Recovering our “evangelical” identity

Several weeks ago the Trinity Western University community considered the question “Is TWU still an Evangelical University?” Professors Craig Allert, Archie Spencer, and Kent Clarke may have argued different answers but by the end of the evening, a few important points of agreement came about.

First, TWU is in need of a theological renewal that defines its identity as being rooted in the historic Christian tradition; second, this renewal begins with a set of “blueprints” or sources for the reconstruction of this theological identity; and third, the sources for this renewal, par excellence, are found in the ancient undivided church where we find Christianity united by the creeds and the ecumenical councils.

I couldn’t help but think that what each of the professors was calling for was what Henri de Lubac, a 20th century Catholic theologian, called ressourcement. In a nutshell, ressourcement says that “the renewal of Christian vitality is linked at least partially to a renewed exploration of the periods and of the works where the Christian tradition is expressed with particular intensity.”

D.H. Williams and others, including our own Dr. Allert, have appropriated de Lubac’s ideas into an Evangelical ressourcement. Williams writes: “The Evangelical Ressourcement…is designed to address the ways in which Christians may draw upon the thought and life of the early church to respond to the challenges facing today’s church.”

TWU is not a church; however, that doesn’t mean that we can’t benefit from a ressourcement of our own. So what might a ressourcement for TWU look like? Here are my ideas:

(1) Recovering the sources of the undivided Church. As Evangelicals, we are sitting on a massive wellspring of theological material just waiting to be discovered. It’s time to commit ourselves to “a rediscovery of the riches of the whole of the Church’s two-thousand-year tradition,” (to quote de Lubac).

(2) Sustained theological dialogue within the entire university community. We might benefit from developing some sort of ongoing theological dialogue, such as a journal or regularly-held interdisciplinary theological symposia, where people from throughout the university (including students) can contribute, share and learn. Each member of the community must be given the opportunity to contribute to the process of theological renewal on the campus.

(3) Integration of the life of the mind and the life of faith. Divvying up spiritual development as the responsibility of one department, and theological formation as the responsibility of another divorces these two ‘lives’ and estranges their interdependent development. We might benefit from learning more about the early church Fathers and about their passionate devotion to Christ, rigorous theological reflection and practical pastoral service to the oppressed.

(4) Recovery of the classical Christian texts on spirituality. Thankfully, an ecumenical reading group led by Rob Rhea and Dr. Robert Stackpole has already started to expose Evangelical students to texts outside their own tradition and, more importantly, outside the 20th century. There is huge untapped potential in classic spiritual texts for ministries on campus.

(5) A theology class as core curriculum. Maybe I’m biased, but the fact that an introductory-level theology course is not part of the core curriculum strikes me as odd for a Christian university.

We must realize that returning to the sources of the Christian faith does not make us less Evangelical. I’d argue it actually makes us more Evangelical, that is, more fully centered on the impact of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the world.