New Article by Evertt W. Huffard

One of the journals I never fail to read is Restoration Quarterly. Since its beginnings nearly 50 years ago, it’s been the scholarly serial publication among Churches of Christ. [The Stone-Campbell Journal, also by and for scholars, started much more recently; it is a decidedly Christian Churches and Churches of Christ publication. Like RQ, the S-C Journal contains a lot of great stuff].

The latest issue of RQ showed up in my mail box yesterday. As usual, I immediately read the cover and decided what I would dive into first. With one glance, I knew.

The lead article is by Evertt Huffard, the dean of my alma mater, Harding Graduate School. About 15 years ago, I took my first class with Evertt: “Church Growth.” One of the many things I loved about that class was the kind of response the teacher would give to some question about, for example, how our required readings connected to our work as church leaders. By the time Evertt was through, I’d think to myself, “That sounds like something Jesus would have said.” His answers were, at once, spiritual and practical and gracious and wise. Just right. Evertt has become one of the few people I really sit up and listen to every time. He has a good mind and a good heart, and he works hard for the Lord. He deserves to be heard by the churches.

The title of this new article is, “When Scholarship Goes South: Biblical Scholarship and Global Trends.” And it’s an eye-opener. For people with any sort of global vision, his facts aren't news. The contribution of this article is not what it reports, but how it synthesizes what many have already heard, and how it challenges leaders within the Restoration Movement.

Huffard basically says that the worlds of Christendom and of the Churches of Christ are radically changing. Here are two quotes:

In 1800, one percent of all Protestants lived outside Europe and America; today 66% do so.

The Churches of Christ have more congregations in Africa than in the USA. From 1989 to 2000 the number of congregations doubled from six to twelve thousand, at a time the missionary force decreased.

He goes on to explain some of the causes and effects of such change, as well as some developments that will impact (change!) the change. Above all, he describes how the world wide web, especially multiple reciprocal email, will “completely globalize the scholarly community.”

Finally, as you come to expect from him, he has a short, practical list. He calls it “Implications for Scholarship.” They are:

1. Globalize the audience of our scholarship

Huffard points out that this is important not only for connections between the USA and, say, India. It can also be positive for the American church’s mission where it is. If American scholars gave more attention to the conservative, traditional, and biblicist convictions of the global south and east, they might find a bigger audience at home too. He writes, “The churches that are growing numerically in the USA have a public respect for the Bible but less appreciation for scholarship.” (i.e., at least as scholarship has been done).

2. Equip the church to be a witness to the nations

“If the missiological call for incarnational ministry applies to scholarship, then several things will have to happen. The first, and possibly most difficult, is the openness to those who are more conservative than many scholars have become” (obviously related to the first point).

3. Make scholarship accessible—share resources

In short, recognize that there are hundreds of millions of poor people where Christianity is rapidly growing. Be merciful and kind. Make the process and results of scholarly work available to them too.

Finally, Huffard turns specifically to scholars in the Restoration Movement and, in so many words, says “You too. Let's do better. For example, we should publish things in this journal that, say, an African church leader can appreciate and use.”

Years ago, at a Restoration Quarterly breakfast, I heard John Wilson speak to Church of Christ Bible scholars. What he said to them was, You’ve earned respect among the world’s scholars. But for the most part you’ve neglected the church(es) you came from. Do better (which is not to say, necessarily, do better academically).

Years later, here’s another trusted voice saying much the same thing, only this time from a much more global perspective. I don’t know how many people effectively listened to Wilson’s speech. I wonder how many will make changes because of what our brother Evertt is saying. God, help us.