THE NEXT EVANGELICALISM

Number 8 – January 2010

The last blog (number 7 – Evangelicalism) dealt with the reconciliation between Zondervan and the Asian American Community. Dr. Rah’s blog challenged disrespectful and racist imagery in their publication DEADLY VIPERS CHARACTER ASSASSINS: A KUNG FU SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR LIFE AND LEADERSHIP by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite. When challenged Zondervan pulled these materials out of their bookstores, cancelled additional publications, apologized for their bad taste and Racist work and required all their staff to read Dr. Soong-Chan Rah’s book THE NEXT EVANGELICALISM: FREEING THE CHURCH FROM WESTERN CULTURAL CAPTIVITY.

It seems appropriate to follow the last blog with a more detailed discussion of Dr. Rah’s ideas. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah is the Milton B. Engebreson Assistant Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois.

The title of the book THE NEXT EVANGELICALISM: FREEING THE CHURCH FROM WESTERN CULTURAL CAPTIVITY clearly states Rah’s main thesis: the Church, and therefore our understanding of evangelism, is held captive by Western culture – especially white Western culture.

Perhaps, the most challenging statement Dr. Rah makes is a quote he shares from a speech he gave about the missionary and evangelistic work of the church. He addressed students and faculty at Wheaton College by saying if you “have never had a non-white mentor, then you are not a missionary. You are colonist. Instead of taking the Gospel to the world you will take an Americanized version of the Gospel.” (p.162)

Rah is an Evangelical Christian from the Third World (Korea) and he is critical of the arrogant sense of superiority the Western church flaunts in its evangelistic efforts. He is, of course, primarily addressing his own evangelical colleagues but maybe we can learn from him.

His comments may not apply to the Board of Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. The aim of our global ministries is to be a critical presence in the places where we work. Missionaries are sent to be teachers in schools, to be doctors and nurses healing the sick, to be builders of needed construction, to be trainers of required skills and to be community organizers who share insights on organizing for the common good. The task is not to convert others but to enable others to care for their own physical well being and to create functioning communities.

As we seek to build Disciple churches, we may or may not share a particular evangelical approach. It is true that many of our new church starts are congregations of people of color who are bringing new vitality and the life giving power of the Holy Spirit into the life of the denomination. But there are also many stagnant and dying churches unwilling to change and unable to open themselves up to the rich experiences of being inclusive, multicultural congregations. It is to the many of us in this category that might pay special attention to Dr. Rah’s challenges.

Rah articulates three major aspects of Western captivity of the Christian church: Individualism, Consumerism and Racism.

Individualism: the American dream is that I can get ahead by my own ambition and hard work. There is a decreasing concern for the common good. This is manifested in a religious orientation that focuses on my personal relationship with God and my personal salvation. The Biblical focus on community (the Realm of God) shifts to my individual and personal religious experiences.

Consumerism: The capitalistic orientation in the West leads naturally to corporate and personal greed that has made some billionaires at the expense of the foreclosing on homes of the middle class and poor. We protect the ability of banks and insurance companies to make evermore profits while some 37 million folks can afford no insurance. Some commentators call this Affluenza, the “painful, contagious, socially transmission overload, debt, anxiety and work resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” (p.40)

In church circles this is evangelism focused on the ABCs of church success: increasing Attendance, Building larger structures, and Collecting more money. Or as Rah reports, the three Bs of church success: Building, Bucks and Butts.

Racism: Of course Racism. That’s what this blog is about and why it celebrates Soong-Chan Rah’s concerns about THE NEXT EVANGELICALISM.

Rah states several times in his book that his task as a teacher in a theological school is to lead his students to Christ. He says “…in leading a person to Christ I need to get at the heart of the matter of dealing with the power of original sin (Racism) and the process of breaking its power with the power of the blood of Jesus.” (p. 69) In this phrase Rah sets himself among many anti-Racists who define America’s original sin as Racism.

Racism manifests itself in the church today through evangelism. Denominations today are engaging in strategies of church growth and new church starts. According to Rah the basis of much such activity suggests that churches are more likely to grow when a congregation is composed of people who are comfortable with each other. In mainline Protestant churches this usually means white, middle class and relatively well educated people.

Rah declares this style of evangelism and church growth and new church starts to be Racist and to be held captive by white Western culture. It elevates the standards and norms of white Western culture above all ethnic groups and cultures and usurps God’s glorious image of diversity.

So to conclude with the challenge Rah makes at the beginning of this blog: If you have never had a non-white mentor, then you will not be an evangelist or missionary. “You will be a colonist.”

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Rah, Soong-Chan. THE NEXT EVANGELICALISM: FREEING THE CHURCH FROM WESTERN CULTURAL CAPTIVITY, Inter Varsity Press, 2009.

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Team Members:
Karon Alexander, Dwight Bailey, Brittany Barber, Darron Bowden, Gloria Carey-Branch, Minta Coburn, Ann Marie Coleman, Don Coleman, Carol Josefowski, Wookbin Moh, Leila Ward.