Evangelism

Richard J. Mouw, the newly appointed president of Fuller Theological Seminary, has a tough balancing act to perform. The 45-year-old seminary in Pasadena is the largest nondenominational evangelical theology school in the world. Throughout its history, and particularly in the past two decades, it has been a microcosm of the evangelical movement in trying to preserve a distinct theological identity while being open to the wider Christian world.

At an Orthodox seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia, an American church visitor observed several U.S. evangelists trying to imprint their particular brand of Christianity on students training for the Russian church's ministry. "A variety of Western evangelists would corner students in the dormitory hallways or other places, trying to proselytize them," said the Rev. Elaine Stanovsky, head of the Greater Church Council of Seattle. "I was appalled," she added. "It broke my heart."

Traditionally, people confronted with Christian evangelistic tracts expected to get a hard-hitting message about salvation up front. "Are you going to heaven or hell?" is the sort of question that writers used as hooks. But today's tracts reflect new concerns. In response to requests from churches, the American Tract Society is producing leaflets on such topics as having "safe sex" and knowing what label to use in describing African-Americans.

An American missionary proudly watches as a sea of Iraqi arms rise in witness to Jesus Christ and choruses of "Amen" compete with distant rattles of gunfire. The faithful sing familiar Christian hymns in Arabic, their voices bouncing off the shipping containers that protect the church from car bombs. Every Sunday, more than 400 Iraqis travel to this well-to-do neighborhood far from the protection of an American base to worship in the National Biblical Christian Federation Church.

When World Wide Pictures left Burbank in 1988 and put its studio up for sale, it appeared that the motion picture arm of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. might have all but abandoned the Christian filmmaking business. World Wide, founded 40 years ago, never grew large enough to compete with secular studios.

Answering an evangelical call to arms, Christians will gather in communities across the nation tonight to watch President Bush's State of the Union address. They will invite local media to listen in as they measure Bush's policies against the moral values laid out in the Bible. But don't expect a lot of applause for the president. These "watch parties" are being organized by a small but growing movement of evangelical Christians who no longer want to be defined by gay marriage and abortion.

Hippies live. So do "Jesus freaks," many of them in a later incarnation: Christian evangelicals. Those memorable symbols of the turbulent 1960s in America are alive and well, two American scholars of religion say.

Since its modest beginning 20 years ago in a small North Hollywood studio, KKLA-FM (99.5) has grown to become the nation's largest Christian teaching and talk radio station. Now based in a spacious Glendale office, the 50,000-watt station that calls itself the "Spirit of Los Angeles" offers around-the-clock broadcasting that emphasizes conservative evangelical values.

Pastors of some of the largest evangelical churches in America met Tuesday in Inglewood to polish strategies for starting 5 million new churches worldwide in 10 years -- an effort they hope will hasten the End Time. The Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus has always been the ultimate goal of evangelicalism. But when that would occur was any Christian's guess.

The Air Force until August provided guidelines to chaplains that officials believe may have encouraged them to aggressively advocate Christianity throughout the ranks, according to a letter written by a top military lawyer in a lawsuit over religious discrimination. The Air Force for years has struggled to defend itself against charges of religious hostility and accusations that chaplains at the service's academy regularly proselytized non-Christian cadets.