Vol. 26 (2012)

It is with this growing confluence of the two fields of evangelism and spiritual formation that the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education chose to focus its 2011 annual meeting on the theme of evangelism and spiritual formation. The plenary sessions focused on the fact that several evangelism scholars are now using spiritual formation as a hermeneutic for exploring evangelism theologically, as well as for how evangelists might more effectively reach people in North America in the early part of the 21^st century. These included Richard Peace from Fuller sharing his view of evangelism as hospitality to explore spiritual things, and Elaine Heath from Southern Methodist University describing how her view of evangelism, grounded in the mystical tradition of the Christian faith, has led to the development of the New Day communities

This issue of the journal continues with the same theme, offering a series of articles that explore how evangelism has been shaped by a growing awareness of the need for exploring spirituality. In the first article, based on his presentation at the annual meeting, Bob Whitesel argues that there are specific spiritual “waypoints” which all people must pass if they are to come to a mature life in Christ. A careful knowledge of these waypoints can better equip congregations to evangelize people regardless of where they are on the way to Christian maturity.

George Hunsberger commends us to recall that Jesus presented the gospel in a way that also proclaimed the fullness of God’s justice coming upon the earth. In remembering this, Hunsberger suggests that those who seek to evangelize and those who seek social justice must do so in concert, recognizing that one Jesus does not prefer one to the other.

Christopher James offers an article on what he terms “missional acuity,” suggesting that evangelists and missionaries are in need of developing the spiritual discipline of seeing through new eyes those to whom they would offer the gospel.

Recognizing that evangelism and spiritual formation are of no value unless they are practiced, Dwight Judy and Whitney Starkey tackle the issue of how to communicate and embody the hope of the gospel in the face of doomsday predictions. To do this, they present two sermons. Playful and not scholarly, the sermons point to how evangelists can be a calming and wise influence through prayer and focusing on the abundant love of God in a world full of fear.

Doug Powe gives a careful overview of the ways that the African American church is struggling to find its identity fifty years after the Civil Rights movement. He challenges the African American church to ground its notions of sanctuary, blessing, and spiritual worth in the missio Dei rather than in a false sense of accomplishment defined by socio-economic achievements.

Finally, Rick Richardson lays out a helpful guide to makes sense of the increasingly complex manifestations of the church that are coming into existence. In doing this, he considers how these new expressions of the church both can learn from and can challenge traditional evangelical theological emphases.

It has taken far too long to move beyond the popular stereotypes of evangelism and spiritual formation. Now that we have, numerous points of overlap between the two fields are becoming clear. The changing culture in North America demands even further exploration on this front as we seek new vistas from which to view and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.