Offense & Defense

For decades, the Western—and particularly the American—church has struggled to navigate the call to individual reconciliation (evangelism) with the call to social reconciliation (justice). A century ago, the American church split over this question, with more conservative Christians focusing on evangelism and more progressive Christians on social justice. Remarkably, this division continues to divide American Christians today. We see it displayed on social media when one Christian argues the church’s mission is limited to the salvation of souls through the proclamation of the gospel, while another says the church is called to address social and systemic problems like poverty or racism.