Michael Green uses the apostle Paul's model at the opening on July 7 of Blue Boar House in Oxford, the new home for UCCF and IFES.
It is little short of miraculous to have acquired a large property like this in the centre of Oxford.
The pressure on land here is immense, the costs meteoric, and every large property is vied for by competing colleges. But we made enquiry, prayed, gave, and, praise God, it has come good. It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes.
UCCF in this country and IFES worldwide are far and away the most effective evangelistic ministries among students. I remember John Stott telling me that he regarded IFES as the most significant mission agency in the second half of the 20th century. And UCCF is enjoying a time of unparalleled fruitfulness despite hostility to the things of God. It has produced some 90 university missions this year, and its leadership, both staff and student, has been nurtured and developed by the warm and sacrificial hospitality of the Cunninghams.
Richard Cunningham and Lindsay Brown, who do so much to inspire UCCF and IFES, are excellent friends and collaborators. Now the two staffs can enjoy each other, pray together and delight in seeing students use the House for outreach meetings. Under the aegis of Daniel Bourdanné, the House has already become a crucial hub for worldwide student work. It is hard to think of a more strategic enterprise for Christians to support.
Empire’s intellectuals
I would like to focus on Acts 17. The apostle Paul concentrates on the Empire’s urban centres, where his message would be appraised, and contested, by the best minds of the day. Here we find him taking on the intellectual capital of Greece, and in the next chapter the political capital, Corinth.
In these cities he faces sneering intellectuals and public debate in very challenging circumstances. It is to the credit of IFES and UCCF that they are keen to do the same; not to shelter in church buildings, but to contend for the faith in the university debating halls, lecture rooms and student unions. That is apostolic practice and we honour it.
Athens has a good deal to teach us about university evangelism. When most of us go to Athens, we are amazed by the glorious architecture. Not so the apostle Paul. His spirit was literally ‘knocked up’ within him as he reflected on the idolatry all around (v.16).
Paul cared desperately about idolatry; an affront to God and such a snare to the Athenians. There are idolatries aplenty in our own day. Lust for money, sex, power, position, popularity are just as addictive and destructive. We must continue to expose false gods fearlessly, and to train students in acquiring a mindset that is unashamed to stand up for Christ in public.
Paul proclaimed Jesus and his resurrection in the market place, and we must do the same. UCCF is making a pretty good fist of it, but there is always room for improvement. Often CU members are, deep down, not sufficiently confident of the gospel to be prepared to contend for it among their friends. We must remedy that. This has to begin in student days if it is to be carried through to later employment, where the Christian voice is so seldom heard.
Reasons for belief
God in his goodness has given us strong reasons to believe as we do about Jesus, and strong evidence for the truth of the resurrection. These must be the core of evangelistic preaching. We are too prone to get sidetracked in wrangles about hell, evolution and predestination. If truly committed to Jesus, people can afford to be agnostic about peripheral issues. If convinced of the resurrection, we can face the ups and downs of life with equanimity and with power.
Christians must debate the truth of our core convictions in public. We owe a lot to John Lennox and Alister McGrath for taking the lead here, with graciousness and conviction. We need to foster research and to major on competent apologetics as we will attract more unbelievers to a debate than to a Christian meeting; once minds are opened to the possible truth of the gospel it is not hard to take people to hear the gospel and have the opportunity to respond.
Many atheistic and agnostic students will not read a book, but they love a scrap, and will cheerfully come to a debate. I spoke in a debate at the University of North Carolina on the existence of God. It drew 1,900 students, the largest audience the university had ever had under one roof, and 500 were turned away. The topic remains a major draw and we need to exploit it. Increasingly students are taking refuge in a shallow, un-thought-out atheism.
A message in Greek dress
Apologetic is effective only when you quote authorities recognised by the audience. That is precisely what Paul does here, showing his knowledge of Greek writers like Epimenides (‘in him we live and move and have our being’) and Aratus (‘we are his offspring’). He drew on the Epicurean idea that the gods, if they exist, need nothing from us (‘he is not served by human hands as if he needed anything from us’) and the Stoic idea that the divine is the source of all life (‘he himself gives all men life and breath and everything’). This is brilliant contextualising. Paul’s message, in Greek dress, is unashamedly Christian — the creator God, his transcendence and immanence, his longing for fellowship with men, his rescuer Jesus, the resurrection, and the day of judgment.
Many conservative preachers start from Scripture and, when people don’t listen, they simply shout louder. Liberals are often strong at understanding the culture but weak at retaining the gospel. UCCF and IFES score highly here, knowing that if we do not relate to the culture of our day we will not gain a hearing, but if we do not challenge the culture we will not bring anyone to faith.
Paul homed in on three areas where the Stoics and Epicureans were most vulnerable:
The origin of life. Where do we come from? The Epicurean answer was ‘a bunch of atoms’. But how can lifeless atoms produce living beings? How can matter produce mind? Paul’s conclusion is hard to fault. ‘We are his offspring.’
The meaning of life. For the Stoic, life was all about duty; for the Epicurean, pleasure. Neither of these goals is worthy of God’s offspring, created to feel after him and find him. Modern people are very vulnerable on the purpose of life.
The end of life. Death and judgment is the most unfashionable and painful topic Paul could have chosen. For judgment is the flip side of the freedom the Greeks revelled in and practically invented. He tells them they are accountable to the one who gave them freedom. Likewise the modern student, free to use his time as he pleases, still has to face the judgment of Finals. We too need to go for the jugular, majoring on areas where culture is at its most vulnerable.
Unpalatable and preposterous?
I cannot help being impressed by the challenge with which Paul ended his address. If you tried hard you could not find a more unpalatable message to self-satisfied Athenians than ‘Repent’.
To pleasure-seeking Epicureans and dutiful Stoics alike, the message is the same. Could anything seem more preposterous? The resurrection of Jesus looked highly improbable, but it happened. Judgment may look equally improbable, but it is assured. Their threefold reaction is found in every mission, but this is elicited only by challenge. Some believed, some mocked and some said they needed to hear more before making up their minds. Let us not shirk presenting a tough, gracious and intelligently-crafted challenge at the culmination of our evangelistic talks.
Finally, Paul attended carefully to the follow-up before he left Athens. He started a small church. It is an endemic failing in much evangelism that insufficient care is taken over those who profess faith. We are not ignorant of the devil’s devices and we must counteract them effectively. I know UCCF is giving careful thought on how to do this better, and Becky Pippert, who has served us so brilliantly by producing Uncover, will by September have a new short course on follow-up for use in the universities.
Thank God for Acts 17 and the way it speaks so clearly to our condition! And thank God that many of its lessons are being put into practice by the UCCF and IFES.
Canon Michael Green, evangelist and author, was OICCU president 1952/3.
