Reinventing English Evangelicalism, 1966-2001: A Theological and Sociological Study

List of Tables     xiii
Foreword   David Bebbington     xv
Acknowledgements     xvii
Abbreviations     xix
Introduction: A Resurgent, Contested Tradition     1
A Tradition in Self-perceived Resurgence     1
A Contested Tradition     4
Methodology     15
The Conversionist-Activist Axis: Late-modern charismatic entrepreneurialism in the context of church decline     37
Prelude - Hegemony Fractured     39
Calverism and the Evangelical Alliance, 1982-2001     41
Personal Membership - Growth and Decline     41
Denominational Profile     48
Reasons for Growth     51
Reasons for Decline     57
Calverism Meets Postmodernity     64
Spring Harvest: A Case Study in Evangelical Exceptionalism     67
Evidence of Exceptionalism     67
Rapid Growth     67
Entrepreneurial Leadership     68
Contemporising Worship     70
Post-Denominationalism     73
Transitions     73
Marketing and Branding     74
Expansion     74
Evidence of Lack of Exceptionalism     75
Precedents     75
Plateau     75
Women Marginalised     77
From Intuition to Planning     77
Centralisation     78
Institutional Leadership     79
Evidence of Problematic Exceptionalism     80
Expecting Assured Success     80
Activism Displacing Biblicism     81
Subcultural Isolation     81
Ecstasy and Illusion     82
Vision Inflation     85
Entrepreneurial Rhetoric and Religious Recreation     86
Evangelical Trends: Late-Onset Decline     87
The Collapse of the Monthly Magazines     87
The Decline of the Quiet Time     94
Deconstructing the Decade of Evangelism     99
1994: The Year of Evangelistic Programmes     99
The (Half) Decade of Church Planting     106
Social Action     109
Resilient Optimism     111
Alpha: A Second Case Study in Evangelical Exceptionalism     115
Alpha's Growth     115
Key Factors in Alpha's Success     118
Theological Critiques     121
Surveying Alpha     123
The EA/EMA Strategic Commission Report, 1998     123
American Presbyterians and English Springboard, 2001     128
The Futures of Alpha     130
Expansive Vision     130
Trajectories     131
Sociological Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Evangelicals     138
The Biblicist-Crucicentric Axis: From pre-critical inclusivity to the self-attenuated calvinistic hegemony, and the subsequent emergence of post- and neo-conservatism, with bifurcatory prospects     147
Foundations of Evangelical Ecumenism, 1846-1912     149
EA-1970 and the Conservative Undertow, 1928-1981     158
EA-1970 - The Stott Revision     158
Major Variants - IVF-1928 and WEF-1951     163
Separatist Bases     165
IVF-1974 and UCCF-1981     168
Inherent Tensions and Fragmentation     171
Emergent Openness, 1967-1977     174
Keele-1967     174
Lausanne-1974     182
Nottingham-1977     188
The Conservative Counter-Trend, 1978-1999     192
Chicago 1978 - Inerrancy     192
Gospel Celebration 1999 - Penal Substitution     200
Progressive Evangelicals: The Post-Conservative Emergence, 1996-2000     207
EA-1996     207
London Bible College-1998     212
IVCF-2000      216
EA-2005     218
New Directions     219
Mapping Biblicist-Crucicentric Divergence     223
Conclusion: Conflictual Identities: The Dynamics and Trajectories of Evangelical Convictions     234
Appendices     245
The Semi-Structured Interviews     245
Progressive Faith     246
Evangelical Traditions in Twentieth Century Transitions     247
Bibliography     249
General Index     277