Renewing the Evangelical Mission: Book Review
A recent Forum essay explored the theological contributions of David F. Wells, particularly those over the last 20 years. His work has been appreciated by so many that it wasn’t surprising when the Forum recently acquired a copy of Renewing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans, 2013), a volume dedicated to Wells. Edited by theologian Richard Lints, Renewing is a collection of essays based upon a symposium about a collaborative project...
The Work of David F. Wells: An Appreciative Reflection
As people who talk a lot about God, it’s important that our words as Christians actually correspond to reality. While all of our language is analogical and therefore limited, it would be a fatal error to speak about God in ways that misrepresent His glorious character. Indeed, we should often ask, “What kind of vision of God am I projecting to the world when I speak about Him or act in His name?” One of the challenges with speaking of...
Donald McGavran and the Church Growth Movement
by Matthew McAffee and Barry Raper One of the major developments in the church of the twentieth century has been the rise of the modern church growth movement. The key figure of this movement was Donald McGavran, considered by most authorities to be its founding father. The inception of this movement has been tied directly to McGavran’s seminal work, The Bridges of God (1955) [1]. This work arose out of his experiences on the mission...
What Is Worldliness?
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke; don’t cuss, don’t chew; don’t go with girls who do.” This humorous mantra is not so foreign to the ears of some conservative Christians. While its origin is unknown, it is often attributed to fundamentalist preachers of the mid-late twentieth century. The aim of this saying was to combat the problem of worldliness. Nearly everyone reared in a religious setting has encountered some mode of engagement with the...
Fighting to Feel: The Importance of Prompt Repentance
Through one man, sin entered into the world. And sin has waged war against the human soul ever since (Rom 5:12). The flesh and the powers of the air are viciously seeking to drive an eternal wedge between God and man—and they’re having a great deal of success. We’re surrounded by defeated fathers, mothers, deacons and pastors who have been ravaged by vice. This is a harsh reality of life in this world. An even greater reality is that...
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