by Elsa Correia Pereira
FEET – The Fellowship of European Evangelical Theologians, was founded in 1976 in the aftermath of the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization to encourage fellowship and theological reflection in Europe. This year, with the celebration of 50 years since the start of the Lausanne Movement, the joint reflection was especially enriching and comprehensive.
It was my first time attending the conference, but I can say that I greatly appreciate when a faith-based organization or institution periodically undertakes a critical and comprehensive analysis of what it stands for, its identity(ies), and its connections with other social systems with which it inevitably interacts. This requires humility, openness to dialogue, and continuous learning and sharing—only in this way growth is possible.
Indeed, the way we express what we believe in, the way we define ourselves as evangelicals – understood as followers, practitioners, and ambassadors of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – is not static; it is dynamic. In the face of historical contexts, within each national or regional identity, in the interrelationship with other religious groups, in chronological time, and in the historical and social times of humanity, the way of studying, communicating, and defending the Bible and its content as the Truth of the Creator of the Universe and our Savior can vary to meet the practical needs of each generation, each people, each moment. The form varies, but the content does not, because the authority of the Word remains unchanged. In light of this, one of the many conclusions and ideas that emerged was to think, reflect, and write about a theology of nationalities that reflects these contextual differences in the theological, liturgical, or organizational approach of the churches.
FEET 2024 was precisely about the space where theology and the practices of the plural and polycentric identities of the churches can (dis)encounter today. “Evangelical Identity in Europe Today: Unity in Diversity” was the theme that kicked off various conversations, initiated by sharing from experts in various areas of theology and the church, from the history of Protestantism to the challenges of today, from all corners of Europe: North, South, Central, West, and East. We remembered past revivals, the missionary movements (not forgetting that we were in the land of the Moravian brothers, who are beautiful examples of this), encouraged, and learned about the work and studies of everyone present.
The participation of dozens of theologians, interdisciplinary representatives (such as from sociology and anthropology), and even from other branches of Christianity, like the Orthodox theologian and professor Rev. Prof. Dr. Cristian Sonea, proved that dialogue is possible, desirable, and fruitful when we give others the right to speak and accept our duty to listen and reflect.
Each day began with prayer and Bible reading. In addition to plenaries on historical perspectives of Evangelicals in Europe, on the authority of the Bible, sociological perspectives on Evangelicals in different European regions, Evangelicals and other traditions, Evangelicals and the world, and the future, we also had the opportunity to choose among five workshops whose themes ranged from Evangelicals and Spirituality, Post-Evangelicalism, Evangelicals and Populist Political Movements, Evangelicals and Missions, to Evangelicals and the Global South. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to engage in national/regional meetings and learn in disciplinary groups: Old Testament, New Testament, Systematic Theology and Church History, Practical Theology and Missiology, Ethics and Apologetics. It was a true buffet – all you can eat – adding to all the books available to the attendees.
We live in a society where relativism, deconstructionism, secularism, laicism, postmodernism, and post-Christianity seem to be the order of the day. Nevertheless, and as Sébastien Fath (2005) says, evangelicals have come out of the ghetto, raising their voices in the several networks they are part of.
We understand the contribution of migrant churches in reviving and diversifying churches in Europe and the Global North in general, bringing a unique pluralism. The churches of Europe, once almost entirely attended and participated in by Europeans, must now learn interculturality, both in theology and in practice. They must know how to manage diversity, welcome, and share spaces and teachings of the Word. They must relearn to stretch the tent and secure the stakes so that everyone can be part of it (Isaiah 54:2-3).
Faced with all these challenges, as Dr. Hetty Lalleman mentioned, the Word of God is practical and effective. We need constant creative theological thinking renewed by the Holy Spirit – who makes the Word alive.
Anchored in the same core (which may be the one pointed out by Bebbington [1989]—Bible, Cross, Conversion, and Kingdom Work, or another—the discussion continues…) we can be conservative, reformed, Pentecostal, charismatic, or adopt one of the dozens of denominational designations today. What must be avoided are fundamentalism and fanaticism that can be negatively instrumentalized by some political factions, or a light Christianity or Gospel, where one picks and chooses only what one wants, like an à la carte religion.
We are in the age of images, multimedia, Photoshop, influencers, celebrities, Cool Christianity (Cristina Rocha, 2024), immediacy, high-impact events, social media, and the media… Therefore, contrary to what it might seem, theological thought and reflection make even more sense and are even more necessary today. The roots cannot be uprooted if the trees are to keep growing. The work of theologians, in my view, is to deepen and care for the roots for the solid growth of the trees that are the churches. And we must do this in every way possible, remembering and celebrating the history and stories of churches and bold missionaries, writing, singing, making podcasts, studying and teaching Theology at Universities and Churches, Schools and Seminaries, at Conferences, bringing all the questions to our common tables of respectful discussion and learning, without leaving any elephants hidden in the room.
Evangelicals remain, in most European countries, a minority. But the 120 in Acts 2 show us what God can do with a minority. My desire is to continue writing more chapters of Acts: 29, 30, 31, … We all write them, every day, when we commit to building the Church of Jesus, in its various forms, with diverse names, diverse configurations, but always guided by the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Elsa Correia Pereira (Portugal) is a researcher in sociology of religion.
