Immerse Blog
Going Deeper With Tim Suttle’s: Evangelical Social Christianity
by Paul Sheneman on July 15th, 2011 -- filed under Church
I have a friend named Jim, a conservative, evangelical baby boomer, who taught me that the gospel is radically individual and spiritual. Jim often told me that most of my life decisions were between me and Jesus. And when it came to sharing the gospel with people, Jim instructed me that the most important thing was for a person to make a personal commitment to God.
When I recently talked with Jim, I was shocked to hear him say, “Our church is being Jesus to people by just caring for their basic needs.” I inquired further, and Jim said that he was learning that Jesus took care of the whole person. He was learning this through his church, which was trying to help people with job searches, computer skills and basic health needs. In Jim’s words, he was learning that the gospel was much more than a spiritual thing.
I found Tim Suttle’s article, “Evangelical Social Christianity” to be another indication that the evangelical tradition that discipled me is experiencing a transformation. Specifically, Tim, leaning on the writings of Walter Rauschenbusch, wants to emphasize that the gospel is both personal and corporate in nature. His article adds to the movement of people who have recognized the same issue with the North American Evangelical articulation of the gospel and was helpful in evaluating my local church’s expression of the gospel.
Seeking a Common Language
I recently had a conversation with Jamie Casler, who is the director for the J. V. Morsch Center for Social Justice…
Continue Reading ▶
