Trinity Episcopal Church Hattiesburg, Mississippi Adult Sunday School Class Evangelism: Lessons From The Early Church Go to Trinity's Homepage

Evangelism: Lessons From The Early Church
An Adult Sunday School Class
Trinity Episcopal Church
January 13, February 3 and 10, 2008

The class will explore how we, as a church and a local congregation, might evangelize to the community in which we live. We will look at the New Testament evangelists to learn from their culture and perspective why and how they spread the Good News. It is our hope that this class will foster personal and corporate introspection and produce new ideas about our individual and community call to evangelization and discipleship.

The three classes will be organized as follows:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The class will draw upon the following references:

Arias, Mortimer. Announcing the Reign of God: Evangelization and the Subversive Memory of Jesus. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1984.

Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission : Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. American Society of Missiology Series, No. 16. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991.

Bruggemann, Walter. Biblical Perspectives of Evangelism: Living in a Three-Storied Universe. Nashville, TN: Adingdon Press. 1993.

Davies, Stevan L. New Testament Fundamentals. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge Press. 1994.

Dietterich, Inagrace T. and Dale A. Ziemer. "Take Time to Be Holy: Cultivating the Missional Church." Developing the Missional Church: Essays Reprinted from the Reformed Review. The Gospel and Our Culture Network. Holland , MI : Western Theological Seminary, 1998. 15-28.

Elizondo, Virgil. Guadalupe: Mother of the New Creation. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997.

Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. San Francisco , CA : Harper & Row Publishers, 1981.

Gallagher, Robert A. Power from on High: A Model for Parish Life and Development. Philadelphia, PA: Ascension Press, 1982.

Harris, Mark. The Challenge of Change: The Anglican Communion in the Post-Modern Era. New York, NY: Church Publishing Incorporated, 1998.

Harrison, C. Robert. "Competing Views of Evangelism in the Episcopal Church." Anglican Theological Review. 75/2 (1993): 218-236.

Holmes, Urban T. Turning to Christ: A Theology of Renewal and Evangelization. Boston , MA : Cowley Publications, 1981.

Hunter, George G., III. How to Reach Secular People. Nashville , TN : Abingdon Press, 1992.

Hunter, George G., III. The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity can Reach the West…Again . Nashville , TN : Abingdon Press, 2000.

Maldonado, David, Jr. Protestantes/Protestants: Hispanic Christianity Within Mainline Traditions. Nashville , TN : Abingdon Press, 1999.

Marsh, Clive. Questioning Evangelism: A Contribution from a Liberal Perspective. Nottingham , England : Grove Books Limited, 1993.

Meyer, Chuck. Dying Church Living God: A Call to Begin Again. Kelowna , B.C. Canada : Northstone Publishing, 2000.

Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society. Grand Rapids , MI : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1989.

Payne, Claude E. and Hamilton Beazley. Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations. San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. ( New York , NY : Simon and Schuster, 2000.

Ricard, Robert. The Spiritual Conquest of Mexico : An Essay on the Apostolate and the Evangelizing Methods of the Mendicant Orders in New Spain : 1523-1572 . Berkeley , CA : University of California Press, 1966.

Rodríguez, Isaías A. "Hispanics and the Episcopal Church." A paper submitted to the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, November 1996.

Roof, Wade Clark. A Generation of Seekers ( San Francisco , CA : HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.

Rothauge, Arlin J. "All Doors Open: Congregational Strategies for Comprehensive Evangelism and Outreach." Sewanee Theological Review 37/4 (1994): 347-355.

Russell, Keith A. In Search of the Church. New York, NY: The Alban Institute. 1994.

Saxbee, John. Liberal Evangelism: A Flexible Response of the Decade. London , England : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1994.

Schleiermacher, Friedrich D.E. "Christmas Eve: Dialogue on the Incarnation." Trans. Terrence N. Trice. Richmond , VA : John Knox Press, 1967.

Schwab, A. Wayne. "Some Light on Those Competing Views of Evangelism in the Episcopal Church." Anglican Theological Review. 75/4 (1993): 544-554.

Shattuck, Gardiner H. "Should the Episcopal Church Disappear? Reflections on the Decade of Evangelism." Anglican Theological Review. 73/2 (1991): 177-187.

Shuler, Jon C. "The First Community and Contemporary Reform." Sewanee Theological Review 37/4 (1994): 367-380.

Southard, Samuel. Pastoral Evangelism, Revised Edition. Atlanta , GA : John Knox Press, 1980.

Sugeno, Frank E. "Evangelism: Avoiding Errors of the Past." Anglican and Episcopal History 60 (1991): 281-285.

The Episcopal Church. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church. New York : Church Hymnal Corporation, 1979.

The Truth Shall Make You Free. London , England : Anglican Consultative Council, 1988.

Thomas C. Barnett. "An Assessment of Evangelism as Practiced and Perceived in the Episcopal Church." Ph.D. Dissertation. School of Theology of the University of the South, 1990.

R. Stephen Warner. New Wine in Old Wineskins: Evangelicals and Liberals in a Small-Town Church . Berkeley , CA : University of California Press, 1988.

Wright, Tim. Unfinished Evangelism: More than Getting Them in the Door. Minneapolis , MN : Augsburg Fortress, 1995.

Wuthnow, Robert. After Heaven: Spirituality in America since the 1950s. Berkeley , CA : University of California Press, 1998.

Wylie-Kellerman, Jeanie. "Barriers to Evangelism." The Witness. 75/1 (1992): 5-6.

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Session 1
The Early Evangelists:
Q, Thomas, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John

There are six early evangelists we will consider: Q, Thomas, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John (symbols of the four evangelists were shown in class)

Q

Q (German for "Quelle" or "Source") is the material found in Matthew and Luke that is not found in Mark. It is an hypothetical document that is believed to have been used by Matthew and Luke independently in constructing their Gospels. Mark did not use Q.

The Q community probably spoke Aramaic (like Jesus). Their sayings were not quotations, but were rather Spirit inspired sayings attributed to Jesus.

Examples of Q texts include the Beatitudes and the Lord's prayer.

Q writings are composed of moral principles, such as "If you want God to deal with you justly, then you whould treat people justly." The sayings are a kid of "Karmic reinforcement."

"Son of Man" is a common Q phrase.

Q has a sense of immediacy (like the Gospel of Mark), and is in general fairly conservative.

Q was likely written at about the same time as Paul's letters - about 45-50 C.E.

 

Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings of Jesus. Many of these sayings appear intaqct or nearly intact in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Its discovery lends some credence to the idea that Q did exist.

 

Mark

Mark was supposed to be Peter's interpreter (comes from Papias and Eusebius), but this is unlikely. The "John Mark" mentioned in Acts is probably not the author of this Gospel.

The author of Mark probably grew up outside Palestine, because he doesn't know Palestinian geography (he goofs on the orientation of Tyre and Sidon, for example). Mark's gospel was the first of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), written at about the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.

Mark's use of Aramaic was always translated into Greek, suggesting that he wrote to and for a Greek audience. He also explains Jewish customs presumably because his hearers did not understand them. Therefore he probably wrote the Gospel in Rome, perhaps Antioch, or maybe Alexandria.

Mark saw his community as a Jewish sect.

The word "immediate" is used frequently in Mark. Mark views Jesus' second coming as imminent, which makes sense because Mark probably witnessed (or was a first generation hearer of) the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 C.E. This meant his style of evangelism was that of urgency. He is almost grabbing you by the lapels to get you to understand Jesus, and then he moves on to another audience.

Matthew

Regardless of what Papias wrote about Matthew, Matthew was a Greek, and probably an affluent one. His community was middle class, and had a deep concern for money. He was a Jewish Christian and had not broken ties with the Jewish community (compare this to Luke). Matthew therefore was written before the Council of Jamnia (meaning just before 90 C.E.). Some scholars believe Matthew's community was located in Antioch (Syria).

Matthew's community was likely moderate, Hellenistic, and Jewish-Christian. They were tied to the synagogue community, but on the road to becoming disconnected with strict Judaism.

Matthew was concerned with Church organization (to be discussed more fully in the next class).

Luke

Luke-Acts were written by the same author, probably somewhere in Asia minor. The Gospel was probably written after the Council of Jamnia (just after 90 C.E.), and the Lukan community had likely separated from - or forced from - the synagogue community of "mainline Judaism." Acts was probably written after the gospel in about 95 C.E. The Lukan community was probably in Asia Minor or Southern Greece.

The delayed parousia (second coming) led Luke to see Christ as a "mid point" in salvation history. Thus, Luke's gospel is more historiographic than anything else (albeit an interpreted history).

Luke was thought to be a companion of Paul. In Acts 16 cf. "we" appears. This is a change from the third person account in the rest of the gospel. Luke was definitely an admirer of Paul, but he doesn't directly quote him.

Luke sees the Church as the restored Israel. Luke knows that God had always blessed Israel; but Luke sees this blessing extended to the Gentiles (e.g., the baptism of Cornelius). This makes sense in light of the Lukan separation from the synagogue community.

Luke, having separated from Judaism, evangelized to the Gentiles, telling them to have faith in Jesus Christ. Luke reminds the Gentiles that God always keeps God's promises. Israel was saved, and since the Church is the inheritor of God's blessing too, then the Church - and her people - will be saved also. The quick replacement of Judas by Matthias is an example of the immediate restoration Luke has in mind.

John

The Johannine community was thoroughly Christian, and had broken from the synagogue. They were persecuted by Jews and Romans alike. The gospel was written in Ephesus most likely about 100-110 C.E.

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Session 2
How Do The Early Evangelists Speak to Us?
Models For Modern Day Evangelism

Markan Church : The New Kingdom

Saw itself as contiguous with Judaism

Saw Judaism itself undergoing crisis

Zealots calling for rebellion against Roman occupation

• Essenes calling for ascetical isolation from mainstream Judaism (desert communities)
• Pharisees calling for religious reform
• Sadducees calling for maintenance of the status quo and continued alliance with Rome

Mark’s vision was one of a new Kingdom, an alternative community (the seed on good soil)

Mark expected the end to come soon

Mark wanted people to choose Jesus Christ immediately and to stand fast in the face of the certain and swift end.

Jesus’ death (suffering and dying) is central to the belief (shorter ending of Mark)

Mark’s church taught that everyone needs to be immediately and thoroughly be educationally and spiritually prepared for the obligations of the Christian life.

Matthean Church : Households of Justice

Lived in highly urban center in time of change

• Greek influence
• Hebrew influence
• Urbanization
• Multicultural influences

Still connected with Judaism, and valued Jewish Law; e.g., Organized Gospel in five "books" like the Torah.

Middle-upper class people whose values different from their neighbors.

Valued common purpose to life in God rather than kinships.

They wanted to do justice to the poor in their midst.

Believed that membership in faith community was not urgent matter, but one of continuous spiritual growth.

To be in Christ was to be in a household of faith (but not a patriarchal or power-dominated community).

Salvation produces good works (very Lutheran).

 

Lukan Church : Egalitarian Kingdom of God

Community now separated from Judaism; Lukan communities were developing their own identity.

• Primarily Gentile
• Living on the "edge" of the law with respect to Rome.
• Probably a poor community; the Gospel talks openly about money.

The witnesses to Jesus were all dead (two generations ago), so they needed to define their own sense of history.

Parousia (second coming) was very distant.

Saw a Christian community as the Basilea, the Kingdom of God.

• Inclusive of women, children, wealthy, poor, Gentile, and Jew
• Had to discover the "will of God" for itself in order to live into this Kingdom.
• Saw struggles of a very human Jesus as Jesus’ discovery of will of God for himself.

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Session 3
Invitational Evangelism:
A Model For The Church Today

Evangelism and the Episcopal Church

Reasons to Focus on Evangelization

Loss of Membership

• 500,000 lost between 1970 and 1984.
• 44% left mainline churches all together.
• Other people left mainline churches to join evangelical or conservative churches.

Episcopal Church launched Decade of Evangelism in 1990

Episcopal Leaders (and others) wrote "How To" books.

A Definition of Evangelism

"Evangelization is the art of beguiling, charming, or luring people into relationship with God and on pilgrimage with the church to his kingdom."
         (Urban T Holmes, 1981).

Methods

"Classical Protestant Evangelism"

• Terrorist approach
• Popular evangelists often seem anti-intellectual, may be bigoted toward people of other faiths, especially Jews, and frequently align themselves politically with the extreme right.
             (James R. Adams, 1994)

"Nihilism"

The Church cannot simply be "reformed." A much more radical resolution is required. Rather than being "reformed," the dying church must be allowed to die in order to see what resurrected form will emerge. "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree," which must be cut down due to its fruitlessness. Evangelistic efforts will ultimately fail – and not only because they are based on fear of punishment for alleged immoral behavior … and threat of retributive vengeance … they will fail because, once inside the church, those evangelized will find … ‘there’s no there, there. The only thing left is an echo telling us to get out." (Chuck Meyer, 1994)

"Invitational Evangelism"

Invitational; to welcome people to Christ through action and care first, and only secondarily into our denominational tradition.

Relies on acceptance of tradition, scripture, and personal experience as equally important to spiritual understanding.

Is not exclusive.

Promotes practice-oriented spirituality and puts responsibility on the individual to participate both in corporate and private sacred activities. (Robert Wuthnow, 1998)

 

Why the Invitational Approach?

The invitational approach acknowledges New Testament theology that multiple approaches to evangelism were used by early churches.

Modern American spirituality is personal

Americans have moved from a kind of church building-based spirituality termed "dwelling spirituality," dominated by traditions, symbolic boundaries that separate the sacred from the profane, to a spirituality that is looser and far more personal.
           (Robert Wuthnow, 1998)

The sacred is no longer confined to a particular sacred space.

Seekers do not see that an orderly, catechetical, systematic understanding of life (i.e., traditional) is necessary.

They create their own identity by inculcating things from a variety of sources, to create a personal sense of meaning

Problems With the Invitational Approach

When spirituality loses its general consensus, any sense of unified mission is lost as well.

As individuals create their own spiritual meanings, the church is left behind.

Church needs to do to reformulate itself in ways that fulfill the needs of the people.

"Invitational Evangelism"

Invitational; to welcome people to Christ through action and care first, and only secondarily into our denominational tradition.

Relies on acceptance of tradition, scripture, and personal experience as equally important to spiritual understanding.

Is not exclusive.

Promotes practice-oriented spirituality and puts responsibility on the individual to participate both in corporate and private sacred activities. (Robert Wuthnow, 1998)

"Invitation" in the Context of Post-Modernism

     The invitational approach has its roots in Protestant liberal theology of the nineteenth century. Some might think that "invitationalism" and "evangelism" are incompatible with each other. Saxbee, however, argues that a person can come to an invitational approach from modern or evangelical positions. He writes, "Whether a person is coming from a position that is basically evangelical with respect to the authority of revelation and personal experience, or basically modernistic with respect to the claims of reason and modern scientific method, they are both wanting to hear both tunes." Saxbee claims that this is "a style of doing theology rather than a school of thought." Likewise, Habgood writes

[invitational evangelism] represents an openness in the search for truth which I believe is profoundly necessary for the health of religion. We grow in knowledge only insofar as we are prepared to criticize what we think and know already. True knowledge is tested knowledge, just as true faith has to be sifted by doubt … Openness in the search for truth also entails a positive, but again critical, approach to secular knowledge … It is essentially about honesty, but an honesty rooted in what God has given us, both in revelation and in the created world.

Invitational Evangelism and the Anglican Tradition

     An invitational approach to evangelism is entirely compatible with the ethos of Anglican/Episcopalian tradition. Anglican spirituality is based on the concept of the "three legged stool" in which "reason," "tradition," and "scripture" form the trinity upon which Anglican spiritual tradition rests. Richard Hooker, the 16th C architect of the Anglican via media and contributor to the Elizabethan Settlement, stressed that reasonable human beings could do things that were not contrary to scripture, and which were consistent with the tradition of the church. Hence, through the practice of reason, one could advance theological thought and define new practical responses to moral questions in response to societal change, yet all the while keeping the new concepts consistent with biblical warrants and traditional views.

     The invitational approach also provides a fruitful method of evangelism. It should prove an especially useful in reaching nominal Christians in the post modern secular western world. Marsh and Saxbee offer the following features that show how invitational thinking is in keeping with modern secularity. I believe that these features form the basis of an invitational approach to evangelism that can be used by Episcopalians to egage others in dialog.

1. Invitational evangelism will embrace pluralism and intellectualism. Although reason as way to understand all things was strongly embraced during the enlightenment, revelation was eventually seen to have a place. In post-modernity, there is definitely a place for place for revelation in personal spirituality. This is a touchstone for evangelism of post-modern people.
2. Invitational evangelism will recognize the God-given power of human rationality. Reason is central to the philosophy of the nineteenth century, for it was through reason that it was recognized that God spoke to all people, whether Christian or not. This is still true today, and is foundational to both the Anglican way of thinking, and to the western secular world in which individual freedom and choice are privileged.
3. Invitational evangelism embraces those who can live with questions and difference. Invitational thinkers acknowledge the complexity of life, and recognize that all questions cannot be distilled to simple explanations. Yet at the same time, invitational thinkers are seeking a unifying Truth, and it is for this very reasons that they invite conversation. Engagement with questions and acceptance of difference can make such people seem to lack conviction, which is a complaint often leveled at Episcopalians. However, if rightly applied, invitational evangelism is open to discussion of truth claims and bears a commitment to listen, hear, and respond. Invitational evangelism also carries with it an acknowledgment of cultural pluralism, but should not be content with tolerance as an ultimate virtue. In other words, cultural differences must be held in tension with Christian ones. In this tension the evangelist must be careful not to sacrifice traditional Christian values "on the altar of a particular philosophy or scientific theory," for in so doing, the evangelist sets aside her/his critical mindedness. Faith is certainly a very important Christian value, and it is through acknowledgment of life’s uncertainties that faith becomes enabling.
4. An invitational evangelist is a critical traditionalist. The invitational evangelist looks at Church history with a hermeneutic of suspicion in order to uncover past actions in light of today’s realities. Indeed the very foundation of the Anglican Church as part of the fifteenth and sixteenth century Protestant reformation movements reflects how the Anglican tradition began by evaluating its reformist position. Similarly, the Anglican Church re-evaluated its own position in the world and invoked a series of reforms in the nineteenth century as part of the Oxford movement. In recent post-modern history, the role of women in the Church shows how the future was altered as a result of a re-evaluation of the then-present. We are currently engaged in re-thinking our past and plotting a potentially new future in the Episcopal Church as we discuss issues of human sexuality.

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10 January 2008

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