National Association of Evangelicals

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NAE Logo
NAE Logo

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an agency dedicated to coordinating cooperative ministry for evangelical denominations of Protestant Christians in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Mission statement

"The mission of the National Association of Evangelicals is to extend the kingdom of God through a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals, demonstrating the unity of the body of Christ by standing for biblical truth, speaking with a representative voice, and serving the evangelical community through united action, cooperative ministry, and strategic planning."

[edit] History

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since November 2006.

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) was formed by a group of 147 people who met in St. Louis, Missouri on April 7-9, 1942[1]. The fundamentalist/modernist controversy, and the related isolation of various fundamentalist and evangelical denominations and leaders, provided the impetus for developing such an organization. Early leaders in the movement were Ralph T. Davis, Will Houghton, Harold Ockenga, and J. Elwin Wright. Houghton called for a meeting in Chicago, Illinois in 1941. A committee was formed with Wright as chairman, and a national conference for United Action Among Evangelicals was called to meet in April 1942. Harold Ockenga was appointed the first president (1942-44).

Carl McIntire and Harvey Springer led in organizing the American Council of Christian Churches (now with 7 member bodies) in September 1941. It was a more militant and fundamentalist organization set up in opposition to the Federal Council of Churches (now National Council of Churches with 36 member bodies). McIntire invited the Evangelicals for United Action to join with them, but those who met in St. Louis declined the offer.

The tentative organization founded in 1942 was called the National Association of Evangelicals for United Action. In 1943 the proposed constitution and doctrinal statement were amended and adopted, and the name shortened to the National Association of Evangelicals. The National Religious Broadcasters was formed in 1944.

At the National Association of Evangelicals' 1982 conference in Orlando, Florida, NAE President Rev. Arthur Evans Gay, Jr. introduced President Ronald Reagan for what was to become known as his "Evil Empire" speech[2].

[edit] Overview

The National Association of Evangelicals currently has 52 member denominations (listed below) and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.. There are 27 regional affiliates of the NAE.

[edit] Initiatives

[edit] Global warming

In January 2006, the National Association of Evangelicals decided that it would not take a stance on global warming, and released a letter stating that "global warming is not a consensus issue." Twenty evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson and Charles Colson, signed this letter. In response, the Evangelical Climate Initiative released a statement on February 8, 2006 calling for action to fight global warming.[1]

On January 17th, 2007 it was announced that the NAE would join a group of prominent scientists in signing statements that demand "urgent changes in values, lifestyles and public policies to avert disastrous changes in climate."[3] This statement is controversial among evangelicals, and demonstrates a widening gap between "old guard" evangelical leaders such as Dobson, Colson, and Franklin Graham, and new evangelical leadership that includes Rick Warren, Duane Litfin and David Neff that stands behind NAE's climate change position. [4]

[edit] Member denominations

These Protestant church groups were members as of 2004:

[edit] Presidents

[edit] NAE Accepts Haggard Resignation

Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals and founder of New Life Church, resigned his positions at his church and the National Association of Evangelicals on November 2nd, 2006, confessing to what he called "sexual immorality". The NAE posted a statement accepting his resignation with regret and are encouraging him to participate in the discipline process and oversight of his church. Leith Anderson was appointed as the new president on November 7, 2006. A press release is available in pdf here [2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/october/16.42.html
  2. ^ http://www.tysknews.com/Articles/empire.htm
  3. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jan17/0,4670,EvangelicalsGlobalWarming,00.html
  4. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194527

[edit] External link

[edit] Bibliography

  • Harold Lindsell, Park Street Prophet: The Life of Harold John Ockenga (Wheaton: Van Kampen, 1951).
  • George Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1987).
  • James DeForest Murch, Cooperation without Compromise: A History of the National Association of Evangelicals (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1956).
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../n/a/t/National_Association_of_Evangelicals_dd74.html"