A
Call for Evangelical Unity
Dr
Martyn Lloyd-Jones had long been concerned about the position of Evangelicals
within the mixed denominations. He has been involved in Ecumenical discussions
in the 1950’s, and he did not like what he saw. But most Evangelicals were
content to remain in their theologically mixed denominations, having fellowship
with other Evangelicals through the Evangelical Alliance and other
agencies.
In
October 1966 the Evangelical Alliance convened a conference to discuss the
issue of Christian Unity. Lloyd-Jones had already expressed his views to leaders
of the EA in private. He was given opportunity to speak his mind in
public.
Lloyd-Jones
argued that the setting up of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and the
whole Ecumenical Movement had created an entirely new situation. The ambition
of this movement, he argued is to create “territorial, comprehensive national
churches” in which all the denominations could unite. He asked, “Are we content
with just being an evangelical wing in a territorial church that will
eventually include, and must, if it is to be a truly national and ecumenical
church, the Roman Catholic Church?
Lloyd-Jones
suggested that it was quite wrong for Evangelicals to be divided from each
other by remaining in their denominations.
You
and I are evangelicals. We are agreed about these essentials of the faith and
yet we are divided from one another…we spend most of our time apart from one
another, and joined to and united with the people who deny and are opposed to
the essential matters of salvation. We have our visible unity with them. Now, I
say, that is sinful.
Finally,
“the Doctor” urged evangelicals to seize the historic opportunity to come out
of their denominations and come together “as a fellowship, or an association,
of evangelical churches”.
Lloyd-Jones’
argument sounded so persuasive that the chairman John Stott was genuinely
concerned that Evangelical ministers would leave the Church of England the next
morning. He used his position as chairman to flatly contradict what “the Doctor”
had said.
I
believe history is against what Dr Lloyd-Jones has said…Scripture is against
him, the remnant was within the church not outside it. I hope no one will act
precipitately…
Alister
McGrath, in his biography of J. I. Packer, wrote that, “‘the shadow of 1966’
has lingered over English evangelicalism ever since.” He is right, Lloyd-Jones
made Evangelicals face up to the challenge of the Ecumenical Movement. Are we
only to be a “wing” within this great Movement, or shall we stand together united
in the gospel? These matters have become even more urgent with the advent of
“Churches Together” - (A UK-wide ecumenical body). We are now in the position
of Churches being affiliated to the Evangelical Alliance, the Baptist Union ( a
theologically mixed denomination) and Churches Together. Evangelicalism has
become just one theological option that is no more or less valid then
Catholicism or Liberalism. This is what happens when we fail to think through
the challenge of the Ecumenical Movement.
Lloyd-Jones
subsequently withdrew from the Evangelical Alliance and threw his weight behind
the BEC. The BEC was founded in 1952 as an Evangelical response to the founding
of the WCC in 1948. The founders were T. H. Bendor-Samuel and E. J.
Poole-Connor of the FIEC and representatives of Evangelical Presbyterian
Churches in Scotland and Ireland. The BEC was robustly anti-ecumenical, but
also stood for Evangelical unity. The BEC was re-launched as Affinity in
2004.
A
Call for Separation
A
call to secede from the denominations was implicit in Lloyd-Jones’ 1966 call
for Evangelical unity. In 1967, the Doctor gave the main address at the BEC
Conference on “Martin Luther and his message for today.” He challenged
Evangelicals who had wavered over their involvement in the denominations to
consider their position.
So
I close with an appeal. The position round and about us is developing rapidly.
The ecumenical movement is advancing day by day, and it is traveling in the
direction of Rome. But it is not only heading to Rome, it is heading towards an
amalgamation of so-called world religions, and will undoubtedly end as a great
World Congress of faiths…
What
then are evangelicals to do in this situation? I reply by saying that we must
heed a great injunction in Revelation
18:4: ‘Come out of her my people!’ ‘Come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’ Come out
of it! But also come together into an association such as the BEC that stands
for the truth and against compromise, hesitation, neutrality and everything
that ministers to the success and plans of Rome and the ecumenical movement.
Come out; come in!
But
Lloyd-Jones’ call was not heeded by all evangelicals.
A
Policy of Evangelical Integration
In
1967 the first National Evangelical Anglican Congress met in Keele. John Stott
was conference chairman. Stott, who, as we have seen, publicly disagreed with Lloyd-Jones
in 1966, was determined that Evangelical Anglicans be fully involved in their
denomination. Prior to the conference he set out his agenda:
It
is a tragic thing, however, that Evangelicals have a very poor image in the
Church as a whole. We have acquired a reputation for narrow partisanship and
obstructionism. We have to acknowledge this and for the most part we have no
one but ourselves to blame. We need to repent and change.
The
Liberal, Anglo-Catholic Archbishop Ramsey was invited to address the
conference. He told these Evangelicals that they should put experience before
doctrine and that they should turn their backs on their old exclusive stance.
The Archbishop stated that, “We are all called as Christians and as Anglicans
we should be learning from one another.”
The
Conference responded to this call and accepted that all who were involved in
ecumenical dialogue “have the right to be treated as Christians.” John
Lawrence, who had long worked for a change of attitude among Evangelical Anglicans
was well satisfied with the result:
Now
this wall is down Evangelicals will be heard in a new way, but this would not
have happened if they had not shown that they are now ready to listen to
others.
As
Lloyd-Jones had warned, this policy meant that Evangelicals had reduced
themselves to being a mere wing in the great ecumenical project. Can we be
content with that? Is it right to assume that Liberals who deny the virgin
birth and resurrection of Christ “have the right to be treated as Christians?”
We
Stand alone Together!
The
attitude of Evangelicals to the ecumenical project is one of the pressing issues
that we have to face in the 21st Century. Our stance should be that of the US
101st Airbourn Division, immortalised in the Band of Brothers TV series,
"We stand alone together".
