A look at Bethel’s first value and what it means to be evangelical
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Christ-followers...
We are
The Word Defined
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Fall 2009
Chris Armstrong: The British scholar David Bebbington [professor of history at the University of Stirling, Scotland] gave a famous quadrilateral definition of evangelicalism in his 1989 study. First, [evangelicals emphasize] conversionism, a focus on the conversion experience. Second, biblicism: a particular regard for the Bible. Third, crucicentrism: a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. And lastly, activism— whatever’s in people’s hearts, they just got to go out and tell somebody and do something about it. And this,
Editors: Scott Streble S’02, Heather Johnson, Holly Donato ’78
Vision for a 21 -Century Evangelical University st
By David Clark
Wonder…Transformation…Calling A Bethel University education starts with wonder and ends with calling. And in between, transformation happens. A community awed by the Triune God is the seedbed of a Bethel education. We’re Christ-followers, deeply committed to Scripture. We celebrate the evangel—the Good News: through Jesus and by the Spirit, God planted his kingdom in our broken world. And by God’s grace, through our faith, God invites each of us to join that kingdom, to receive redemption for our past
and equipping for our future. Our passion to live and share this Good News shapes Bethel, as does a passion to serve God’s kingdom. This service goes far beyond jumping on the latest trend in social activism. We hope all Bethel grads—not just pastors or missionaries—will respond to divine “calling.” They live out their callings in elementary school principal’s offices, in remote
Bethel University
continued on p.22
Webster and Wikipedia are not going to cut it. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a sharp, concise definition of the word “evangelical” among members of the same evangelical church, let alone the experts. For the past 60 years, it’s a term that has served as shorthand for born-again or Bible-believing, or to describe someone more open-minded than a fundamentalist—or some combination of all three definitions. But what does it mean now? And what does it mean at Bethel University? After all, the term is part of Bethel’s core values: “We are Christ-followers—orthodox, conversionist, and evangelical, rooted in the authority of Scripture.” Bethel Magazine went to its own experts for some answers. David Clark, new provost and former seminary professor, shares his vision for an evangelical pietistic university in the 21st century, and how it can transform students for a lifetime. And Professors Phyllis Alsdurf, Chris Armstrong, and Bernard Walker, representing the three Bethel schools, converse on the meaning of the word “evangelical,” its role in politics, postmodernism, and what they’re seeing at Bethel in the younger generation.
Rooted in the Greek “eu” and “angelion” meaning good news, the term “evangelical” first surfaced when Martin Luther differentiated himself and his movement from the Catholic church during the Reformation in the 1500s. The doctrines of these first Protestants included justification by faith, a high view of Scripture, and the priesthood of believers—all of which are still important to evangelicalism today. Then, during the 17th century, the term became associated with the revivalist movement, led by John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards, among others. In preaching, these theologians emphasized evangelism and social activism, which laid the groundwork for Baptists, Methodists, and many other denominations. In the later 1800s, institutions like Wheaton College and Moody Bible Institute were founded with missions committed to evangelical Christianity. Along came the National Association of Evangelicals in the 1940s and Billy Graham in the 1950s, collectively responding to the antiintellectual fundamentalism of the time. It’s this response that’s often referred to as the evangelical movement. In fact, in a 1982 [Newsweek] article titled “The Split-Up Evangelicals,” historian Martin Marty said that an evangelical was anyone who followed Graham. Now, some 70 years later…
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