On Saturday at the historic Lausanne Conference meeting in Cape Town, one of the keynote speakers strongly urged the Church towards a ‘Second Reformation.’
Dr. Chris Wright, a theologian who is respected throughout the globe and who is also the International Director of Langham Partnership International and retiring Chair of the Lausanne Theology Working Group, delivered the day’s boldest statement: ‘Evangelicals worldwide have a lot to be ashamed of . . . we need a second reformation.’
Though hard-hitting, Dr Wright’s words touched a note among the crowd as applause immediately broke out and heads nodded in approval.
He further compared the plight of today’s Church to the pre-Reformation Church of the 16th century. ‘What hurts God the most,’ continued Dr Wright, '[is] the failure, disobedience, and rebellion of those he has redeemed.’ In other words, the 'idolatry of the Church.'
Wright pointed out the three idols that are ‘especially seductive, even for evangelical Christians: the idol of power and pride; the idol of popularity and success; [and] the idol of wealth and greed.’
What should the Christian response be to these idols? ‘Reformation is once again the desperate need,’ urged Dr Wright. ‘It needs to start among those who claim the name ‘evangelical,’ but who are characterized by these and other failures and abuses.’ Before Christians go out into the world, they must clean up their own backyard.
Wright called for ‘Humility, integrity, and simplicity’ and ‘a radical return to the Lord - as the prophets called for in all the generations of Old Testament Israel, as Jesus called his hearers to do. “Repent, and believe the gospel.” It was a word that came, not to pagan unbelievers, but to those who already claimed to be God’s covenant people. So it comes to us.’
During a press conference Saturday afternoon, Wright explained that his address was inspired by a friend and scholar who visited his home country in Latin America. The friend reported that he attended ten different churches that claim to be evangelical, but not one of them preached the Bible. Furthermore, the pastors of the churches wielded great power with no accountability, and were considerably wealthy.
After hearing his friend’s story, Wright realized that the evangelical movement needed a “reformation” because it was facing similar problems to that of the medieval church before the Reformation.
“This is not just something casual. This is a deep-seated corruption in the Church of Christ,” said Wright. “And of course this is not just in Latin America, but all over the world.”
To learn more about the Lausanne Conference you can go to www.lausanne.org.