Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 3-1-2011 The aN ture of Evangelism in Missional Churches Russell York [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation York, Russell, "The aN ture of Evangelism in Missional Churches" (2011). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 156. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/156 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY THE NATURE OF EVANGELISM IN MISSIONAL CHURCHES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY LEADERSHIP IN THE EMERGING CULTURE BY RUSSELL YORK PORTLAND, OREGON APRIL 2011 Copyright © 2011 by L. Russell York All rights reserved. DISSERTATION ACCEPTANCE CERTIFICATE RUSSELL YORK DATE: MARCH 8, 2011 TITLE: THE NATURE OF EVANGELISM IN MISSIONAL CHURCHES WE THE UNDERSIGNED CERTIFY THAT WE HA VE READ THIS PROJECT AND APPROVE IT AS ADEQUATE IN SCOPE AND QUALITY TO COMPLETE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY IN LEADERSHIP IN THE EMERGING CULTURE DEGREE DATE 3-V -l l DATE (I) GEORGE Fox EVANGELICAL SEMINARY ILLUSTRATIONS Figure I . Evangelical and Mainline Protestant Views on Evangelism ...................................... 61 Tables I. Outsiders' Perceptions of Christianity ......................................................................... 21 2. Outline of Acts .......................................................................................................... 121 IV CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ vii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... viii Chapters 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 11 Identifying the Problem ...................................................................................... 11 Reasons Some Missional Churches are Reluctant to Tell the Gospel Story ...... 20 Context ............................................................................................................... 26 Outline ................................................................................................................ 34 2. Cultural Changes Affecting the Church in America ................................................... 37 The Earliest Church and the Birth of Christendom ............................................ 38 The Modem Era: The Death of Christendom ..................................................... 41 The Postmodern Era: The Beginning of a Post-Christian America ................... 45 Effects of Christendom on Ecclesiology ............................................................ 48 Impact of a Changing Culture: Declining Church Attendance .......................... 51 3. History of Evangelism ................................................................................................ 57 Late Eighteenth through the Early Twentieth Centuries .................................... 57 Mid-Twentieth Century ...................................................... ································ 61 Late Twentieth Century ........................................................ ······························ 62 4. History of the Missional-Church Movement .............................................................. 71 Current Context ··········································· ....................................................... 71 Origins of the Missional-Church Movement ...................................................... 74 Lesslie Newbigin's Influence on the Missional-Church Movement.. ................ 77 Evangelical and Mainline Protestant Division ............... ···· ···· · · ···· · ·· · ··· ·· ·· ·· ·· · ··· · · · 89 Gospel and Our Culture Network ....................................................................... 93 Other Notable Contn.butors ······························ ................ · ·· ... · ··· · · · · · · · · · · · · ............ 98 5 · Mission and Evangelism in Scripture ............................... · ··· · ·· · ··· · ··· · · · · ···· ··· · ···· · · · ·· ·· · · 104 Biblical Authon"ty ....................................... ...................................................... 105 Sending Language in the Old Testament: n'7w ................ ··· ····· ·· · ···· ···· ···· ·· · · · ·· ·· · · I 07 Sending Language in the New Testament: A7too.. reAA.co/A7t6aToA.oc;, and fltµm.o ................................................................. I 08 Evangelism Language in the New Testament: EuayyeA.16v/EuayyeA.i~ro and KT)puaaro ........................................................... 11 O The Meaning of Mission in Scripture ............................................................... 112 The Meaning of Evangelism in Scripture ......................................................... 119 Exposition of the Great Commission ............................................................... 122 v 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ I 32 The Nature of Evangelism in Missional Churches ........................................... I 32 Suggested Areas for Further Study ................................................................... 138 Appendices 1. Sending Language in Scripture ................................................................................. 14 I Sending Language in the 0 Id Testament: n?tu.................. .. .. ... .. .. .. I 4 I Sending Language in the New Testament: 'A.7toc;r£Uro/'A.7t6crToA.oc; and Titµxro .................................................................. 14 7 2. Evangelism Language in the New Testament ........................................................... 161 Euan£A.1ov ....................................................................................................... 162 EuaneA.i~ro/EuaneA.i~oµm .............................................................................. I 64 K11pucrcrro!K.11puaae1v ....................................................................................... 166 3. The Social-Gospel and Fundamentalism Movements .............................................. 169 The Social-Gospel Movement .......................................................................... 169 The Fundamentalism Movement ...................................................................... 172 4. History of the Emerging-Church Movement ............................................................ I 76 Begininings of the Emerging-Church Movement ............................................ I 79 The Emergent Organization ............................................................................. I 85 Defining the Emerging-Church Movement ...................................................... 187 Five Streams of the Emerging-Church Movement ............................... 188 Three Practices of the Emerging-Church Movement ........................... I 95 Three Categories of the Emerging-Church Movement ........................ 202 Origins .................................................................................. ·· ·· · ·········· ···· ········· 205 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................... ·············· ································· ......... 209 VI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank the faculty and staff at George Fox Evangelical Seminary for their competent work and constant encouragement. Wanting to be more effective in training young men and women for ministry in this ever-changing world, I looked for a doctoral program that would take me to the edge of what we know about our culture and to peer into the future. The person I thought most capable of leading me on that journey was Leonard Sweet. I was right. My humble thanks go to Len. Laura Simmons, my faculty and dissertation advisor, deserves my heartfelt thanks. Her scholarship, high expectations, and attention to the smallest detail made me a better student, a more critical thinker, and a better teacher. She has my deepest respect. Loren Kems's ability to keep us on the right path has been extraordinary. The friendships developed with those in my cohort have been a special gift. I thank Randy Ingmire, academic dean at Manhattan Christian College where I teach, for his support. The person who deserves my deepest appreciation and honor is Kristi, my wonderful wife, chief encourager, and persistent proofreader. She is truly the greatest servant I have ever known. We have served Jesus together for thirty-two years, all of them an adventure. She has blessed my life. Our two children, Jessica and Jonathan, are another of my life's great blessings. They have not only been supportive during the writing of this dissertation but for their entire lives have usually understood when their ' father was away telling someone about Jesus. To those who have allowed me the privilege of telling the life-changing story of Jesus over the years, I owe my heart-felt thanks. Most importantly, I thank Jesus