Evangelism & Involvement

Billy Graham's appearance as a main speaker before the National Council of Churches' triennial assembly in Miami last week threw into one arena the two divergent operational concepts of modern-day Christianity: Graham's concern for the individual soul and the council's stress on involvement with the world. To many, these approaches have seemed opposites; the mere fact of Gra ham's invitation and acceptance was a bit of an eyebrow raiser. But Graham neatly managed to synthesize his own modified views and the council's: he said that social action is essential -- and that it must proceed from genuine "spiritual motivation."

The delegates and observers lustily clapped their approval, for in recent years, both the N.C.C.'s mainstream Protestant members and the conservative evangelical churches have more and more come to realize -- as one of the most eloquent social activists, Harvey Cox of Harvard's Divinity School, put it -- that the conflict between evangelism and social action is "mistaken." Evangelical churchmen, such as Graham and Christianity Today Editor Carl Henry, now increasingly stress that spiritual conversion inevitably finds expression in action for the social good. Similarly, National Council leaders have become more aware that activism without spiritual underpinnings is religiously meaningless.

At the Pressured Edges. "There may have been a time when the churches thought they could afford to consider evangelism as an optional, subsidiary activity," said the National Council's outgoing president, Bishop Reuben H.

Mueller of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. But when men are imperatively concerned with "the basic meaning of life," the churches "dare not harbor such illusions any more."

All too often, agreed Cox, people at the "pressured edges" of society, who are the victims of economic and racial injustice, look at the church as merely a support for the status quo. At the same time, a sense of their own past failures to act on Christian beliefs has led many churchmen to the other extreme, scorning the spiritual root of action. This lopsided view, said Cox, prevents many from hearing what "God has done and continues to do for man" in terms of personal salvation.

Administrator-Leader. As its president for the next three years, the council elected a man who matches the new mood. Arthur Flemming, 61, was Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Eisenhower and has since 1961 been president of the University of Oregon. Methodist Flemming holds that "the worker-church and the evangelists can work hand-in-hand," but expects that his own chief value to the council will be as administrator. "I have had 30 years of experience in business and government, and the same basic principles of management apply to the council," he says.

In resolutions, the N.C.C. assembly promised continued support for its civil rightist Mississippi Delta Ministry. It asked the U.S. Government for more "candor" in discussing the war in Viet Nam, and called on the U.S. to consider halting the bombing of North Viet Nam and seek the help of the United Nations in reaching a negotiated settlement. In ecumenical gestures, it invited the Roman Catholic Church to join the council's decision-making committees and supported Pope Paul's appeal for an extension of the Christmas-New Year truce in South Viet Nam.

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