{"id":38933,"date":"2024-10-17T23:27:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T06:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38933"},"modified":"2024-10-18T08:19:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T15:19:31","slug":"wwbd-what-would-billy-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wwbd-what-would-billy-do\/","title":{"rendered":"WWBD: What Would Billy Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently met with 20 key leaders in our church, discussing our doctrinal statement and those beliefs that distinguish our church. I indicated that, most simply, we are a Christian, Evangelical, Baptist, and Congregational church.\u00a0 Immediately, a hand shot up, and one of our leaders asked, “What does it mean that we’re \u2018Evangelical,\u2019 and how is that different from other churches? ”\u00a0 This was followed by many nods of affirmation in the room, indicating the universal curiosity of my team about what it means to be \u201cEvangelical.\u201d\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>American historian George Marsden once humorously remarked that in the 1950s and 1960s, an evangelical Christian was simply \u201canyone who likes Billy Graham.\u201d However, in a 1987 interview with religion reporter Terry Mattingly, when asked to define the term, Graham himself admitted, \u201cActually, that\u2019s a question I\u2019d like to ask somebody too.\u201d It\u2019s fascinating that, at that time, the most renowned evangelical preacher struggled to articulate what evangelicalism truly means. <\/span>David Bebbinton responded in\u00a0Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s within a couple of years<\/em><\/span>.[1]<\/span> While the term \u201cEvangelical\u201d remains in circulation, so does a lack of clarity about what it signifies.\u00a0 In this post, we will consider the clarification brought by Bebbington\u2019s Evangelical Quadrilateral, specifically focusing on the significance and challenges of \u201cActivism\u201d today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Evangelical Identity<\/b><\/p>\n

First, Bebbington\u2019s quadrilateral is essential in distinguishing evangelicalism from other Christian traditions. It comprises four key components: conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism. Bebbington explains:<\/span><\/p>\n

There are the four qualities that have been the special marks of Evangelical religion: conversionism,\u00a0 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.[2]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Evangelicalism places the utmost importance on conversion, evangelism, the Bible, and the cross. These core tenets shape its foundation and set the trajectory for many churches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Activists At Our Core<\/b><\/p>\n

Bebbington emphasizes that activism\u2014the call to engage in social action and public witness\u2014is not merely an add-on but a reflection of genuine faith in the evangelical identity.\u00a0 He states, \u201cA second leading characteristic of Evangelicals has been their activism. It flows from the first, as Jonathan Edwards remarked. \u2018Persons,\u2019 he wrote, \u2018after their own conversion, have commonly expressed an exceeding great desire for the conversion of others.\u201d[3]<\/span>\u00a0 This is especially true tradition, where activism is a core component of Southern Baptist life.\u00a0 Take, for example, the most recent appeal for missionaries made by the SBC\u2019s International Mission Board.\u00a0 They are seeking individuals to participate in Project 3000<\/span>, an effort to send 300 missionary explorers to those remaining people groups identified as unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 What is a Missionary Explorer, you ask? The appeal expresses the fervor of activism identified by Bebbington:<\/span><\/p>\n

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You will make a great missionary explorer candidate if you are:<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n