I’m reading and blogging about Omri Elisha’s Moral Ambition: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches, an ethnography of two evangelical megachurches in Knoxville, Tennessee. See my introduction to the series and my follow-up post about Bible Belt Christianity.
In Chapter 4 of Moral Ambition, anthropologist Omri Elisha profiles four evangelical leaders who
personify the activist orientation of evangelical social engagement, and embody the virtues, struggles, and moral ambitions that go along with it. (87)
While each of the four had his or her own reasons for becoming socially engaged, Elisha suggests that the general narrative of their lives represents a kind of “second conversion,†as do the lives of many missionaries, evangelists, and other Christian activists:
Typically, it was sometime after they became professing Christians that they were convinced of the theological imperative to serve the poor and needy, and decided to convince others to do likewise. Although not conversion testimonies, their reflections on the revelation process were often testimonial in tone, especially insofar as they would claim to have found the true meaning of God’s grace only when they stopped focusing on themselves and learned to adopt a compassionate disposition toward others. (87)
Elisha matches each of the profiled individuals with a Biblical archetype that captures the theme of their life and work. (Their names have been changed to preserve their anonymity.)
- The Apostle, Paul Genero, the organizer of a ministry coalition called Samaritans of Knoxville who was extremely active in encouraging churches to increase their social engagement
- The Teacher, Stacy Miggs, a former marketing professional turned a homeschool mother and a leader in her church’s outreach efforts, who sought to help others exercise their “gift of mercyâ€
- The Prophet, Jim Elroy, the director of one of Knoxville’s largest homeless shelters and a high-profile advocate for the poor through his public speaking and writing
- The Missionary, Margie McKenzie, director of one church’s social outreach ministry who had become active with inner city causes, as well as giving aid and assistance to people with HIV/AIDS, after chaperoning a teen short-term mission to inner city DC
The work of these four indviduals is inspiring and personally challenging. I was struck, however, by the frustrations they faced in recruiting volunteers and generating interest in structural change. [Read more…] about Omri Elisha: The Frustrations of Socially Engaged Evangelicals