In depth | Evangelicals Now

6,000 young people in London mobilised for mission

Milla Ling-Davies

This summer, the stands of Wembley Arena, normally filled with fans singing football chants, were instead filled with 6,000 young people singing the praises of God.

This was the launch event of The Send UK & Ireland - a new collaboration between churches and mission agencies for the purpose of inspiring teenagers and young adults to live missionally in five key areas: secondary school, university, family life, workplaces and the nations.

What do the Gallagher brothers teach us about unity?

John Woods

One of my favourite psalms is Psalm 133 which begins: 'How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!'

The 2011 NIV obscures the original word 'brothers', choosing to translate it with the more inclusive 'God's people'.

1,100 attend Pentecostal rally in Bradford

Luke Randall

In a show of unity 'not seen for over 20 years', 1,100 people attended a Pentecostal rally in what was the culmination of a 10-day mission event in Bradford.

The event, run by Sharing of Ministries Abroad, (SOMA) saw missioners descend on the West Yorkshire city, specifically focusing on reaching people within the BD7 postcode, with various outreach events staged with the help of St John’s Great Horton, St Wilfrid’s and St Columba’s churches.

Evangelical unity

Date posted: 27 Aug 2024

Dear Editor,

Andy Mason recognises the importance of unity amongst conservative evangelicals in the August issue of en.

everyday evangelism

Evangelism: a solo sport or team effort?

Mike Hood

Here is something that Jesus prayed about us the night before He died – can you fill in the blank?

'I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be ___ ___ ___ ___ . Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.'

How do we help avoid evangelical civil war and promote real unity?

Andy Mason

We conservative evangelicals need each other. The challenges before us are just too big. We really can’t be what God has called us to be on our own. Our future should really be together. The stewarding of the gospel in our time demands it.

However, our future is also very tied to our ability to get on with one another. We need a very good capacity to navigate internal disagreements. Above all, we need a deep resistance to fracture and splintering. Some might feel that this is unproblematic. After all, we have the gospel of God, and one would’ve thought that that was enough to overcome any difficulties. Things are, though, a bit more complicated.

Justin Welby

Date posted: 17 Jul 2024

Dear Editor,

I confess I was surprised and dismayed on reading the news article by Rebecca Chapman about Justin Welby in the May issue of en.

editorial

Are you in the land of the open-hearted?

Editorial

How do we foster evangelical unity? Where do the boundaries of ‘unity’ fall? And how does the New Testament emphasis on unity apply to evangelicals in the Church of England in its current dire state? Some of these questions are helpfully tackled by Andy Mason (see his article). And one terrific example of healthy evangelical unity is the Keswick Convention, ongoing at the moment.

But how should such unity be manifested organisationally elsewhere the rest of the year? Ongoing discussions about a Gospel Coalition UK are an interesting part of this debate. The role of the Evangelical Alliance is also key.

editorial

TGC UK – OK?

The suggestion that there might be a Gospel Coalition UK (see article here) – just as there is in the US and elsewhere – is worth serious consideration.

It is particularly impressive to hear the words of Graham Nicholls, director of Affinity (from which this idea originates), that Affinity might even be prepared, possibly, to subsume itself into such a new grouping. This is bold, humble and Godly it seems to us.

TGC UK: a Terribly Good Concept... or perhaps not?

Milla Ling-Davies

Is there space for another evangelical umbrella organisation? Or would it just duplicate what others already do?

Evangelical network Affinity has announced that it will be ‘championing the formation of The Gospel Coalition UK’. The news has been met with a mixture of support and concern from UK evangelicals.

What is evangelical unity? Does it even matter?

Graham Nicholls

What is evangelical unity and does it matter? And anyway, who’s to say what an evangelical actually is, and even then, what would visible evangelical unity look like?

That was part of our discussion at the autumn meeting of the Affinity Council – a group of leaders from churches and Christian organisations that help guide Affinity as we set our priorities.

A plea for pastoral brotherhood

Aaron Prelock

Between 1979 and 1999 the Pope, John Paul II, published a collection of essays titled ‘Letters to My Brother Priests’. That sentiment, that his fellow clergy were his brothers, is something we would do well to learn from in our Protestant circles.

Those who serve Christ’s sheep as shepherds should see themselves as being in a spiritual brotherhood, a brotherhood that’s in desperate need of each other. The church has struggled with pastoral abuse, scandals, burnouts, and dropouts. The last few years of Covid, war, civil unrest and political instability have only heightened the weight carried by pastors. These trials have taken their toll. But where are pastors to turn when they need help?

ten questions: dismantling our tribalism

Jonathan Lamb

1. How did you become a Christian?

London leaders unite

thelondonproject.co.uk

Tim Keller’s vision of ‘City to City’ church-planting is moving ahead in London.

Pastors and leaders from the ‘diaspora churches’ in the capital have met for a day for mutual encouragement under the auspices of the London Project, which is a Redeemer City to City initiative and is part of City to City UK, an expression of City to City Europe.

Reconciliation and justice in action

musalaha.org

Reconciliation is at the core of the gospel; God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ. Thus, as followers of Christ, we ought to bear this message of reconciliation and apply it in our lives. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Paul expands on this responsibility and asserts that we ought to be ambassadors of reconciliation to the world through His justice.

This was and still is the calling that inspired me 30 years ago to establish ‘Musalaha’ (reconciliation in Arabic). Over the years, I have learned a great deal about reconciliation and was thrilled with the opportunity to expand Musalaha’s reconciliation teachings through the Peace and Reconciliation Network of the World Evangelical Alliance. Despite the many conflicts in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, the few churches and organisations to partner with, I have been researching and exploring the main actors of peace and reconciliation with the desire of familiarising ourselves with our reconciliation MENA network.

history

How should Christians disagree?

Michael Haykin

At the outset of his invasion of Scotland in the summer of 1650, Oliver Cromwell remarked that theological disagreements (and surely he is thinking in part of the differences among the English and Scottish Puritans that had led them to war) are endemic to the life of the church in a world marred by sin.

Disagreements are a sad reality with which Christians have to contend. Nonetheless, Christians can control the way that they participate in such disputes.

pastoral care

The beauty of reconciliation

Steve Midgley

When Christians fall out, you’d hope they would be good at putting things back together. Reconciliation ought to be one of our strong suits.

Our God not only ‘reconciled us to Himself through Christ’, He also ‘gave us the ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Cor. 5:18). As ambassadors for Christ, we are to implore others: ‘be reconciled to God’ (2 Cor. 5:20). Our interpersonal relationships ought to reflect that.

What the early church teaches about racial harmony

David Shepherd

Recently, I have been reading Acts chapter 6 in an effort to understand how the early church overcame ethnic tensions which would so easily have fractured our modern-day multi-ethnic communities.

The apostles’ approach, as described below, can still impart important wisdom which can inform modern methods of dealing with and dissipating racial tension.

In Depth: unity