Is Evangelism About This World or the Next, Social Action or Soul Saving?

[James Nored]

I am doing a bit of blogging through Michael Frost's bookThe Road to Missional. In this book he revives the long running debate about whether or not mission and/or evangelism includes social action (helping people in the here and now with their lives) or soul winning (helping people come to faith in Jesus Christ). This has been quite a vociferous debate ever since the 1960s, when "social justice" came to be associated with liberal causes and liberal Christians who rejected calling people to faith in Jesus Christ. This long running debate is now something to be addressed in the missional circle.

 

Frost lays these six possible positions about "mission" and its relationship to social action and and soul winning, adapted from David Bosch's work.

• Position 1: Mission = Evangelism = winning souls for eternity. Social involvement is a betrayal of mission.
• Position 2: Mission = Evangelism = soul winning. Social action may be good. However, as a rule it distracts from mission and should be discouraged. Social action is optional. 
• Position 3: Mission/evangelism = soul winning. Social action is important since it may draw people to Christ. Social ministries may act as forerunners to mission. Social action is fine as long as it makes it possible to confront people with the gospel. 
• Position 4: Mission/evangelism and social involvement relate to each other like seed to fruit. Evangelism has the primary function of preaching repentance, conversion, and eternal salvation. Social action is the result of such repentance and is therefore secondary.
• Position 5: Mission is wider than evangelism. Mission is evangelism plus social action. Both parts are important, but evangelism has priority. 
• Position 6: Evangelism and social action are equally important but genuinely distinct aspects of the church’s total mission. We should therefore not prioritize.

 

In this section, Frost does not always clearly distinguish what the real difference between mission and evangelism is. However, he does come down advocating position 6. Where do I come down? First, let me define these terms a bit first.

 

I would define mission in three different ways, depending upon the context. First, mission can refer to God’s comprehensive movement towards achieving his redemptive goals and plans for all of creation—a movement in which the Church participates. This is God’s “overall mission.” See Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God's People: A Biblical Theology of the Church's Mission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 25. Second, mission can refer to all that the Church does to participate in God’s redemptive mission; however, “if everything is mission, nothing is mission.” See Stephen Neill, Creative Tension (London: Edinburgh House, 1959), quoted in Flett, The Witness of God, 7. Third, mission can refer to the outward impulse and outward activities of the Church that are directed towards the redemption of the world. This is what I would call evangelism with a missional thrust, or missional outreach/missional evangelism.

 

So where does this put one in the above discussion? If evangelism were based only upon etymology, evangelism might be equated with mere proclamation, and not something that includes conversion or “service” (non-verbal) evangelism, such as social action; however, William Abraham says that in looking at evangelism, it is important to note “what evangelism has actually meant in the early Church and in history, not judged by the etymology of the word evangelism and its rather occasional use in Scripture, but by what evangelists have actually done in both proclaiming the gospel and establishing new converts in the kingdom of God.”[3]

 

In other words, the actual practice of “evangelism” has included proclamation, doing of good deeds, call to conversion, and initiation into the Christian community.[4] This was what Philip and other “evangelists” in the early church did. And of course, in Jesus' own ministry, his verbal proclamation was virtually inseparable from his good deeds, healings, and his casting out of demons. His example is the primary one for us.

 

 

These definitions and understandings of mission and evangelism would put me somewhere in the category of 5 or 6. While if forced to choose between a hypothetical of giving a dying person a piece of bread or telling him about Jesus, I would choose the latter, these scenarios are rare, as Frost points out. On a practical level we cannot separate the doing of good deeds (helping to heal the brokenness in people's lives) with telling people about Jesus. So here are my reasons for choosing 5 or 6.
 

Reasons Why Evangelism Cannot (Usually) Be Separated from Social Action/Service/Healings

1. Jesus and the early evangelists did not make this separation (see above).
2. The message about Jesus always included the message about the kingdom of God, which must be demonstrated. The gospel is more than just forgiveness of sins, as important as that is. It is about a better life here and now. It is about love, joy, and peace through the Holy Spirit. It is about God righting wrongs. We can't very well offer end time salvation without helping people with their marriages, their stomachs if hungry, their worry/anxiety/depression, their financial bondage, their loneliness, etc. If we do not demonstrate this to them, we have not shared with them the full gospel or good news.
3. Practically, if we do not selflessly serve people in their areas of brokenness, we may never get a chance to give them a verbal message about Jesus. We live in a cynical society, and only selfless service will break this cynicism.
    

This is another reason why the missional outreach strategy that I advocate includes not just seeking the lost, but serving the community and sharing the good news. Seeking puts us into proximity to people, going where they are. Serving and sharing combines both social action/healing acts and a verbalization of the gospel. It is why we have so many community service ministries at High Pointe--feeding and clothing thousands of people, helping them with their marriages, helping them with their financial managment, helping them not be so lonely, etc.--and encourage people to bless people in their daily lives, while also having a very intential conversion process using the Story of Redemption evangelistic Bible study.

So in this chapter, Frost rightly criticizes the bifurcation of social action and soul winning. Evangelicals have shied away from the former, and some missional types, in overreacting to pushy evangelicals, have shied away, ironically, from the latter. Missional types need to remember that it is not enough just to be in proximity to lost people. At some point, the lost must be called into a relationship with Jesus Christ and receive a call towards his lordship. More on this in another post!

What is your view? Does evangelism include "social action" (healing the brokenness of people's lives)? If so, where does it rank in importance? Can we leave it out and still be faithful "proclaimers" of the good news?

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[1] For the nature of the evangelists’ message, see Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, 56-92. See also Michael Green, Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 73-96. For works that link evangelism to the reign of God, see the following: Mortimer Arias, Announcing the Reign of God: Evangelization and the Subversive Memory of Jesus (Nashville: Abingdon, 1984); Abraham, The Logic of Evangelism; and Glasser and Van Engen, Announcing the Kingdom. For a historical look at initiation into the Christian community and its link with evangelism, see Robert E. Webber, Journey to Jesus: The Worship, Evangelism, and Nurture Mission of the Church (Nashville: Abingdon, 2001).

 

[2] Scott Jones says, “The church’s mission is wider than evangelism and includes all that God expects the church to do. At the same time, evangelism is an essential part of mission; when there is no evangelistic component the missionary activity is inadequate.” Scott J. Jones, "The Evangelistic Love of God & Neighbor: A Theology of Witness & Discipleship" (2003): 101.

 

 

 

[3] William J. Abraham, The Logic of Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 69.

 

[4] “One of the greatest weaknesses of revivalism is the lack of a strong and dynamic ecclesiology, which is evident in language and practice.” Gordon T. Smith, Transforming Conversion: Rethinking the Language and Contours of Christian Initiation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 15.

 

[Bob Young]

Still thinking.  I do not think six options are enough.  Here are eight possibilities for describing the place of social action in mission or missional work.  What am I missing?

SOCIAL ACTION IS NOT PART OF THE MISSION; THEREFORE, IT IS NOT DESIRABLE AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED INSOMUCH AS POSSIBLE.

SOCIAL ACTION IS NOT PART OF THE MISSION; THEREFORE IT IS OPTIONAL AND IS NOT TO BE SOUGHT, BUT CAN OR SHOULD BE DONE WHEN OPPORTUNITIES ARISE. 

SOCIAL ACTION IS DISTANTLY RELATED TO THE MISSION; IT CANNOT BE AVOIDED BY GOD’S PERSON, BUT IT IS A DISTRACTION. 

SOCIAL ACTION IS A TOOL FOR THE MISSION. 

SOCIAL ACTION IS A NATURAL RESULT OF THE MISSION; IT IS THE RESULT OF EVANGELISM, AND SHOULD BE DONE INDIGENOUSLY BUT SHOULD NOT BE PRIMARY FOR THE “INSERTED” MISSIONARY. 

SOCIAL ACTION IS A PART OF THE MISSION BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, BUT IT IS SECONDARY. 

SOCIAL ACTION IS PART OF THE MISSION, BEING AN EQUAL PARTNER. 

SOCIAL ACTION CAN BE THE MISSION, WITHOUT OVERT OR EXTENDED EVANGELISTIC EFFORTS.

[James Nored]

Jayaraj, thank you for sharing this biblical perspective on the need for both acts of healing and a verbal proclamation/sharing. How do you think that this applies to India? What are the dangers of not emphasizing both?

[James Nored]

Bob, I agree that the term "social action" is a loaded term, evoking 60s style liberalism. That is why I use these other terms as you point out, like serving, blessing, helping. Of course, our fellowship is largely ignorant of all of the debate about social action versus verbal proclamation that occured in the 1960s.

[James Nored]

Tim, can there be too much talking about evangelism and not enough doing? Of course. But that does not mean we should not think and discuss. I cannot personally take everyone with me, but I can try to share ideas and influence others (and influence them). And people need to understand the need both to have gospel actions (blessing/serving people in their areas of brokenness) and a gospel message. They need to understand that this was what Jesus did, the early evangelists did, and what is needed today. 

I'm the first to agree that we need to add training to our evangelism efforts. But there is still a cognitive aspect of learning to go out on mission, even if it happens after people are called to mission. (Jesus taught the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount after he called them to become fishers of people).

[Bob Young]

Jesus came teaching, preaching and healing.  One problem in the discussion is the phrase "social action" which can refer to Occupy WallStreet and a host of other "social actions."  If there is a problem defining mission/evangelism, there is an equally great problem in the phrase--thus I like serving, helping, ministering, etc.  Seems difficult to understand how any Christian can "go" (Matt 28) without going in the Spirit and imitation of Jesus, so helping is as natural as telling.  Not the place for another blog, just discussion starters. 

[Tim Lowry]

WOW!!! Big $2 dollar words, quotes from high-powerd authors, comments from obviously well educated people, and alot of massaging and square rooting our way around evangelism. "What Can I Say to Help". Nothing...thats the point. So why am I writing? To encourage all who see this to read a little less, stop commenting so much(this is my first and last comment here), and "get a little on you". Evangelism is like ranching. Just because you have a cowboy hat, some cowboy boots and a pickup truck don't make you a rancher. When you look down and you "got a little on you" then your ranching. Until then your just debating(how this article began), reading, writing and commenting. No doubt evangelism is dirty, nasty, 2nd shift/24-7 type work. So why do it? Dogs make dogs, cats make cats thats why they are dogs and cats. Disciples make disciples and if they don't maybe they are not... Oh, I stepped in it now(James if you have to ban me from the sight, I know you still love me).

Two quotes about Evangelism: "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them.", Penn Jillette, Atheist and Profane hater of Christians: watch the story,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhG-tkQ_Q2w

"90% of anything is showing up." Woody Allen

Jillettes quote needs no comment. Allen's quote is all you need to do to be a evangelist, "show up". The solution and debate ending answer looked for in this forum is found in "doing evangelism".

When it comes to "Doing Evangelism" I truly have nothing for you, but I know who does! And thats a pretty handy piece of information.  I will not out him in this forum. If you would like to know who and do some evangelism I will go with you, given best time and place. If you want to have a big discussion, square root, philosiphy or argue we don't have time. Tim 972-977-3715

 

 

[Jayaraj.E]

Excellent article brother  . thanks for giving a clear explanation why evangelism can not be separated from social action/ service/ healing .your outreach staretegy shows same things includes not just seeking the lost, but serving the community and sharing the good news.

there are number of verses in the Bible emphasizes that we should love the poor and needy ( social justice ) when we take the gospel to unreached people .our mission for God is a holistic one ,physical,emotional, and spiritual needs .if someone is hungry or without clothing, they may not hear what we teach them , however if  we show them that you really love and care for them , by helping them find food clothes , they will most likely want to know where you get this type of compassion. this always provide a way to reach them . you are already helping by  service community ministries such as feeding and clothing people and helping them with many ways . thanks for good article which inspires many people .

J R

[James Nored]

In case you read this post early, I added this last paragraph: "So in this chapter, Frost rightly criticizes the bifurcation of social action and soul winning. Evangelicals have shied away from the former, and some missional types, in overreacting to pushy evangelicals, have shied away, ironically, from the latter. Missional types need to remember that it is not enough just to be in proximity to lost people. At some point, the lost must be called into a relationship with Jesus Christ and receive a call towards his lordship. More on this in another post!"