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 PrintableVersion The Witness of the Student Christian MovementAn evangelical collapseTHE WITNESS OF THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT This new history of the Student Christian Movement (SCM) is interesting because from it one can gather the causes of the SCM’s collapse as an evangelical movement and therefore be warned. The author traces the steps in this decline without understanding the underlying issues. He relates the history as follows. The SCM grew out of the Student Missionary Volunteer Movement, started in 1889, through which many good evangelical students committed themselves to missionary service. Several hundred went abroad as missionaries and it merged with the growing number of university CUs into the British Colleges Christian Union, where the Cambridge (CICCU) and Scottish CUs were the leaders. Finally, in 1905, it adopted the SCM name. So far, so good. Evangelical to begin withTo all appearances it was an evangelical movement, but with much self-sacrifice and, as he acknowledges, characterised by disciplined daily personal Bible study and prayer. By 1908, however, there were already signs of trouble. At a massive national conference, the ecumenical theme was as prominent as the vision of world evangelism. Gradually the original evangelistic and missionary vision was lost among other interests. Boyd enthusiastically traces the ecumenical developments, bringing in denominational leaders, whatever their theological position, in order, it was supposed, to increase the influence. Already, by 1910, clear-headed evangelicals were becoming discontented and the CICCU disaffiliated so that there began the creation of the IVF (now UCCF). Then Orthodox and Roman Catholic leaders were welcomed. By then, however, membership of SCM had been diluted from a basic evangelical personal faith to ‘students who desire to understand the Christian faith and live the Christian life’ so that non-Christians could vote, be committee members and control the policies. The SCM became ruled by the student political and social enthusiasms of the time and what he calls a ‘liberal idea of the Kingdom of God’ and it was then, for a time, very popular and influential. Boyd calls this ‘the golden age’ of SCM because he does not see the inner weaknesses and does not seem to understand why it was so soon followed by disaster. Personal daily Bible study, which had been the lifeblood of the Volunteer Move-ment, had died out and the SCM, as he acknowledges, collapsed almost to extinction in many universities. It was kept going on a small scale by the efforts of college chaplains and other senior people, and truly evangelical students moved to the new CUs linked to IVF/UCCF. Biblical downgradeHow could all this come about? Basically, though the author does not recognise it, the authority of the Bible had been undermined. Most speakers, even if they talked in biblical terms, used the Bible merely to illustrate their enthusiasms. Biblical criticism had been swallowed uncritically. The authoritative ‘thus says the Lord’ was replaced by ‘it would not be unreasonable to conclude that’. Students had stopped reading it as the Word of God. Secondly, the desire to be important and influential had weakened their safeguards on speakers and, with diluted leadership, secular student enthusiasms were allowed to control the policies. LessonsThere are a good many lessons that can be learned from this sad story. I select four. First of all, if the Bible is not treated as God’s authoritative word there is little reason to study it. Secondly, if regular personal Bible study is not the norm, missionary and all evangelistic enthusiasm is very fragile. Thirdly, membership and leadership have to be jealously guarded. Fourthly, what secular society wants is a disastrous guide to what should be our practice and priority. It must be the Bible that sets our agenda in any church or Christian organisation. Oliver Barclay,
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