| Original Message |
Dorlan Bales (no login)
Posted Dec 31, 2003 12:02 AM
It may be that we are on the cusp of a promising time for Quaker evangelism. The alliance of corporate power, fundamentalist religion, and the Project for A New American Century may have overreached with its invasion of Iraq and the huge budget deficit created by military spending and tax cuts for the wealthy. The American mainstream may soon grow tired of orange terror alerts and come to see the downside of American military-corporate empire. There may soon be a renewed receptivity to a message of inclusion, Spirit, and search for common good at both the international and local church levels.
Evangelism, it seems to me, is simply calling people into spiritually-based community. In the case of Quakers today, that community should be based on Jesus as Christ ( i.e. crucial embodiment [but not sole messenger], the person we identify with the inwardly experienced Spirit of Truth/Love) and upon 350 years of Quaker experience of Christ Present.
Quaker evangelism has always taken many forms, since situations vary so greatly. Robert Barclay was evangelized at 17 by his father's Quaker cellmate, John Swinton, in Edinburgh castle. Swinton's words were confirmed inwardly when he worshipped with Quakers. He was convinced by the "secret power among them" that raised up the good and weakened the evil in him. So we can ask ourselves, "What was the early Quaker evangelistic method?" Was it Fox going into steeplehouses and denouncing formal, civil religion? Was it theological debates in public places? Was it the emotional power, the physical quaking, that happened in their meetings for worship? Was it their willingness to suffer at the hands of the government for their faith? Was it their inclusion of humble people and women in leadership? All of the above and more?
I wonder if the way you have posed question #3, (when to talk about Jesus and when to talk about ethics/discipleship) is helpful to the end we seek. I'm assuming that we want more clarity about how to preach the gospel in the 21st century. We lack clarity about our message as well as our methods. What is the good news we proclaim in a variety of ways depending on the cultural setting? Is it good news for the poor and the insecure middle class in a time of growing empire and oppression? Is it a call to soul-satisfying relationships and peace based on justice in a time of growing reliance on guns, bombs, and prisons? Is it a call to integrity and equality in a time of corporate greed and marginalization of have-nots? Is it going into the highways and byways and calling people to the blessed simplicity of God's banquet table?
At our best Quakers are just and ethical people. But there's got to be more. To get beyond legalism, shoulds, and oughts, there must be a shared experience of the inward power of the Holy Spirit within that enables us to do the will of God in our close personal relationships and our dealings with the world. Programmed religion can at best be a prelude to the experience of prayerful seeking together that gathers Quakers into the presence of the Holy. At worst, it's a more or less entertaining manipulation of people's thinking and emotions, a passively received presentation that legitimizes an unjust status quo and distracts people from the Word.
I continue to believe that Quakers today have a precious heritage that restores much of what was lost under the Constantinian church. I do not believe that the way forward is big churches or a continuing accomodation to popular religion that glorifies health, wealth, and a false patriotism. The Christ of the early church and early Quakerism is the Christ of discipleship! There can be no "central role of/for Christ" if the call to conversion from the world's ways is not sounded. If as Quakers we try to ease people into "Quakerism" with a message of cheap grace and cultural triumphalism that's easy on the ears, how can that message be undone later? |
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