Theological Convergence Summary

The author of 100 years of Theological Convergence: Edinburgh 1910 to Lausanne 2010 begins by informing the reader that his thesis argues that within the Edinburgh 1910 Global Missions Conference theological convergence developed. Theological convergence developed out of the ecumenism that already existed inside of the Global Missions Conference. The ecumenism grew from Edinburgh 1910 until the movement of Lausanne 1974, causing it to flourish. Quite a few missiologist viewed the theological convergence in a very different light. The result of ecumenism’s influence was viewed as positive, while others viewed it as a negative by missiologist. The author goes on to inform the reader that his thesis will teach us the impact the movements has
on the global church. Next he compares Lausanne 1974 to a watershed moment in evangelical missions history. The author provides us with a broad category of definitions. I find that this will help the reader better understand his book. For example, one of the terms he defines is Contextualization. If I was to read this book without any understanding of it and I came across the word “Contextualization” I would not know what it meant. The author however has you covered. He gives the definition as: “Contextualization: The worldview of a particular people provides framework for communication, the questions and needs of that people are a guide to the emphasis of the message, and the cultural understand a culture’s social, economic, and political context as being a co-determinant for proper interpretation and communication. Contextualization is grounded in the Christian understanding of the incarnation of Jesus Christ as prescribed in John 1:14.” He gives us five pages us definitions and one page of Acronyms that will assist and guide you through his book. The first topic the author discusses it Evangelicalism and Ecumenism: Early Development. This topic will give readers a more in-depth understanding of what Evangelicalism and Ecumenism really is. It will momentarily trace how ecumenical thought developed preceding to the Edinburgh Conference. The author informs us that defining evangelicalism will require strenuous effort, because evangelicals have tendency to divide instead of coming together. David Bosch says lack of unity began way before Edinburgh 1910. A major reason for division was Enlightenment thought. Enlightenment thought crept its way into evangelicalism. Some evangelicals in the nineteenth-century completely abandoned the idea that God’s Kingdom exist in the future. They created a new concept that God’s Kingdom was here and now. The author then goes on to tell us that in order to even start defining evangelicalism you have to not that the term today has a plethora of meaning. He explains to us that a person who believes in the eternal salvation of man’s soil by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and proclaims that same message to others is an evangelical. In the twenty-first century many evangelicals are ecumenical, and my ecumenical are evangelical in practice.
These terms are not exclusive in this time period. Evangelicals have two main focuses. One focus is on evangelism and the second focus is on personal conversion. There is a blending of evangelicals and ecumenical that is better known as ecumenical evangelical. Ecumenical evangelicals has membership in the WCC. WCC stands for the World Council of Churches. They target evangelicals who are open to ecumenical thought in order to expand its membership. Another term that the author uses in his book is Evangelical Evangelism. He gives a brief description about the term “Evangelical Evangelism”. Evangelicals has a view that there will be a physical return of Christ that will take place in the future. In order for that to happen there is an urgency for evangelism. It is said that those untouched by the Gospel will face an eternal judgement. This is one of the great reasons evangelicals exist. They want the Gospel to be spread to every unreached soul, which is ultimately God’s
mission. The Edinburgh movement lasted from June 3 to June 23 of 1910.
Edinburgh, Scotland was the meeting place for the World Missionary Conference. This movement had a huge impact on the evangelical and ecumenical world. It was said by William G. Rusch in 1985 that this movement is the reason for uniting Christians to give the Gospel to the world. John R. Mott reminded the church that the World Mission Conference at Edinburgh was “The most significant gathering ever held in the interest of the world’s evangelization.” The concept for the vision of a global missions conference was not new. In 1806 William Carey suggested a world level missions conference be held at the Cape of Good Hope in 1810. William Carey’s suggestion was dismissed as another one of his “pleasing dreams.” His dream was delayed for one-hundred years until it was time to unveil it. The author goes on to inform us that John R. Mott was the man that the global meeting needed. They wanted him to pioneer the way and spearhead the charge. John R. Mott was extremely influential amongst the leaders of global missions. He earned the respect of missionaries and mission leader because of his passion for world evangelization. John R. Mott made it known that he would head off another meeting planned in 1910. He decided to transform into a meeting that is radically different. This meeting was what created Edinburgh 1910 World Missions Conference. To go through with this meeting he needed help. A group known as the Student
Christian Movement was willing and ready for the task. The Student Christian Movement was instrumental in laying out the foundation for the conference of Edinburgh. During this time the modern ecumenical movement was ready for launching at Edinburgh. Venue, content, and atmosphere was all provided by Edinburgh for the two-streams of Christianity seeking global evangelization. There was a few ways that they were converged, one way being through their theology. The author says “evangelicals seem to be the group that converged into the stream of ecumenism.” A theological convergence started at Edinburgh 1910. This movement has continued to affect evangelical theology to this day. Evangelicals and ecumenical attempted to find unity for the sake of world evangelization. Van Engen points out that evangelicals in the 1940s and 1950s “were influenced by the threat of war, communism, a pessimism over humanity and human condition, as well as the essential emptiness of the old social-gospel mentality.” Three major movements emerged from Edinburgh 1910. The first movement was the formation of the International Missionary Council (also known as Missionary Conference Movement) in 1921. This movement formed and organized several of the missions conferences that followed Edinburgh 1910. The second movement created the Stockholm Continuation Committee. There was expression found in the Lausanne Continuation Committee, which is known as the third movement. Evangelicals have had lots of concern over authority. They have always been concerned with authority biblically. Evangelicals preserve that God and only God has absolute authority and truth. The author then goes on to explain Lausanne’s background. The International Congress on World Evangelization was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. This took place in 1989. Billy Graham gathered one hundred sixty-four evangelical leaders to plan. Through donation and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association the Lausanne Congress office finally opened in 1973. After months of their strategic planning the Lausanne Congress set dates for July 16, 1974 to July 25, 1974. Coming to an end, the author informs us that theological convergence isn’t just a one way street. Evangelicals and ecumenical have both had a part in convergence. He lets us know that Edinburgh began as an ecumenical movement inviting evangelicals to participate in the ecumenical planning. That is one of the major differences between Edinburgh and Lausanne. 100 Years of Theological Convergence delivers a broad understanding about what and how Edinburgh and Lausanne was created. The author, H. Edward Pruitt, did a glorious job footnoting on just about all of the pages. He gives us strong information regarding everything that took place between 1910 and 2010. For the most part he explains the events in a manner that the reader will understand. He gives you broad definitions on words that you may not know or understand. A lot can be learned from this book; especially the impact that it has had on the world today. This is a book that I recommend everyone to read if they want a deeper background on evangelicals.