The future of the hot seat

This month I step down as the editor of en.

I have been asked to continue to write a monthly column, but Jonathan Worsley now takes over in the hot seat.

I began as assistant to Bob Horn who then edited Evangelical Times, and I was first involved with the April 1981 issue, with a front page reporting the death of Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones on St David’s Day, 1 March. His loss was momentous and, for good or ill, marked a new era in evangelicalism in this country.

Changing world

Society had begun to change and, without changing the gospel, the church would need to adapt. A parting of the ways came in 1986 as Bob Horn’s editorial authority was called into question over a review of Wayne Grudem’s work on New Testament Prophecy. I followed Bob as Evangelicals Now, en, was born under the chairmanship of Sir Fred Catherwood. We saw that amid societal decline and ongoing theological challenges from different quarters within the church, what was needed was a paper which was rock solid on the essentials of the gospel, but which allowed discussion and different points of view within that vital framework.

en had to be independent and not in the pocket of any one group or entrepreneur. It also needed to take seriously John Stott’s insight concerning ‘double listening’ – listening to God’s Word and listening to our world in order to know how to apply God’s word in our world. Following Bob’s move to UCCF in 1992 I became editor and I have always sought to maintain this vision. I know it is a vision shared by Jonathan for the future.

The gospel of freedom

The church must, as always, follow a narrow path into an unknown future. But two things are clear – the inevitable decline of the world and the ultimate triumph of the gospel.

Even in Dr Lloyd-Jones’ day, society had become secular, anti-authoritarian and emotion centred (cf. Ephesians 4.19). The last 40 years has witnessed, therefore, the ongoing undermining of God-given structures and institutions like the family. Surely the terrible epidemic of knife crime we are currently suffering is at least partially the fruit of the dismantling of family life, as young people, desperate for security and identity, find a new ‘family’ in the gang? We reap what we sow. And recent years have seen the digital revolution. Although the potential for good cannot be denied, yet the ‘net’ is often just that – a trap. Whether it is via the surveillance of messages by totalitarian governments or the powerfully seductive infotainment of social media, the virtual world can enthrall us to godlessness. The film The Matrix, made 20 years ago, is almost a reality. Against this background, the church’s mission becomes a fight for true humanity, freedom and dignity through the gospel.

And here we have every reason for confidence. Christ can change people and therefore societies. It is a fact of history. But we must remember his words: ‘the truth will set you free’. The truth is Jesus’ teaching (John 8.31,32). Churches which teach, clarify, apply and spread the Bible’s message as their controlling principle and daily sustenance for faith will be outposts of freedom and bring freedom. It will happen. But here the ball is in the air. Where will it land? Since 1981 many churches have closed or are now on the verge of closing. But there are encouraging signs as new Bible churches have been planted and old ones revived. We can be confident but not complacent.