wfn.org | EVANGELICAL LEADER ADDRESSES NCCCUSA - A "FIRST"

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National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, NCC, 212-870-2252
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

NCC11/19/96                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC GENERAL ASSEMBLY "FIRST": NAE EXECUTIVE
ADDRESSES COUNCIL

 CHICAGO, Nov. 13 ---- National Council of
Churches General Assembly delegates got a "short
course in Evangelicalism" this morning (Nov. 13)
from the Rev. Dr. Don Argue, President of the
National Association of Evangelicals.  The occasion
was historic.  It was the first time that an NAE
official had addressed the top policy body of the
NCC.

Dr. Argue described what sets Evangelicals
apart, then went on to note issues on which the NCC,
NAE and Roman Catholics are finding common ground.
Topping his list: work against racism, child
pornography and a "descending moral level in this
nation."  Officials from the three faith streams
serve together on the Religious Alliance Against
Pornography Executive Committee, he noted.

Calling today's encounter "a very special day
with our friends," Dr. Argue said, "Communication is
the first step toward understanding.  We will
continue working on our points of common interest."
Commented the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, NCC
General Secretary, "We regret the gulf.  We trust
this will be the first step to greater
understanding."

Since Dr. Argue became NAE President in 1994,
he and the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, NCC General
Secretary, have found themselves in conversation at
a number of events, including a White House prayer
breakfast, Pope John Paul II's visit to New York
City, and Congressional ceremonies honoring the Rev.
Dr. Billy Graham.

 Dr. Campbell today described herself and Dr.
Argue as "kindred souls," and said, "friendship
happened.  There has been a real bonding between
us."  For his part, Dr. Argue recalled being a
dinner guest at Dr. Campbell's home a week earlier,
and said that after "a wonderful meal, then perhaps
for two hours we talked about shared spiritual
interests."

 Dr. Argue addressed the NCC General Assembly by
invitation of Dr. Campbell.  He said he consulted
the NAE Executive Committee, which "considered this
and voted unanimously that I accept," agreeing that
"we need to talk."

 Asked "Who changed?" to enable that
conversation, Dr. Campbell said, "Both organizations
have changed.  As we face such problems together as
racism and child pornography, we have found
ourselves on the same side of these issues.  We are
finding common ground."

 "What's really driving us," Dr. Argue said, "is
the moral level in the nation has descended, so that
those of us who hold to a biblical morality are
being drawn together and are finding we have more in
common that perhaps we had thought."

 "The NAE was founded in 1942 with the motto,
'Cooperation without compromise,'" Dr. Argue said.
"Today we find a new and positive identity in the
statement, 'In essentials, unity; in distinctives,
liberty; in all things, charity.'"

Headquartered in Carroll Stream/Wheaton, Ill.,
the NAE is comprised of 42,500 congregations
nationwide from 48 member denominations and
individual congregations from an additional 30
denominations and fellowships along with several
hundred independent churches.  The Association's
membership also includes more than 250 parachurch
ministries and educational institutions.  Through
the cooperative ministry of these members, the NAE
directly and indirectly benefits more than 27
million people.

 In his address, Dr. Argue addressed the
question, "Who are these Evangelicals?"  He said the
NAE would answer with its seven-point Statement of
Faith, the first being, "We believe the Bible to be
the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative
Word of God."  He also reviewed the NAE's "eight
core values:" growing Biblical faith, fostering
cooperation, witness to society, ministry to the
poor, attending to human concerns, cross cultural
involvement, maximizing resources, nurturing
communications.

 He quoted Dr. Timothy George of Beason
Seminary, who observed, "The evangelical witness
emerged not only, and not primarily, as a protest
against abuses in the church, but rather as a
protest for the truth of the Gospel."  Dr. George
said "four major emphases mark Evangelicals: 1) the
authority and sufficiency of Holy Scripture, the
only normative rule of faith and practice for all
true believers; 2) the uniqueness of redemption
through the death of Christ upon the cross, the
benefits of which are imputed to believers who are
justified by faith alone; 3) the necessity of
personal conversion wrought by the Holy Spirit
through personal repentance, faith and issuing a
life of obedience and growth in Christ, and 4) the
priority and urgency of evangelism and missions in
fulfillment of the Great Commission of Christ
himself."

 Dr. Talbert, thanking Dr. Argue for his General
Assembly address, presented him with a copy of the
newly published Common Bible (New Revised Standard
Version), saying, "The NCC and its members are in
constant pursuit of the truth of God in the written
word.  We commit ourselves to the quest for unity."

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