• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In
MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission MattersNew
          • Missio Nexus
          • People First HR
          • Members Only Feed
        • Blogs
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mission Advisors
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Alliance for Benefits
    • Bible CertificateNew
    • Church Missions CoachingNew
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Leaders
    • Mission Jobs
    • OnBoard
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission AppNew
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Upcoming Events

          • Webinar: Through the Wall
            Thu Jan 28 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Three Easy Ways to Drive Innovation
            Thu Feb 11 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Three Steps to Kickstart Your Fund Development Program
            Tue Feb 16 2021, 03:00pm EST
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missiographics
          • Mission Handbook
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Submit Data for Mission Handbook
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Webinar: Through the Wall
    Thu Jan 28 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Three Easy Ways to Drive Innovation
    Thu Feb 11 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Three Steps to Kickstart Your Fund Development Program
    Tue Feb 16 2021, 03:00pm EST
  • Webinar: Innovating Theological Education: How BibleMesh can Prepare your Staff for Ministry
    Thu Feb 25 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Association Leaders Gathering
    Tue Mar 2 2021, 08:30am EST

View all events »

Topics

author interview Canada CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting Coaching Conference Proceedings COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Evangelism Focus Future Globally Engaged Churches Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Personal Productivity Podcast Presenter Research Security Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached unreached people groups Weekly Roundup Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

From Lausanne to Manila: Evangelical Social Thought: Models of Missions and the Social Relevance of

Posted on April 1, 2005 by April 1, 2005

by Jacob Thomas

This is a good book, well worth reading. The first four chapters provide an historical overview of evangelical attitudes toward and proclamations about the social dimension of the gospel. The final chapter provides a preliminary evaluation of three basic ethical models for approaching social concerns.

With a Foreword by John Stott. ISPCK [Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge], P.O. Box 1585, 1654 Madarsa Road, Kashmere Gate, Dehli-110006, India, 2003, 220 pages, $15.00.

—Reviewed by Timothy Paul Erdel, Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana; MK from Ecuador and former missionary to Jamaica (1987-1993).

This is a good book, well worth reading. The first four chapters provide an historical overview of evangelical attitudes toward and proclamations about the social dimension of the gospel. The final chapter provides a preliminary evaluation of three basic ethical models for approaching social concerns.

Chapter one recalls the social activism of many nineteenth century evangelicals, followed by “the great reversal” as evangelicals reacted against the “social gospel.” Thomas then traces the impact of seven pivotal evangelical meetings: Wheaton 1966, Berlin 1966, Minneapolis 1969, Bogotá 1969 (CLADE I), Frankfurt 1970, Chicago 1973 and Lausanne 1974. Western evangelicals frequently viewed social action with suspicion. Samuel Escobar (Bogotá) and Tom Skinner (Minneapolis) insisted social issues are a priority in mission along with evangelism. Their emphasis on social responsibility was kept alive in Chicago and at Lausanne.

Chapter two notes the mostly negative evangelical responses to ecumenical conferences at Uppsala 1968 and Bangkok 1973, though Thomas assesses them more positively. In addition to Lausanne 1974, consultations at Pasadena in 1977 and at Willowbank, Bermuda in 1978 pushed evangelicals to keep grappling with social concerns. René Padilla emerged as a forceful critic of the homogeneous unit principle at the Pasadena consultation.

Chapter three documents evangelical voices from the Two-thirds world that gained strength at regional conferences in Madras 1979, in Lima 1979 (CLADE II) and in Soweto 1985. Nevertheless, even in settings marked by overwhelming social crises, the call for social transformation as part of the Good News was somewhat muted.

Chapter four continues the parade of evangelical meetings: London 1980, Pattaya 1980, Grand Rapids 1982, Wheaton 1983 and Manila 1989 (Lausanne II). Social issues moved increasingly to the fore, and yet Western evangelical leaders still hesitated to acknowledge their full significance.

Chapter five evaluates three evangelical approaches to social concerns: the Kingdom ethic, the Creation ethic and the ethic of transformation. While acknowledging genuine strengths in the first two, Thomas suggests that both now also carry negative connotations. For example, the doctrine of Apartheid was grounded in appeals to the Creation ethic.

From Lausanne to Manila causes readers to reflect on a number of difficult questions. For instance, why have Western theological concerns been so driven by reactions to the World Council of Churches rather than by a whole-hearted, biblical affirmation of the whole gospel for the whole person in a social context? The author is Indian and the book was published in India, but the irony is that so many First world perspectives fill its pages, if only to be rejected. Finally, even if the author is on the right track, the book serves primarily as a historical prelude to an ethic of transformation. That ethic has yet to be fully articulated.

Check these titles:
Mott, Stephen Charles. 1982. Biblical Ethics and Social Change. New York: Oxford University Press.

Noëlliste, Dieuméme. 1987. “The Church and Human Emancipation: A Critical Comparison of Liberation Theology and the Latin American Theological Fraternity.” Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern University.

—–

Copyright © 2005 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 41 - Issue 2

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Join
  • Directories
  • Events
  • Donate

About

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+

PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

© Missio Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks