves evangelicals it is easy to see why. Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History and Culture in Regional Perspective…
By: Trisha Welstad on January 25, 2019
If you are looking for a fairly comprehensive perspective of the history of evangelicalism and how it has taken over much of the world, a great place to start is with Global Evangelicalism. Beginning with David Bebbington’s classic definition of an evangelical, including a focus on conversion, the Bible, activism, and the cross, Global Evangelicalism…
By: Karen Rouggly on January 24, 2019
In 1982, John M. Perkins wrote With Justice for All: A Strategy for Community Development. In this seminal work which paved the way for Christian community development, Perkins reminds us that poverty is much more than just a lack of money but it is indeed a lack of options.[1] Perkins also reminded us that we…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on January 24, 2019
To summarize the text, Polanyi writes this alleged classic about the industrialization of Europe leading to the collapse of civilization in the 19th century. The balance of powers failed to prevent a war between the great powers, the gold standard failed to maintain the world economies, the markets failed to self-regulate, and liberal states became…
By: Digby Wilkinson on January 24, 2019
“If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.” George Bernard Shaw Until a few years ago, economics had as much interest to me as trainspotting; I knew such things happened and the people involved were interesting in their own way. Economists had a certain Harry Potteresque feel to them;…
By: Sean Dean on January 24, 2019
My brother-in-law is a very conservative guy – politically speaking. A while back several of us were having a discussion about the spike in homelessness that Tacoma is currently seeing. My brother-in-law interjected that homelessness was a result of laziness and a lack of creativity on the part of the homeless. There was a stunned…
By: Chris Pritchett on January 24, 2019
Global Evangelicalism is a survey of the emergence and spread of the evangelical movement throughout the world. In the Introduction, Mark Noll admits to the elusive nature of the task this book sets out to accomplish. The reason this is elusive is that the evangelical movement has never been an organization in itself, but has overlapped…
By: Jean Ollis on January 24, 2019
To be honest, I struggled to connect with our reading this week – Global Evangelicalism by Douglas Lewis. The disconnect wasn’t a result of Lewis’ writing style or his chosen topic. It had more to do with a heavy heart…the government shutdown is on day 34 and there is no end in sight. Federal workers are…
By: Jenn Burnett on January 24, 2019
There is a moment in scripture that has been the cause of much ruminating for me; particularly when looking at issues of social or biblical justice. Jesus said “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”[1] Given the context of this verse, there is certainly a hint of…
By: Colleen Batchelder on January 24, 2019
For years, North American Evangelicalism has been tied to conservatism, separatism, and capitalism; however, this is simply one variant in the midst of countless definitions. However, due to America’s temptation towards nationalism, this definition has colored all forms of evangelical interaction and tied one’s faith to one’s favorite news network. A few years ago, I…
By: Mike on January 24, 2019
Donald Lewis and Richard Pierard’s Global Evangelicalism (GE) is a collection of scholarly essays that examines the impact of globalization and the southern shift of Evangelicalism. They begin with a straightforward definition of Evangelicals who believe in the person of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the authoritative guidance of the Bible, water Baptism, Lord’s supper-communion, fulfilling…
By: Harry Edwards on January 24, 2019
Karl Polanyi’s seminal work, The Great Transformation: Political and Economic Origins of Our Time is to be commended for pointing out the dire consequences of leaving market economies unchecked. During his time the role economy played in people’s everyday lives was taken for granted. The idea was simple then. How does one make a lot…
By: Andrea Lathrop on January 24, 2019
My dad and I are very close. Over the years, however, there is a topic that has become more difficult for us to engage in – that of American politics and economics. This is probably because I have less certainty and more questions these days and it can get awkward fast. I grew up believing…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on January 24, 2019
While reading along with Polanyi I was pleased to find a very subversive thread in his work stemming from his idea of what is and is not a commodity. Polanyi lists three things as false commodities, those of land, labor and money: For Polanyi the definition of a commodity is something that has been produced…
By: Dave Watermulder on January 24, 2019
This Saturday morning, I will spend 4 hours with a group of “Inquirers” at our church. These are people who are new in our community and are learning more as they become “New Members” of our congregation. My favorite part of the class is when people go around the circle and share their stories. It…
By: Mark Petersen on January 24, 2019
Donald Lewis and Richard Pierard have compiled a book with the help of authors from various continents to review the globalizing pathway that evangelicalism has taken in the past two hundred years. My area of interest is focused on the intersection of wealth and faith, and those of you reading my posts know I can’t…
By: Jennifer Williamson on January 24, 2019
In the book Global Evangelicalism, there is an essay entitled, “The Theological Impulse of Evangelical Expansion,” in which the author, Wilbert R. Shenk offers an historical look at the protestant missionary endeavors with an eye on the theological trends that were motivating the various movements. His history reveals that people such as Calvin and Luther…
By: Dan Kreiss on January 24, 2019
The evangelical movement reaches much wider than most might assume. When one considers evangelicalism and its leaders it is likely in the contemporary world that figures such as Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, Charles Stanley, Francis Chan, Ravi Zacharias, Bill Hybels, Joyce Meyers, James Dobson etc. come to mind. While these people may be representative of…
By: Greg on January 24, 2019
January seems to be a good month to study evangelicalism, last year with Bebbington’s journey through his Quadrilateral — conversion, biblicism, activism, and crucicentrism1 and this year the brief study of essays edited by Donald Lewis on global evangelicalism2. Unfortunately, this is a hot topic in our political situation as the name “evangelical”…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on January 23, 2019
As you can imagine, I zeroed in on the chapter entitled “Evangelicals and Gender”, authored by Sarah C. Williams, in this week’s book, Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History & Culture in Regional Perspective, edited by Donald M. Lewis and Richard P. Pierard. It was validating to read about the impact evangelicalism has had on our current…
