JOIN THE CONVERSATION—BE THE TRANSFORMATION

These are the headline words of the Evangelical Alliance’s Agenda for Change which Joel Edwards is encouraging in his farewell tour as Executive Director. The Edinburgh part of the tour was in Charlotte Chapel on Thursday 26 June. As I told Joel, I first heard him speak at the Alliance Assembly for Christian leaders in November 2001 in Cardiff. So it was appropriate that I was present as he gave his farewell message.

Joel’s address focused on the theme of our role as evangelicals in society. We are the “Good News Gang” whose task is to present Christ credibly to the post-Christian culture in which we live. Social action has always been a powerful, radical part of the evangelical legacy and is still relevant today. Jesus Christ is not just one of today’s competing deities which people can choose to acknowledge or ignore as they please. He is the unique Son of God whose Lordship is central and cannot be dumbed down. Christ must remain the cornerstone of our faith and witness. In this we need to hold on to the truth of Biblical teaching, which is about a Person rather than a proposition from the pulpit. Too often man tries to make God conform to his image of acceptable behaviour in today’s society. How do we witness to Christ? We can follow His example, reaching out to the poor and marginalised. Jesus was a conversationalist. He talked to people where they were, often asking searching questions. See, for example, John 4:1-30 or Mark 11:46-52.

The current issue of Idea magazine, available by the notice board, has an article about the tour Building a Cathedral (p. 4) and A conversation about true tolerance by Joel (p. 34). For more information on how you can become involved see the Alliance website at www.eauk.org/a4c.

Christine Lumsden