European Congress: ‘Getting to Know You’

NEWS

The strength of the European Congress on Evangelism, held August 31-September 3 in Amsterdam, was also its inherent weakness: Never before had so many European evangelicals from so many backgrounds met. Cultural, language, and—perhaps most important—theological barriers hampered their understanding of one another.

Half of the 1,300 participants and observers were laymen; more than thirty-five countries were represented from Europe and the Near East. (The most colorful participant was an Egyptian sheik in flowing robes.)

Delegates streamed in from cold Norway and bright Greece, from the windy Hebrides and warm Rumania, from the secularized countries of the Common Market and from Communist-controlled Eastern Europe. Though church leaders from all these countries had met at conferences of the World Council of Churches and the European Conference of Churches, these persons—all connected with evangelistic work—had never before been together.

Representatives of various Italian groups and churches who had never met and didn’t even know of one another’s existence got acquainted on the plane that brought them from Milan to Amsterdam. And representatives who hadn’t had contact with one another in their home countries met in the marble halls of the beautiful International Congress Center of Amsterdam.

The European Congress was the fourth major regional congress on evangelism since the Berlin World Congress in 1966. But compared to the congresses in Singapore (1968), Minneapolis (1969), and Bogotā (1969), more shades of evangelicalism were represented; certainly many delegates had lived in greater isolation.

The congress—after Billy Graham’s keynote address—got off to a theological start with thorough studies by Dr. Gerhard Bergmann of Germany on “The Relevance of the Gospel Today,” followed by Henri Blocher of France on “The Lost State of Man,” and Dr. Carl Wisloff of Norway on “The Nature and Mission of the Church.”

Deep theological differences separated delegates and impeded dialogue, though all gladly claimed to accept the fundamentals of the faith. Hyper-Calvinists sat with Pentecostals, Plymouth Brethren got involved with state-church pastors, laymen and clergy were assigned to the same workshops, and church representatives and leaders of independent organizations sat side by side on the platform.

Though backed by the Evangelical Alliance, the congress represented many groups that never had had any contact with that oldest of all ecumenical movements, formed last century. The movement died long ago in Holland, and in countries like Hungary and Rumania it never existed. Yet they too sent large delegations.

Getting discussions rolling was no easy task. When participants whose mother language wasn’t English, French, or German finally stoked up courage to speak, the meeting was often over. Discussion was dominated by the English-speaking in the early sessions. Then, too, many participants weren’t used to group discussions; they were more oriented to the lecture approach. Still others took the view that no opposing voices should be heard: whenever someone would articulate a criticism, another would pop up and warn, “We must keep it beautiful.”

Tongues loosened considerably, however, when Free University professor H. R. Rookmaaker and French radio preacher Charles Guillot spoke on “Youth in Revolt.” Young people in their twenties and early thirties abounded; a seasoned observer estimated the average age of the delegates was forty. And the discussion began to roll in earnest under the leadership of evangelist David Foster and his colleagues in a dramatized production, “The Young Revolutionaries,” which tackled the drug problem.

During that program pop singer Cliff Richard told why he stayed in show business (“Now I sing in every program a song with a message”), and film star James Fox (Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Thoroughly Modern Millie) told how he was converted some months ago.

The program—which confronted the delegates with the need for practical change—was right in line with Graham’s opener about the Jesus movement and the Church’s need to be ready for a great influx of young people. The evangelist, who said he will concentrate his future evangelistic work in the United States, introduced the congress theme with a speech on “The Biblical Mandate to Evangelize.”

Graham observed that one of the greatest problems of the European churches is the reluctance of many theologians and clergymen to believe that people who have been baptized as infants and later confirmed still need another significant encounter with Christ. Without this realization, Graham said, the motivation for evangelism is largely lost.

“Somehow,” he continued, “I sense a feeling against evangelistic proclamation that has descended on many churches.… Preaching and witnessing for decision is downgraded to the level of propaganda.”

On September 1, Dutch journalist Jan J. van Capelleveen said the European churches are too often still living in the age of agriculture instead of moving into suburban society. He and Dr. John R. Stott pleaded with the congress to make use of not only verbal but also non-verbal means of witness.

From the outset the congress refused to adopt any resolutions or paper pronouncements. But on the final day the different language groups considered ways of implementing congress ideas.

National maxi- and regional minicongresses were planned for the near future. German delegates appointed a committee to study the feasibility of a pan-German congress on evangelism. The Finns decided to hold one, and the English set one for next May on strategies for evangelism. The French will start with regional congresses.

The German, British, and Finnish delegates, feeling the need for a new evangelical news agency, planned an information service that could grow into a daily operation. European participants concluded that until now they have relied too heavily on the West for help. Now they will explore more fully possibilities for indigenous evangelism.

Meanwhile, American observers and European participants met behind the scenes to discuss a possible second World Congress on Evangelism. On a Trans World Radio broadcast, CHRISTIANITY TODAY editor Dr. Harold Lindsell proposed that such a congress on evangelism be combined with one on missions, in the line of the Edinburgh conference of 1910. The two congresses should meet at the same time and place, Lindsell said, because missions and evangelism have common problems and challenges. Many delegates appeared agreeable to his suggestion.

In the closing message, Dr. Gilbert W. Kirby, principal of the London Bible College, called for total involvement in evangelism. Evangelicals shouldn’t be content with outdated church structures, hymns composed several centuries ago, and programs that disregard sociological changes, he said. Rather, churches must reappraise what they are doing, face the modern world as it is, and “ask ourselves how we are geared to cope with the task of reaching men and women with the Gospel.”

Inside the imposing International Congress Center there was much talk about reaching the world for Christ. Outside, at least one American observer put theory into practice. A Campus Crusade for Christ staffer led an attentive taxi driver to Christ while two overseas delegates waited for him to finish so the cabbie could drive them to their hotel.

World Witness Walk

Street evangelist Arthur Blessitt phased out a summer of ministry on Times Square in New York City this month and embarked on a cross-bearing witness walk around the world. Currently lugging an eight-foot cross through Great Britain and Ireland, he estimates the globe-encircling trip will take several years. His proposed itinerary includes the Middle East and Red China.

Before crossing the English Channel Blessitt plans to take a break and “vocalize spiritual issues” during the presidential primary election campaign in New Hampshire. “We need a President who is turned on to Christ, who will call the nation to repentance and prayer,” he says. He wants the new President to cancel the Inaugural Ball and to exchange “the wining and dining” for concern “over the tragic poverty and tremendous spiritual need outside the doors.” His staff is already organizing prayer groups and pre-election “Jesus rallies” in New Hampshire.

During his Times Square stint, Blessitt preached nightly to thousands, recorded hundreds of conversions, and trained many church youths in street evangelism. The latter included contingents of Spanish-speaking young people who have been leading witness marches in the city since then. Meanwhile, youth teams from Calvary Baptist Church uptown are carrying on the Jesus blitz in Times Square.

Exit Social Credit

Led by avowed evangelicals, the Social Credit political party has been in power in the Canadian province of Alberta since its founding there thirty-six years ago. On August 30, the voters of Alberta decided it was time for a change, and in an upset that stunned political observers, they chose Progressive Conservative Peter Lougheed to replace Social Credit premier Harry Strom.

Strom, 57, who had been in office since 1968, was a rancher. Lougheed, 43, is a lawyer and former professional football star.

The founder of Social Credit was William “Bible Bill” Aberhart, a radio preacher who served as premier of Alberta from 1935 until his death in 1943. He was succeeded by Ernest Manning, also a respected evangelical radio preacher, who served until his retirement. Strom, though not a preacher as such, is an active churchman who shares the evangelical convictions of his predecessors.

Social Credit is now the most conservative of Canada’s four major political parties. It took its name from an innovative scheme championed by Aberhart whereby dividends (social credit) were to be issued based upon the real wealth of the country to every person. The program has never been fully implemented beause the party has not been able to muster enough support on a national scale. But Social Credit leaders successfully guided development along traditional financial lines. Alberta and other provinces where the party has been in power have enjoyed great prosperity.

DAVID KUCHARSKY

Jews Clash With Quakers

A group of Jewish scholars has sharply criticized a widely circulated Quaker report on the Middle East. They suggested that the authors’ search was not for peace but for American friends for the Arab world.

The Quaker report, Search for Peace in the Middle East, was produced last year by the American Friends Service Committee and has received considerable attention. The seventy-one-page rebuttal was authored by four Jewish professors described as well-known for their interest in and knowledge of Middle East Affairs. It was published jointly by the American Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.

The AFSC was accused of distorting historical fact to bolster a “preconceived” pro-Arab bias and masking the effort with claims of objectivity.

Turnabout In Montreal: Sermons In Science

The 10,000th showing of a Sermons from Science film at Montreal’s “Man and His World” exhibition was celebrated this month with the help of the French Catholic mayor, Jean Drapeau, who said the continued popularity of the Sermons from Science pavilion was a testimony to man’s abiding interest in eternal things. He then cut a 400-pound cake topped with a replica of the pavilion.

The Montreal exposition is the carryover of the Expo ’67 world’s fair. About two million people have visited the theater in the five years it has been open. The ministry has developed into a year-round outreach with various kinds of followup, including correspondence courses and home Bible sales. Most inquirers are French Catholics.

For Quebec, where evangelicals once treaded lightly because of Catholic opposition, the turnabout has been remarkable.

LESLIE K. TARR

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