253

T
hc ycar Fullcr Tcological Scminary was
loundcd, 1947, ! was a studcnt in thc rst
class. nc ol thc prolcssors, Carl F. H. Hcnry,
a lormcr ncwspapcr journalist, was vcry wcll acquaint
cd with thc sccular world, morc so than thc avcragc
prcachcr. Hc had alrcady writtcn a book that camc out
in that samc ycar callcd Te Uneasy Conscience of the
Modern Fundamentalist. Hc suggcstcd that vangcli
cals, whom hc rclcrrcd to as lundamcntalistsand !
still considcr myscll a lundamcntalist in that scnsc
had locuscd on hcavcn and thc luturc, cschatology/
prophcsy/rcturn ol Christ (all good and truc things)
and criticizcd anybody who would lilt a ngcr to
changc this world which wc cxpcctcd (and hopcd:)
was going to thc dogs. Tc grcat hopc was that Christ
would soon rcturn. ! still bclicvc that. Tc numbing
assumption, howcvcr, was that thc world would gct
worsc and worsc until nally Hc camc. Tcrclorc, any
thing that would indicatc that thc world was gctting
worsc and worsc would bc good ncws. And, logically,
thcrc was no good rcason to improvc this world.
r. Hcnrys book challcngcd that assumption and
harkcd back to an carlicr timc in Amcrican history
whcn vangclicals wcrc activc in changing this world.
A chaptcr ! wrotc two ycars ago lor a Southcrn 8aptist
book, and thcn cut down 50 lor Mission Frontiers
(Scptct 07) rclcrrcd to that pcriod as First !nhcri
tancc vangclicalism. !n that articlc ! suggcstcd that in
thc 20th ccntury whcn a scnsc ol changing thc world
was lost, or givcn up intcntionally, and thc vcry idca
ol changing this world was considcrcd libcral, a ncw
kind ol Sccond !nhcritancc vangclicalism cnsucd.
Hcnry was saying that wc should lccl uncasy about
this pcrspcctivc.
Tcn ycars altcr Hcnrys book camc out in 1947 anothcr
book was publishcd, in 1957, which rcsultcd lrom
a lamous spccch by a man namcd Timothy Smith,
a graduatc studcnt at Johns Hopkins. His book was
callcd Revivalism and Social Reformwidcly acclaimcd
as onc ol thc most signicant books in thc analysis ol
Amcrican rcligious history. Hc didnt rcally spcak thco
logically, as Hcnry did. Hc spokc ol thc simplc histori
cal lact that vangclicals onc hundrcd ycars carlicr had
bccn vcry activc in changing socicty. Vhcthcr thcir
thcological undcrpinnings wcrc corrcct or not, that
is what thcy wcrc doing. !ncidcntally, Gcorgc Mars
dcn, onc ol thc morc lamous historians ol Amcrican
Christianity, madc thc statcmcnt that by 1870, no onc
qucstioncd that this was a Christian country.
8ut 1870 was bclorc thc rcally momcntous immigra
tion inundatcd thc country. ur population was qua
druplcd in lorty ycars and most ol thc pcoplc coming
in had no idca ol thc rcvival pcriod or thc vangclical
tradition. Tus, that wholc conccpt ol this bcing a
Christian country was lost duc to thc shucs in thc
digcstion ol this massivc population avalanchc. And
thcn thc First Vorld Var occurrcd which sccmcd to
contradict any hopc ol this world gctting bcttcr. And
il anyonc survivcd with such hopcs, thc Sccond Vorld
Var dcstroycd what rcmaincd.
Yct, it was just altcr thc Sccond Vorld Var that Hcnry
publishcd his book. Tc Sccond Vorld Var cndcd in
1945 and Hcnrys book was publishcd in 1947. Hc was
a prophct crying out in thc wildcrncss. 8ut holding
cxactly thc samc bclicls was Fullcr scminary, backcd
by Harold ckcnga, who was thc lounding Prcsidcnt
(and thc most promincnt pcrson in thc lounding ol thc
National Association ol vangclicals and thc van
Te Kingdom Era Is Now
Ralph D. Winter
Uscd with pcrmission. A scminar givcn by Ralph . Vintcr in cccmbcr 2007 at thc US Ccntcr lor Vorld Mission, Pasadcna, CA.
: Tnv Kixcbo: v~ !s Now
gclical Forcign Missions Association). Tcy all lclt that
wc havc to gct away lrom what tcndcd to bc an almost
cxclusivc hcavcnoricntation in thc carlicr Fundamcn
talist tradition cpitomizcd by many ol thc 157 8iblc
!nstitutcs lormcd altcr 1900. All ol what vangclicals
wcrc saying was truc, but thc 8iblc had a largcr vision.
Tcn ycars altcr Smiths 1957 book, in 1967, thcrc was
a third pcrson, avid . Mobcrg, who camc out with
a book cntitlcd Evangelical Christians in Contemporary
Society: How to Reverse the Great Reversal. Tc grcat
rcvcrsal phrasc was borrowcd lrom Smith. Hc latcr
spokc ol Rcvcrsal in his bcttcrknown 1972 book
Te Great Reversal: Evangelism and Social Concern. Tc
Rcvcrsal was thc idca ol a rctrcat lrom this world can
and must bc changcd into this world is hopclcss and
docs not havc to bc changcd (a rcvcrsc), thc implica
tion bcing that thc lastcr thc world gocs bad thc bct
tcr and lcts gct our cschatology straightcncd out so
that wc can gct to hcavcn salcly bclorc thc tribulation.
Notc that all ol this is partially truc and important.
8clorc thc rcvcrsal, as latc as 1896 a Ncw ngland
schooltcachcr could writc a hymn that spokc ol thc
USA with ambcr wavcs ol grain, purplc mountain
majcstics and thc drcam ol alabastcr citics glcaming
undimmcd by human tcars. Altcr thc rcvcrsal took
placc vangclicals could truthlully sing, Tis world is
not my homc. !m just a passin through. My trcasurcs
arc laid up somcwhcrc bcyond thc bluc.
! must say that onc ol thc most galvanizing, arrcsting
and astringcnt impacts on Amcrican scnsibilitics was
thc conccpt ol thc immincnt rcturn ol Christ, thc vcry
idca that Christ could comc back at any momcnt and
was soon duc. !l you rcally bclicvc that Christ could
comc back tomorrow, that can straightcn you out lastcr
than anything clsc. For cxamplc, ! rccall thc cxpcricncc
ol a lricnd ol minc, 8ill Rccd, who had bccn a mis
sionary to 8razil. Hc authorcd onc ol thc rst church
growth books, on 8razil. nc ol his sons had turncd
away lrom thc Lord and had bccn alicnatcd lor ycars.
Vhilc wc wcrc tcaching togcthcr at Fullcr, his son callcd
his parcnts and said hc wantcd to comc and scc thcm.
Tcy madc a datc lor 4 PM on ccrtain day. 8ut his par
cnts had anothcr obligation carlicr and whilc 8ill Rccd
and his wilc wcrc coming back thcy wcrc stuck in trac
and didnt makc it on timc. Vhcn thcy arrivcd at thcir
housc, thcir son had somchow alrcady gottcn himscll
into thc housc and was sitting on thc couch in thc living
room. As thcy camc in thc lront door, hc was abso
lutcly in tcars. n thc tablc in thc living room thcrc was
thc book, Te Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindscy.
Vaiting around lor thcm to comc hc was ovcrcomc by
thc implications. !vc ncvcr rcad it but thc vcry idca that
Christ could rcturn at any timc just turncd this young
man around complctcly. Tat was a trcmcndous changc
lor him. !n othcr words, thcrc wcrc many grcat virtucs
in this socallcd lundamcntalist pcriod. Howcvcr, onc ol
thc problcms was, as ! put it in my articlc a lcw months
ago, thcy had vcry littlc social inucncc, and thus lo
cuscd on thc ncxt world.
8ack in 1870 vangclicals ran thc country. !n 1920, thcy
didnt. Vhy: Tc majority ol vangclicals wcrc non
collcgc pcoplc that Moody had won by thc millions.
Tcy oltcn lookcd askancc at thc uppcr class pcoplc
who wcnt to collcgc. nly a lcw ol thc collcgc traincd
vangclicals wcrc still lclt in govcrnmcnt, and thcrc
cnsucd a grcat polarization bctwccn what camc to bc
callcd libcrals and conscrvativcs. Many ol thc libcrals
still bclicvcd in thc Ncw 8irth, but ncvcrthclcss thcrc
wcrc many othcrs in thc wcalthy class who said, Forgct
about cvangclicalism, and lcts just changc this world.
As in thc hymn Amcrica thc 8cautilul thcy praycd lor a
luturc ol alabastcr citics glcaming undimmcd by human
tcars and our good crowncd by brothcrhood.
Tc vcry libcral First Congrcgational Church ol Los
Angclcs had lor a long timc a sign in lront saying
nc Vorld at a Timc. Tat was a spccic, libcral
rcaction against thc idca ol thc ncxt world bcing our
main locus. Rathcr, thcy thought, Lcts tacklc this
world now and lct thc ncxt world comc whcn it will.
!ronically, whilc Libcrals talkcd many vangclicals
did what was within thcir powcr, scnding missionarics
and lounding inncr city missions. vangclicals simply
rcluscd to bclicvc politics or social wcllarc in gcncral
was thcir obligation. Somconc on thc intcrnct rcad
somcthing ! wrotc many ycars ago and wrotc ol Vin
tcrs railing against thc govcrnmcnt lor not spcnding
cnough on canccr rcscarch, and against thc cvils ol
gambling, tobacco and cocainc, as il thc Church could
somchow allcviatc thcsc problcms. Tis polarization is
still with us and is not a hcalthy thing.
Hcnry, Smith, and Mobcrg arc carly prophctsol
what sccms to mc to bc worth labcling thc King
dom ra. Tcy wcrc trying to rcvcrsc thc rcvcrsal.
Vhcn wc go back to thc Ncw Tcstamcnt, wc scc Jcsus
prcaching, Tc Kingdom ol hcavcn is at hand and
tclling His disciplcs to pray that it will comc and that
Ralph D. Winter :
Gods will will bc donc on carth. Notc that His sug
gcstcd praycr docsnt say anything about waiting until
wc go to hcavcn. Not to say that Hc did not clscwhcrc
spcak about hcavcn, but wc rcalizc today, il not bclorc,
that thc Rclormation was an cra in which thc Roman
Catholic Church had produccd what could bc callcd
thc commodication ol thc Gospcl. Tcy had lound
out that thc casicst way to cxtract moncy lrom pcoplc
was to scll thcm a tickct to hcavcn. Ncat, scll what you
dont havc to dclivcr. Tis approach workcd vcry niccly
until Luthcr camc along and told pcoplc that you can
ncithcr pay nor work your way to hcavcn.
At that point in history, ol coursc, thc gcncral awarcncss
ol thc cxtcnt ol cvil in socicty, and naturc, and thcrclorc
thc idca that our mission undcr God would logically bc
to attcmpt to conqucr cvil in socicty and naturcwas
accordingly vcry limitcd. !n thosc days thcy thought
that thc highcst good that thcy could achicvc was to
build grcat cathcdrals, which is what thcy did. Tcy wcrc
cxtracting moncy lrom thc Gcrmans. Tcrc was alrcady
animosity bctwccn thc Gcrmans and thc Latins, and
so lundraising in Gcrmany didnt go ovcr vcry wcll. Tc
ld Gcrman had it that whcn thc coin clinkcd, your
soul sprinkcd out ol purgatory. Tis is what nally did
it lor Luthcr. Rcmcmbcr, though, thc answcr to a works
rightcousncss is not a purcly intcllcctual laithrightcous
ncss. !n a ccrtain scnsc, both ol thc opposing sidcs in
thc Rclormation wcrc wrong: you cant work your way
into hcavcn, and you cant laith your way into hcavcn,
bccausc, as Jamcs puts it, laith without works is dcad.
Luthcr didnt likc that vcrsc in Jamcs and wantcd to
rcmovc thc cntirc pistlc ol Jamcs lrom thc Ncw Tcsta
mcnt. 8ut altcr a lcw ycars, hc was pcrsuadcd to put it
back. Hc simply didnt comprchcnd that truc hcart laith
would incvitably rcsult in works (ph 2:810) and that
was why laith without works is dcad ( Jamcs 2:20 and
26). 8oth sidcs wcrc wrong and to rccovcr lrom that
articial polarization has takcn a long timc. Vcrc all
childrcn ol thc Rclormation to a ccrtain cxtcnt, wc still
havc a salcs worthy gospcl, and wc still havc a com
modity that sclls. Vcvc gonc around thc world and won
millions ol pcoplc sclling thcm a hcavcnoricntcd sal
vation. Pcoplc arc vcry gratclul and cxcitcd about that.
8ut thc Christianity that cmphasizcs mainly a bclicl
about hcavcn and individual lulllmcnt isnt lullorbcd
cnough to bc stablc or to last. Tus, wc can scc alrcady
a widcsprcad phcnomcnon, cspccially in thc Vcstcrn
world, ol rclapsing Christianity.
Vhat shall wc say about carlicr missionarics comparcd
to contcmporary missionarics: !n both cascs lovc and
holy intuition rathcr than lormal thcology havc morc
oltcn lcd thc way. Two hundrcd ycars ago Villiam
Carcy workcd lor cxtcnsivc social rclorm in !ndia, but
cvcntually his supportcrs took away most ol his land
bccausc thcy thought hc had gottcn o track. nc
hundrcd ycars ago Hudson Taylor locuscd so cxclu
sivcly on cvangclism that hc dircctcd his missionarics
not cvcn to stay with convcrts long cnough to cstablish
congrcgations. Shortly altcr Taylor uppcrclass Studcnt
\oluntccrs would lollow Carcys cxamplc planting a
univcrsity in cvcry provincc ol China. 8ut in thc last
scvcnty ycars missions havc rarcly sccn thc valuc in
cstablishing univcrsitics. Tcy havc bccn diligcnt in
lostcring good works on thc small, local lcvcl. 8ig
gcr problcms likc global malaria havc not bccn in thc
sights ol cvcn thc twobillionpcrycar Vorld \ision,
much lcss Campus Crusadc. YVAM has bccn assidu
ous in tackling problcms in this world on a local lcvcl.
Howcvcr, YVAMs Landa Copc has articulatcd a lar
largcr vision lor ycars. YVAMs ncw anthology ol
thcir top lcadcrs, His Kingdom Come, bcgins with hcr
chaptcr and poscs a major ncw thrust lor thcm.
Tus, it sccms rclcvant to rcvisc my articlc in thc Per-
spectives book, which is callcd Four Mcn, Trcc ras:
Carcy, Taylor, Townscnd and McGavran. Vhcn ! wrotc
it originally, ! dcscribcd Trcc Mcn, Trcc ras. ! was
thinking about historyCarcy, Taylor and Townscnd.
! didnt rcalizc that McGavran, right ncxt door to my
occ, still alivc, was an carly prophct ol thc idca that
culturc barricrs as wcll as linguistic barricrs can disguisc
pcoplc groups. So, ! rcwrotc thc articlc to bc Four Mcn,
Trcc ras, Two Transitions. 8y this timc John Kylc
guidcd !ntcr\arsitys Urbana program. Hc is a Vyclic
man, and prclcrrcd thc original idca ol Townscnd with
out rclcrcncc to McGavran, so !ntcr\arsity rcprintcd
thc original Trcc Mcn, Trcc ras brochurc and
passcd it out to cvcryonc attcnding Urbana.
!t sccms now that wc nccd add anothcr cra and thrcc
mcn, to makc Scvcn Mcn, Four ras and Trcc Transi
tions. !n all ol thc rst thrcc cras, thcrc was an awarc
ncss ol thc dcmands ol thc ncw cra long bclorc thc cra
gaincd momcntum and thc mcn ! chosc wcrc prophcts
crying out in thc wildcrncss lor many ycars. !n cach
casc thcy did not kick o bursts ol mission agcncics
right away. nly Carcy did. Tc othcrs didnt. Tc cras,
as dcncd, dcscribcd things that wcrc both dicult to
:6 Tnv Kixcbo: v~ !s Now
dcnc and acccpt and had a ccrtain inhcrcnt luzzincss
ol dcnition. Tcy also all had prccursors. So it is with
thc Fourth ra. Pcoplc havc bccn talking in tcrms ol thc
Kingdom lor a long timc, cspccially in thc 19th ccntury,
as dcscribcd by thc thrcc books (1947, 1957,1967) to
which ! alludcd abovc. So it isnt as il thcsc cras in any
casc announccd somcthing totally ncw, but sought to
cnhancc apprcciation ol an cxisting insight.
Today, cvcrywhcrc you look, pcoplc arc not mcrcly
talking about doing littlc good dccds but arc talking
about dcaling with hugc things likc world povcrty
and world hcalth to an cxtcnt that has not cvcr bccn
sccn. Now is thc timc to cmphasizc that whilc this
could bccomc a sccond occurrcncc ol a libcral rcduc
tion, it nccds to bc an cmcrgcncc lrom a conscrvativc
rcduction. !t nccds dcspcratcly to bc a morc laithlul
undcrstanding ol thc 8iblc than cvcr bclorc. Vc nccd
to support this dcvclopmcnt. !s it not timc, thcn, to
namc this ra thc Kingdom ra, thc Fourth ra: As
in thc carlicr cras, cvcrything prcccding is still includ
cd. Vhcn wc wcnt inland wc didnt stop going to thc
coastlands. Vhcn wc wcnt to thc unrcachcd pcoplcs
wc didnt stop going to thc major pcoplcs. Vhcn wc
talk about thc Kingdom ra, although thc gcographi
cal cras arc bchind us, wc arc talking about a ncw
dimcnsion ol mission obligation that has bccn to somc
cxtcnt ignorcd and which is still contcstcd. Vc arc not
abandoning talk ol unrcachcd pcoplcs but rccognizcd
a morc ccctivc, 8iblical approach to thcm. Vc arc
not giving up carlicr insights. Vc arc simply sccking to
cnhancc an cxisting awarcncss.
!n my thinking, thc mcaning ol thc Kingdom ra is
vastly morc complcx and hugc than it was lor thosc
living in thc 1800s. !t is a vastly grcatcr challcngc than
Hcnry, Smith or Mobcrg conccivcd. !n thc 40 plus
ycars sincc Mobcrgs book wc havc bccomc awarc ol
much morc about cvil in this worldlor cxamplc in
tcrms ol mcdicinc and sickncssthan cvcr bclorc. Un
lortunatcly many lcading 8iblc scholars arc locusing
only on human cvilN. T. Vright, s Guincss, 8rian
McLarcn, Udo Middclmann and thcn havc no Satan.
Tc wholc history ol mission changcd with thc advcnt ol
mcdical doctors. !t wasnt until 1870 that mcdical doctors
wcrc scnt out as missionarics and whcn thcy wcrc scnt
out thcy wcrcnt scnt to hclp thc pcoplc, but to prc
scrvc thc livcs ol thc missionarics thcmsclvcs. Howcvcr,
intuitivcly (not thcologically) thcy also startcd scrving thc
pcoplc. !n many mission clds, Christianity rcally bcgan
at that point to takc hold. Now Gods loving invitation
was dcmonstratcd and not just talkcd about.
Vhat would it havc bccn likc il Jcsus hadnt dcmon
stratcd His compassion lor a man with a withcrcd arm,
sick pcoplc, childrcn, womcn or Grccks: Most ol His
words would havc bccn unintclligiblc. Vhat Hc did
cnablcd what Hc talkcd about to bc takcn with grcat
authority and to havc grcatcr impact. Arc wc going to
bc lollowcrs ol thc rcal Jcsus: