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Anglican Conference Assesses Efforts in First Half of the Decade of Evangelism

Episcopal News Service. September 21, 1995 [95-1234]

(ENS) For five days the hills around Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina rang with the beat of African drums calling almost 500 Anglicans from 60 countries to take stock midway through the Anglican Communion's Decade of Evangelism -- and chart a new course.

Driven by enthusiastic worship, energized by provocative speeches, and buoyed by stories from many cultures, participants were renewed by personal encounters but often surprised that the style of Anglican evangelism varied so widely. At times the diversity became confusing and even contentious.

"Mission which does not have evangelism as a focus is not Christian mission, and evangelism which keeps itself aloof from matters of racial justice and human welfare does not reflect adequately biblical revelation," warned Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in his keynote address. "We must insist on the seamless character of mission and evangelism."

"We are called to engage with the world, its doubts, its uncertainties, its suffering and, in so doing, to be the bearers of hope and witness to the transforming love of Christ," Carey told the conference. "If this Decade of Evangelism is not a call to a historic and biblical faith, it will be but a passing, ephemeral thing. A decade which is simply a period of involvement in evangelistic activity will not meet the real challenge of faith which confronts us. It is a challenge of belief," he added.

Pointing to what he called a "loss of confidence in God which many societies and many Christians are experiencing," the Archbishop said that "evangelism without wholehearted confidence in the activity of God can have no proper grounding in the Christian faith and it will soon be revealed for what it is by a skeptical world -- a sham, and a dangerously human-centered sham at that."

A rainbow people of God

In welcoming the delegates and observers as "a rainbow people of God," the Rev. John Peterson, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, acknowledged that many came from societies where proclamation of the Christian Gospel still meets opposition. "Anglicanism can successfully challenge the growing and horrific fundamentalism that is permeating both the Christian faith and other religions," he contended. "Anglicanism is a viable alternative to fundamentalism."

The Rev. Colin Craston of England, who chairs the Anglican Consultative Council, reminded participants that the decade was launched by the 1988 Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops who hoped Anglicans worldwide would "make the closing years of this millennium a Decade of Evangelism, with a renewed emphasis on making Christ known to the people of the world."

Seeking a shift of emphasis

The decade has sought to shift the church's emphasis from a pastoral one of care and nurture to one of proclamation and service. "The Lambeth Conference took up the call for decisive changes to shift the emphasis from mere maintenance to wholehearted commitment to evangelism, understood within the holistic view of mission," according to Craston. Most participants at the Kanuga conference seemed to agree with a 1993 meeting of primates that the decade has met with mixed results.

Calling on participants to focus on the task at hand, Bishop Yong Ping Chung of Sabah, who chairs the Anglican Communion's mission commission urged them not to "allow other private interests and private agendas to distract from this central core of God's business."

At several points other agendas did threaten to distract and disrupt the meeting. The heavy presence of American observers meant that the current crises in the Episcopal Church were aired and its leadership criticized. The Rev. David Roseberry of Plano, Texas, was prepared at the end of a Eucharist service to blast the current state of affairs. Instead he was restricted to an observation that lauded the "picture of the strength of common faith in some of the most inhospitable places on earth" and asking participants to "pray for the American church." He is chair of the board of Episcopalians United and two days after the conference wrote to Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning asking him to resign (see separate story).

Some American observers expressed disappointment that the conference had turned into what one called a "jamboree of evangelicals," adding that they had expected a deeper level of discussion on evangelism issues. Several expressed deep discomfort with the highly individualistic approach to evangelism and what one called an "underlying political agenda to many of the discussions."

Yet Margaret Larom, a delegate who is on the church's partnerships staff, said that "those who left early missed seeing and hearing about the significant work done on behalf of the entire Anglican Communion and the decade." She is convinced that the reports and discussions will have a large influence on evangelism strategies in the future. "It would be a disaster if evangelism efforts during the decade drove a wedge between people because it is a valuable opportunity to build and renew relationships and find ways of speaking each other's language."

The gift of risk-taking

"No one of us and no particular tradition or church knows the answers... so we need the breadth of the Anglican Communion to meet the needs of the world," Carey said in a Eucharist before departing for New York for meetings at the United Nations. He said that, among the gifts God has given the church, is the gift to risk failure.

"Risk takes us on a journey of surprises -- of discovering the extraordinary grace of God available to us through human weakness." He concluded that "we are not in the business of survival. It really doesn't matter if a church fails because God is there. But what God will never forgive is if we are just interested in ourselves and our own ministry."

When the different regions of the Anglican Communion gave their reports it was clear that many were risking their lives to make a witness -- and a tension emerged between evangelism in the developed and the developing world. "It may be the post-Christian era for the western world, but it is the dawn of Christianity for us in West Africa," said the Rev. Chinedu Nebo of Nigeria. "Evangelism is a household word among millions in Nigeria. Despite problems, we are growing at a rate that would be miraculous in any other part of the communion."

Among the most impressive witnesses of a church in mission came from Bishop Jubal Neves of Southwestern Brazil. Picking up the theme of Christ's incarnation as the core of the church's mission, the bishop said the church must "prepare people not only to be transformed but to transform the society, to proclaim not only personal salvation but also transformation of society." He said that "evangelism is to save lives, not just save souls."

Different styles, one purpose

The story from Brazil was matched by others from all regions of the Anglican Communion. Delegates from Africa described extraordinary church growth and told how church planting, evangelism and renewal was of the life-blood of the African church, despite the shortage of resources and lack of transport and communication.

Middle Eastern Anglicans told of the challenge of living in community with Islam and Judaism, following the way of love and peace in a part of the world characterized by confrontation and anger.

The churches in South Asia described caring forms of evangelism, in which the love of Christ is shown through the institutions of education and healthcare. Training was an important need, they said. Anglicans from East Asia told of growth, renewal and prophetic witness against social injustice.

The challenge of pentecostal sects has vexed the churches of the South Pacific but as a result renewal has come to the church and evangelism was coming to the fore of church life.

In Australia and New Zealand the story was of decline, yet the church was not dispirited. Delegates told of the need to re-evangelize and regain passion to share the good news. Indigenous peoples of Australasia, Canada and America were present to tell the stories of how they are taking control of the evangelistic task to their own people.

While secularism characterized the Canadian church, Anglicans were taking nationwide steps to halt massive decline and put evangelism at the center of church life. The Episcopal Church of the USA, while contending with controversies, was directing its massive resources into mission, the conference heard.

A rapidly changing culture characterized Europe, it was reported. Yet the decline is being halted and in some places growth is taking place. "In the face of cynicism evangelism is on the agenda, but we can't rest until it is in the hearts of every congregation," said the Bishop of Wakefield, Nigel McCulloch.

In an evening presentation the conference heard from women that they were the backbone of evangelism in many parts of the world. From evangelism among children, to evangelism through caring and prayer, women led the way. "Women are more than 50 percent of the body of Christ. You have it in your power to make the body of Christ truly complete by fully accepting us as your sisters," said one woman about the way in which such work is marginalized.

Final statement pleads for continued risks

In a final message to the Primates of the Anglican Communion and members of the Anglican Consultative Council, delegates concluded that renewed commitment to the Decade of Evangelism would require "risks and ventures of faith."

"When the decade began the idea of evangelism was threatening to many Anglicans. We have heard that there are still tensions and differences of understanding and approach among us. We believe, however, that the four principles of the Lambeth Quadrilateral provide a sufficient basis to hold those tensions together."

"We find it hard to overstate the impact of this conference on us as delegates, not only because of the breadth of representation and experience, but also because of the challenge to repentance, reconciliation and closer working together that we have received," the statement said.

"Many of these things have been said before -- but they need to be said again," Craston said at the closing plenary where delegates expressed their concern for follow-up and hopes for regional consultations. "The Anglican Communion may not be impressed that we had a good time," he added, suggesting that change takes time. He dismissed a quip in the British press that suggested the decade had "sunk without a trace" and contended that "God can change the course of the Anglican Communion through us."

"Evangelism is the sharpest point, the cutting edge of mission -- and it can be most fearsome ministry of the church because it deals with sin," said Raymond Fung, mission director for the World Council of Churches. "And evangelism is not the instrument of the church, but rather it is a challenge to the church and its theology," he said, pointing to the controversy in the early church over who should be evangelized. "Could it be that our articulation of the Gospel is too individualistic, that we have forgotten to speak the word to the nations?" he asked.

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