Mission, evangelism or both?
How did I get here? I'm a 'reformed' evangelical Christian with a deep concern for social justice and physical emancipation, but an ever deeper one for spiritual emancipation.
The tension between mission and evangelism is very tight. In the past (and occasionally still), I have dwelt in the 'mission' camp, which places a priority on deeds as the main form of pointing people to Jesus. I feel it's a bit crude to use the St Francis of Assisi quotation: "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words", but this does seem a good summary of the social gospel. I am sad to admit that I've also been been a proponent of the evangelism only camp, which holds the view that mere gospel proclamation, is sufficient for the church's outreach to non-christians.
Whilst I agree absolutely, that people will only ever be saved when they hear the gospel preached (Romans 10:14 says so!), there is something inherently wrong with the view that we can sit back contentedly in the pews, so long as the gospel is being taught clearly from the pulpit.
I am blessed to have been born into relatively affluent circumstances, yet this is a privilege that isn't afforded to roughly 80% of the world. When I see people suffering in poverty, either in England or elsewhere, something inside of me breaks. I know I'm not the only person to experience this, I think we're created to sympathise with those in need and yet often, we feel overwhelmed or unsure about how much of a priority our involvement with them should be.
We have share the gospel in both word and deed and maintain an equal balance between the two.
The conclusions I've arrived at have taken me a long time to reach and the journey has been difficult. It's meant accepting some hard-to-hear, yet freeing truths, such as knowing that true liberation is spiritual liberation. This is what should govern our theory and praxis.
It's not a journey I've completed yet and the purpose of this blog is to bring together different views and create a platform for sharing them so that we can learn together, encourage one another and seek to glorify God first as we do so.
The tension between mission and evangelism is very tight. In the past (and occasionally still), I have dwelt in the 'mission' camp, which places a priority on deeds as the main form of pointing people to Jesus. I feel it's a bit crude to use the St Francis of Assisi quotation: "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words", but this does seem a good summary of the social gospel. I am sad to admit that I've also been been a proponent of the evangelism only camp, which holds the view that mere gospel proclamation, is sufficient for the church's outreach to non-christians.
Whilst I agree absolutely, that people will only ever be saved when they hear the gospel preached (Romans 10:14 says so!), there is something inherently wrong with the view that we can sit back contentedly in the pews, so long as the gospel is being taught clearly from the pulpit.
I am blessed to have been born into relatively affluent circumstances, yet this is a privilege that isn't afforded to roughly 80% of the world. When I see people suffering in poverty, either in England or elsewhere, something inside of me breaks. I know I'm not the only person to experience this, I think we're created to sympathise with those in need and yet often, we feel overwhelmed or unsure about how much of a priority our involvement with them should be.
We have share the gospel in both word and deed and maintain an equal balance between the two.
The conclusions I've arrived at have taken me a long time to reach and the journey has been difficult. It's meant accepting some hard-to-hear, yet freeing truths, such as knowing that true liberation is spiritual liberation. This is what should govern our theory and praxis.
It's not a journey I've completed yet and the purpose of this blog is to bring together different views and create a platform for sharing them so that we can learn together, encourage one another and seek to glorify God first as we do so.
