Sally was invited to share some thoughts on evangelism for S(h)ibboleth Magazine.
Evangelism: The Sub-Version of Hierarchy, Collusion and Racism
Sally Mann Co-Director of Red Letter Christians UK
and Senior Minister at Bonny Downs Baptist Church, East London
“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…” Mark 1:1
Like many, I was raised to think the “Gospel” was a set of propositions in a paper tract. Reading the Bible with a better understanding of its socio-political context, and with the “red letter” words of Jesus as my lens, has transformed that opening verse in Mark and revolutionised my understanding of evangelism. That verse calls me to attempt to live an intriguing, subversive life, which stands against the abuses of power, offers non-violent resistance to war, and gives everything to build communities of inclusive welcome.
The word “Good News” in Mark 1 is “εὐαγγελίου” (euaggelion). I believe Mark chose it carefully. In 1st century occupied Israel, the euaggelion was the Roman Empire’s official news broadcast, taken town to town by horseback messengers. It united Imperial colonies in the official version of events. In the midst of Empire, Mark dares to offer a radically different euaggelion. It is the good news that there is an alternative Anointed One (Christ). This Christ also claims divinity, not from a Roman temple, but from an outlier peasant village. Mark says, listen up! Here’s a take on the world from an itinerant Rabbi who chose a donkey over a warhorse. This is what victory looks like from a hillside Cross not an Emperor’s throne.
In this newsflash, Mark says the Kingdom of Jesus exists as an alternative to Empire. It’s nearby; it’s already within us! To find it, we will need to trust that Jesus’ words lead to life and “about turn” to follow him. If Jesus is King, Caesar is not. It’s like shouting “Not my King!” at a coronation. It was always going to get attention.
I’m a disciple of Jesus, trying to live as though he meant the things he said. I’m not in the Roman Empire, but as a Brit I can train myself to see how colonialism has shaped my worldview and what it might take to “about turn” and live an alternative story here in East London.
- Hierarchy
Empire-mindsets normalise inherited privilege. They defend the powerful over the powerless. The alternative Kingdom demands a reconsideration of entitlement and calls out those who use privilege to excuse abuse; as even our Royal Family has had to concede recently.
The εὐαγγελίου of Jesus claims “the last will be first” (Matthew 20:16). While the self-satisfied have their fill now, it’s the poor, hungry and weeping (Luke 6:20-22) who get invited to feast (Matthew 22:9-1). Jesus’ words turn colonial hierarchies on their heads. Jesus largely ignores the movers and shakers. When they show an interest in joining him, he sets a high bar for their allegiance, making an economic proviso to discipleship, “Sell everything and give it to the poor, then come follow me” (Matthew 19:21). I’m yet to see that in a tract or hear that at an alter call.
The colonial euaggelion honours the wealthy, the already privileged, but there’s another broadcast carried by quiet, subversive messengers. Like the early Quakers who refused to doff their hats, except to the Spirit in gatherings. Or the trainee Baptist minister, Symon Hill, arrested for shouting “Who elected him?” during a proclamation ceremony for King Charles. The charges of using threatening or abusive words were dropped almost 3 years later and Hill was awarded £2,500 in compensation.
So, if our evangelism is mainly about getting a seat at the tables of power, if it takes us to mansions and not margins, I wonder which euaggelion we have really believed?
If our churches replicate class inequalities, I wonder which euaggelion they proclaim?
In my church, we’re working on flatter leadership models. Five co-vocational ministers share one stipend. Three of us are indigenous to the East End. It’s an alternative version of ministry to announce.
- Legitimate authority
The Roman εὐαγγελίου, like all mainstream media, was an act of hegemony. It said, here’s the version of reality you need to ascribe to, and what’s more, it’s dangerous to resist.
It is.
And sometimes it must be done anyway.
This summer I took action against Britain’s continuing trade in arms used in genocide. Once I knew where I stood on that issue, I just stood there (to paraphrase Fr Daniel Berrigan). This led to my arrest under new terrorism laws. (Sally Mann is arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act – and she waited for it to happen – Red Letter Christians UK)
The sub-version εὐαγγελίου is again, a quiet one: silently holding a placard that calls out the misuse of political authority and waiting quietly to be arrested.
How is this evangelism? It says that siding with the silenced is the act of a disciple of Jesus. It makes its own quiet news broadcast – protecting the rights of the people of Gaza over the profits of arms manufacturers. This is good news, it says, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). It is one incident in the historic arc-bending quest for Jesus-shaped justice. It brings moral certainty in the face of legal insecurity. It asks us which Caesar we serve?
- Who to fear?
The Empire’s εὐαγγελίου often told of their army’s heroic victories over the barbarians. It wrapped patriotism around fear and let the Roman elite control its masses. Wars improve political currency.
Then and now.
Here in the UK, we have seen the same play book in the hands of the growing right-wing agenda to tell us to fear the “outsiders”. From the casual racism of the British MP Sarah Pochin who is driven mad by “too many black faces in adverts” to the wider weaponisation of migration – “Stop the Boats! Save the kids!” As resources are sucked into the pockets of a tiny elite of billionaires, where can we hear the alternative εὐαγγελίου? Who will spread that message?
Come with me to my community in East Ham and to the many expressions of Bonny Downs Church and Community Association (www.bonnydownschurch; www.bonnydowns.org) For 25 years now our church turned itself inside out and put the community at its heart. We have been opening places of welcome in disused council buildings and playing fields, employing local people to effect neighbourhood change and are about to build a co-living project to address homelessness, called an Urban Abbey (https://youtu.be/UV8_0FfrVrk). Because while we cannot remove every copy of the Daily Mail from British newsagents we can try to live as a beautiful, messy community of inclusion in a toxic culture.
What is evangelism for me?
It’s a genuinely quiet revolution of those living for Jesus-shaped justice. The Good News is announced by contemplative activists, rooted locally and living radically. Their lives, and the communities of kindness they create, are the tracts that others read.
And we will have the last word.