Call to Renewal:
Christians for a New Political Vision

    I. Group Profile

    1. Name: Call to Renewal: Christians for a New Political Vision

    2. Founder: Jim Wallis

    3. Date of Birth: June 4, 19481

    4. Birth Place: Detroit, MI2

    5. Year Founded: May, 1995

    6. History: Call to Renewal is an an evangelical parachurch political action group created out of the perceived need to present an alternative viewpoint to the dominant conservative political agenda -- represented by groups such as the Christian Coalition.

      While many evangelical Christians identify themselves with the political right, there has emerged, especially within the last thirty years, a growing evangelical group which is actively concerned with peace and social justice. In his book, The Great Reversal: Evangelism versus Social Concern, David Moberg explains the climate out of which these new evangelicals emerged. As he discusses the social history of England and the United States, one can clearly see the role of evangelical Christians in ameliorating poor social conditions -- namely through the abolition of slavery, prison reform, better treatment of the mentally ill, improved working condition for laborers, and aid to the poor and homeless. Prominent figures such as Charles H. Spurgeon in the slums of England recognized the need to minister to the social needs, in addition to the spiritual needs, of the individual. Organizations such as the The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and World Vision, were also founded on these same principles.

      However, between 1910 and 1930, Moberg points to, what historian Timothy L. Smith has termed, "the Great Reversal"3 -- a shift in the evangelical concern for social regeneration. As many evangelicals became dismayed by the increasing theological liberalism of the Social Gospel movement -- fostered by the premilleniallist belief that one could help usher in the return of Christ by preparing the Kingdom here on earth -- they became extremely wary of social action. Moreover, as urbanization and industrialization magnified the social ills in the cities, many Protestant evangelicals became disheartened, moving themselves and their churches to the suburbs. While many rightly tried to reclaim the essential need to preach the Gospel of Christ and save souls, which the Social Gospel movement tragically was neglecting, many consequently rejected any such involvement in social concerns. Laments David Moberg , an evangelical and sociologist:


        Instead of being a generation behind the times, we who are "people of the Book" ought to be in the prophetic forefront of our society. If we truly are filled with the compassionate love of Christ, we ought to be the first to seek means of alleviating the suffering of the masses as well as of the few persons among them whom we happen to discover. If we honestly are attempting to seek first the Kingdom of God, we ought to be the last to adopt sociopolitical positions which are selfishly oriented toward heaping up treasures on earth. If we truly are followers of the Christ Who came to proclaim good tidings to the poor (Luke 4:18) and if we heed the scriptural admonition to "remember the poor," we ought to lift our voices on behalf of them who otherwise have few advocates or none in public life. 4

      Thus, identifying the causes of the Great Reversal through the polarizing ideologies which surfaced among those on the left and the right, Moberg calls evangelical Christians back to find a balance between evangelism and social concern:


        Each is empty without the other. As evangelicals give attention intelligently, compassionately, and redemptively to both their evangelicalistic and their social responsibilities in the context of the total task of the Christian church, they have the opportunity again to become known for their enlightened leadership in society. Implementing the social implications of the gospel constitutes a return to fundamental truths of the Bible. It is producing a reversal of the Great Reversal.5

      It is people like Jim Wallis, founder of Call to Renewal, who heeded this call to reverse the Great Reversal. Active in peace and racial matters at Michigan State University, Wallis followed his religious upbringing from a family of Plymouth Brethren.7 His faith made him sensitive to the injustices in society. As an evangelical, he became disheartened with the way many modern evangelicals had adopted the materialism of American culture.

      After graduating from Michigan State, Wallis decided to attend a more conservative school for seminary: Trinity Evangelical School.6 At Trinity, he nearly got himself expelled by organizing protests, prayer vigils for peace, and appeals for forgotten texts of the Bible. While in seminary, Wallis began a magazine with a group of other young and active idealists which they continued to produce after school, first in Chicago, then in Washington D.C. This magazine eventually came to be known as Sojourners and attempted to be a voice of evangelicals who did not see themselves properly represented by, for example, Pat Robertson.

      Gradually, Sojourners magazine evolved into a community committed to ministering to the physical as well as spiritual needs of the poor in the bleakest urban neighborhoods of D.C. The political voice of Sojourners rang out in the Cry for Renewal.

      Disagreeing with the assertive role of the Christian Coalition within the Republican party, and the continued identification of religious liberalism with political liberalism and the Democratic party, Call to Renewal seeks to provide an alternative Christian voice in politics. On May 23, 1995, Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, Tony Campolo, and over 100 Christian leaders from varying traditions gathered in the "Cry for Renewal" conference.8 Their message states: "We refuse the false choices between personal responsibility or social justice, between good values or good jobs, between strong families or strong neighborhoods, between sexual morality or civil rights for homosexuals, between the sacredness of life or the rights of women, between fighting cultural corrosion or battling racism."9 Begun by evangelicals, "Cry for Renewal" became the network now known as Call to Renewal and has been joined by Catholics, black church leaders, and mainline Protestants.

    7. Sacred or Revered Texts: The Bible -- especially those verses which deal with poverty, i.e. Matthew 25:40 "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

    8. Cult or Sect: Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

    9. Size of Group: Though Call to Renewal is not a national organization or political party or plans to be, it is a "network of networks" joining affiliated individuals, churches and organizations. To date, Call to Renewal has more than 35 local networks at different stages of organization, based out of cities all across America. Call to Renewal also has a 32 member Coordinating Committee comprised of Christian leaders from churches, social service organizations, colleges, and seminaries, and a 7 member permanent staff.10 Individuals can also be members by contributing financial support, or simply following the tenets of their vision.

    II. Beliefs of the Group

      Call to Renewal proponents believe that the religious faith should be heard in public debate to promote a spiritual vision for social transformation. The basic tenets of the Call to Renewal vision are:
      • service to a God who upholds the dignity and hope of the poor
      • following a Lord who calls people to be peacemakers
      • faith in Christ that invites people to redemption from personal and social sins
      • love for a Creator who calls for justice and stewardship
      • a lifestyle of service, compassion and community
      • commitment to grassroots ministries and community involvement.11

      To achieve these tenets, they established in 1997 a four-point agenda which seeks to move America toward a new politics through:


        1) Overcoming poverty: Call to Renewal believes the church's role is not to offer a quick-fix to poverty, created by poor social policy, but rather to offer moral leadership and lead by example, through budgets, facilities, time and energy to establish lasting, grassroots community development programs. It desires to work in partnership with government, private business and social service organizations to spur creating jobs, preparing future employees, and publicizing job availability. Furthermore, it hopes to help create a new public policy which will balance government programs with church and charity efforts.

        2) Dismantling racism/white supremacy: Call to Renewal believes racism is still a prominent personal and social sin in American culture today. It is committed to racial reconciliation in personal relationships, churches and communities, as well as within the economic and political structures of society.

        3) Affirming life: Call to Renewal sees every human life as a gift from God and adopts a comprehensive pro-life agenda. Thus, it hopes to find a common ground and work with others to reduce abortions in America.

        4) Rebuilding family and community: Call to Renewal recognizes that the breakdown of the family unity has had a devastating affect on children. Therefore, it desires to help rebuild family relationships by providing support systems through churches and neighborhood centers. It supports programs that deal with such issues as gang truce, mentoring and tutoring youth and adults, addiction counseling, conflict-resolution training, and neighborhood crime watches.12

       

    III. Assessing the Prospects of the Movement


      Many have critiqued the Call to Renewal's vision. In his book, Why the Left is not Right, Ronald H. Nash devotes an entire chapter to explaining the contradictions and loose Biblical basis found within Call to Renewal's vision. He offers, instead, an alternative statement of faith, created by forty evangelical Christians in May 1987 called the Villars Statement on Relief and Development. Nash quotes Richard John Neuhaus, the Roman Catholic editor-in-chief of First Things, as saying that Call to Renewal's vision stands as "a patently partisan attack on the 'dangerous liaison of religion with political power' by those whose party used to be in charge of that liaison."13 Nash further critiques the group's founding document, the Cry for Renewal, for not mentioning the causes and solutions for social ills.

      Despite these critiques, and others from the religious right, Call to Renewal seems to be forging ahead, implementing practical solutions to the social ills it criticizes. Although Call to Renewal is still in its infancy stages, it comes at a very opportunistic time in the social and political climate of this country. As the fight against poverty continues, government is now starting to see the effectiveness of faith-based organizations at ameliorating poverty, rather than secular efforts. Their second "Roundtable" meeting in Arlington, VA on October 17- 18, 1997, proved to establish a greater network between groups seeking to fight poverty, such as, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, Campaign for Human Development, Evangelicals for Social Action, and the Leadership Foundation.14 In the action plan laid out, the agenda included plans for a national Internet database covering successful church-based organizations around the country and to assist others interested in developing their own ministries. Furthermore, the "Roundtable" plans to sign a letter sent to the 50 governors of all the states requesting meetings to establish new church-government-business partnerships.15 Stated Rev.Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals, "The cold war among religious groups over the poor is over."16 Jim Wallis also seems optimistic: "We are now moving from common ground to concrete action."17 If indeed Call to Renewal continues to expand its network and accomplishes the goals it has laid out, then the poor will certainly have a loyal defender, and the Christian Coalitian (who has been invited to all Roundtable discussions) perhaps will take a second look.

    IV. Links to Call to Renewal Web Sites

      Call to Renewal Homepage
      This webpage contains the beliefs of the group, historical information, as well as current and planned events.
      http://www.ari.net/calltorenewal/

      Sojourners Online
      This link connects to Sojourners Magazine which is now available, in part, online. Articles include beliefs, and current and planned events.
      http:// www.sojourners.com/sojourners/

    V. Bibliography

     
    Fennelly, Carol. October 29. 1997.
    "Historic New Religious Roundtable Launches Fight Against Poverty," Press Release, Call to Renewal.

     
    Gale Research. (c) 1997.
    Contemporary Authors, "Jim Wallis". Webpage, Online, World Wide Web.
    *Please see note in Reference #1.

     
    Moberg, David. 1972.
    The Great Reversal: Evangelism versus Social Concern. New York: J.B. Lippinott Company.
    Discusses the shift in some evangelicals around the middle of this century towards a more socially active profession of the Gospel.

     
    Nash, Ronald H. 1996.
    Why the Left is Not Right. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing.
    Explains what is the Religious Left, its main advocates, what they believe, their relationship to Marxism and the threat they pose to evangelical conservatives. Includes a chapter critiquing the Call to Renewal movement.

     
    "New Liberal Religious/Political Group Deplores 'False Choices,' Redefines Evangelism," Wed. May 24, 1995.
    Religious and Political Digest Online, RDP 435.


     
    US Catholic Bishops. 1995.
    Political Responsibility: Proclaiming the Gospel of Life, Protecting the Least Among Us, and Pursuing the Common Good.
    Explains the individual Catholic's role in society and politics and the role of the Church. Also discusses the Church's position on issues such as abortion, capital punishment, education, euthanasia, family life, the environment, immigration and the mass media.

     
    Sojourners Resource Center. 1996.
    Recovering the Evangel: A Guide to Faith, Politics, and Alternatives to the Religious Right.
    A 52-page study guide on the politics and theology of the Religious Right.

     
    Shank, Duane. 1996.
    "A Different Christian Politics: Inspiring the faithful to be the 'moral locomotive for social change." Sojourners OnLine Vol. 25, No. 6.


     
    Wallis, Jim. 1995.
    The Soul of Politics. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.
    One of his first books which shows the stirrings of the Call to Renewal movement. He offers his insights on why conservative and liberal visions of politics are inadequate for fighting the problems our nation faces today.

     
    Wallis, Jim. 1996.
    Who Speaks for God? New York: Delacorte Press.
    The latest book from Jim Wallis, founder of Call to Renewal, which represents an alternative view to the Religious Right.

    VI. Profile References

    1. Gale Research. Contemporary Authors, "Jim Wallis". Webpage, Online, World Wide Web.(c) 1997. (Available:http://galenet.gale.com/m/mcp/neta...db/ca/name-search.html&r;=1&f;=G#PRS). *Please note: Once in this link, click on Available Databases, Authenticate, Contemporary Authors, and type in "Jim Wallis". Access may be denied for those outside of the UVA system.
    2. Ibid.
    3. Moberg, David. The Great Reversal: Evangelism versus Social Concern. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1972.), 30.
    4. Ibid, 40-41.
    5. Ibid, 179.
    6. Wallis, Jim. The Soul of Politics. (New York: Harcourt&Brace; Company, 1995), preface.
    7. Ibid.
    8. Call to Renewal Homepage. Online. World Wide Web.(c) 1996. (Available:http://www.ari.net/calltorenewal/ctr0001.html)
    9. Call to Renewal Homepage. Online. World Wide Web.(c) 1996. (Available:http://www.ari.net/calltorenewal/ctr0002.html)
    10. Call to Renewal Homepage. Online. World Wide Web.(c) 1996. (Available:http://www.ari.net/calltorenewal/ctr970302.html)
    11. Call to Renewal Homepage. Online. World Wide Web.(c) 1996. (Available:http://www.ari.net/calltorenewal/ctr0002.html)
    12. Call to Renewal Homepage. Online. World Wide Web.(c) 1996. (Available:http://www.ari.net/calltorenewal/ctr970304.html)
    13. Nash, Ronald H. Why the Left is Not Right. (Grand Rapids, MI:Zondervan Publishing,1996), 162.
    14. Fennelly, Carol. "Historic New Religious Roundtable Launches Fight Against Poverty," Press Release, Call to Renewal, Oct. 20, 1997.
    15. Fennelly, Carol. "Historic New Religious Roundtable Launches Fight Against Poverty," Press Release, Call to Renewal, Oct. 20, 1997.
    16. Murphy, "Christian Groups Seek Unity in Fight Against Poverty," Washington Post, Oct. 18, 1997.
    17. Fennelly, Carol. "Historic New Religious Roundtable Launches Fight Against Poverty," Press Release, Call to Renewal, Oct. 20, 1997.

    Created by Christy Borgman
    For Sociology 257
    Fall Term, 1997
    Last modified: 07/17/01