From the Press

A defining moment for Anglican evangelicals

By Andrew Goddard

This article first appeared in the Church of England Newspaper on Thursday 18 September 2003 and is reproduced with their permission.

"He used to think he understood evangelicals. I think he may be beginning to realise he doesn't." This comment by an evangelical about their diocesan bishop after the Bishop of Reading affair is perhaps a common feeling in the Church of England at the moment. But even among those of us not surprised by recent events, few would be so bold to say they understand Anglican evangelicals - or should that be evangelical Anglicans ?

The popular stereotype is, sadly, now clear - 'Taliban', 'Neanderthal', 'witch-burners', 'sex-obsessed homophobes', unscrupulous sectarians threatening to bankrupt the church. Perhaps 'liberals' urging evangelicals to get to know and listen to gay people should themselves be listening more to evangelicals. What might they find? It depends where they look. A London visit to St Helen's, Bishopsgate, Holy Trinity, Brompton, and St Mary's, Islington, soon dispels any myth of a monochrome group. Sampling the many smaller, usually growing, parish churches staffed by evangelical clergy confirms this diversity in forms of liturgy and clerical dress, styles of preaching, and theological emphases. There is, though, still largely a common story and theological identity distinguishing evangelicals from other Anglicans.

On the eve of NEAC4 in Blackpool we can understand some of the current evangelical vibrancy and variety by tracing developments since the original 1967 NEAC in Keele. Those who gathered there were marked by their commitment to the traditional evangelical hallmarks of Bible, Cross and Mission. Their lives were shaped by the authority of Scripture and a personal relationship with Christ -- rooted in conversion and shared through evangelism and international missionary work. Adhering to the classic Reformation Anglican theology of the BCP and the Articles they also looked to the Wesleyan revival and, more recently, Billy Graham for inspiration. Already showing renewed interest in biblical and theological study their leaders -- people like JI Packer (who edited the pre-Conference volume subtitled 'Anglican Evangelicals Face the Future'), Michael Green, Norman Anderson and, most influential of all, John Stott -- were shaped by longstanding evangelical witness in public schoolboy camps and universities. Nevertheless they remained a relatively small and uninfluential group in the wider church. But a younger generation were already making their mark and the seeds were already being sown that would lead to new flowers (some would say weeds) appearing in the evangelical garden.

Evangelicals have always tended to have their strongest ties with fellow evangelicals, irrespective of denomination. Just prior to Keele, Martin Lloyd-Jones had called for evangelicals to leave 'mixed' denominations. In the Congress's final, wide-ranging statement one declaration was therefore particularly significant: "We are deeply committed to the present and future of the Church of Englandą We do not believe secession to be a live issue in our present situation". Different understandings soon appeared of what that commitment entailed.

The signs of change were evident in 1977 at NEAC2 in Nottingham. Stott and Packer still had the opening essays in the books and great influence among evangelicals. However, asking what happened to other contributors to the three books reveals that the influence of many would soon extend far beyond the confines of evangelicalism.

Undermining those who would pin the 'stupid' label on us were several soon-to-be leading academic theologians such as Oliver O'Donovan, Tony Thiselton and Tom Wright.

Undermining the 'sectarian' label were future bishops galore (Tom Wright, Ian Cundy, Timothy Dudley-Smith, Colin Buchanan and John Gladwin) as well as the future Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey.

Evangelicals were also proving to be increasingly 'non-stick' when it came to the 'fundamentalist' tag being attached by James Barr (and still being recycled today). The Bible is certainly central for evangelicals. In the words of the basis of faith of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) formulated in the 1980s, Scripture is "the ultimate rule for Christian faith and conduct and the supreme authority by which the Church must ever reform itself and judge its traditions". At Nottingham, however, evangelicals discovered that 'hermeneutics' was not the name of an obscure German theologian but the study of interpretation. This would soon fuel family squabbles.

The stresses were already beginning to show in the movement as it suffered an identity crisis. The problem was the perennial one whenever a committed, principled but marginal sub-group grows and gains wider influence. I've recently been reading the biography of Labour left-winger, Barbara Castle. The sense of betrayal felt by many of her 1950s comrades during her time in Wilson's Cabinet is paralleled in the history of evangelicals since the 1980s. For some, the big names of Nottingham were in danger of selling their evangelical birthright for episcopal or professorial pottage. Disagreements over the theology and direction of Churchman, the main evangelical Anglican theological journal, led in the early 1980s to the launch of a new and less conservative journal, Anvil, independent of Church Society. To complicate matters further, the charismatic movement and the demise of the BCP and its evangelical theology were also re-shaping Anglicanism and evangelicalism.

A rare instance of evangelical unity is, however, found in relation to the next NEAC at Caister in 1988: most agree that it was a wasted opportunity and the apparent unity previously marking Anglican evangelicals was, as their numbers grew and the world changed, being overtaken by their plurality. It was also clear that, as Michael Green, fellow-stalwart of NEACs 1 & 2, told John Stott who had until then held many together - "there is no individual who looks capable of replacing you".

Perhaps nothing made the tendency to disintegration more evident than the debate over women's ordination. Evangelicals' views were going to prove decisive for the Church of England. Most evangelicals were now persuaded that Scripture supported - or at least did not prohibit - women in authorised leadership. A significant minority could not agree. Their reaction to this crisis would be a major influence on the character and public image of evangelicals over the next decade. As a result, many - particularly women - who thought the story told here was their story and whose faith was centred on the supremacy of Scripture, Christ's atoning death, and the Great Commission would start the 21st century wondering if they were, or wanted to be known as, 'evangelical'.

Shortly after the 1992 vote to ordain women, Reform was formed. Some of its leaders (Dick Lucas, Philip Hacking) were influential in large conservative evangelical churches and others, particularly David Holloway, shaped the wider church's perception of evangelicals. Working for the conversion of England through the Church of England, they were also passionate for sound doctrine and good teaching. They offered a strong critique of the church hierarchy and seeing little structural change for good being brought by evangelical leaders, accused them of 'going native'. However, what was perceived as an increasingly negative tone and a willingness to use financial muscle to show disapproval alienated many.

Meanwhile, Church Society, though trumpeting its historic status, was marginalised, riven by internal divisions after some members left the Church of England but stayed in the Society. Nevertheless, these two groups gained disproportionate media interest, probably because of the combative views they expressed. They had also, in the late 1990s, seen their influence within the Church of England Evangelical Council gradually increase. This was perhaps in part because, as someone put it last year, so many of the other evangelicals who had previously been active in CEEC were now too busy running the Church of England.

The evangelicals 'running the Church of England' -- and the many like them engaged in mission and pastoral care in parishes up and down the country who felt uncomfortable with Reform's tone and approach -- had no group to provide their distinctive evangelical voice. There were, of course, significant figures. Two were leading contenders for Canterbury. Many others were serving as effective Archdeacons and suffragans. For some reason - perhaps they were too 'Anglican' -- neither conservatives nor liberals seemed to view them as 'real evangelicals'. Theologically, they read more widely than IVP, Banner of Truth and St Matthias Press. While, as Packer himself has written, we need to beware of "the path of contentious orthodoxism, as if the mercy of God in Christ automatically rests on persons who are notionally correct", when these evangelicals didn't keep repeating traditional shibboleths some wondered if they still believed the truths behind them.

In church, they worked alongside and occasionally pilfered other Anglican traditions. They not only wore robes but stoles and even copes and mitres on occasions. In the world, they had a holistic view of mission, going beyond 'saving souls' and engaging in social transformation. Although some question their legitimacy, they are, undoubtedly, among the true heirs of Keele and Nottingham.

Then there were the 'charismatics', although increasingly some distinguish this group from 'evangelicals'. In the popular caricature they are 'happy-clappy' and guilty of mindless anti-intellectualism and emotionalism. When one of their main shrines - HTB - has had Lesslie Newbigin, Rowan Williams and most recently Cambridge Professor of Divinity David Ford speaking at their conferences, such charges are a bit rich. Their Alpha course, fronted by Nicky Gumbel, is (despite its theological weaknesses) the most significant recent development in English church life and mission, so their absence from NEAC4 is particularly disappointing. More recently, the New Wine network - headed by John Coles and well represented at NEAC -- has been prolific in producing gifted young ordinands and developing new and exciting patterns of ministry, mission and congregational life.

So, NEAC4 has finally arrived. Now perhaps we will discover who we really are as evangelicals today. Sadly, some (despite claiming to be 'open') are not in Blackpool because they hadn't heard of many of the speakers or had and found them too conservative. Others are not coming because their Archbishop will be welcoming and praying for them. Evangelical life has its ups and downs and as in most families, our behaviour is often worst when dealing with those closest to us.

All of us are at times tempted to disown our siblings or seek adoption into a family that is not Anglican or not evangelical. Nevertheless, as Anglican evangelicals again gather to face the future, most at NEAC still share that same evangelical Anglican theological heritage and vision for the future that defined Keele. We recognise each other as kith and kin in the story we've sketched. Above all, we've found our hope is in Christ alone and so, taught by the Word and led by the Spirit, we want to make Christ and him crucified known to the people of this land.

Recent evidence suggests that in coming years more and more parishes will be evangelical. There is the danger therefore of naive triumphalism - 'the future is bright, the future is evangelical'. More serious is the challenge to find a way of renewing evangelicalism so that we can celebrate our diversity without losing our core identity or, even worse, only find that common identity by looking into the face of a presumed common enemy rather than the face of Jesus Christ proclaimed in the gospel.

Rev Dr Andrew Goddard is Tutor in Christian Ethics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and editor of Anvil