Jamie Southcombe shares some of the strengths of American Evangelical culture
From the first day we realised that we were very much strangers in a foreign land.
Three years ago my wife and I had shipped ten suitcases and three children across the ‘pond’ to attend a Bible College in the United States (Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky). Whether it was making a social faux pas when visiting a friend’s house, being completely baffled by food sold in supermarkets, or being told ‘I just love your accent’ when buying coffee, we were often all too aware that we were not at home.
While living in a different country was hard at times, there were also a number of advantages. For us one of the benefits of attending Bible College and church in a different country was studying the Bible with people who did not share our culture. As ‘foreigners’ we had a unique opportunity to observe some of the strengths of American Evangelicalism. Granted, we only experienced a small section of it and, of course, American Evangelicalism has its weaknesses too, but examining these is not my purpose here. What follows is a brief reflection on five strengths we witnessed as British evangelicals:
1. People over programmes
One of the major strengths that we noticed straight away was the focus on people over programmes (or programs). The church we attended in Louisville ran hardly any midweek programmes – no mothers and toddlers group, no student group, no men’s and women’s groups, and no making sure every demographic has its own activity. This is something we (particularly my wife) found hard adjusting to at the beginning. However, we soon learned that a lack of programmes doesn’t mean a lack of ministry; mums within the congregation still met together, students hung out and discussed theology over coffee, and the young people gathered together on a Thursday night. These things, rather than being scheduled, grew organically out of the life of the church.
How does this work? One main way was through the members of the congregation emailing the entire church, inviting each other to share in their particular ministry efforts. For example, just before we left, a church member sent an email inviting anyone to eat a meal with a Syrian refugee family with the intention of sharing the gospel with them. Similarly, Mums regularly invite all other mums to hang out at a park for encouragement and fellowship. Men’s breakfasts organically form as members take the initiative to be studying the Bible together and seek to be involved in each other’s lives.
While I am not advocating that this is always the best way for a local church to structure its activities, we did witness a number of advantages to this ‘organic’ approach to ministry. The main benefit is that church staff and volunteers spend minimal time arranging rotas, planning activities, or organising events. As a result, the whole congregation can spend more time building relationships with each other and engaging in discipleship, something that is invaluable when time is a precious commodity. Our time in America reminded us that the church is about people more than it is about activities or programmes.
2. Openness
A second strength we noticed was that American Christians were often very open with their lives. For instance, my wife was somewhat surprised when the wife of a fellow seminarian shared quite personal details about her life during their first interaction. This experience was not uncommon.
While we Brits are often closed, Americans tend to be upfront and open with their joys and sorrows, with their victories and struggles. Generally this is a good thing; we are, after all, called to ‘bear each other’s burdens’ (Galatians 6.2) and to ‘love one another’ (John 13.34). The church can only fully obey these commands when we are open with each other about our lives, sharing our struggles and burdens together as well as our joys.
3. Importance of church polity
The American Christians we rubbed shoulders with took their church polity seriously. This at first was very surprising. Here were a group of Christians who were absolutely committed to searching the Scriptures and letting the Bible dictate their positions on church life. Yes, Bible-believing Christians recognise that this is a ‘secondary issue’ and will amicably disagree with each other when opinions diverge. But whatever church polity is held, it is generally held with conviction.
Consequently, we return to England convinced that church polity is not the gospel and yet is integral to the life and health of the church, convicted of what we believe the Bible teaches about it and concerned to work, where we can, with other gospel people who hold to a differing ecclesiol-ogy. As Pastor Mark Dever has said, gospel churches that diverge on the issue of church polity should ‘keep clear fences, keep them low and shake hands over them often’.
4. Honouring pastors
Fourthly, the American Evangelicals we got to know were deeply committed to honouring (or should that be honoring?) their pastors. Certainly ‘Pastor Appreciation Month’ (October, FYI) can be a little bit cheesy and, yes, Americans sometimes fall off the other side of the horse and turn honour into idolatry (with the unsurprising problems that come when celebrity-pastors commit serious moral failure).
That said, congregations generally give great honour to their pastors. This practice is thoroughly biblical. 1 Timothy 5.17 says, ‘Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching’. The writer of Hebrews admonishes his hearers to submit to their elders because they have the awesome responsibility of watching over their souls. The writer continues, telling church members to ‘let them do this with joy’. We have seen these verses taken very seriously and applied well during our time here.
5. Boldness in evangelism
The last strength we noted was that Evangelicals in the States were very bold in their evangelism. For example, in the summer of 2017, I attended a conference in Columbus, Ohio with a group of fellow seminarians. On the eve of the conference we all piled into a local German restaurant and quickly struck up a conversation with other diners at the adjacent table. The conversation quickly turned to spiritual matters. Within five minutes, one of our group had not only asked our new friends what their favourite Bible verses were (no surprises at John 3.16), but he then quickly pivoted to ask whether they knew John 3.36. They admitted they did not and this chap quickly whipped out his Bible App (one good use for a Bible App on a cell phone) to show them the verse. He then proceeded to push home respectfully, but urgently, their need for repentance.
As I sat there munching on my bratwurst a number of objections started flying into my head: ‘They have come for a nice evening out and now we are confronting them with God’s wrath.’ Yet later that night, as I reflected on the meal, I realised my friend was right. A door had opened up for the gospel to be shared and when telling the gospel we must include the need for that person to respond in repentance and faith. I have been challenged and encouraged by my American friends to be bolder in talking about Jesus and to ensure that when sharing the gospel I do not forget to take (when possible) the step of calling people to repentance.
Seeing ourselves as others do
Finally, while we look forward to heading home in the coming months, we are grateful that we have had the opportunity of learning from the strengths of another culture. It has allowed us to examine many things that we had just taken for granted in our church experience and reevaluate them in light of what the Bible teaches. It has also enriched my view of how wonderful the new heavens and the new earth will be when we will join in a vast crowd of people from all tongues, tribes and nations praising Jesus together. Our time here has given us a little foretaste of what that day will be like.
