Evangelism in the Anglican Tradition: An Interview with Maurice A. P. Wood

The bishop of Norwich, whose diocese northeast of London dates back more than thirteen centuries, said in his enthronement sermon in 1971 that he felt the church has too long been concerned with its own worship, its own activity, and its own members. Evangelistic outreach has been a lifelong passion of the Right Reverend Maurice A. P. Wood, and in the sermon he quoted William Temple as noting that “the church is the one society organized for its non-members.” Bishop Wood urged that the church be geared for “continuous, congregational, home-spun, compassionate evangelism, year in, year out.” Bishop Wood has been a parish minister, a chaplain to Royal Marine Commandos during World War II (and winner of the Distinguished Service Cross), principal of Oak Hill Theological College, and a director of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Great Britain. Editor-at-large J. D. Douglas edited the interview.

Question: Bishop Wood, a great many believers have a hard time associating an Anglican prelate with a zealous evangelistic spirit. How did you come by it?

Answer: I was really born into mass evangelism because of the involvement of my father, Arthur Wood, and my uncle, Frederick Wood. They learned it from Torrey and Alexander, who in turn were influenced by Moody and Sankey. The Wood brothers evangelized in all the great halls of England as well as in parish missions in Anglican churches all over the country. It means, therefore, that from the earliest days I was brought up to think and ponder this whole question of strengths and problems of mass evangelism. Unfortunately, in those days the Church of England as such was not as concerned with evangelism as it is today.… During my ministry I have seen evangelism developing steadily in the Anglican church, for which I thank God tremendously.

Q: What do you regard as the chief snares or drawbacks connected with the use of mass evangelism in the United Kingdom?

A: In England we like to consider that we are not swayed unnecessarily by emotion.… But a human being has got a heart that beats, and it responds to the heart of the love of God, so, of course, there is always emotion. What I think we have to be careful of in all our evangelistic preaching is that we don’t use emotionalism for its own sake, that we don’t put in stories which particularly draw out a false emotionalism which is not linked with the true emotion of the love of God reaching out to sinful men and women. The way I see it, my heart must be stirred by the love of Jesus from his cross, but my mind must be informed as to the content of my eternal need, and what God in Christ has done for me upon the cross. Ultimately my will must be stirred, because it seems to me that in evangelism—personal, church-based, mass evangelism, or any other sort—the point of attack is the decision-making process, where ultimately in my inner heart and consciousness I say yes or no to Jesus Christ. I don’t think any evangelism is going to be effective unless the heart is touched by the love of God, the mind is really enlightened by the truth of God’s Word, and then the will is challenged by God himself in Christ by his Spirit.

Q: To what extent is radio and television being used as an evangelistic medium in Britain today?

A: The national networks are so constructed that we cannot use either radio or television as we want to for evangelistic work. Time cannot be bought on BBC or independent television or radio, so we are dependent on the invitation (through the “Religious Advisors”) of the bodies concerned, to preach or speak. In fact, many of us with evangelistic insights are often invited to take part in programs, and there is no constraint placed on us. One of my own broadcasts, “How Can I Find God?,” has now become a booklet which has already sold over 310,000 copies. As for BBC local radio, possibilities are limited, but lively local Christian groups are now producing good evangelistic material. The very limited commercial radio also accepts such material.

Q: As a member of the House of Lords, are you able to do any evangelistic work among the people of that great body?

A: The bishops lead daily prayers, each for three weeks of the year. The two archbishops and twenty-four of the bishops of the Church of England are in the Lords, taking their seat, by royal command, in order of seniority, as others die or retire. When I was last on duty I was not quite sure that enough people were coming to the opening prayers, so I made some special efforts to increase the attendance. I said, “I have come a long way to take prayers in the House of Lords today, 112 miles to London, and perhaps you would like to come in.” I am glad to say that I influenced two elderly Scottish peers to come in! On a more serious level, I might mention the moral issues that are being debated and the opportunity I have to participate. I have been in the House of Lords only since October, 1976. I made my maiden speech in one of those moral debates.

Q: What specifically are these moral issues?

A: I was referring to two in which I was personally involved, one which had to do with the importance of the Christian family, and the other with euthanasia. We have also had a full-scale debate on sex education in schools, and on the Christian content in religious instruction in schools, when strong Christian voices were heard in the Lords.

Q: Would it be amiss for you to comment on the Royal Family, on whether its present situation in any sense helps in the evangelization of Great Britain?

A: It helps in two ways. First there is the very widespread influence which the Royal Family has in its example of regular churchgoing, and the fact that Her Majesty the Queen is the constitutional head of the Church of England. It also helps in a family way in that the Royal Family has given leadership in terms of Christian family life, and this has its own impact on the cohesion of the nation in its family approach.… I’m thinking of the Queen Mother also.… In their own persons they have always stood for and emphasized the importance of Christian family life, so both faith and family are areas in which the Royal Family gives a quiet steady leadership. This was particularly evident during 1977, the great Silver Jubilee Year, with its call to Christian rededication and unselfish service to the country, in which Her Majesty has set a shining Christian example to the nation and to the world.

Q: Would you favor disestablishment?

A: No. I believe the stability of our country, and the growing opportunity for spiritual revival, stem from the penetration of Christianity at every level into the life of the nation. A Christian sovereign offers leadership in the Established Churches of both England and Scotland. Bishops are continually invited by the temporal peers to take an active part in debates on Christian and moral issues in the House of Lords. Great national occasions, such as the Coronation, the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty, and the Annual Remembrance Day Services related to World War I and II give the Church of England potential opportunities for public Christian proclamation. As a bishop of the Church of England I am welcomed to colleges, factories, schools, prisons, business houses, and hospitals, and I value these opportunities immensely, and find them evangelistically very important, if grasped with sensitivity.

Q: What more could Christians do to bring peace to Northern Ireland?

A: The Christian churches and the rank and file of Christians are right in the forefront of reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Although the Irish question is essentially political and cultural, the denominational differences soften and humanize, rather than exacerbate, the deep difficulties. This was illustrated by a recent program showing a Roman Catholic and a Church of England army chaplain working closely together in caring for their soldiers in the British army.

Q: How do you account for the fact that despite the continued real “presence” of the institution in so many ways in England, the message of the church is treated with indifference?

A: I do not accept your question! The anxiety and the economic and social and moral problems in our country today are opening up new areas of gospel proclamation through the Christian institutional structures, and I am encouraged by the opportunities. I find on every side a new willingness to listen to the Gospel of Christ Jesus, the living Lord of History.

Q: What will it take to engage more attention and respect for the things of God? What positive things do you see happening toward this end?

A: For the first time in modern church history in England, the voluntary Christian agencies, such as the Bible Society, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Great Britain, the Church Pastoral Aid Society, the Church of England Evangelical Council, the Evangelical Alliance, and the Scripture Union, among others, are joining with the Archbishops’ Council for Evangelism and the Board for Mission and Unity of the General Synod of the Church of England to further “A National Initiative for Evangelism” (agreed upon at the General Synod of November, 1977). We are planning a national assembly for discussion and planning, not later than 1980.

I believe in every sort of evangelism, from mass evangelism with its wide outreach (in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association pattern) to the one-to-one encounter in the counseling room, and from sector evangelism in schools and colleges to continuous home-spun local church-based evangelism. Basically I believe every committed Christian must accept the Christ-given commission not only to worship God but also to witness personally for Christ, by word and by life, and through compassionate service. I believe the ship of the church of Christ, the world over, needs to change direction from voyaging in the shallow shoals of self-preservation. It needs to turn out across the reefs into the uncharted depths, and even to face the danger of loss, for the sake of saving others. Like the early disciples we need together to “launch out into the deep and let down the nets” in obedience to Christ’s last command.

I believe the day of evangelism is with us now, in a new way.

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