Within global evangelicalism the historical discipline within missiology known as ‘elenctics’ (to ‘convict’ or ‘unmask’ sin) deserves to be revived and reflected upon in the apologetic and missionary task both in Western and non-Western contexts. While mentioned favourably by the likes of John Stott and David Hesselgrave, elenctics’ champion has been the twentieth century Dutch … Read more
In his 2007 essay “Slavery, Race, and the Global Fellowship,” Jon Sensbach highlights Johann Valentin Haidt’s renditions of The First Fruits (1740s/1750s). These Moravian paintings celebrated “spiritual multiculturalism with their many-hued gallery of redeemed figures from mission-fields in the Americas, Asia, and Africa, all delighting in God’s bounty.” I will expand Sensbach’s analysis to an … Read more
Global evangelism was the basis for William Booth’s construction of The Salvation Army. His implicit ecclesiology was marked by a radical “absolutism” manifested in a totalizing military system of polity. Booth was the General of this system explaining that “confidence in God and in me are absolutely indispensable.” The theological foundation for this kind of … Read more
In the “About” section of its website, the Evangelical Theological Society states that it is an organization “devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Yet a compelling question necessary arises: What, exactly, constitutes “the gospel” for this society of scholars? ETS’s Doctrinal Basis affirms two articles—the inerrancy … Read more
It is no exaggeration to say that this is an Esther moment: The legal doctrine called “the ministerial exception” seriously threatens to negate the legal enforceability of employment contracts held by ETS members. Do not imagine that you yourself, as a high performing scholar who has always enjoyed good standing, can escape from the impending … Read more
With this year’s ETS theme being “Global Evangelicalism,” one cannot discuss the topic without considering the impact of John R. W. Stott (1921-2011). So influential was Stott on the evangelical world stage that IVP’s five-volume series “A History of Evangelicalism” entitles the final volume about the second half of the twentieth century, The Global Diffusion … Read more
Critics frequently take for granted that evangelicalism is a fundamentally American movement. Scholars of evangelicalism rebut this claim with reference to the importance of British evangelicalism, continental Pietism, and now global evangelicalism. A deeper exploration of the term, I argue in this paper, reveals that “evangelicalism” that has been more continuously grounded in Britain than … Read more
The subject of this paper is the rare case of a Chinese “reverse mission” to the United States. Witness Lee (Li Changshou, 1905-1997) was a coworker with Watchman Nee in his “Little Flock” movement in China. He became the leader of the movement’s Taiwan branch after 1949 and migrated to the United States in 1962. … Read more
It has been observed within Spurgeon studies that Spurgeon was strategic in his partnership with Baptists in the UK and America. However, an overlooked aspect of Spurgeon studies has been his ongoing influence among Swedish Baptists in Sweden and in America. I will propose that Spurgeon had a unique contribution among the formation of the … Read more
The Marrow Controversy (1717–1723) was a significant Scottish ecclesiastical dispute regarding the book “The Marrow of Modern Divinity.” During the controversy, Thomas Boston of Ettrick and Principal Hadow of St Mary’s College and their associates hotly debated the issues of assurance, legalism, antinomianism, and the nature and offer of the gospel. A central contention was … Read more