Durham E-Theses The development of mission theology and praxis at Cli College, with reference to its antecedents and history. Mellor, G. Howard How to cite: Mellor, G. Howard (2006) The development of mission theology and praxis at Cli College, with reference to its antecedents and history., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2865/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The Development of Mission Theology and Praxis at Cliff College, with reference to its antecedents and history. A copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Theology and Religion, Faculty of Arts, Durham University 2005. G. Howard Mellor ABSTRACT The Development of Mission Theology and Praxis at Cliff College with reference to its antecedents and history. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Theology and Religion, Faculty of Arts, Durham University 2005. This thesis is an examination and evaluation of evangelistic ministry at Cliff College and its major themes, or Charisms. It charts the rise of the College and its antecedents in section one, introducing the main characters and events. Section two introduces themes that have shaped the tradition of the College; the most significant being holiness teaching which finds its origins in the works of John Wesley. Though they differed in emphasis, most Principals were proponents of this doctrine. There developed at the College a theology which was biblical and evangelical but not fundamentalist or sectarian. The College espoused 'faith principles' but ensured supporters were aware of its needs. The College is known primarily for training people in evangelism. Section three charts this innovative ministry begiiming with the Joyful News Mission and continuing through the years of Cook, Chadwick and Broadbelt. Between 1939 and the late 1950s there was a dearth of creative thinking about evangeUsm. Meadley and Belben laid the fovindations that, in the late 1970s, gave rise to a new strategy which was given impetus through the 1980s. The innovative thinking of the first period is illustrated by reference to the Joyful News female evangelists and the trekkers. Section four examines the particular academic stance taken by College Principals. This was specifically to offer training, focussed on evangelistic ministry, to those who may not otherwise have the opportunity. A policy of open access was retained throughout, with the College seeking proper recognition. This eventually came with the validation of the College programmes by the University of Sheffield. Chapter eleven charts the emergence of missiology as a discipline in the academy. The-conclusion identifies the ambivalent attitude of Methodism to the College, and that its major charisms continue to have a significant influence though in need of constant restatement. 11 I confirm that no part of the material offered has previously been submitted by me for a degree in this or any university Signed /Jotua^ ^e^^ Date oL^ 5^lfcX>^Ur- ..ZXLO.^" The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including electronic and the internet, without the author's prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. in Contents Title page Abstract 11 Declarations ui Contents IV Introduction VI Dedication Acknowledgements XI Section One: Setting the Scene 1 Chapter 1 Antecedents of Cliff College 2 Chapter 2 The Unfolding Drama 11 Section Two: Shaping the Tradition 58 Chapter 3 Holiness Teaching 59 Chapter 4 EvangeUcal and Biblical Stance 108 Chapter 5 Faith and Finance 134 Section Three: Evangelistic Strategy 140 Chapter 6 EvangeUsm Strategy 1883 - 1939 141 Chapter 7 Joyful News Female Evangelists 176 Chapter 8 Trekkers 205 Chapter 9 Evangelism Strategy 1946 - 2002 218 Section Four: Academic recognition 237 Chapter 10 Academic Stance 238 Chapter 11 Renaissance of Mission Studies in the Academy 271 IV Section Five: Conclusion 300 Chapter 12 Proximity and Polarity 3 01 Chapter 13 The Charisms of the College 320 Section Six: Bibliography: 325 Primary Sources 326 Cliff College archive 326 Journals 338 Agendas, Reports and Minute Books 339 Published books by the Principals and about the Cliff 340 Theses consulted 346 Key works on Mission and Evangelism 346 Articles and unpublished papers 354 Select bibliography of secondary sources 356 Introduction This thesis charts the development of mission theology at Cliff College and covers 125 years of mission history in Wesleyan Methodism, revealing the changes in the thinking and practice of evangelism. The title of this thesis refers to the growth of 'Mission Theology', which is a broader concept than evangelism. Evangelism is the part of Christian ministry devoted to the proclamation of the good news of Jesus. Mission theology, or missiology as it is often called, covers not only evangelism but also social action and the struggle for justice. The title has been chosen deliberately because there are aspects of this wider ministry and thinking in the work of Champness, Chadwick and the College since the late 1970s. It has also been chosen because contemporary thinking has shown that evangelism is a 'task' of the Church, but Christian mission is rooted in convictions about the relationship of God with the world. Thus missiologists speak of the 'Missio Dei', meaning that mission has its origins in the commitment of God to the world and his compassion for the world. Therefore when the church engages in mission, it is sharing in God's mission to the world. Evangelism is part of that mission, but not the whole. Section one of the thesis places the foundation of the College in its context. Chapter one identifies the developments of training in mission, especially in the Wesleyan tradition. Chapter two reveals that there were two main sources of the heritage which enabled Cliff College to be established in 1904. These were the desire; of a Co James Hinton Hulme to found an independent college at Cliff House to train evangelists and missionaries. The other comes from the innovative actions of the returned vi missionary, the Rev Thomas Champness, in founding the Joyful News Training Home and Mission. These antecedents were instrumental in the development of Cliff as a college to train evangelists and as a centre for the development of creative evangelism. The chapter also introduces the reader to the main characters who forged the College's mission theology and practice. Section two contains three chapters which explore the themes which shaped the tradition of the Joyful News Mission and the College. Particularly influential was the teaching of holiness, which became until the end of the 1930s the central feature of the college's teaching and practice. From this flowed the ethos of the life and ministry of the College. This was reduced by some at the college in the 1960s to a particular experience, a 'baptism in the Spirit'. This led to dissension about the doctrine and the diminution of its influence in the life of the College. The charismatic movement overwhelmed Wesleyan holiness teaching, leaving an incomplete version available to contemporary Christians. The thesis suggests that fiirther research in the field of practical theology is called for, to produce for the twenty-first century a coherent and relevant restatement of holiness teaching. Chapter four indicates the way that evangelical theology of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century influenced the architects of what became Cliff College. They were evangelical but not narrowly so, avoiding the fimdamentalism into which many evangelicals retreated, whilst considering themselves resolutely biblical. The Wesleyans, distinct fi^om most other evangelical Christians, engaged in evangelistic and missionary work with motives other than those formed fi-om the millennialist teaching and euphoria at the turn of the twentieth century. vu The history of the College has not always been easy. Lack of finance has dogged the college's life, and it has never been properly understood by its parent denomination, Methodism. Chapter five reveals that it has survived because of its appeal to the people of the chvtrch in and beyond Methodism. Section three of the thesis then considers the development of an evangelistic strategy at Cliff College in four chapters. Chapter six deals with the creative period to the end of the 1930s under the leadership of Champness, Cook, Chadwick and the early years of Broadbelt. There follow chapters about the Joyful News Female Evangelists, and the Trekkers which illustrate the surge of creative thinking in that first period between 1883 and 1939. A confrast with this early period is made in chapter nine where it is established that there was between 1946 and 1977 a dearth of creative thinking and practice in the College's ministry of evangelism. The chapter argues that creative thought about evangelistic ministry occxirred elsewhere in Methodism, and that for thirty years the evangelistic staff of the College simply tried to reproduce the past.