Howard Snyder – Evangelism and the Kingdom of God

Most evangelicals reduce evangelism to what Snyder calls ‘ conversion evangelism’. In his opinion, this is a reductionistic view of evangelism and, I would add, it reflects a distorted view of the Gospel.

Here is what Snyder says:

In the New Testament, the term “evangelism” specifically refers to the good news of the kingdom of God. “To evangelize” literally means to proclaim the good news of the coming of God’s reign.

Jesus came “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness” (Mt. 9:35). In Luke 4:43, Jesus says that his central purpose was to “proclaim the good news of [literally, “evangelize concerning”] the kingdom of God.” Again in Luke 8:1, Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom is described as “evangelizing.” We read in Acts 8:12, translating literally, that Philip “evangelized about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (See also Mt. 4:23, 24:14; Luke 16:16).

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Running Half Way Between Geneva and Lausanne

John Baxter-Brown,
WCC Consultant for Evangelism

On my run this morning I ran until it hurt, and ran some more. I ran until I cried, and ran some more. I ran until some of my frustration and pain leeched away in tears and sweat and then I ran some more. I ran until my thoughts took on a more coherent form and ran a bit more.

I live in a small town half way between Geneva and Lausanne. I find that this geographical location also doubles up as a theological metaphor. Both Geneva and Lausanne are just less than 1 marathon’s distance away. If I trained and worked at it, I could run to either place. But why should I? Both movements, the ecumenical and the evangelical, have unique gifts to offer the whole church but also both have weaknesses and inadequacies in their theological understandings and practice of mission and evangelism. Neither have all the answers but both have significant and valuable insights. I learn from both movements.

WCC Blog on Evangelism

I met John Baxter-Brown in February 2010 during the last meeting of the Lausanne Theology Working Group, in Beirut.

He is a British theologian who was previously involved with Churches together in England, and is now Consultant for Evangelism with WCC.

John has recently initiated a WCC blog on evangelism, called Evangelism is in your comfort zone. Here is the explanation we find on the blog page:

On this blog John Baxter-Brown, the WCC Consultant for Evangelism, shares his impressions, hopes, ideas and stories about evangelism especially in relation to the WCC and the broader ecumenical movement. There is a strong focus on telling the evangelism stories he has researched on his travels: he usually finds that the best evangelism is done by ordinary Christians simply living out their faith – evangelism is within their comfort zone as they try to follow Jesus. Please note that blog entries are personal contributions by the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinion or policies of the World Council of Churches or any other organization mentioned..

I paste below the message I have just received from John:

26 April – Internet Evangelism Day

“Many churches will highlight the potential of the Internet on 26
April, by holding an ‘Internet Evangelism Day’. This international
focus day program explains how the Web is a God-given tool for
outreach, and provides help for Christians to use it effectively.
Churches will build a presentation into their services or other
activities on or near that day. This may be as short as a 2-minute
announcement, or can be a longer program using the free downloads
from IE Day’s site: PowerPoint, video clips, music, drama scripts and
handouts.” Read on…

HERE is the website dedicated to this initiative.