Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

Are you tired of arguing about the importance of the atonement?

Are you frustrated with Christians who don’t hold to the primacy and authority of Scripture?

Does the trend to dismiss the importance of biblical doctrine keep you up at night?

Are you weary of being lumped in with Right-Wing Fundamentalists, a camp you work hard at distancing yourself from?

Well if you’re an evangelical, there is really no respite in sight. This is the battle you have to fight. In the picture above are three men who know (or have known) the above ordeal very well. The late, John Stott (left), JI Packer (center) and Billy Graham (right) are three post-WW2 evangelical theologians/evangelists/pastors who bear the battle scars from a lifetime of contending for a reformed, Christian faith.

Why I Appreciate These Men

In the fall I spent a bulk of my free time studying Anglicanism, and more specifically, the evangelical movement within its rich yet turbulent history. It became clear during my studies that evangelicals (coming from the Puritan, Reformed tradition) have always been the awkward members of the family. They were always the pesky ones at the dinner table who insisted that the Christian family stay Christian. This is being reductionistic but it is a fitting analogy of what happened.

“Oh c’mon, do we really need to pray before meals still?”

The Evangelicals have historically stood for the authority and primacy of Scripture. They have fought for justification by grace through faith. They have worked hard to keep religion and robes out of a pure expression of the Christian faith. The evangelicals have called the church back to keeping the atonement central to the gospel message and stood on guard with fitting suspicion against anyone who tried to tinker with it.

The evangelicals told the preachers to keep preaching and were the ones taking notes in the front row.

They have also always been criticized. There are many occasions I could point out, here’s just one example.

Billy Taking Bullets In The Trenches

It was a great honour to be asked by one of the profs here at Oxford to assist him with some research on this topic of evangelical Anglicanism. One paper I read today had this example of one evangelical who was and is no stranger to the spotlight.

When Billy Graham came to London on a crusade in the 1950’s he was criticized by the American fundamentalists at home for his willingness to work with people they didn’t agree with. Graham ignored the critics, distanced himself from the American-driven sectarian, holiness movement and pursued his call to crusade in London as an evangelist to “whosover would believe.” Getting wind of his arrival, the British media lambasted Graham for being a fundamentalist colonializer of American Christianity.  The liberals insisted his “conversion-focussed” method of evangelism would have no success in England. He was taking shots from everyone.

I could imagine his tea times in England were quite lonely in those early days.

In 1954 Billy Graham packed out Wembley Stadium and experienced tremendous success. Many 1000’s came to Christ and his 1950’s crusades are a high watermark moment for an evangelical resurgence in England.

John Stott and Packer By His Side

This success is also greatly credited to the work of John Stott who came to Graham’s side in the 50’s. Stott published and preached the importance of the gospel and led evangelical distinctives balancing the importance of doctrine and social justice.

Despite often doubling as a lightning rod in the church, JI Packer’s influence was also key to helping define the evangelical identity both in England and North America. It was Packer who is credited with rediscovering our Puritan heritage, particularly in his work on Richard Baxter.

Their labours of these men leave a rich legacy that is passed on to us today. The Cross of Christ by John Stott highlights the centrality of the atonement, defends against objections and is a must read for any one who wants to better understand why Jesus had to/came to die. Knowing God by JI Packer is a Christian classic doubles as a theological and devotional must read. 

Standing On Their Shoulders

On January 13,2012 I will be attending John Stott’s memorial service in London. I am very excited to be one of the many who will pack St. Paul’s Cathedral to honour the life of this evangelical giant. JI Packer is still alive but getting old and Billy Graham has preached his last crusade.

Now it is our turn. Before Stott, Packer and Graham it was BB Warfield, Charles Hodge and others. Before them it was the Puritans and before them, the Reformers. These conservative theologians all found themselves in difficult, awkward conversations that would end up costing many of them their very lives.

It’s ok when people don’t like us. Jesus warned that this kind of thing would happen.

Remember, we’ve always been the awkward ones in the family. 

On the shoulders of these and those like them, let us contend today for the Christian faith. We do this by proclaiming the gospel, keeping the atonement central, holding to the importance and insistence upon Christian conversion, believing in the infallibility of Scripture, and preaching like we will never get invited back.

Because the truth is, we just might not be invited back. But like Billy Graham’s crusading in the 1950’s, many could get saved in the process.

That, my friends, is the evangelical way!