Church leaders advocate Christian public engagement

Published: June 24th, 2015

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Two church leaders have highlighted the importance of contending for gospel freedoms and speaking of Jesus in public life.

John Stevens, National Director of the FIEC group of churches, and Dr Joe Boot, senior pastor of Westminster Chapel in Toronto and a cultural apologist, were speaking on the theme of Christian involvement in society at a special event in London.

Entitled ‘Gospel Truth in Contemporary Culture’, the Open Forum, which was organised and hosted by Christian Concern, sought to explore different approaches to Christian engagement in public life. The event took place at the Barbican Centre on Tuesday 23 June, coinciding with the end of the second day of the Evangelical Ministry Assembly.

As moderator Dr Dan Strange pointed out at the beginning of the event, both speakers agree on the fundamentals of evangelical faith. As the evening progressed it became apparent that there was also significant agreement on aspects of public engagement.

The two speakers did, however, offer distinct theological frameworks to approach the pressing issue of how Christians should engage with a rapidly changing culture. The differences in approach were not merely theoretical but lead to different emphases and priorities in practice.

Nonetheless, at the evening’s conclusion, both speakers concurred that there is a need to defend gospel freedoms and to witness to the truth of the gospel in an increasingly hostile public square.

The full debate – featuring opening presentations and responses from both speakers, followed by a question and answer session – is available here and provides a useful resource for church leaders and others thinking through the challenges of Christian public engagement.

A short video summary of the evening is available here.

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Church leaders advocate Christian public engagement