Evangelical Chaplaincy

by David Pettett

D W Bebbington has defined Evangelicalism as having four distinct features; Conversionism, Activism, Biblicism, and Crucicentricism.[1] These have become known as Bebbington’s Quadrilateral and refer to the belief among those who call themselves Evangelical that a person must turn to Christ, be active in evangelism and good works, acknowledge that the Bible is the authoritative source of knowledge of God, and believe in the atoning death of Jesus on the cross.

It was evangelicals who took the initiative in the eighteenth century in such areas as prison reform, an end to slave trading, and to supply a chaplain to the Colony of NSW. Curiously, in the 21^st century evangelical chaplains are somewhat marginalised in the Australian context. Needless to say, no hospital administration wants chaplains insensitively evangelising critically ill patients. Corrective Services NSW explicitly forbids its chaplains from proselytising. This does not, however, prevent a chaplain from believing that a person must be converted to Christ, nor prevent him or her from being active in good works (what is a chaplain doing if visiting the sick or those in prison is not good works?), and it does not prevent the chaplain from believing in the authority of the Bible nor the centrality of the death of Christ on the cross as a substitutionary atonement.

And yet I have heard a keynote speaker at a national conference of chaplains say that any person who held such beliefs should not be a chaplain. This statement received general applause. On another occasion the keynote speaker, leading studies in the book of Job, said, “we no-longer believe in such a “vindictive” God and we should repent of this God.” He then asked the delegates to participate in a liturgy of repentance for this vindictiveness of God.

It is time for Evangelicals to retake the ground and I am pleased to see some small signs of this happening. We believe in the uniqueness of Christ and that it is only through his atoning sacrifice as revealed in the Scriptures that a person can be saved by putting their trust in him. This is a simple message that can be shared sensitively even with the dying.

I was called to the bedside of a dying man at three o’clock one morning. He told me he was afraid and wanted to know how he could be sure of going to heaven. He told me he had lived a good life. He had even taught Sunday School when he was younger. But he wasn’t sure God would accept him. I talked with this man about the fact of Jesus taking the punishment we deserve. Jesus has paid the price for my sin. I need to put my trust in Him. My thoughts were based on the passage Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” As I talked I noticed tears well up in his eyes and he said to me, “I feel so much at peace.” This man suddenly realised Christ had paid the price for his sin. All his sin was forgiven and he was at peace with God.

Evangelical chaplains need to be aware of the dire circumstances people find themselves in and sensitively speak of the amazing grace of God which has given us a crucified Saviour who has paid the price for our sin and through whom we have full assurance of salvation by grace through faith alone.

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[1] D W Bebbington. Evangelical Christianity and the Enlightenment. Crux: December 1989/ Vol. XXV. No. 4. pp. 29-36.