May 2005 - Evangelicals Now - Christian Newspaper

It is probably true to say that the numbers of people meeting together for the various Christian conventions over the Easter period far exceed those attending the annual conferences of all the major political parties. That being the case, how is it that evangelicals and charismatics make so little impact for Christ on our country?

This was one of the big questions which confronted 2,700 Bible Christians gathered at the Hafan y Mor centre at Pwllheli, North Wales, for the holiday convention of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) from April 4 - 8. With a new student track, there were around 700 young people on site and 500 people who were new to the convention.

It was with the great desire to see spiritual change in our nation that ‘Harvest Now’ was the main theme of the week, with evangelist Roger Carswell addressing crowded meetings each day. He encouraged us that sharing the gospel is not about technique, but about a passion for the Lord Jesus who loves lost sinners.

With the same burden very much on his heart, Alistair Begg, senior pastor of Parkside Church, Cleveland, Ohio, brought the Bible readings from Acts. Here he emphasised that the early church did not focus on preaching their experiences to others, but rather used their experiences to confront their contemporaries with the objective facts of the life, death, resurrection and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is much needed today. While many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world are being persecuted for standing for the truth of Christ, by comparison the church in Britain appears confused or simply silent in cowardice about precisely what it believes.

Current crisis

Jonathan Stephen, former President of FIEC and now the Director of Affinity, which promotes fellowship across the denominations for Bible churches in Britain, addressed a packed seminar about the church situation in our country. Under the title ‘The Current Crisis in Evangelicalism’, he said that, without stooping to believe in a conspiracy theory, it is possible to trace connections between the numerous attacks now being made on classical Bible-centred Christian faith.

Across the spectrum many academics and high-profile leaders have attempted to reshape evangelicalism in a way which is acceptable to the postmodern world. Instead of confronting our society with the real Lord Jesus, many in the church are seeking to mould our understanding of Christ and his message to the way society is going. By replacing objective truth by postmodern subjectivism, the interpretation of Scripture has become an anti-authoritarian free-for-all. Rejecting the historic creeds of the Reformation as being simply ill-thought-out products of their time, proponents of the attacks on Bible-based evangelicalism fail to see how much their views are far more obviously tied to the current spirit of the times than those of the Reformers ever were. The redefinition of God in the theology of Open Theism is tailor-made for a generation hooked on promoting human self-esteem. Steve Chalke’s attack on the cross as a penal substitution reflects the anti-punishment mindset of the current liberal elite. Though there is much that is good in Bishop Tom Wright’s teaching, his advocacy of the so-called ‘New Perspective’ on Justification is not well founded in Scripture and is driven by an ecumenical agenda. This is just perfect for a society where whatever is ‘inclusive’ is applauded.

With all this in the mix, the ‘new churches’ are now old hat. The latest fad is ‘The Emerging Church’ which seems to have no definable gospel except a warm sentimental relativistic view of life and a vague attachment to ‘Jesus’ — but not the Jesus of the Bible.

Courageous consultation

FIEC has been courageous enough to address the state of its own constituency. During last year the affiliated churches have been involved in a consultation. While there is much for which to be thankful, Richard Underwood, the new General Secretary, told EN that coming out of this exercise six key issues have surfaced: finding and keeping pastors for the churches, spreading evangelistic best practice, youth work, practical fellowship between the churches, engaging the larger churches in benefiting the wider constituency and the priority of prayer. Paul Mallard, the current FIEC president, and Richard led an ‘It’s Good to Talk’ session at Pwllheli in which these matters were aired.

With the imminent move of the FIEC headquarters from Croydon to Market Harborough, and with Richard newly in the job, there is a mood of change in the air. At this level the conference was a tonic. With Richard’s vision and Jonathan Stephen having completed a very productive first year at the helm of Affinity, the future for classical evangelicalism may not be so gloomy as many think. Certainly these men are giving a far more biblical and clear-cut leadership than is being seen from other sections of evangelicalism. But a bright future will, of course, depend first and foremost on the grassroots. What matters is local Bible-centred churches taking up the challenge to be unashamed of the Scriptural gospel and for them to boldly go out in evangelism. Could it be that, under God, biblical Christianity can begin to have more influence on the country than the arid manoeuvres of the played-out tacit secularism of the political parties?

There were many other aspects of the Pwllheli convention which should be mentioned. Such was their popularity that many people were disappointed not to be able to get in to the seminars ‘Is evolution true?’ and ‘A Rough Guide to a Rollicking Marriage’. The women’s track had teaching on ‘Motherhood’ and ‘Friendship in the “Friends” Generation’. There were excellent contributions from Isaac Shaw, Director of the Delhi Bible Insitute, who encouraged us to take a look at the world through the eyes of the burgeoning church in India, and Desi Maxwell of Belfast Bible College, who in his own inimitable style brought the Bible very much alive for his audience. The worldwide perspective also included Tony Lambert bringing news of the Lord’s great present work in China. Tapes are available through FIEC.

Next year the convention will once again be at Pwllheli (see http://www.fiec.co.uk/pwllheli), but in 2007 it will move to larger facilities at Cheltenham, and Don Carson, God willing, will be among the main speakers.

Who will change Britain?

The FIEC annual event at Pwllheli, April 2005

Current crisis

Courageous consultation

John Benton

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