The Global Conversation

I write from the UK and recognise the different types of "Evangelical" movements and issues here also. Mark has been addressing these issues in several previous articles, this one is a summary, as I see it, diagnosing the problems and stating the solution of "evangelicalism's" ills. I am glad that CT is serving the Body Of Christ with articles such as this and those that are to follow. Mark is a prophetic gift to us all, who writes humbly and wisely. We will do well to read and ponder this article, and increase our own vertical relationship with God.

It appears that Mr. Galli has set up a straw man to bolster his argument. EITHER/OR appears to be the framework that many of my "white evangelical brothers" choose to make their arguments. So--should we pick free will OR God's sovereignty?" Should we feed people OR preach the gospel. This is another argument based upon a false dichotomy. For instance--should we have had the civil rights movement or, according to Galli--maybe we should just pray about it and keep it vertical. Galli says we SHOULD get away from SHOULD'S. So he tells us we SHOULD be Vertical and get away from the horizontal. The Asian writer he mentioned--not using his name or even mentioning his book--seems to validate that writers argument that we are still being held captive by a "white evangelicalism"--OR.......?

More time should have been spent demonstrating how these three movements - spiritual formation, social justice and "cultural captivity" are themselves JUDGEMENTS (whether reactionary or inspired by the Holy Spirit) against a people who should have known better. And I too find Mark's "cultural captivity" very evident in not referencing Soong-Chan Rah's name and book title. What is with that my brother? And the end of this article leaves us right where we are; will we wait on Jesus together or seperately waiting for the "Jesus" of our own "cultural captivity"? John 6:28-29 reads, "Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." - We must together re-examine what we believe, why believe and in Whom we believe - to the fundamentals and understand this One Jesus the Christ and be transformed together to be salt and light. Blessings.....

I enjoyed the article overall, but think that Mark Galli misinterpreted Soong-Chan Rah's reasons for why the church needs to listen to the stories of Black, Asian, Latino and other Christians outside of the dominant white church. His name or book title wasn't referenced, but I would encourage readers to check out "The Next Evangelicalism" by Soong-Chan Rah for themselves. http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3360.

Interesting article... The condition is as old as mankind and can be summarized in Mat 14:25-31 where Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to sink. Another symptom is that hero worship is alive and well, like in 1Corinthians 1:12-13.. Mr Galli's article is filled with book references as are several of the comments. I believe that in order to go verticle we need to read the Bible and depend upon the Holy Spirit to assist us in interpretation. Remember what they said about the disciples?. Acts 4:13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. And also.. Hebrews 8: 11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, `You should know the Lord.'. It is my conviction that the greatest problem that the Ekklesia historically faces is second-hand spiritualty.

I appreciate Mark Galli's perspective on the vertical needing to come before the horizontal--a needed corrective. Yet, I am surprised that the article references Soong-Chan Rah's book, The Next Evangelicalism, without naming Soong-Chan Rah nor listing the book among the other "books mentioned in this essay." I know this must have been an oversight because CT is usually more careful than this. I would also say that Galli's perspective creates a false dichotomy between the vertical and horizontal. I don't know about him, but I first learned about the Gospel from the people around me and I believe that is God's intention in establishing the church as the body of Christ. Yes, we run into problems when we compare ourselves to others. Yet we can learn from others. This truly is the message of Soong-Chan Rah's book--for the predominantly white Evangelical church to learn from other Evangelicals, especially those from other cultures.

Right on the mark!

A superb article. Galli gets right to the heart of the matter. Evangelicalism has become so enamored with the horizontal that it has forgotten God. What ever happened to God? In my own tradition, John Wesley referred to this as "practical atheism," that is, Christians who try to be Christian without the initiative and involvement of God in their lives. God is only secondary, a "useful" tool, as is everything else in the world, including the church, faith, worship, preaching, the Bible, evangelism, ministry, etc. What if evangelicals were to turn their attention to God? What if they were to love God simply for God's own sake, rather than what God do for them or help them accomplish? Wesley wrote often that the "means of grace" - that is, the things we do - are for the purpose of knowing and loving God, and they are grounded in the merit of Christ and the efficacy of the Spirit. Sounds like a massive need for renewal, reform, and transformation that is too big for us alone.

9 pages of conviction. I by no means wasted my time or His by reading it and thinking about it. Perhaps one of our problems as Evangelicals is a very human one. We want to be loved and accepted. Maybe this drive has been too powerful and has worked to become our undoing as we aim to be more culturally acceptable. We have become frogs in the kettle.

I read through the article and I noted all of those who find something wrong with the "church" as we know it, but I wind up - as usual, with the feeling I have wasted more of my time, excuse me, more of His time. For you see, "I have been cricified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." The Apostle Paul spoke these words in his letter to the church at Galatia and they were real to him - otherwise, he would never have been able to live the life that he lived. They became a part of my life some 35+ years ago, after having lived the first almost 45 years, in church. My confession is simple: it is better to live - in Christ, than it is to attempt to live - in church.