Archive: Good News Convo Hears From UM Evangelism Professors

by Jean Caffey Lyles

An increasing number of evangelism professors at UM seminaries is evidence that the work of concerned evangelicals is bearing fruit in the denomination. That point was made during the mid-July Good News Convocation at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Speaking to some 550 registrants were two of the professors from UM-related seminaries not noted for their evangelical leanings.

Featured were the Rev. Seth Asare, a native of Ghana, West Africa, who serves as E. Stanley Jones professor of evangelism at Boston University School of Theology, and the Rev. Billy Abraham, a native of Ireland and McCreless professor of evangelism and professor of philosophy at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas.

Good News officials say they cannot claim credit for the growing number of endowed chairs of evangelism at church-related seminaries, but they praised the work of the Foundation for Evangelism as largely responsible for the trend.

The foundation, an affiliate of the UM Board of Discipleship, has endowed evangelism professorships at Boston University, Wesley Seminary in Washington and Garrett-Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, Illinois—all UM-related schools. It will begin funding evangelism chairs at two more UM seminaries (St. Paul’s and Duke) soon.

Asare criticized any “Christian who does not share the good news, one who says religion is ‘private.’ We need people … to speak the word of Jesus Christ courageously.”

Asare cautioned listeners against assuming that “because we are saved by grace we can do whatever we want.” Growth in Christian maturity requires responsibility along with “righteousness in Christ,” he said.

Abraham, who spoke on church renewal, emphasized the need to nurture new converts, a task he deemed “impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. You’ll have a double hernia and a heart attack if you try it.”

New Christians, Abraham said, do not have “half a chance of surviving in the world” without basic grounding and initiation in the church. “People need help in articulating how God is at work in their lives.”

Abraham, who worked with an annual conference in writing a handbook of evangelism, remarked on how “a lot of people at first didn’t want to use the ‘E-word.’” So far, 50 churches have used the handbook, which focuses on teaching fundamental beliefs, issues of faith, and spiritual disciplines both to “seekers” and church members.

“Renewal is hard work,” Abraham said. “You can’t just put it in the microwave.” Churches can’t afford to leave new Christians “to be initiated by Oprah Winfrey, to be taught the basics of the faith by Shirley MacLaine,” he said.

Abraham and the Rev. Dr. David Brazelton, former head of the Evangelism Section of the Board of Discipleship, both taught continuing education seminars drawing more than 40 participants during the week.

Another major speaker, Jay Kesler, former Youth for Christ leader and now president of Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, also addressed the convocation theme, “Nurturing the Family of God.”

Kesler said rapid social change—including growing divorce rates, a rise in child abuse, and a high percentage of births out of wedlock—means that “we’re getting used to things we’ve got no business getting used to.”

The family is the most consistent illustration used in the Bible, Kesler said, and many biblical nuances cannot be understood without an understanding of the traditional family.

Kesler recalled camping experiences with groups of troubled youngsters during his years with Youth for Christ. “We’d say, ‘God loves you; God is your heavenly Father,’ and they’d look [blank-faced] like they were painted on the chairs.”

“We finally figured out that these biblical [images] were reversing our engines” with youth who knew “father” as a person who came home drunk, and slapped the family around.

Kesler suggested that the church should provide “surrogate grandparents, fathers, uncles, aunts, brothers” to guide and befriend young people who lack fathers or other family members, giving them a positive experience of family.

Evangelicals Must Monitor GBGM Site Committee

In his report to the Convocation, James V. Heidinger II, executive secretary of Good News, urged evangelical United Methodists to keep a sharp eye on the task force seeking a new headquarters city for the denomination’s General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). He reminded the group of the 1992 General Conference mandate to find a city for GBGM other than New York.

“I’m afraid the site-selection task force may decide that New York is a wonderful place after all,” Heidinger said. Critics of GBGM have contended that the Global Ministries agency would save money, attract employees with more moderate views, and increase its accountability if it were located in a city closer to United Methodist population centers.

Heidinger also urged Good News supporters to persevere in fighting “the insidious, continued push for acceptance of the practice of homosexuality.” The church must confront annual conferences that are ignoring a ban on promoting gay and lesbian life styles, he said.

Heidinger reported that an appeal is on its way to the Judicial Council, the church’s supreme court, to interpret the word “status” in a constitutional amendment voted on by annual conferences this year. While proposers said the intent was to add “marital status” to the list of circumstances that may not be used to bar people from church membership, Heidinger noted that the term could be construed to mean “homosexual orientation.”

The convocation included a half-dozen plenary speakers, inspirational preaching and singing, sacred music concerts, Bible study, practical workshops, and informal fellowship.

Of the 550 participants, the largest representations came from Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Indiana. Next year’s convocation will be held in Dallas, Texas.

Adapted from United Methodist News Service