Vol. 25 (2011)

At the last AETE annual meeting, several members gave presentations that featured various forms of church renewal. Some of those presentations grace the pages of this issue of Witness. In the opening article, John Bowen provides an overview of the renewal that has been taking place within the Church of England, as “fresh expressions” of Christian community continue to sprout in the UK. Rick Richardson follows with an article on “emerging missional movements” in the United States, as he provides commentary on how these various movements, such as the emerging church, missional church, the new monastics, and others, are redefining American evangelicalism in both positive and potentially adverse ways.

Achim Härtner’s article, which was ably translated from German by Duke Divinity School student Stephanie Gehring and Duke Professor Stephen Gunter, focuses on the emerging church movement. The fact that Härtner brings a German— and furthermore, a Wesleyan—perspective to bear upon the emerging church, which has arisen primarily in Western Europe and North America, makes his interpretation especially intriguing. Paul Chilcote’s article, which is an adaptation of the introduction to his upcoming book, Making Disciples in a World Parish, discusses lessons from Methodist practices around the world on disciple-making that can be (and should be) learned by all.

We are honored to feature an article by Robert E. Coleman, author of the enduring Master Plan of Evangelism. Originallypresented at the Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting in 2010, this article reminds us that the precise meaning of “saving faith” should unite evangelicals; let us disagree on other theological matters, but not at this crucial juncture. And in the final article of this volume.

Jeffrey Snyder, who among other things is a professional Christian clown, draws from his experience as such to remind the church of the joy that should come in the evangelistic task. Evangelism is often characterized as hard, awkward, necessary, urgent, or all of the above—but joyful? Tied together, then, by the cords of saving faith and joy, this bundle of articles on church and evangelism aims to inspire reflection and action for the sake of the gospel.

One of the highlights of the 2010 annual meeting was the presentation given by Soong-Chan Rah, who shared insights from his controversial book, TheNextEvangelicalism. The perspective he brought to the table—namely, the absolute importance of considering what is happening in non-white Christian communities, lest church renewal studies become a strictly Western enterprise—must be taken into account. Although his presentation from the AETE annual meeting is not included in this issue, we are glad to present new insights from him via an interview conducted by Montague Williams as they conversed together around Rah’s recently published book, Many Colors.