The Global Conversation

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Filling in the Holes of Holism

To facilitate a truly global conversation, we ask Christian leaders from around the world to respond to the Global Conversation's lead articles. These points of view do not necessarily represent Christianity Today magazine or the Lausanne Movement. They are designed to stimulate discussion from all points of the compass and from different segments of the Christian community. Please add your perspective by posting a comment so that we can learn and grow together in the unity of the Spirit.

Christians are so adept at theological reductionism that thousands of denominations have spun off from the teachings of Jesus. Many of these versions of Christianity are differentiated by slight hermeneutical nuances, nearly undetectable to the theologically untrained. Others argue the heart of the gospel beats within the incubator of their doctrinal laboratories, rendering all others a diluted version of Christianity.

Some splinters of the larger evangelical community avoid these doctrinal divisions by merely resonating with styles of worship, teaching, or mission toward which their constituents have a strong affinity; they simply agree to disagree over doctrinal divides.

Whatever the issue—including issues no less comprehensive than church, gospel, or world—Christians are a divided people. Yet Christ shunned such ecclesial, theological, and human reductionism and division by maintaining a simple center based in love and reflected in unity.

Throughout the Gospels, Christ attempts to form a community that doesn't exclude deeply committed religious people, including the Pharisees and Sadducees—they do a fine job of excluding themselves. Rather, Christ looks for common ground as a hinge to community, even tucking voices on the fringes into the company of his message bearers.

Mark 9:38–41 expands our notion of the "whole church." Someone on the doctrinal margins (insert whoever that might be in the reductionist standards of one's tradition, e.g., the emergents, liberation theologians, prosperity gospel preachers, charismatics) is ministering under the name of Christ. The disciples attempt to arrest his activity, eliciting this response from Christ: "Whoever is not against us is for us."

Today, many evangelical churches draw sharp lines to indicate who's in and who's out. Citing doctrine, evangelicals sort out the issues around an understanding of the saints, negotiating a relationship with Mary, the in-filling of the Holy Spirit, or using icons in worship. Doctrinal lines allow unenlightened evangelicals to suggest they are the whole church.

The historical, Christ-centered, worshiping community of believers, however, includes sisters and brothers committed to mainline Protestant denominations, Orthodox Christianity, and Roman Catholicism. For any one of these historic Christian traditions to lay exclusive claim to the title "whole church" would be a direct assault on the others.

Similarly, evangelicals, though a significant and crucial part of the global Christian mosaic, would be presumptuous to assume that our expression of the greater Christian tradition embodies the "whole church."

Aaron Benscoter, US

May 13, 2011  10:27pm

Encouraging to see that more and more followers of Jesus are identified that the Gospel is bigger than one transaction. A focus on the full biblical message will likely appeal to today's cultural pastors-educators and academica and the media-instead of drawing their (perhaps well-placed) ire. Carry on.

Erin Anthony

March 03, 2011  11:17am

I was so encouraged when reading this article. So many times in Christian/Evangelical churches today, "feel good" messages are preached. While I do believe there is a time and place for these messages, I also think that through time, the Gospel has been watered down to reach people emotionally, rather than preaching the "whole Gospel". Without teaching the effects of sin at the Fall, there would be no need for redemption through Christ's death on the cross. The "whole Gospel" connects through the entire Bible, thus reestablishing our ultimate goal on Earth to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Trent Ballard

November 17, 2010  4:01pm

Finally, someone talking about the whole gospel from the whole bible. Too many missiologists are NT only which is ridiculous. Mission is rooted in creation as evidenced by Gen 1:26-28--that we are blessed to take the image and realities of God and his kingdom to the ends of the earth. And we must not forget, ROM 1:15 that we are to preach the whole gospel both to the unbelievers and to believers. Grace is not just to get us saved, but from where we live our lives in the resurrection power of Jesus every day. Its time for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed----you are God's people OT and NT ekklesia----live like it!

Suman Aghamkar, India

October 07, 2010  1:31am

I congratulate to you for writing a thought-provoking paper. Yes the Church of Jesus Christ will not grow with paid workers, the whole church needs to take the gospel to the whole world. It will not be done unless we train our laity, encourage them to take the Great commission seriously. Apart from this, we also need to take the market place ministry seriously. There is a huge number of Christians working in secular field and we need to train them, equip them so they can share the Gospel with their co-workers. Thus training and equipping Christians is very important, when we think of reaching the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Danny Pasquale

October 06, 2010  3:05am

The article is inspiring and challenging. It brings balance to a way of living out the Christian faith and evangelization that is solely private and only focused on waiting for the return of Christ. Yet, the call to social transformation as a result of an wholistic faith must never loose sight of the fact that the complete transformation will occurr only when Christ will return. He is the One that will settle all things, bring justice and peace. Our job is to live this reality, testifying of the power and love of Christ, making disciples, but keeping the "not yet" side of the equation always in mind. 1 Thes. 1:9-10 says it best :"you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven..." May God help us to keep the balance!

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Chris Wright talks about the breadth and depth of the phrase "the whole church."

Samuel Escobar describes some of the many distinctive contributions from Global South theologians in the wake of the 1974 Congress.

Can Christians address poverty without personal relationships with the poor? Christopher Heuertz suggests why our approach to poverty is often inadequate.