When the first issue of Christianity Today appeared 40 years ago, none of us could have imagined what the future held. Small in number and insignificant in influence, evangelicals then were an ignored minority in most ecclesiastical circles. Those who claimed to take the Bible seriously were often labeled hopelessly obscurantist or unloving and insensitive to a world in need.
And yet God was at work, sometimes in surprising ways. After the Second World War, new evangelical organizations and a new generation of leaders began to emerge. Spiritual hunger became evident among large numbers of people.
Repeatedly in those days I came across men and women in virtually every denomination who were committed to the historic biblical faith, believing it was not only spiritually vital, but socially relevant and intellectually defensible. And yet they had no standard around which they could rally, and no place they could look for spiritual encouragement and intellectual challenge. Christianity Today came into being to help fill that vacuum.
As Christianity Today enters its forty-first year, our first response should be one of great gratitude for all God has done. Who could have envisioned the almost explosive growth of evangelicals during the last four decades? Who could have foreseen the impact this magazine would have, not only in evangelical circles but far beyond? God alone must get the credit.
But what of the future? Where will evangelicalism be in another 40 years-or even four years from now, when we stand on the brink of a new century?
Only God knows the future, and thankfully, God is the God of the future. Try as we might, our speculations about the future will be only that-speculations. If we went back a hundred years we would be amazed how far off target many predictions were concerning the twentieth century. History is full of surprises, and the next century will be no exception. Many leaders openly question whether or not there will be another full century.
Population growth will bring new pressures and new ethical problems. Technological advances will probably be staggering, providing new opportunities for the furtherance of the gospel, and new dangers as well. Progress always has its dark side, for the human heart has not changed.
But technology alone will not determine the future of evangelicalism, nor will any other outside influence-social, political, economic, or intellectual. Yes, these will all affect us, but whether or not evangelicals once again become an insignificant minority will depend on one thing: whether we allow God to shape our hearts and minds and to guide us as we respond to a changing world. Let me mention six factors that I believe will determine the future impact of evangelicals.
First, the evangelical future will depend on our vision. The twin enemies of vision are always complacency and discouragement. Complacency makes us lazy; discouragement paralyzes us. Few things cripple us like pride and self-satisfaction in the face of success, or despair in the face of evil. We evangelicals are no longer an ignored minority, but success should drive us to our knees, for its dangers are enormous.
How can we be complacent when over two-thirds of the world’s population is not Christian, even in a nominal sense? Or how can we be discouraged when God is still at work, and has promised to be with us to the end of the age?
I often think of the words of James at the Jerusalem Council, that God was at work among the nations “to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14). This is still happening all over the world. Often these new believers are a very small minority, and yet they are still a part of God’s great plan.
Second, it will depend on our trust. There is much to lament today, and at times Satan seems to be thrashing about in one final desperate attempt to capture this world. We must not be ignorant of his devices.
But will we fight the spiritual battles of the future in the energy of the flesh? Or will we yield ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit, using the spiritual weapons God has provided to combat the forces of evil arrayed against us?
During our recent evangelistic crusade in Minneapolis we witnessed one of the largest responses to the gospel message we have ever seen. I am convinced the main reason was prayer, as believers from almost every denomination (including Roman Catholics) sought the face of God in intercession for their area. These Christians sensed their own powerlessness, knowing that only God can break through the hardness of the human heart and turn back the forces of deception and darkness.
Third, it will depend on our obedience. Few things discredit the gospel in the eyes of the world more quickly than moral and ethical failure by those claiming to follow Christ. And yet we are in grave danger of being captured by the spirit of our age. Satan apparently does not need to invent any new temptations; the allures of money, pleasure, and power seem quite sufficient to blunt our witness and neutralize our impact. In an ego-driven world given over to selfish indulgence and pride, Christians must be models of integrity and morality, both in their personal lives and in the work of their institutions and organizations.
Fourth, it will depend on our love and compassion. Just as moral compromise blunts our message, so does an unloving or indifferent spirit. Divine love sent Christ into the world, and that same love must compel us to reach out to a hurting and torn world. If we are filled with God’s love, we will seek to overcome the racial and economic barriers that divide us and condemn untold millions to hopelessness and poverty. We will reach out with the gospel to those who are lost, for there is no greater way we can express love than to tell others about the Savior’s love.
We also must learn in a deeper way what it means to love within the body of Christ, even when there is not full agreement. Satan surely must rejoice when there is bickering and strife among fellow believers. Overcoming disunity may well be one of our greatest challenges in the years ahead.
Fifth, it will depend on our faithfulness to the Word of God. One of the hallmarks of evangelicals has always been our commitment to the Bible as the unique and authoritative Word of God. Will we lose confidence in its trustworthiness, intentionally or unintentionally looking elsewhere for spiritual foundations?
There probably has never been a time in church history when the gospel was not under attack from some quarter. Those attacks have usually been most devastating, however, when they came from within. Will that be true among evangelicals in the future? Certain theological truths are not negotiable, and more than ever we must seek to be faithful to the Word of God, allowing it to shape our thinking and mold our behavior.
Finally, the future impact of evangelicals will depend on our steadfastness. Most of us know very little of Paul’s experience: “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world” (1 Cor. 4:12-13, niv).
The time may come when society will turn against us; can those of us who follow the One who was despised and rejected expect anything less for ourselves? Or, in God’s providence, the opposite may be the case; the massive tides of secularism sweeping our land might be reversed.
Either way, it does not matter. We are called to be steadfast for Christ and his truth, regardless of the situation. Our calling is not to be successful (as the world measures success); our calling is to be faithful.
Paul exhorted the Corinthian Christians not to give in to the pressures of their pagan culture, but to hold fast to the risen Christ. His words apply just as pointedly to us today: “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58, niv).
May we each recommit our lives to Christ and his will as we face the future.
By Billy Graham, evangelist and the founder of this magazine.
Copyright © 1996 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
