American Evangelicalism
In America, there is a strong movement of evangelism. This movement is not specific to a church or denomination. Rather, it is a movement that has found its way into the Christian values and lifestyle. Especially prominent in American, the movement of evangelism encompasses people who are Gospel focused. They are "committed to sharing with everyone everywhere the transforming good news of new life in Jesus Christ" (Sweeney 17). The movement of American evangelism has brought about different conversations and ideals as the context and cultures of people intertwine with the Good News. However, American evangelism has seen a rich movement of God and His love for humanity.
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Doctrinal Implications of the TimeEvangelicalism:
Evangelicalism is a cross-denominational effort with a focus on spreading the Gospel. It is a movement rooted in classic Christian orthodoxy and is shaped primarily by the Protestant understanding of the Gospel. There is no formal constitution or formal guidelines on faith and practice. It is often seen as a mosaic or a kaleidoscope where there are constant combinations and dynamics to the movement (Sweeney, 20-25). Contextualization: As the Gospel is being carried to various tribes, cultures, and nations, evangelicals have developed an idea called "contextualizing the gospel." This entails the practice of relating the Gospel, both in faith and practice, to the cultural form of the recipient. This includes packaging the Gospel into the lifestyle, the local customs, the verbal idioms, and the expectations of the people targeted. Some think of it as "indigenizing" the faith with the help of the nationals who received them. One way that contextualization has happened is through the use of the social sciences, especially the study of anthropology. Here, Paul is often referenced in his famous lines from 1 Corinthians 9:18-22, "to become all things to all men so that by all possible means [they] might save some" (Sweeney, 101-102). Humanitarian Work (indirect missions): As missions spread overseas, it became associated with humanitarian work. Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking spoke directly to the idea that the future of Christian missions lay in humanitarian work. He believed that the missionary work of his time was too narrow in its focus on the spiritual form of gospel ministry. Rather, Hocking suggest that "men are to be saved not for the next world alone, and not out of human life, but within human life." He believed that "the Christian way of life is capable of transmitting itself by quiet personal contact and contagion, and there are circumstances in which this is the perfect mood of speech." In other words, missions and evangelism did not need to look like it in the obvious sense. Missions needed to be freed from the organized responsibility of looking like conscious and direct evangelism. These ideas are the start of modern conversations of daily missions or indirect evangelism. This led to conflict as some saw this as a deviation from the old-time gospel. This would be highlighted again in the near future as evangelicals fretted about the social gospel's secularity (Sweeney, 99-101, 162). Neoevangelicalism: Neoevangelicans were those who wanted to reengaged the culture with the antisocial forms of fundamentalism. Fundamentalists were losing their place in the mainline Protestant churches. As a result, neoevangelicans came forth. They called themselves new (or neo-) evangelicals to represent their youthful passion for social and cultural relevance. They wanted to show a new style of fundamentalism, distancing themselves from its old forms. The movement continued to grow in the 1930s and grew to life through the establishment of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Through NAE, the evangelical movement grew exponentially. It started its ministries through the Fuller Seminary and established the National Religious Broadcasters, which became extremely important during the world wars of the time. Additionally, NAE established a humanitarian branch which all helped its mission work. By the late 1950s, neoevangelical leaders had succeeded in reengaging the American culture. The success of their movement led to the increase in Americans going to church, the prospering of ministries, and the global impact of the movement. Today, the movement has diversified while also expanding its influence (Sweeney, 170-176). |
Important voicesThe Moravians
The Moravians were a "mission-minded" group. They were refugees of Bohemia and came to live and worship in a place called Herrnhut. They had a great impact in Europe, impacting great future leaders such as John Wesley. In 1732, their first missionaries left for the Caribbean. Within a few years, they also had missionaries in Africa, India, South America, and North American. They came to the Americas during the colonial period. Here they befriended Indians and established churches in the colonies.
Billy Graham
Billy Graham is the most prominent figure of Christian evangelicalism. He is also the most popular Christian figure in the world. He is known for the many evangelistic crusades that he led during his lifetime. Millions have attended his evangelistic crusades or have read about them. He preached in many places to millions of people. His impact on the evangelical world is unmatchable (Sweeney, 177).
William Seymour
William Seymour was a black man, the son of former slaves. He is also known as one of the founders of the Pentecostal Movement in the United States. He was the father of the Azusa Street Revivals in California. Thousands came to Azusa Street to witness the amazing things God was doing there. As a result, Pentecostalism spread not only through out the US, but across the world (Sweeney, 145-147).
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