Joel Edwards, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance
Joel Edwards, head of the Evangelical Alliance, has just published his new book Agenda for Change in which he makes a powerful call to Evangelicals to return to Scripture, boldly proclaim Christ and become the good news people once again.
The book is one of his last major projects as General Director of the EA before he steps down in September.
Christian Today caught up with Joel to find out more about his vision for positive change among evangelicals.
CT: Your book Agenda for Change conveys a real sense of mission. It seems you had something you really wanted to get off your chest.
JE: Of all the things I’ve written this is the one product that feels like a mission. What pushed me to write it was the culmination of many conversations within the evangelical family over the years and a real passion to see the Christian church and evangelical witness position itself for realistic and effective ministry in the 21st century. It was actually written as a launch pad for a new phase of work within the Alliance but ironically it has turned out to be something of a parting gift.
CT: You feel that evangelicals have lost the way of proclaiming Christ’s superiority. Do you think evangelicals are becoming too apologetic or PC about their faith?
JE: I think we are in danger of having to become apologetic about our faith. I don’t think we actually are. The thing is that we are very comfortable with clarity about who Jesus is in the security of our church buildings and our home groups. I think we have not yet found a way of confidently presenting that clarity within the public square, within the cultural grain of a society that upholds pluralism. We haven’t yet understood pluralism and how we confidently speak about who Jesus is within that.
CT: You said in your book that ecumenism is out and inter-faith dialogue is in. How should evangelicals approach this shift?
JE: I think we are still afraid of inter-faith dialogue. Ecumenism is now an old hat, although a very significant number of Evangelicals are involved in ecumenical discussions. But the environment within which the Gospel grew was multi-faith and inter-faith dialogue. The entire book of Acts is about presenting Christ invitationally and confidently within a multi faith context. The problem with Christian faith for the last 1,500 years is that Christianity has spoiled Christians so that we don’t quite know how to engage with other people about our faith in Jesus.
CT: You say that it might be the turn of Christians in the UK to face persecution, a sentiment which reflects the feelings many Christians here already. What impact do you think that’s going to have on the way that Christians live and worship and interact in the UK?
JE: I think persecution is a relative concept and if we stood next to our brothers and sisters in the world we wouldn’t dare use that word in relation to what they have to suffer. But I think it’s becoming increasingly challenging for us to present the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a community that has embraced new orthodoxies of diversity and pluralism, and I think that it will become far more demanding.
I think Christians will find in the years ahead that we present Christ at far greater cost than the security and comfort and safety with which we have been used to talking about Jesus in our churches or in the popular culture.
Once upon a time we presented Christ and were met with cynicism and disbelief. Now we present Christ and we are far more likely to be met with disapproval and sometimes hostility, especially when talking about the exclusive traits of Christ.
