Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism: Missional, Intellectual, Theologically Diverse, Complex, and Increasingly Global by Ryan A. Brandt and Amber Thomas Reynolds

Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism: Missional, Intellectual, Theologically Diverse, Complex, and Increasingly Global 

Ryan A. Brandt and Amber Thomas Reynolds

Ryan A. Brandt is Professor of Christian History and Theology at Grand Canyon University; Amber Thomas Reynolds is Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at Wheaton College (IL)

Introduction

Twentieth-century evangelicalism: what a daunting subject to choose! The genesis of this special issue of JBTS was in February 2020. In the three plus years since then, the world changed. And although evangelical identity was already heavily contested prior to 2020, more than ever, whether it is possible to analyze modern “evangelicalism” as an essentially religious rather than a political or cultural movement is in question, especially among American academics and journalists. Important studies of the intersections between evangelicalism and race, politics, and gender have certainly revealed historical blind spots.¹ Yet, for all of the recent debate, it is important to remember that defining “evangelical” and “evangelicalism”—even whether or not to capitalize the term—has been debated for at least a century. The profusion of writing on evangelicalism, furthermore, frustrates any attempt to contribute something new to the discussion.² Thus, the editors have approached the topic with modest aims, recognizing our particular perspectives: one editor, trained in theology at a denominational seminary in the United States, teaches theology students at an evangelical university; the other, trained in cultural history of Christianity at a British university, teaches history courses in an evangelical liberal-arts setting. Although our vantage points may seem to be relatively similar, it became clear during the editorial planning stages that we were coming from two very different academic worlds. Like JBTS in general, we write with the evangelical undergraduate student in mind, who probably has heard much about evangelicals of late but may not, in fact, have a clue who they are.

In that light, this special issue of JBTS will certainly not seek to propose a brand-new definition of evangelicalism, or to throw its total weight behind one existing formulation. As a journal geared toward students, not just scholars, our aim is to, first, clarify some of the major questions involved in defining twentieth-century evangelicalism. Secondly, we explore several religious rather than social or political topics, some of which are well-recognized in the literature and others of which have arguably been overlooked in recent discussions—especially at the popular level—of the twentieth- and early twenty-first century movements. As part of this latter goal, we feature scholar-practitioners from a field that is sometimes under-represented in discussions of evangelical identity: missiology.

This present introductory article seeks to offer some background and cohesion for this special issue’s articles. In the first part, we broadly survey definitions of evangelicalism, focusing on six successive historical developments in the twentieth century and how these developments illuminate and complicate such definition. In the second part, we introduce the five articles in this special issue as a way of highlighting some of these key debates today.

1. A few recent examples include Anthea Butler, White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2021); Aaron Griffith, God’s Law and Order: the Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2020); John Corrigan, Melani McAlister, and Axel R. Schäfer, eds., Global Faith, Worldly Power: Evangelical Internationalism and U.S. Empire (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2022); and Kristen Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (New York: Liveright, 2020).
2. Start with Mark A. Noll, David W. Bebbington, and George M. Marsden, eds., Evangelicals: Who They Have Been, Are Now, and Could Be (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2019), and Andrew Atherstone and David Ceri Jones, eds., The Routledge Research Companion to the History of Evangelicalism (London and New York: Routledge, 2019).

American Evangelical Missions Since 1910 by A. Scott Moreau

American Evangelical Missions Since 1910

A. Scott Moreau

Scott is Professor of Intercultural Studies Emeritus and former Academic Dean of Wheaton College Graduate School

Abstract: This article provides a brief synopsis of US evangelical missions over the course of the twentieth century. Each of the four historical sections (1910 to 1945, 1946 to 1974, 1975 to 2000, 2001 to 2020) explores developments, challenges, and trends of the time period under consideration. From the nascent development of evangelical missions to the current climate of evangelical splintering, the twentieth century has seen a tumultuous, exciting, surprising, and challenging journey of American evangelical missions.1

Keywords: mission, missiology, missions, evangelical, ecumenical, conciliar, fundamentalist, Pentecostalism, contextualization, holistic mission.

Forgotten Voices in Early Twentieth-Century Evangelical Theology by Kenneth J. Stewart

Forgotten Voices in Early Twentieth-Century Evangelical Theology 

Kenneth J. Stewart

Kenneth is Professor of Theological Studies Emeritus, Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA

Abstract: Standard accounts of fundamentalism and evangelicalism in the inter- war period of the twentieth century uniformly emphasize the paucity of energetic scholarship in Scripture and Theology. It is suggested that energies were largely directed towards theological combat. We are told that those who did research and write did so for those who shared their commitments. This standard approach passes over the fact that on both sides of the Atlantic, there were evangelical scholars already in their careers in the 1920s and 30s who worked away doing solid scholarship, scholarship which laid the foundations for the better-recognized blossoming of evangelical learning in the post-World War Two era.

Keywords: Fundamentalism, Evangelicalism, Inter-Varsity, Tyndale House, Fuller Theological Seminary

Bill Bright’s Four Spiritual Laws and Their Place in the History and Trajectory of Evangelical Soteriology by Sean McGever

Bill Bright’s Four Spiritual Laws and Their Place in the History and Trajectory of Evangelical Soteriology 

Sean McGever

Sean (PhD, Aberdeen) is adjunct faculty in the College of Theology at Grand Canyon University and Area Director for Young Life

Abstract: This article analyzes the trajectory and norms of evangelical soteriology and evangelistic ministry established by early evangelicals Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley and later pattern set by Bill Bright’s Four Spiritual Laws. It examines how terms such as conversion, regeneration, the new birth, and being born again were used in evangelical literature and how they were understood. It further looks at the practices of Campus Crusade for Christ and its focus on decisions, looking at the results of the Berkeley Blitz, Explo ’74 in South Korea, and the Here’s Life campaigns around the world. It concludes by identifying five key areas in which the approach and practices of Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ differs from that of early evangelicals.

Keywords: Evangelicalism, soteriology, conversion, sinner’s prayer, decisionism, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Bill Bright, Campus Crusade for Christ.

The Indelible Mark of Boon Mark Gittisarn on Twentieth-Century Christianity in Thailand: A Brief Biography by Karl Dahlfred

The Indelible Mark of Boon Mark Gittisarn on Twentieth-Century Christianity in Thailand: A Brief Biography 

Karl Dahlfred

Karl is professor of church history at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary and missionary with OMF International

Abstract: Over the course of nine decades in the twentieth century, Thai pastor and evangelist Boon Mark Gittisarn tirelessly preached the Gospel throughout Thailand, asserted Thai leadership when missionaries were slow to yield control, and helped launch Thailand’s Pentecostal movement. His spiritual journey began with American Presbyterians and shifted to fundamentalism, then Pentecostalism, and ended with Seventh Day Adventism. During this time, he linked himself to diverse evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal figures including John Sung, Carl McIntire, and T. L. Osborn. Bold and charismatic, Boon Mark fought against missionary paternalism, decried theological liberalism, and provided leadership that united and divided Thai Christians and missionaries, leaving an indelible and transformative mark upon the churches of Thailand.

Keywords: evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, fundamentalism, Thailand

Evangelicals Shift to the South, 1900-2020: Decentering Western Perspectives and Building Global Equality by Todd M. Johnson

Evangelicals Shift to the South, 1900-2020: Decentering Western Perspectives and Building Global Equality 

Todd M. Johnson

Todd is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of Mission and Global Christianity and co-director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as well as Visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute for Culture, Religion and World Affairs

Abstract: In 1900, 7.8 percent of all Evangelicals lived in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. By 2020, this grew to 77 percent, representing an epochal shift to the Global South. Yet, Evangelicalism is still characterized as a European faith, with Western perspectives normalized in theology, spirituality, leadership, and other areas. This article examines what it would look like to decenter Western perspectives and build equality for perspectives from cultures around the world. We consider how increasing diversity within Evangelicalism impacts the reading of scripture, the development of key theological concepts, holistic or integral mission, relationships between Christians of different denominations, and relationships with people of other religion or no religion.

Keywords: Evangelicalism, Global North, Global South, global equality, Scripture, theology, unity, diversity, contextualization