November Intermission: From the Good Works of Evangelicalism to the Good News of Christmas

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For the month of November, the Banner of Truth has graciously allowed our readers a free download of The Bleeding of the Evangelical Church by David Wells. This was a prophetic address to the National Association of Evangelicals that holds great pertinence for Christians today.

In this month of Thanksgiving, there is much for which to give thanks to God. In addition to the life, breath, and everything else that God has given us in Christ, there are specific kindness that God has given to us at Christ Over All. There is the ongoing contributions of old friends writing new articles, the new friendships emerging at places like the Evangelical Theological Society, and the testimonies coming from Canada, Germany, and America, that our content is hitting its mark. And then there is the prayerful and financial support that Christ Over All has received from friends of this ministry.

For all these graces, we give thanks to God!

Indeed, we have a Father in heaven who is the source of every good and perfect gift. And in the last few months, he has shown his faithfulness and grace to us in multiple ways. With his gracious provisions in view, I want to share a few things in this Intermission—things visible, things less invisible, and things coming visible.

Things Visible: November’s Engaging Evangelicalism

If you have been paying attention to Christ Over All during the month of November, you will have noticed a historical progression. At the beginning of the month, we began a slow march through the decades of North American Evangelicalism. Through two longforms, thirteen concise (and not so concise) articles, and three podcasts, we traced the key persons, events, and institutions of the last one hundred years. From the time of J. Gresham Machen and the Fundamentalists of the 1920s to Tim Keller and the Young, Reformed, and Restless movement of the 2010s, we attempted to show the best (and sometimes the worst) of evangelicalism.

Indeed, all who have watched the progress of evangelicalism have seen that the unity enjoyed by neo-evangelicals under the aegis of Carl Henry, Billy Graham, and Fuller Theological Seminary did not last past the 1970s. Instead, with debates related to inerrancy, and then men’s and women’s roles in the church, and most recently by things that go by the name of “wokeness,” evangelicals have splintered in a myriad of directions.

Along the way, there have been strong renewal movements, but there have also been trends moving more negative directions. In the past few decades, Evangelicals have left the “positive world” and “neutral world” and have entered into the “negative world” stage—to borrow Aaron Renn’s taxonomy—we have seen Evangelicals shift along the way. In our attempt to trace this history and engage it theologically, we have sought over the last month to capture many of these features and to evaluate them biblically and theologically for the sake of the church. And for all of our contributors, we give thanks to God for their insights and biblical fidelity.

If you didn’t catch the articles of this month, you can find the full index below, followed by the podcast discussions:

Podcasts:

  • “What Would Francis Schaeffer Say to Today’s Evangelical Church?” Interview • Ranald Macaulay, Stephen Wellum, David Schrock – What is the Evangelical Theological Society, why was it started, and what purpose does it have today? Listen to a team of Christ Over All contributors giving their thoughts on the good, the bad, and the ugly of what is likely the largest regular gathering of evangelical scholars in the world.
  • “Evangelicalism, Whence and Where?” Interview • Brad Green, Ardel Caneday, David Schrock – What happens when three scholars/churchmen talk about 100 years of evangelicalism in 42 minutes? Listen in to this insightful and edifying conversation to find out!
  • Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) Roundtable: Ardel Caneday, Brad Green, Trent Hunter, David Schrock, and Steve Wellum – Listen to Ranald Macaulay (Francis Schaeffer’s son-in-law), Stephen Wellum, and David Schrock as they discuss Schaeffer, evangelicalism, and of course, true truth.

Things Less Visible

In addition to the podcasts, longforms, and essays that we published online in November, the editors of Christ Over All enjoyed a great time of fellowship at the Evangelical Theological Society in Denver, Colorado. This included meeting some of our writers (present and future), spending time with some of our readers, and simply checking in on the state of evangelicalism at this year’s annual meeting.

While in Denver, we recorded a podcast about ETS. (You can listen here.) We also hosted an impromptu fellowship, which included sharing David Wells, The Bleeding of the Evangelical Church and monogrammed notebooks. Face-to-face meetings prevailed, and allowed us to make many plans for the new year. Indeed, while in Colorado, we sketched out our calendar for 2023 that will, as the Lord allows, address things like the theology of Genesis 1–11, the role of men and women in the church, the exegetical support for Progressive Covenantalism, and this little thing called Christian Nationalism. Maybe you’ve heard about it?

Indeed, there are many things brewing at Christ Over All, and we give thanks to all those who have helped us and supported us in this new endeavor. If you have questions, or comments, or ideas, feel free to drop us a note.

Things Coming Visible

Finally, as we turn the corner from November to December, we prepare for a new month with the new theme—namely, Christology for Christmas. While October and November have taken on some polemical matters, complete with A Christian Manifesto and evangelical engagement, we want to finish the year meditating on the good news that is Christmas.

Indeed, over the next month, we have recruited some excellent biblical scholars (e.g., Jim Hamilton, Thomas Schreiner, Nicholas Piotrowski) and Christian theologians (e.g., Kyle Claunch, K. J. Drake, Keith Goad) to join us in writing a series of Christmas meditations that will consider various biblical themes, biblical passages, and theological concepts, all of which relate to Christ’s Advent.

Indeed, if you are a pastor, teacher, or a serious student of Scripture and theology, you will want to stay tuned as we think carefully about Christology this Christmas. As I will share next week, pastors should take Christmas as a time to teach their people things like the Extra-Calvinisticum, the hypostatic union, and eternal generation of the Son. To that end, we will provide help in December.

As always, if you find the content of Christ Over All helpful, please spread the word. To do that, you can share this newsletter, follow us on Twitter, or just tell someone about this new work.

Our prayer is that God would edify the church with the evergreen content we produce. And to that end, we ask that you would pray for this ministry and support this work financially, as the Lord allows. We can only do this work with the generous help of our friends. Especially on a day like Giving Tuesday, if you have been edified by our content and want to join us in building up the broader church, we would invite you to support our labors—all for the glory of God.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author

  • David Schrock

    David Schrock is the pastor for preaching and theology at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. David is a two-time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a founding faculty member and professor of theology at Indianapolis Theology Seminary. And he is the author of Royal Priesthood and Glory of God along with many journal articles and online essays.

David Schrock

David Schrock

David Schrock is the pastor for preaching and theology at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. David is a two-time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a founding faculty member and professor of theology at Indianapolis Theology Seminary. And he is the author of Royal Priesthood and Glory of God along with many journal articles and online essays.