Evangelical Alliance UK on Evangelicalism in the UK

The Evangelical Alliance has published a report on ‘Understanding UK Evangelicals: Who are They?’

Here are some snapshots:

‘This report presents the findings of a landmark survey that sought to measure the size, shape and identity of the evangelical population across the United Kingdom.’

‘Most practising Christians in the UK are evangelicals and evangelical Christianity is growing. Evangelicals are younger, more ethnically diverse, and more likely to be male than the wider population.’

‘Using the narrowest definition there are now an estimated 2.6 million evangelical Christians in the UK.’

‘Evangelical Christianity is thriving among young people, ethnic minority populations and men. The UK church is growing, and this looks set to continue, given the demographics.’

See here for more information and to download (with an email required) the report itself.

The Big Picture on Evangelicalism

Several articles from the latest issue of The Big Picture, a magazine produced by the Kirby Laing Centre, have recently been made available via Substack.

According to the blurb:

‘Our seventeenth issue of The Big Picture broaches the topic of evangelicalism. Without sweeping aside the problems and weaknesses of the movement over its history, it has had an important role in revitalising world Christianity, and our world needs a healthy evangelicalism now more than ever. Our contributors look at what has characterised the movement since its earliest days, what might be missing and what might have gone wrong. Several articles explore the role of evangelicalism in politics, others in intellectual pursuits such as education or research, and still others in ethics and mission. We hope that our issue offers some avenues for its renewal.’

The articles are available from here.

Kirsten Birkett on Class and Evangelicalism in Britain

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter (or thereabouts) and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):

Kirsten Birkett, ‘Class and evangelicalism in Britain’, Cambridge Papers 35, 1 (March 2026).

Here is the summary:

‘Class in Britain is easy to understand in broad outline but very complicated in practice. This paper surveys ways in which class can be understood in twenty-first-century Britain, and some of the biblical material concerning class and wealth. It identifies a problem for British evangelicals: their evangelism is not reaching the working classes. It is suggested that there is a need to challenge existing evangelical church culture as well as making a concerted effort to plant more churches for working-class people.’

EAUK on Confident Faith

In 2025, the Evangelical Alliance surveyed evangelical Christians on their views and experiences as Christians living in the UK:

• Do Christians feel free to practise their faith today?

• How has that changed over time?

• How do they experience faith in the workplace?

• What is the state of Christian hate crime and hostility today?

• Evangelicals’ views on Christian nationalism. 

The resulting report – Confident Faith, Contested Culture – gives a snapshot of the views and lived experiences of evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom today.

According to Danny Webster, Director of Advocacy:

‘Evangelicals in the UK have considerable freedom to practise their faith, and to practise it in public. Whether that’s meeting to worship without fear of reprisals, or preaching in the street, or talking about your beliefs at work, the freedom of Christians is real, meaningful and worthy of gratitude. And yet, there is a growing sense among many that the cultural context is changing and making things harder.’

Key findings are highlighted in an article here, and the full report is available as a pdf here.

Evangelical Alliance UK on Thinking Faithfully about Politics

The Evangelical Alliance UK has produced a report, following a survey of 1,300 people, on what they call ‘a snapshot of how evangelicals think and act as they engage in politics’.

More information is available here, and a pdf of the report can be download here.

Themelios 47, 3 (December 2022)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles, three of which are devoted to the work of J.I. Packer.

Editorial

D.A. Carson

One of the Saddest Texts in the OT

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

A Late Review of a Late Sonata in Late Modernity

Etienne Jodar

The Cryptic Saying of Isaiah 28:10, 13 and Paul’s Controversy over Tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:20–25

While the study of the New Testament use of the Old Testament has received much attention in the last decades, this discipline has not generally had much bearing on translation. In this article I use Paul’s use of Isaiah 28:11–12 in 1 Corinthians 14:21 in order to shed light on the cryptic saying of Isaiah 28:10 and 13. Presupposing that Paul draws from the immediate context of Isaiah 28:11–12, I suggest that the rhetorical effect of Paul’s quotation is stronger if Isaiah 28:10 (and 13) is interpreted to represent an incomprehensible sequence of syllables, like a minority of English translations do. Starting in the Old Testament, the most likely meaning of Paul’s quotation in its original context is determined. The focus then turns to 1 Corinthians 14:20–25, as various views are presented and considered successively. The discussion concludes by explaining the rhetorical effect that Paul’s quotation would have made upon the Corinthian believers and why the minority view of Isaiah 28:10 and 13 might be the most likely.

Michael Kuykendall

Numerical Symbolism in the Book of Revelation: A Weakness of Modern Bible Versions

Several modern Bible versions do a disservice to John’s use of numbers in the book of Revelation. This article first offers a short primer on symbolism in Revelation, then overviews the book’s symbolic use of numbers. John utilizes “good” numbers and “bad” numbers to express theological truths. The bulk of the study examines how several modern versions unwittingly thwart John’s theological intentions by masking his numerical symbolism. This is evidenced in two ways – changing (updating) the actual symbolic number when measurements and distances are mentioned; and rendering key terms in Revelation found exactly seven times with different English words, which obscures significant numerical interconnections. The conclusion asserts that future modern versions and revisions of existing translations must treat Revelation differently on this issue.

Nathan Parker

Heaven’s War upon the Earth: How to Turn a Moderate 17th Century Pastor into a Radical

There appears a strong apocalyptical expectation in the writings of the 17th century Puritan pastor John Flavel (1628–1691), but, as this paper will argue, this materialized in his later writings. Most people who thought the end of the world was imminent in the 17th century tended to be within radical groups that were active during the Interregnum. Though the momentum of apocalyptical thought was generally arrested over the next two decades it is notable that by the time of the Glorious Revolution it was incorporated into the preaching of a peaceable and deeply conciliatory pastor. After providing a brief summary of who Flavel was and why he was an important (though heretofore overlooked) figure, this article will shed light on how one moderate Puritan came to embrace ideas with alarmingly radical implications.

Geoff Chang

New Insights into the Formative Influence of Spurgeon’s Early Years

This article draws on lesser-known primary sources to argue for the formative influence of C.H. Spurgeon’s early years on his future ministry. First, it examines John Spurgeon’s time in Raleigh, which explains why Spurgeon spent the first five years of his life with his grandfather, a relationship that shaped his view of ministry and the church. Second, it reflects on the ministry of T.W. Davids, pastor of the Congregational church in Colchester, and his influence on young Spurgeon. Third, it summarizes new insights from Spurgeon’s earliest preaching notebooks.

Kenneth J. Stewart

The Young J. I. Packer as a ‘New Warfield’? A Chapter in the Post-1930 Revival of Reformed Theology

J.I. Packer (1926–2020) first came to the attention of the reading public with a 1953 essay in the second printing of the New Bible Commentary. His essay, ‘Revelation and Inspiration’, replaced Daniel Lamont’s essay on the same subject, in the first printing issued earlier that year. It had been in certain respects unsatisfactory. Packer’s 1953 essay, his controversial 1955 Evangelical Quarterly article on the Keswick movement, and his 1958 book, ‘Fundamentalism’ and the Word of God illustrated his growing affinity with the writings of Princeton theologian, B.B. Warfield (d. 1921). In all this, Packer was a leading voice in the post-WWII reassertion of Reformed theology. But Packer, rather than being the pioneer of this movement, was in fact building on the legacy of others who had pointed in this direction: Douglas Johnson of British Inter-Varsity, Alan Stibbs of Oak Hill College, and T.C. Hammond – formerly of Dublin and from 1936, principal of Moore College, Sydney. This movement, closely associated with Inter-Varsity, was itself part of a larger post-1929 resurgence of orthodox Reformed theology.

Paul R. House

J.I. Packer and the Next Wave of Evangelicalism: Foundations for Renewal

This article surveys the life and ministry of James Innell Packer (1926–2020), evangelical Anglican, theologian, author, Bible translator, and church renewal advocate. It suggests that Packer’s ministry is especially informative because it had roots in pre-war evangelical circles and extended through the growth of the evangelical movement from the 1950s to the 1990s and the movement’s ebbing afterwards. It asserts that Packer’s efforts to aid theological and church restoration provide principles for much-needed biblical renewal in current evangelicalism.

Don J. Payne

The Explicit and Implicit Theological Method of J.I. Packer

J.I. Packer’s theological works have wielded remarkable influence on the landscape of North American evangelicalism. His hallmark theological emphases reflect both explicit methodological commitments and implicit methodological traits. Packer’s theological method is marked by a commitment to the inerrancy and authority of the biblical text, as interpreted within a covenantal, canonical, and Christo-centric framework. His method also reflects assumptions about the nature of divine and human rationality, the capacity of human rationality to access the formal meaning of the text, the nature of meaning in the text, and the role of the Holy Spirit in the hermeneutical process.

John Jefferson Davis

Is the Holy Spirit Really a “Person” – with a Distinct Personality?

The purpose of this article is to help the reader conceptualize and imagine the Holy Spirit as a real person with a distinct and knowable personality – a person of the Trinity more accessible to our faith, reading of Scripture, and worship. Factors in church history tending to marginalize the Holy Spirit in the life of the church are identified. Biblical texts dealing with the names, images, words, and actions of the Holy Spirit are expounded to put the distinct personality of the Holy Spirit into sharper focus.

Trent A. Rogers and John K. Tarwater

A Biblical-Theological Framework for Human Sexuality: Applications to Private Sexuality

What are good sexual acts? It is not that surprising when cultural voices, without reference to God, argue for the inherent goodness of all “unharmful” sexual desires and acts. Regrettably, ethical pragmatism has influenced some Christian sexual ethics, and this influence is particularly evident with the issue of masturbation. What God defines as good sexual acts are those that fulfill his unitive and procreative purposes for sex within marriage. Given God’s unitive and procreative purposes for sex within the context of marriage, we argue that masturbation is a categorically impermissible act because it fulfills neither of these purposes, and we counter Christian arguments for its permissibility. God calls Christians to deal with sexual desires, including good sexual desires, through either marital sexual expression or Spirit-enabled self-control.

Robb Torseth

“The Sanctification of Our Speech”: The Theological Function of Truth and Falsehood in John Webster’s “Sins of Speech”

The contemporary debate concerning truth and falsehood has become distinctly conspicuous in light of recent global events. The increasing great divorce between diverging worldviews has resulted in what Susan Harding has coined the “repugnant cultural other,” where each group has retreated into itself, stigmatized the other, and thus neglects a genuine exchange of words and ideas. Here, the writings of the late John Webster help shed light on foundational conceptions of the purpose, use, and ethics of human language as primarily both theologically-oriented and theologically-originated. This article will consider Webster’s 2015 article “Sins of Speech,” first in relation to his broader thought, and second as it applies to the contemporary problem of speech, public or private, in the information age.

Centre for Public Christianity (November 2022)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has this month posted a new ‘Life and Faith’ podcast episode with John Stackhouse on evangelicalism’s contribution to the world.

More information and download from here.

Tim Chester on Evangelical Social Action

Tim Chester notes that his book, Awakening to a World of Need: The Recovery of Evangelical Social Action (Leicester: IVP, 1993) has long been out of print and is now largely out of date.

However, for those interested in the history of how evangelicals rediscovered social action during the last third of the 20th century, it is available to download as a pdf from here or as a Kindle book from here.

Evangelical Review of Theology 46, 1 (February 2022)

The latest Evangelical Review of Theology, published by The World Evangelical Alliance, is now online and available in its entirety as a pdf here.

Johannes Reimer

The Erosion of Church Growth through Patriarchal Leadership in Russia

Authoritarian patriarchal leadership has spawned abuse, scandal and controversy caused tragedies in churches and Christian ministries all over the world. This article highlights the pervasive problem of autocratic leadership among Russian evangelicals – explaining the historical reasons for the development of this pattern, analysing its components and urging a healthier way forward.

Elmer John Thiessen

In Pursuit of Intellectual Virtue

This article rigorously and insightfully examines three intellectual virtues – love of knowledge and truth, intellectual humility, and open-mindedness – that are essential to Christian maturity and powerful in overcoming strife, contention and polarization.

Richard L. Smith

Such a Heart as This: The Intellectual Implications of Deuteronomy 5:29

Contrary to the frequent Christian tendency to devalue intellectual pursuits, Richard L. Smith finds an emphasis on loving God with the mind throughout the Old Testament. This excerpt from his new book shows how God communicates this message through Deuteronomy.

Dennis P. Petri and Ronald R. Boyd-MacMillan

What Persecution To Endure, To Resist, or To Flee?

How to respond to persecution is a complex decision involving both principled and strategic considerations. In this article, two of the world’s leading experts on religious persecution draw on both Scripture and their considerable experience to discuss the options comprehensively.

Francis Jr. S. Samdao

On the Idea of Contextualization: Cultural Sensitivity and Catholic Sensibility

How do we present the Christian faith so as to be sensitive and accommodating to local cultures while not obscuring the non-negotiable truths of the gospel? This article, authored in an Asian context but with worldwide relevance, offers guidance on fulfilling both of those imperatives.

Israel Oluwole Olofinjana

Jesus’ Discipleship Model of Suffering and Sacrifice: Discipleship and Racial Justice

How to pursue racial justice has been a contentious issue in many places, particularly because of the allegedly radical views of some pro-justice organizations. This article takes a different approach, depicting racial justice as an implication of whole-life discipleship and proposing practical actions for Christians.

David A. Clark

Evangelical Identity Formation in Post-colonial Britain

Modern cultural changes have divided evangelicals in many parts of the world, with some urging progressive agendas and other resisting what they consider radical ideas. Using racial justice issues as an example, this article warns against both extremes and charts a course of sensitivity toward the aggrieved as part of building a more unified church.

Leah Farish

The ‘Sins of Equals’ and Racial Justice

Evangelicals believe that Scripture and the great confessions of faith remain relevant to our modern lives. This short essay demonstrates that relevance by applying a little- known passage from the Westminster Larger Catechism of 1648 to race relations.

Book Reviews

Mark A. Noll on the Rise of Evangelicalism

I’ve recently had reason to scan the five volumes of ‘A History of Evangelicalism’, published by IVP. I was reminded that I wrote a review of the first volume when it appeared back in 2004, which I have pasted below for any who might be interested.

Mark A. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys, A History of Evangelicalism (Leicester: IVP, 2004).

An older, wiser Christian once encouraged me to keep a history or biography and a work of theology on the go alongside my regular Bible study. No prizes for guessing that I’ve not managed to follow that piece of advice much in the last twenty years. When I have managed to do so, however, the sense of ‘duty’ I’ve felt has been more than outweighed by the benefits I’ve received. It was with that mix of ‘here’s something I really must do’ alongside ‘this will really be for my better good’ that I approached this volume, once again grateful for the wisdom of my friend. Of course, those who actually enjoy reading history and biography won’t require any such encouragement.

I was particularly drawn to this book as it’s the first in a projected five-volume series on the history of evangelicalism in the English-speaking world, co-edited by Mark A. Noll and David W. Bebbington, with authors writing from the USA, Scotland, England, and Australia. Whilst recognising its Reformation pedigree, evangelicalism, according to the series, was constituted both by individuals and the network of relationships shared by those who were involved in eighteenth-century revivals, and also by certain convictions and attitudes which have been maintained since. Hence while evangelicalism is fluid, ‘cohesion has always been present, both from the common original commitment to revival and from the strength of shared convictions’ (18). The series promises to provide an orientation of sorts to ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’, with the story told from the perspective of an evangelical commitment, and yet also as part of the cultural, political, and intellectual history of the times in which evangelicals have inevitably found themselves.

Noll, a first-rate historian of American evangelicalism, provides the first installment up to the mid-1790s. As such, the book could be usefully read in tandem with his American Evangelical Christianity: An Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), a collection of essays showing how evangelicalism has been quick to adapt to trends in culture, such as consumerism and individualism, or his more substantial America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), on the marriage of religion and politics. Even without those volumes, Noll’s research is evident here in the full footnotes and lengthy bibliographies.

The book itself contains nine substantial chapters, topped and tailed with an introduction and afterword, moving through the period of revivals (1734-1738), fragmentation and consolidation (1738-1745), development (1745-1770), and diversification (1770-1795). Most of the coverage is devoted to Britain and the colonies that became the USA, and the account embraces well-known figures such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley, the Countess of Huntingdon, John Newton, William Wilberforce, Hannah Moore, alongside a gallery of lesser-knowns.

Chapter 2 (‘Antecedents’) shows how eighteenth-century evangelicalism arose out of three earlier movements: the international Calvinist network, especially of English Puritanism; the pietist revival from central Europe; and a High Church Anglican tradition of rigorous spirituality and organisation in voluntary societies to promote personal piety and service to others. (This last one was a surprise to me since my own evangelical tradition taught me to be suspicious of high church activities!) Noll seems to place most significance on the second of the three – the pioneering place of the German-speaking Moravians – showing that the evangelical revival began in the heart of Europe, and that the similar series of movements that arose in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the British colonies in North America were following precedents set out seventy-five years previously.

When it comes to offering ‘explanations’ for the revivals (ch. 5), Noll is happy to affirm the movement of the Spirit before considering the nature of the human agents, the flow of history, and the shifting of societal structures, all combined in someone like George Whitefield, an earnest preacher of ‘new birth’, but also an ‘expert marketer of the gospel in the new open spaces of British imperial commerce’ (143), demonstrating the work of the the Spirit through ‘channels of influence from the domains of ordinary history’ (144).

Through all this, evangelicals retained an interest in the affairs of the world, perhaps seen most notably in mobilisation against the slave trade (ch. 8). But the strong pietist tradition has tended to lead to inward focus rather that outward action (ch. 9). Emphasis on personal experience has been a feature of evangelicalism since the mid-18th century. Edwards and John Wesley who were first-rate intellectuals (and whose massive legacy lives on today) nonetheless maintained that personal experience of God was vital.

Noll includes a significant section on hymnody, which has been crucial to evangelicals from the days of the Wesleys onwards. Hymns fulfilled a teaching function, focusing mainly on human sin, resulting alienation from God, and the redemption provided through Jesus’ death. Hymns were revolutionary in terms of how they were sung, printed, memorised, and quoted. And they also had ecumenical appeal: Charles Wesley despised the Calvinism of Augustus Toplady, and Toplady had no love for Wesley’s Arminianism – but they sang each other’s hymns!

All of this adds up to a stimulating and encouraging narrative overall. Those who know the terrain better than I will be able to point out the gaps in Noll’s account; I, for one, was glad on this occasion to have taken the advice of my wise mentor all those years ago.

Chris Wright on John Stott’s Legacy

On a long car journey recently, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to a lecture by Chris Wright on John Stott – ‘John Stott’s Legacy and the Mission of the Global Church’ – which was The Alfred Stanway Lecture in Global Mission for 2016, given at Ridley College, Melbourne.

The audio for the lecture is available here or here, and Chris’ handout is available here.

He covered the below points, with most of the time spent on the first section, the five components of John Stott’s legacy and their impact on global mission. This section in particular is fascinating not only on Stott, but on evangelicalism more generally in the latter part of the 20th century.

A. Five components of John Stott’s legacy and their impact on global mission

1. Two organizations he founded

• Langham Partnership

• London Institute for Contemporary Christianity

2.Two movements he fostered

• IFES

•The Lausanne Movement

3. The books he wrote

• Evangelistic

• Teaching

• Mission

• Society and culture

4. The church he shaped – All Souls, Langham Place

5. The people he loved

B. The ‘Five Marks of Mission’ 

1. Evangelism

2. Teaching and Discipling

3. Compassion

4. Justice

5. Creation-care

C. Four biblical and missional models reflected by John Stott 

1. Abraham 

• Blessing the nations
• ‘The obedience of faith’

2. Moses 

• Leadership
• Humility

3. Paul 

• Evangelist and theologian of mission
• Teacher of the churches
• ‘Remember the poor’

4. Jesus 

• Prayer
• Simplicity

David Bebbington on ‘What is an Evangelical?’

Among other items of interest, the Centre for Public Christianity has posted a video interview with David Bebbington, exploring his well-known and widely-used quadrilateral, in which he identifies four primary characteristics of evangelicalism – conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism.

Foundations 70 (Spring 2016)

Issue 70 of Foundations: An International Journal of Evangelical Theology, published by Affinity, is now available (here in its entirety as a pdf), with the following contributions. The essays by Ted Turnau and Andrew Latimer will be particularly significant for those interested in cultural engagement and the role of Christians in the contemporary world.

Ralph Cunnington

Editorial

Benedict Bird

The Covenant of Redemption According to John Owen and Patrick Gillespie

John Owen and Patrick Gillespie made profound contributions to the Reformed understanding of the “Covenant of Redemption”, or pactum salutis. Owen discusses it in at least sixteen of his works  from  1645  onwards.  Gillespie’s work, The Ark of the Covenant Opened, 1677, has  been described as “the most elaborate work in the English language” on the subject. The importance of the doctrine, in Owen’s view, is apparent in the Preface that he wrote to Gillespie’s work. He says “the truth herein is the very centre wherein all the lines concerning the grace of God and our own  duty do meet, wherein the whole  of  religion  doth  consist.” Both  authors  regard  the doctrine as the intra-Trinitarian foundation of the Covenant of Grace apart from which no man is  saved.  Both  explain  that  God’s  salvation  plan was  the  result  of the  eternal  counsels  of  the persons of  the  Trinity,  such  counsels having  the features of  a  covenant  and  including Christ’s distinct personal concurrence. Other theologians have rejected the notion of an intra-Trinitarian covenant, on the basis that it contradicts the undisputed truth that God has one indivisible will, and have sought  instead  to explain  the plan  of  salvation  simply  in  terms  of  divine decree. Yet Owen  and  Gillespie  regard  the  “pure  decree”  explanation  as  an  inadequate account  of  the Scriptural data – and hence an inadequate account of the whole foundation of God’s covenantal dealings with his people which underpin the whole of theology. In their view, the Covenant of Redemption provides a more compelling and faithful account, and does so without dividing the indivisible Trinity. This essay explores the alignment of their thinking on this vital issue. 

Ted Turnau

Dialogues Concerning Cultural Engagement (Part One)

In  this two-part essay,  the author addresses  the  subject of Christian  cultural engagement  in a post-Christian context. In Part One (Foundations 70), the author establishes that cultures of the West can be characterised as post-Christian. He then explores the issue of engagement through a  series  of  dialogues  with  different characters:  1)  the  Knight,  who  represents  a  political approach to cultural change, 2) the Gardener, who represents the Benedict Option espoused by conservative writer Rod Dreher, and 3) the Member of the Loyal Opposition, who represents the posture  of  “faithful  presence”  espoused  by  sociologist  James  Davison  Hunter.  Part  Two (in Foundations 71) gathers the various characters for a round-table discussion. After pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each, the author lays out his own approach which focuses on imaginative  cultural  engagement  using  the  arts  and entertainment.  He  explores  the  issue  of same-sex  marriage  as  a  case  study,  and the  reconciliation  between  gay  activist  Shane Windemeyer  and  American Christian  businessman  Dan  Cathy  as  an  example  of  winsome engagement in which each discovered a common humanity in the other. Our goal is a cultural engagement that is an analogue to that kind of winsome reconciliation that creates space within which  estranged  parties  can  meet,  or  what  the  author  calls “planting  oases”.  He  then  briefly considers two examples of this in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, and U2’s Superbowl performance in February 2002. 

Andrew Latimer

Is the Adamic Work of Christ Shared with the Believer? A Critique of Van Drunen

One of the ongoing debates in Reformed theology is how Christians are to engage with the wider culture. David Van Drunen’s book “Living in God’s two Kingdoms” provides a clear presentation of a two kingdoms approach to cultural engagement and is written to challenge the “vision that the  redemptive  transformation  of  culture  is central  to  the  Christian  life”.  This  article  aims  to show how Van Drunen’s misreading of the covenant with Adam sets him on the wrong course, and  leads  to conclusions  which  are  at  odds  with  the  New  Testament’s  description  of  the Christian life. He fails to see that alongside an “exile paradigm” for believers in this age, the New Testament  also  describes  a  “conquest  paradigm”,  and  he  misses how  the  New  Testament teaches that in Christ believers share in Christ’s Adamic work.

Ben Rogers

Ryle and Evangelical Identity

This  article  examines  J.C.  Ryle’s  understanding  of  Evangelical  identity.  More specifically,  it examines his discovery, definition, and defence of Evangelical principles. He was convinced that Evangelical religion, which is characterised by five distinguishing principles, was the religion of the Scriptures, the Thirty-nine Articles, the English Reformers, the leading Pre-Laudian divines, and the leaders of the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century. This conviction was born out of his own conversion and reinforced by his study of the Bible and church history, and it led him  to  become  an  outspoken  advocate  of  Evangelical  principles  and  an apologist  for  the Evangelical cause.

Samuel Crossley

Recent Developments in the Definition of Evangelicalism

The  second  half  of  the  twentieth century  saw  a  spike  in discussions pertaining  to Evangelical identity. During these discussions the term “Evangelical” came to be used with greater intensity and was deployed in an increasingly technical manner. This phenomenon was in no small part due  to  the Evangelical  renaissance, where New and  Conservative Evangelicals  came  to  global prominence. This paper  examines the  two distinct  approaches  to defining  an Evangelical  that were used in this period, with particular reference to the propositional approach of John Stott and Martyn  Lloyd-Jones  and  the phenomenological  approach  of David Bebbington. The paper finishes by considering the merit of these two approaches in the present day. 

Book Reviews

Richard Simpkin

The Message of Worship (Risbridger)

Tim Ward

Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Scepticism

Lausanne Global Analysis 4, 6 (November 2015)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, with three of the articles looking at the impact of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation held in Cape Town in 2010.

In the issue overview, editor David Taylor says:

‘In this issue we focus in three of our articles on the impact and legacy – five years on – of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation held in Cape Town in 2010. Our Executive Director/CEO Michael Oh and Director of Executive Projects Justin Schell analyse the fruit of the Congress, emphasising particularly taking a long view of the work of global mission; Michael’s predecessor Doug Birdsall, who organised Cape Town, offers his personal reflection on the conference’s legacies; and Rudolf Kabutz focuses on the impacts of it in Africa, as well as the key issues for Christians in Africa going forward.’

The executive summary is available here, and the full issue is available here.

David Ceri Jones on the Evangelical Revival

David Ceri Jones, The Fire Divine: An Introduction to the Evangelical Revival (Nottingham: IVP, 2015), 184pp., ISBN 978-1-78359-290-6.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this overview of the eighteenth-century evangelical revival. I’ve been trying to read more Church history and Christian biography recently, so this was enormously helpful for putting in place a slightly bigger picture of the period covered. It focuses particularly on John Wesley, George Whitefield, and (though to a lesser degree) Jonathan Edwards, and the revivals in Britain and America associated with their ministries – all of which have left their legacy on evangelicalism today. 

The posture of the work suited me well; it’s courteous about its subject matter, but keeps enough distance in its account to allow me to make my own value judgments. I particularly appreciated its transparency around the evident ‘flaws’ of those whose work is described. It’s respectful, but far from hagiographical, and (I think) the better for it.

I had been wondering whether to buy and read Thomas S. Kidd’s recently-published Yale biography on George Whitefield. This book persuaded me it would be a good next step to do so.

Evangelical Alliance on Poverty

The latest report in the 21st Century Evangelicals Series from the Evangelical Alliance UK highlights research about poverty.

The full report – Good News for the Poor? – is available as a pdf here.

This is what the EA says:

‘Our latest research contains fascinating details on what evangelicals think are the causes and potential solutions for poverty, and how they and their churches are personally responding to the realities of poverty both at home and abroad.

‘Our survey of more than 1,600 evangelicals found that many are directly involved in tackling poverty; donating to food banks, volunteering with poverty projects or supporting people they know who are struggling financially.

‘But others admit that they or their churches are not really living out their beliefs; often being too concerned for their own needs or treating poorer people differently. In fact, two thirds think that churches in the UK are not very good at discipling and sharing their faith with the poorest...’

PowerPoint presentation and discussion questions for churches are linked to from this page.

Evangelical Alliance on Politics

The latest report in the 21st Century Evangelicals Series from the Evangelical Alliance UK highlights research about politics.

The full report – Faith in Politics? – is available as a (8.7 MB) pdf here.

This is what the EA says:

‘Our latest research explores the political views of UK evangelicals and how engaged they and their churches are in politics. Our survey of more than 2,000 evangelicals found that many are disillusioned with UK politics, with less than one in 10 (six per cent) believing that politicians can be trusted to keep their manifesto promises. But evangelicals are also much more likely to be interested and engaged in politics and to prioritise the common good of society above personal gain.

‘The issues that concern evangelicals are quite different from those that concern the general public. Evangelicals care far more about poverty and inequality than immigration – ranking this the single most important issue facing the UK today. And the key issues that will affect their vote are religious liberty and freedom of expression, poverty alleviation, human trafficking, same-sex marriage and euthanasia.’

PowerPoint presentation and discussion questions for churches are linked to from this page.

Lausanne Global Analysis 3, 4 (July 2014)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is now available online, containing short essays on a variety of topics.

In the issue overview, editor David Taylor says:

‘In this issue we address the legacy of Lausanne 1974 after 40 years. We also analyse the prosperity gospel, an issue that has emerged more recently, which was not on the missiological radar screen as a major challenge to world evangelization (although the call to a simple lifestyle in The Lausanne Covenant may have hinted that the issue was on the horizon). Our articles on evangelical responses to Hinduism and current issues facing churches in China highlight challenges faced by the church in the two largest countries on earth, together comprising one-third of the world’s population. Yet, in spite of the pressures, in both places the church is growing, in contrast to the Middle East where the visible church is shrinking rapidly, as our final article on regional Christian demographics highlights. However, even there, signs of hope are present.’

The executive summary is available here, and the full issue is available here.