Evangelicalism’s Activism, Influence, and Means
It can be hard to critique one’s own (Evangelical) religion from the inside – out. So…approaching a subject like Evangelicalism, as much as I’d like to say I can approach it with the observant, dispassionate style of an enneagram 5, I’d say I’m closer to a fish trying to analyze the subject of water. I’m swimming in it. Conversion. Bible-centeredness. Gospel implications and activities. Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. These aspects[1] of Evangelicalism have marked my family’s life for multiple generations. Today, thanks to D.W. Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain and Jason Clark’s Evangelicalism and Capitalism, I have some more handles to grab hold of as I think critically about my own context.
Much like Simon Walker’s book, the works of Bebbington and Clark are going to eventually require a deeper dive. An inspectional reading does not do them justice. That being said, I want to highlight a few observations.
Changes
I’m finishing this post during our Advance at Oxford. I thought of the changes that took place at this school in the late 1800s – changes I read about in Paul Sullivan’s Secret History of Oxford. “Prior to 1871, people from Christian denominations other than the Church of England were unable to take degrees (from Oxford).”[2] That changed with the founding of Mansfield College. Mansfield’s “original purpose was to provide further education and theological training for nonconformist ministers, and to provide a focal point for dissenters previously excluded from the religious life of the university.”[3] How much of that change was the direct or indirect result of Evangelicalism’s reach within Anglicanism in modern Britain? After all, it was only a few decades prior to Mansfield’s founding that there was the case of George Gorham, highlighted in Bebbington’s book. Gorham, both Anglican AND Evangelical, had been denied certain privileges because of a conflict he had with the Church of England concerning baptism. Gorham’s Evangelical posture put him in conflict with “two statements in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. According to the order for baptism, an infant is declared regenerate at the end of the ceremony; and according to the catechism, baptism is the occasion of our new berth.” Gorham won that battle and was allowed the right to adhere to his evangelical stance on baptism. I wonder how many Gorham-like situations led to the inclusion of non-conformist students at Oxford?
Defining a movement and gospel
The meaning of the term “evangelical,” at least as it was normally used in the 1700s meant “‘of the gospel’ in a non-partisan sense.”[4] However, the term would later describe a movement of people marked by “the doctrines or ministers of the revival movement, whether inside or outside the Church of England.”[5] The era of revivalism and modern missions in Evangelicalism’s history could possibly be summed up – at least from a “missions” perspective – by the slogan “The Evangelization of the World in This Generation,” which also happens to be the name of a book by John Mott.[6] I would guess many (most?) Evangelicals involved in campus ministry and missionary efforts in the 1900s or early 2000s, even to this day, have no doubt interacted with the fervor behind this statement in some form or fashion. My wife and I certainly experienced this early in our career when we were involved in campus ministry. This era epitomized the activism characteristic in Bebbington’s quadrilateral. Revivalism and the modern missions era would have stressed the urgency of evangelism, conversion, and discipleship.
Of course, the means often carried a great deal of cultural challenges. For example, Jason Clark highlights Evangelicalism’s complex history at the intersection of the movement and its socio-economic context. In Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship, Clark explains, “The relationship of Evangelicalism to capitalism was indeed a ‘mixed bag’, as all forms of ecclesiology always are, being both captive to the worst of market forces, and yet at the same time, being able to transmit themselves through the market, effecting enormous change in resistance to those forces.”[7] Clark provided a helpful perspective on how the doctrine of assurance interacted with the activism of Bebbington’s quadrilateral. I imagine there will be more to explore here, particularly in the reformed traditions, as a number of new(er) evangelical organizations continue to emerge in western economic contexts in faith and work / gospel and business / human flourishing spaces.
The cultural contexts in which ideas and movements travel – even reformational ones – can carry a greater amount of weight than people think. David Bosch, the late South African missiologist, noted that “the gospel always comes to people in cultural robes”[8] in Transforming Mission. And concerning Evangelicalism and the west, one sees the movement “as both a creature of capitalism, and a way of responding to capitalism.”[9] I thought about Bosch’s contribution to missiology and cultural anthropology throughout this week’s reading.
And speaking of “gospel,” I do like a definition of the term offered by Tim Keller.
In the second half of my career, I can’t think of too many other “Evangelical” pastor-scholars who had as much of an impact on my theological journey (at least from a distance) as Keller. His influence left quite a footprint across the landscape of 21st century Evangelicalism in the West. Keller has a definition of “gospel” in Every Good Endeavor that is worth mentioning here:
“The gospel is the true story that God made a good world that was marred by sin and evil, but through Jesus Christ he redeemed it at infinite cost to himself, so that someday he will return to renew all creation; end all suffering and death; and restore absolute peace, justice, and joy in the world forever.”[10]
[1] In Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, D.W. Bebbington writes, “There are four qualities that have been the special marks of Evangelical religion: conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel in effort; biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible; and what may be called crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism.” (Bebbington, D.W., Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, London and New York: Routledge, 1989, Kindle version, 2 of 367)
[2] Paul Sullivan, The Secret History of Oxford, (Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2013), Kindle Version, 70 of 252.
[3] Sullivan, 70 of 252.
[4] Bebbington, D.W., Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, London and New York: Routledge, 1989, Kindle version, vii of 367.
[5] Bebbington, Kindle version, 1 of 367.
[6] See John Mott’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evangelization-World-Generation-Classic-Reprint/dp/1331828252.
[7] Clark, Jason Paul, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship” (2018). Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary. 132. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/132, 73 – 74.
[8] Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Maryknoll,
NY: Orbis Books,1991, 297.
[9] Clark, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship,” 74.
[10] Keller, Tim with Katherine Leary Alsdorf, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, New York: Dutton, 2012, 163.
About the Author
Travis Vaughn
3 responses to “Evangelicalism’s Activism, Influence, and Means”
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I love this quote by David Bosch, “The gospel always comes to people in cultural robes.” So that begs the question of the fish in its water, what are the cultural robes that you see in American evangelicalism? I think you mention one – the faith/work or gospel/business connection. In my cultural context I don’t think that idea would sing, but it certainly does speak to Americans. Can you think of other examples, either in this current cultural moment or as you think back over your years of ministry? (That makes you sound old, which is not what I’m implying. You just have a lot of experience!)
Hi Travis,
I am embarrassed to say I have never heard of David Bosch or his book, Transforming Mission, such was my quick baptism into “The Evangelization of the World in this Generation!” It was just added to my Amazon cart. What makes this book significant for you? What threads are you noticing in terms of how capitalism and evangelicalism have impacted world missions?
Hi, Travis,
Enlightening post!
I found your reference to Oxford’s history regarding “nonconformist ministers” and “dissenters” and the forming of Mansfield College for the purpose of including them a fascinating piece of information. One can only imagine how the revivals and awakenings that transpired were unnerving to the scholarly thought of Oxford and its boundaries. Yet, the unbridled evolution of evangelicalism, over time, produced its own boundaries. It seems that every pendulum swing in church history creates its own narrative that seems to eventually constrict itself, begging for a new pendulum swing. Yet, somehow in the messiness of it all,the gospel of Christ is transported and revived.
Historical reviews like Bebbington cause a shock to my system and then a sense of relief that God is always at work and will continue to accompish his Kingdom on earth. How does this type of historical overview and insight inspire you?