The essential goal of the ecumenical movement is to achieve visible unity of all Christians worldwide. Indeed, in his address to the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) conference on mission and evangelism, Eugene Stockwell, director of the WCC’s Commission of World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), observed that Christians are “split into a thousand and one churches, sects, groups, and communities,” adding, “This is a scandal, pure and simple.”

The CWME has met about once a decade since 1910 to rearticulate its understanding of mission and evangelism. Over 100 countries were represented at this year’s conference, held May 22–31 in San Antonio, Texas.

A brief exchange on the final day of the event illustrated why some believe the goal of visible unity is a pipe dream. Speaking on behalf of the Orthodox contingent, Bishop Antonius Markos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Kenya expressed Orthodox Churches’ opposition to women in church leadership. Moments later, a woman took the floor to say she was deeply hurt by Markos’s statement. Markos responded that he was sorry if anyone was offended by this “expression of our faith.”

The exchange revealed that some expressions of faith might be incompatible with others, and that some expressions may not be as welcome within WCC circles as others.

Evangelical Issues

The list of what evangelicals within the WCC want is a short one, consisting essentially of upholding the uniqueness of Christ and the authority of Scripture. Evangelical participants and observers in San Antonio widely agreed their voice was heard in San Antonio and is being heard increasingly within ecumenical circles, particularly at the grassroots level.

About 70 percent of the some 270 conference delegates came from Third World countries, where, according to David Claydon of the Anglican Church of Australia, evangelical influence is strong. “The effort that evangelicals have put into evangelism [in Third World countries] is now paying off in the ecumenical movement,” said Claydon, who will give a report on the San Antonio meeting to the Lausanne Conference on World Evangelization this month in Manila.

‘I’ve never seen such freedom among delegates to use the term evangelism,” said WCC staff member Raymond Fung. “A psychological barrier has been broken. People feel they can use the word and still fit in.”

The evangelical presence was evident also in a three-page “message” statement, which identified as the two most significant trends of the meeting its “spirit of universality” and its “concern for the fullness of the gospel.” The statement included a call to Christians everywhere to join in “proclaiming the good news of God’s redeeming love in Jesus Christ.”

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In addition to the message statement, delegates offered four sets of specific recommendations coming from each of four streams of emphasis pursued in San Antonio. One of the four sections examined stewardship of the earth. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, who directs the WCC’s program on Church and Society, said he regarded as a major contribution of the San Antonio meeting the official broadening of the CWME’s concept of mission to include such concerns as ecology and the just distribution of land.

Evangelical View

Alexander John Malik, bishop of Lahore and moderator of the United Church of Pakistan, was among the most vocal proponents of evangelical concerns at the World Council of Churches’ World Conference on Mission and Evangelism in San Antonio. He discussed with CHRISTIANITY TODAY what he considers the WCC’s strengths and weaknesses.

What can evangelicals learn from the ecumenical movement?

The struggle for justice and peace is not merely a political matter, but a biblical matter. Christians should be trying to make this world a better place. Sometimes evangelicals feel a little uncomfortable interacting with the principalities of this world.

I feel uncomfortable with evangelicals who regard themselves as the only custodians of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is working everywhere, including within the World Council of Churches, to bring people to Jesus Christ.

Do you have reservations about the World Council?

Yes. The World Council is aggressive in speaking out against oppression and injustice. But when it comes to evangelism, especially in the context of people of other faiths, suddenly the mission becomes passive, as if we are unsure of the centrality of Jesus Christ.

Our mission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ should not be a passive one. People who have experienced Christ in their lives cannot sit back. They are on fire. They go and represent him in word and deed and can do nothing else.

Is the uniqueness of Christ sufficiently upheld within WCC circles?

The direction of the WCC is determined by those who participate in its functions. In my involvement, I try to see that the uniqueness of Christ is upheld. We hear the view from some that all religions are equal.

It is true God is one. But as perceptions of that reality differ, we believe in different gods. The Christian perception is that God has revealed himself in a historical person who came to earth as a baby, became a model, was crucified, and rose from the dead.

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Other forms of religions existed in the time of Jesus. But he made the claim, “I am the way, I am the truth. Nobody comes to the Father except through me.” It may sound arrogant. But it is the truth. Either we believe this or we do not.

Should there be dialogue with other faiths?

I am not opposed to dialogue. And the World Council is correct that there should be sensitivity to other beliefs and cultures. But our purpose in that dialogue should be to invite others to accept Jesus Christ as God, Lord, and Savior. Whether they accept the invitation is up to the Holy Spirit. It does not depend on our clever words or strategies.

Letter To Lausanne

Over 150 conference participants signed a letter “from those with evangelical concerns” to the Lausanne II conference in Manila. The six-page letter affirms that the San Antonio gathering gave “ample opportunity for evangelical concerns to be voiced and to find expression in conference documents.”

The letter expresses concern about the lack of participation in San Antonio of black-led churches and denominations in the West. It acknowledges “major concerns” regarding “the relation of evangelism and social responsibility to witness in the context of those of other faiths.” It also includes a proposal to hold the next Lausanne meeting jointly with the next CWME world conference.

Peter Beyerhaus, of the Evangelical Church in Germany, said the proposal of a jointly held conference would most likely meet with little acceptance at Lausanne. Beyerhaus, who has been active in the Lausanne movement and has served as an adviser to the theological commission of World Evangelical Fellowship, said he was generally pleased with the official articulation in San Antonio of issues related to evangelism. But he questioned whether it represented the WCC at large.

“The victory may be a temporary one,” said Beyerhaus. “There are very influential powers within the WCC who would like to have this changed.”

Continuing Concerns

Beyerhaus said that, while the World Council meeting produced an acceptable statement on evangelism, he was bothered by some of the statements made by CWME director Stockwell in his conference address.

For example, Stockwell referred to people of other religions as “sisters and brothers.” He added that “in our encounters with people of other faiths we cannot deny that many of them have arrived at having a profound relationship to God.” Christopher Duraisingh, an Indian who will replace Stockwell later this summer, has been criticized by evangelicals for holding views similar to Stockwell’s.

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Beyerhaus also challenged the legitimacy of the “very aggressive and onesided political demands” that came out of San Antonio, including support for the Palestinian intifada. Indeed, Orthodox Bishop Markos voiced concern about “tampering with the language of the Bible” in order to make it conform to the “ideology of [a] particular culture, denomination, or movement.”

Biblical conservatives, including the Orthodox, feel that some of the CWME’s official statements in San Antonio were essentially political and lacked sufficient theological grounding. As one observer put it, “They look like something that would come out of the United Nations.”

Despite his continuing concerns, however, Beyerhaus acknowledged the San Antonio conference revealed that the wee “is not insensitive to strong evangelical convictions and that certain allowances to these convictions can be made in their public pronouncements.”

By Randy Frame, in San Antonio.

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