Hyper-separatism - no way forward

In his now almost legendary address at the opening of a 'National Assembly of Evangelicals' held in October 1966, Martyn Lloyd-Jones urged that evangelicals must stand apart from false ecumenism and 'stand together as churches, constantly together, working together'.1 It has been all too easy for commentators of every doctrinal hue to draw simplistic and unjustifiable conclusions from what was said that night. The fact is that the preacher had no clear blue-print for the future in his mind.

An examination of Lloyd-Jones's practice, however, reveals him to be firmly in the tradition of Spurgeon and Poole-Connor in his outworking of the biblical principles of unity and separation. Along with them, he believed that to remain in a 'mixed' denomination, in company with those who denied the true gospel, involved unacceptable confusion and compromise. Nevertheless, he was no hyper-separatist, maintaining many strong links with individuals, churches and organisations that did not share his convictions at this point.

For example, even after 1966, Lloyd-Jones continued to chair the Bala Ministers' Conference which was attended by, among others, ministers of the Presbyterian Church of Wales. In the late 1970s, Lloyd-Jones chaired discussions and spoke at the Conference when it was addressed by Sinclair Ferguson, a minister of the Church of Scotland. In March 1969, Lloyd-Jones wrote to Eric Alexander, another minister in the same denomination, urging him to give serious consideration to filling the vacant pastorate at Westminster Chapel.2

Association with Anglicans

As far as Lloyd-Jones's relationships with evangelicals within the Church of England were concerned, in a recent, helpful article on the current debate, Iain Murray comments: 'The argument for no association with any of them is more like an idea of American Fundamentalism than any principle hitherto advocated by leaders in England. It was certainly not Dr Lloyd-Jones's position. He deplored the thinking of Anglican evangelicals who justified deliberate involvement in ecumenism...but his association and friendship with Anglicans opposed to that thinking remained to the end of his life.'3

Although he would not personally approve of it, the editor of Sword & Trowel admits that Lloyd-Jones enjoyed 'cordial fellowship at a personal level with 'innocent' or 'persuadable' denominationalists'.4 But the evidence clearly shows that his involvement extended beyond this to providing various forms of public support, even being prepared occasionally to preach in their churches. It is somewhat ironic that among those currently keen to claim Lloyd-Jones for a hyper-separatist position are some who deliberately distanced themselves from him while he was alive partly because of his associations!

A changing scene

We now come to the crunch! The attention of our hyper-separatist brethren has been drawn by the publication of a booklet promoting the new network Essentially Evangelical and the concept of fellowship between biblically-centred churches regardless of denominational affiliation.5 Sword & Trowel writes: 'To support his plea, the author insists that this association (EE) and its mission to unite with denominational evangelicals would have met with the approval of C. H. Spurgeon, E. J. Poole-Connor (the founder of FIEC) and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.'6
A more careful reading of Bible Churches Together would have revealed that, far from 'insisting' that these godly giants of the past could not have resisted slapping the author on the back for coming up with the obvious solution to a problem they had not been able to crack, their approval is deliberately never claimed at all! How could it be? Changes in the evangelical scene, even over the mere two decades since the death of Lloyd-Jones, have been so profound that it would be presumptuous to speculate how past worthies would act and react were they here now. But this cuts both ways. Bearing in mind that none of our three heroes of the faith was shackled with the hyper-separatist convictions of our keenest critics, no one can be certain that they would not have given at least a sympathetic hearing to the modest proposals contained in Bible Churches Together.

Across historic boundaries

In his introduction to the published report of last summer's Essentially Evangelical conference Melvin Tinker, the current chairman, writes: 'During the last thirty or so years there has existed within Britain a sort of 'Cold War' between professing evangelical believers. The causes for this are many and varied. It was against this background that there arose a growing conviction amongst several evangelical leaders that this should not be so. Our faith demands that we put 'first things first' - the first thing being the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ itself. Not only so, but our present situation with the increased paganization of the country and loss of vitality in so many of our churches, cried out for a new realignment amongst mainstream evangelicals. And so Essentially Evangelical was born. In many ways the days are still young. Although the journey together has begun, it has only just started. There is a growing sense of urgency, together with a desire to submit to biblical priorities and methods, which is developing between those who, at one time, may have regarded each other with suspicion.'7

EE defines itself as a network of evangelicals expressing unity across historic boundaries in submission to the Bible in theology and practice and in a commitment to gospel partnerships and initiatives. Its Doctrinal Basis declares that 'the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.' Its Mission Statement expresses a concern 'to bring the Bible back to the churches and the churches back to the Bible' and the belief that 'Christ cannot be central if his Word is marginalised.' Both the Doctrinal Basis and Mission Statement are readily available.8

Visible unity, not formal union

It has been encouraging for the three of us who took the initiative to call the original conference back in 1997 to see the way in which EE has captured the imagination of many believers who have long prayed for a reassertion of biblical authority in what presently passes for evangelicalism. Our great desire is that through its growing network, EE will encourage mutual recognition and communication between true Bible churches and act as a catalyst for the planting and restoration of others.

With regard to inter-church fellowship, a distinction needs to be drawn between 'visible unity' and 'formal union'. In his vision-setting address at the last EE conference, David Jackman explained, 'The 'network' metaphor is particularly appropriate in that it stresses activity and minimalises institutionalism. EE is not designed to be a national organisation, with a centralised bureaucracy and a 'top down' approach. That has been the way evangelicalism organised itself in the past, often to good effect, especially when the culture in which it was working believed in such institutions, reflecting and reinforcing the structures. We are not seeking to revisit that methodology.'9

Denominations ignored

Here is another reason (to add to those given last month) why we are not thinking denominationally. We are not only fundamentally opposed to the formation of what might be considered another denomination. As a consequence, we reject the belief that Christian unity has to come from, or is even best served by, the uniting of denominations, no matter how doctrinally sound.10 All denominations are extra-biblical, potentially detrimental to wider church unity and, now, perhaps culturally inappropriate. We believe that when a Bible church is prepared to place little emphasis on its formal affiliation with a mixed denomination, we are fully justified in doing so too. This is especially the case when that church actively speaks out against the ills within its constituency. A loose but visible association of biblically-centred churches, united by their commitment to mission and a shared sense of mutual love for, and need of, each other surely could not fall too far short of the dreams of Spurgeon, Poole-Connor and Lloyd-Jones - and of their Puritan forbears.

Some question whether Anglican churches, no matter how evangelical their ministry, could possibly be recognised and included in such an association. Surely their very ecclesiology is too far removed from the biblical pattern? Yet, the Church of England's Article 19 maintains that, 'The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men' and Articles 6 and 20 affirm that the Bible must be its ultimate authority. Who would deny that where such statements are truly believed and put into practice we find a genuine Bible church? There is no inherently insurmountable obstacle to meaningful fellowship between Anglican and Free churches.

Lifting the curtain

Earlier, we mentioned Melvin Tinker's apt description of the 'Cold War' that has prevailed within evangelicalism in this country for over a generation. Certainly, an 'iron curtain' was drawn between Anglican and nonconformist evangelicals in the late 1960s. We do not hesitate to state our conviction that Anglican evangelicalism was tragically misguided in the direction it took and the strategies it adopted at that time. Nevertheless, we would also lament the unseemly and ill-disguised pleasure and sense of superiority, with which these events were sometimes greeted within the ranks of nonconformity.

No doubt, some will see the viewpoint outlined in these articles as a betrayal of our spiritual heritage and so cause for an intensification, rather than a lessening, of the 'Cold War'. Our conviction is that where lessons have been well learned on both sides, the curtain should be lifted - to the glory of God and the extension of his kingdom!

Jonathan Stephen, Brian Edwards & John Rosser

Footnotes:
1 'Evangelical Unity: An Appeal', in Knowing the Times, Banner of Truth, 1989
2 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Letters 1919-1981, Banner of Truth, 1994, p. 216-217
3 'Disagreement over Unity', The Banner of Truth, Issue 446, November 2000, p. 12
4 Sword & Trowel, 2000, No. 2. (See last two issues of EN for background) 5 Bible Churches Together - A Plea for True Ecumenism, Jonathan Stephen, FIEC, 2000
6 above, p. 16
7 At the Cutting Edge, Findings of EE4, June 2000, available from St John's Newland, Clough Road, Hull, HU6 7PA, £1.50, including postage
8 same address
9 At the Cutting Edge, p. 22-23. An edited version of this address appeared in EN, July 2000
10 Note Iain Murray's interesting comments in Evangelicalism Divided, Banner of Truth, 2000, p. 286-289. Although, we do not so readily see the possible virtues of denominations!