Something is stirring in the churches. In every region of the country and from every sector of the church's life, one can feel the change. I believe we may be on the edge of something very significant. Call it renewal, revival, or conversion, but clearly the gospel is coming alive in new and unexpected ways and being radically applied to our historical situation. Indeed, at the heart of the new awakenings and stirrings is the joining of faith and history.
From many divergent traditions and denominations, a new movement is growing that is not afraid to make the meaning of biblical faith specific to our own circumstances, both personal and public. The old divisions within the churches are breaking down—evangelism and social justice, prayer and peacemaking, spirituality and politics, worship and action, pastoral and prophetic ministry, Bible study and political analysis, solitude and community.
We at Sojourners have found ourselves at a blessed intersection of the people, communities, churches, ministries, traditions, and events which, for more than a decade, have been shaping and nurturing this hopeful movement. Our work has been to articulate, preach, and teach this gospel vision and to nurture, support, and help gather together the broadly ecumenical community that it is bringing to life throughout the churches.
The ministry of the magazine has received strong confirmation from a growing readership in the churches. Our hope and expectation is that the impact of its message will both grow deeper and spread wider in the days ahead. The life we share together in Sojourners Community and the roots we have established in one of Washington's poorest inner-city neighborhoods provide for us a solid foundation for the expanding work in the churches around the country and internationally.
We feel that we are at a crossroads in our work and are seeking clarity about the future. The excitement we feel about the direction many in the churches are heading has been mixed with a serious process of prayer and reflection about how we can best serve in the growing movement.
The particular focus of our community discussions has been the myriad and growing speaking invitations from many quarters. We have tried to understand both what is most needed and what we can best contribute at this point. We've also tried to reflect carefully on the changing shape of our own ministry, in response to the kinds of requests people are making of us. All of this has led to a clear sense of direction to begin a series of preaching campaigns in major cities across the country.
We feel the need for the kind of preaching that will proclaim the gospel clearly in our historical context. Such preaching would take a biblical and evangelistic approach with a strong emphasis on conversion. These would be preaching campaigns rather than conferences or workshops; revivals rather than seminars; sermons rather than lectures. They would involve music, prayer, and the creative arts, and would be carried out in the context of worship.
We will not take an "issues" approach, nor will we preach an evangelistic message removed from the major questions of the day. Rather, in light of the gospel's meaning in these times, we will deal with the fundamental historical issues we face. The heart of the preaching will be a radical call to Christ in the midst of our present crisis.
We have looked back into the past to find precedents for revival preaching and have gained insight and inspiration from Charles Finney, John Wesley, and the scores of men and women whose revival preaching transformed many lives and sparked great social movements for the abolition of slavery, and for women's rights, peace, and economic justice. This issue of Sojourners is devoted to that revivalist history and our deep sense of its meaning for us.
The Wesleyan revival of the 18th century brought the power of the gospel to an English society riddled with spiritual corruption, religious apathy, and social injustice. Hearts were set ablaze with the fire of faith. Repentance and conversion were at the center of a new love for the poor and a hunger for justice. Good news was preached to the poor, freedom to the slaves, dignity to women, and deliverance to all under the bondage of sin.
The slave trade came to an end as a direct result of the Wesleyan movement, which also brought great strides for industrial workers, women, and children. Wesley's preaching turned things upside down and brought a new hope for the hungry, homeless, and hopeless. But at the heart of this social change was a radical change in the hearts of men and women perhaps best expressed in the great revival hymn written in that day by the converted former captain of a slave ship: "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see."
The evangelical awakening in 19th-century America also produced radical results. People like Charles Finney, Theodore Weld, Jonathan Blanchard, A.J. Gordon, the Grimke sisters, and the Tappan brothers are known not only as abolitionist leaders, but also as outstanding revivalist leaders. Their fervent preaching and social agitation are the background of today's evangelical movement.
Charles Finney shook the nations with his preaching, and abolitionist societies sprang up in his wake everywhere he went. He proclaimed the word of God against slavery, greed, and unrighteousness. With great boldness Finney called upon his listeners to turn away from the sin of their own lives and the sins of the age, to turn their eyes and hearts to Jesus Christ. The impact was enormous.
Historically, revival preaching has been addressed both to the Christians and to the non-Christians. The Christian community is always in need of renewal and revival, especially at moments of historical crisis, and a clear call to the gospel specifically addressed to the realities of the day always has the power to reach people who are not being reached by the churches. Therefore, the fruit of revival is both the making of fresh converts and more faithful disciples.
Today America is bound by sin. As a people we have become captivated by greed, power, selfishness, and pride. We have been poisoned by years of unrepented racism, materialism, violence, and oppression. We have ignored the cries of the victims of our many sins—the poor, people of color, and women. We no longer trust in God but in our wealth and military might, and the fruit of our idolatry is a nuclear arms race that threatens the world with extinction.
Mere political solutions will not be enough. Calls for social change without the call to faith will only lead to discouragement and despair. And evangelism that does not address the crisis we face is unfaithful to the gospel.
A revival of genuine biblical faith in this country is the one thing that could most undermine the injustice and violence that have become endemic in the American system. Social justice and peace will only come as the fruits of spiritual transformation. Our hope is for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit which brings repentance and conversion.
In the last few years the changing nature of speaking invitations and my own sense of direction has led me away from university and seminary lectures, conference speaking, and issue-oriented seminars, and toward citywide, ecumenical preaching events. These have been sponsored by coalitions of churches—evangelical, Catholic, mainline Protestant, black churches, historical peace churches, and various peace and justice groups, and have usually lasted one or two days.
Our intention now is to make that direction more explicit and expand the idea into preaching campaigns in various cities for up to a week in length. The revivals would include successive nights of preaching—at least three and perhaps as many as seven. We hope these events would be highly visible, attract large numbers of people, and make gospel preaching publicly controversial again. They would be designed to call people away from the ruling American myths, illusions, and lifestyle; from the sins of the people and the sins of the nation; from injustice and war; and from individual selfishness. They would call people to Christ, to personal transformation and to the biblical vision of justice and peace.
Today some call for spiritual renewal in a vacuum while others speak of social issues without recognizing the need for conversion. We will preach spiritual revival in the face of military madness, oppressive affluence, and abandonment of the poor. Our hope is for revivals that would have a powerful impact on a city or region spiritually, socially, economically, and politically. We hope that out of revival many will turn to Christ and, as a result, a whole new level of public activity for the sake of the poor, for peace, for racial justice and reconciliation would emerge.
I was raised in the evangelical tradition and, after a long pilgrimage, have come to understand that I am still an evangelist at heart. Therefore, the idea of these preaching campaigns reflects both the vision of our community and a clear sense of my own personal calling. I have wrestled with this, spent time in prayer and conversations with many people, searched out my own heart, and engaged in an extensive community process. Out of that has come this clear sense of direction. We feel a great sense of excitement over these visions and dreams and ask for your prayers as we prepare to begin this new venture.
Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine.
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