Our Biggest Need?

Perhaps I am simply not aware of it but it seems an important discussion is missing within evangelicalism. In the past evangelicals have spent a lot of energy discussing the priority of evangelism in mission in light of an increasing move toward a social gospel. McGavaran, Hubbard, Stott, et al protested mightily during the several mission conferences held throughout the last century like Uppsala in ’68 and Bangkok in ’73. They felt that that evangelism was not given the first priority it deserved.

It is not that they felt that the church didn’t have a role to play in society. But “The greatest single step the church can take toward creating a new world order, says McGavaran, is to multiply in society, ‘cells of the redeemed’ . Once this has happened, God ‘inevitably’…. causes them to seek a better social order.” The cure for the world’s problem was evangelism.

Though I have my own opinions as to how this is balanced I am surprised that I have not heard this discussion in regard to the many evangelicals (and their organizations) who are increasingly becoming involved in the political scene in the U.S. It seems that to many of them the cause-effect dichotomy has been reversed.

At first glance it could be argued that we are simply seeing the “inevitable” that McGavaran talked about. But if anything the U.S. is a much less Christian society than in the past and it can hardly be claimed that what we are seeing is a tipping point caused by Christianity reaching a critical mass in this country. That this is not the case is further evidenced by the sharp division that seems to have resulted from the 2004 presidential election.

Another possible reason for the silence could be that this “social gospel” is different than in the past. In the past it targeted hunger, poverty and injustice. The targets this time are issues like abortion and homosexuality and perhaps it isn’t even recognized as a type of social gospel. However, these groups seem to have taken an oppressed mentality which seems to relate closely to liberation theology.

Evangelicals do seem to be moving at least a little bit toward the ecumenical position. The report on World Evangelical Fellowship meeting in Wheaton (1983) did not give a priority for mission. (before that evangelicals always insisted that evangelism was the first priority.) And in South Africa, in 1986, “Concerned Evangelicals” articulated a very social response to the injustice of apartheid and the political situation in South Africa at that time.

So what happened? Have we joined the ecumenicals? Do we now believe that the best way to bring about the Kingdom is through politics? Is evangelism now simply assumed so we don’t have to talk about it? Is evangelism no longer the priority for evangelicals?