Faithful Christian living—expressed through all the Scriptural directives regarding issues of mercy, justice, and even holiness—extends beyond our private lives.

Even beyond the walls of the church.

In teaching missiology (missions, mission), I always take time to talk about the core or heart of the missionary task, which is evangelism. There are not merely two “sides” to mission: evangelism and social justice. There is one mission of Jesus Christ, and this mission has a heart that pumps the lifeblood through the whole mission task.

Thus, in mission we seek to see the full conversion of the individual and families, but also, beyond that, a conversion of cultures. Yes, we care about God’s love, justice, and holiness seeping into our neighborhoods, school systems, places of work, and even in our government. We care about local cultures and societies being “converted” because we pray “Thy Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven.” In heaven, as we read in Revelation 7 and 21, there is water for the thirsty, there is shade from the heat, and tears (or what causes tears) are wiped away.

The gospel is not a private, individual, or just a churchy thing. The gospel inspires, or even infects us to seek prison reform, better medical care, protection of the innocent, and more stable marriages, less drug addiction, and a reduction of gang violence. This matters for us today because complex discussions about refugees, violence in our cities, or the seemingly malfunctioning of our federal government trigger some and encourage others. What is a seminary president to do?

I could say nothing on such themes, but that would be a denial of what I have understood of Scripture and have taught about missions. I uphold as exemplary the great work of resistance of some thoughtful Christian leaders in the present and the past regarding slavery. I have taught about the resistance to the opium trade by missionaries in China, and the struggles against widow burning in India, and foot-binding in China. Christian reform globally is a wonderful heritage we can lift up to show that the gospel is wonderful, powerful, and relevant.

We, at Gordon-Conwell, have a tradition of engaging in social issues.

As Christian leaders we ought not fear to write about hard topics but do so in a way that will convince those of a differing viewpoint that we’ve done due diligence, we’ve understood countering positions and have prayerfully and with humility come to a position that can (and must) be defended biblically. In addition, such scrutiny and conviction need to be applied to issues from all sides of the political spectrum, regardless of which party or ideology holds the reins of power.

On April 7, 1942, Rev. Dr. Harold Ockenga,[1] the first president of the newly formed Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, stood up in front of 150 delegates in St. Louis and called for, what was ostensibly, a recovery of evangelicalism. And, thus, the National Association of Evangelicals was formed. Fundamentalism had withdrawn from society, but evangelicalism has always engaged in social issues to bring about the “conversion of cultures.” This is our heritage at Gordon-Conwell.

Recently I have been studying another stream of Gordon-Conwell’s history that illustrates a similar concern: the life and work of Australian Rev. Dr. Stuart Barton Babbage, who has been described as a “Humanitarian, but maybe too direct!”[2] Babbage was an Anglican who was the priest of two important cathedrals in Australia, was a friend of C.S. Lewis while studying in England, and who engaged in the Civil Rights movement in Atlanta with his friend Martin Luther King, Jr. Before this, Babbage had invited Billy Graham to do his Crusade in Australia in 1959. Babbage spoke out in defense of the Australian Aborigines, he decried the atomic bomb, and he helped integrate churches in Atlanta. In addition, he started afterschool programs for Black children in Atlanta, and he performed the first integrated wedding at the Episcopal cathedral, which happened to be the wedding of his son Christopher with LaNell Johnson.

After his time in Atlanta, Babbage became the President of the Conwell School of Theology, where Richard Lovelace and Gwen Walters were teaching at the mostly Black urban seminary in North Philadelphia. When Conwell and Gordon Divinity School merged, he was appointed the first vice president of Gordon-Conwell under Ockenga. It was a difficult change for him, leaving the city and his work with Black communities to go to Hamilton, a wealthy white town in New England.

Babbage was a reformer, evangelist, racial reconciler, and defender of the poor and disadvantaged. In short, he was classic evangelical, neither fundamentalist nor liberal.

I believe he probably alienated some by his outspoken approach to social issues, but he was also consistent in the evangelical witness in society: social compassion and engaged reform. So, we pray:

Lord, in our age of division, suspicion, and distrust, I pray that we, as Christians, can speak up for the defenseless, imprisoned, the refugee, widow, fatherless, and orphan—as your Word teaches. Help us to be like

Jesus in responding to the cries of the people. We need you to give us Christian unity with our courage, kindness, gentleness, and even joy in coming alongside the unloved and unreached in our world. Please, make us more like Jesus in thought, emotions, and action. Grant us, what the Ancient Christians called, the ‘gift of tears.’ In Jesus precious name, Amen.

[1] “America’s Hour Has Struck,” Christianity Today, October 2006.
[2] Paul Sheehan, “Humanitarian Too Direct for Some,” Sydney Morning Herald, January 8, 2013.

Dr. Scott W. Sunquist, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is author of the “Attentiveness” blog. He welcomes comments, responses, and good ideas.