Fr Dwight Longenecker on Evangelization: Good Words and Good Works

The most effective preachers of the gospel are often ordinary lay people whose lives have been transformed by God's grace.

If Evangelization is to move forward, then it is vital that the 'social gospel' be rooted in and enlivened by the solid dogmatic content of the faith. The social dimension is vital, but if the faith is no more than 'making the world a better place' then why bother to be a Christian at all? If there is to be a New Evangelization then there is simply no room for a clash between these two emphases.

P>GREENVILLE, SC (Catholic Online) - (Editor in Chief's Note: As we approach the forty days of Lent where we are invited, with the whole Church, into a protracted battle with the world, the flesh and the devil, the "Gargoyle Code" is a must read. It can be purchased here. - Deacon Keith Fournier)

I can remember the Evangelical preachers of my youth railing against what they disparagingly called 'the social gospel'. The 'social gospel' was the liberal form of Christianity that had substituted the 'old, old story' of mankind's sin and Christ's sacrificial redemption for a mixture of trendy causes, political activism and ministry to the poor. As far as they were concerned, a missionary's work (whether at home or abroad) was to preach the gospel. All that 'nonsense' about building hospitals and schools and soup kitchens was 'just the liberals watering down the faith yet again'.

Such a view of Christian mission is a dangerously shallow reaction to a perceived abuse. The Protestant preachers had a point inasmuch as there was indeed a stream of liberal Christianity that had substituted a bland activism for Christian truth. However, abuses should not undo right uses. To react against the 'social gospel' by avoiding all political involvement and social ministry was a gross abdication of Christian responsibility. I experienced this one-sided approach within the conservative Evangelical churches of my youth, but it wasn't until I became a Catholic that I realised that the prejudice could go the other way too.

If those interested in preaching the gospel of sin, redemption and resurrection were sometimes biased against the 'social gospel', I have come to realize that there are many sincere people in the Catholic Church who are doing excellent work in the realm of 'peace and justice issues' who are very biased against the proclamation of the Christian faith in all its fully dogmatic and difficulty glory. They cringe at the idea that we should point out mankind's sinful condition. They regard a call for conversion as 'triumphalistic', 'divisive' or 'ecumenically unsound'. They wish for 'interfaith dialogue' to such an extent that the whole idea of conversion becomes anathema.

The clash between these two views is summed up with two Greek words. One view is 'kergymatic' the other is 'koinonia'. In laymen's terms it is dogmatic versus community-based evangelization. 'kerygmatic' (which means 'proclamation or preaching) first seeks to communicate the gospel through preaching and teaching. It summons people to consider the claims of Christ and it calls them to conversion. 'Koinonia' (which means 'community sharing') communicates the gospel through works of charity, a radiant example and a heart of love. It seeks to draw people to the attractive and overpowering love of Christ. 

If there is to be a New Evangelization then there is simply no room for a clash between these two emphases. We will all, by nature of our background and temperament, be drawn more to one than another, but this is no excuse to marginalise and exclude the other side. Both are needed if a balance is to be maintained and the New Evangelization to go forward apace.

A friend of mine who is a 'Catholic lay evangelist' told me of his experience attending a conference on adult catechesis and evangelization. The conference was attended by diocesan leaders in the field.  My friend is definitely one of those involved in 'kerygmatic' evangelization. He calls people to turn to Jesus, repent of their sins and welcome the fullness of the Holy Spirit into their lives.

He is also very involved in the Church's social witness and makes sure that the 'koinonia' aspect of evangelization is a vital part of his own ministry and outreach. However, he expressed his shock that at the conference the whole emphasis was on 'koinonia' to the exclusion of the 'kerygmatic'. In other words, the form was there, but the content was missing. The 'social gospel' had become merely social, and a Christian religion that becomes all 'koinonia' without 'kerygma' is simply the old fashioned heresy of salvation by good works.

If Evangelization is to move forward, then it is vital that the 'social gospel' be rooted in and enlivened by the solid dogmatic content of the faith. The social dimension is vital, but if the faith is no more than 'making the world a better place' then why bother to be a Christian at all? On the other hand, a gospel of sin, repentance, and forgiveness is empty if the social aspect is neglected. The African missionary sums it up when he says, 'I cannot give them the bread of the Eucharist if I have not given them bread for supper.'

The Catholic Church is strong on the 'social' aspect of evangelization, but too often we have not been strong on the 'dogmatic' proclamation of the gospel. The Venerable John Paul II called repeatedly for a New Evangelization, and this work of proclaiming and preaching needs to be done with vigor and joy using all the means of communication we have at hand.

Pope Benedict has repeated the plea for Catholics to evangelize using the new media as well as the traditional forms of preaching and teaching. The exciting thing about this work is that it is not confined to priests and deacons and bishops. The most effective preachers of the gospel are often ordinary lay people whose lives have been transformed by God's grace.

Lay people can write blogs, start radio stations, organize conferences, write books, learn their faith, share their faith and be involved in a whole range of apostolates, missions and forms of outreach. As we do, we must balance the 'kerygma' of good words with the 'koinonia' of good works so that the world might see and hear the good news.

-----

Fr Dwight Longenecker is pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church and Chaplain to St Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. His latest book, The Gargoyle Code is a Lenten book in the style of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online