Chip Anderson
author of Wasted Evangelism
What is your favorite place?
This isn't quite a fair question. I have a number of places I would consider my favorite place: the old cabin down in the woods below the south slope at Dublin School; the porch overlooking both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlanta at my folk’s place on the Island of Nevis, West Indies; early morning at Seaside beach in Bridgeport, CT. Just to name a few.
Your favorite food?
New England Boiled Dinner, Corn beef
Are you a family man?
I would like to think so. I have 4 children (3 step-kids and my daughter). I consider my daughter my best friend and loved being her father. I love being alone, so it surprised my friends and even myself that I’d inherit a large family. I loved taking small adventures with my step-kids and my daughter when they were younger. It is amazing watching them now move into who they will be as adults. Also after nearly 50 years, I finally met my biological father five years ago and so now have a larger family with brothers and a sister (in SC, FL) and some pretty cool cousins here in CT who have a rock band called INK.
Do you have pets?
I try not to! But we do have a cat right now, who thinks he’s a dog. His name is Ninja, who should be called Panther—he is as big as a small dog! And he growls. I am not a pet person at all, however.
If you could change just one thing about the world, what would it be?
Poverty. Someway, somehow to end poverty so that the least of us, those living with the effects of poverty and those we have relegated to the margins of our communities, can benefit fully from living on this planet. This bothers me every day. One of the reasons I wrote Wasted Evangelism was to connect the non-poor churches to the Bible’s emphasis on our responsibilities to those affected by poverty—so the church use its vast resources—people and wealth—and take up arms against poverty and injustice. We have too many poor rich readers of the Bible who live separately from those living with the effects of poverty. Honestly, if I could change one thing—I guess it would be to remove wealth and power from the evangelical church so non-poor Christians and church communities would finally be who they were called to be. Sounds like I might want to write another book . . .
You have been a pastor, professor, and businessman. How did you get involved with social action?
Yes, I have covered a lot of vocational territory since college and graduate school. Moving into social action happened because I was a single father who needed a job and I found one as a grant writer for a small community action agency in Connecticut. This turned into God’s school of social action for me where I began to learn about the issues of poverty and became involved with the families and people affected by it. After a decade of church ministry and five years as a professor at Prairie Bible College (Alberta, Canada), God’s crooked lines led me to a new vocation. From 1997 through 2012 I worked as a community action grant writer and planner, a job that soon became a passion that formed my vocational concern for the poor and for the issues of poverty. At present, I am a grant writer, customer service skills instructor, curriculum developer, and program consultant for the Morrison Group, LLC (Bridgeport/Derby, CT), a training provider that helps low-income and at-risk populations gain the necessary skills and motivation to enter the workforce. Social action has been my vocational life for the past sixteen years.
You have published several articles, and now a book. What would you say was the major inspiration in becoming a writer?
I enjoyed writing papers in college and graduate school, so once I graduated from them both and move on to the non-academic world of church vocation I made a commitment to write at least one publishable article a year, even if it didn't get published. I have tried to keep that commitment. I write down everything—I keep a notepad or scraps of paper (and when I can’t find paper, the proverbial napkin works as well). I act as if everything I think can become an essay or article. I have dozens of book outlines, ready and waiting. But to be honest, I wasn't good with grammar and writing, and especially spelling in school, so I personally find it rather ironic that I have not only written, but published. I think a lot. If I have a gift it is for developing interesting connections between thoughts, ideas, other people’s conclusions, and then trying to craft something so others will see the connection. Someone once said “I bleed Bible.” I have read it in its entirety more than three, maybe even four times a year for the past 35 years; I memorized long passages of it and even chapters, so when I read one passage (any passage) I seem to be able to harness all that I know—the texts, verses, passages—and see connections and themes and other biblical author’s words and see perhaps what influenced them, what stands behind the passage as God has inspired it. Then, I like to write those connections and ideas down—sometimes they become a formal paper and even sometimes a published work. I want others to see what I see, hear what I hear from the Bible—and I try to show them how I made the connection, so they, too, can be better hearers of the Bible.
In The Hobbit, Gandalf tells Bilbo Baggins that if he does come back from his journey, he will not be the same – a quote you use. Has your journey to the start of this book changed you forever?
I heard that dialog in the movie and I felt it best described the journey I have been on, not just in writing Wasted Evangelism, but in social action, a the journey I want others to take—through the Gospel of Mark and through paths that get them much closer to those living in poverty.
Wasted Evangelism is the result of a seven year journey in Mark’s Gospel, seeking to determine the relationship of the gospel to the wider biblical material regarding poverty and justice. For me, this was no mere academic exercise alone, but a deeply spiritual one that made it clear to me that the church has a biblical responsibility to be intentionally involved in social action. For me, not only has social action been my profession, it has been an important part of my spiritual journey as well. Over these years I have come to realize there is a wide gap, a very unbiblical breach, between the issues of poverty and my evangelical Christian community. For many years I lived out my faith at the far “right” end of that gap. For the last sixteen years on the other side of this gap I have had the privilege of working with people dedicated to moving our economically vulnerable neighbors, often trapped in poverty, toward self-sufficiency. As a result of experiencing both ends of this gap, I often find myself alone in most any room I am in. Among my peers and colleagues in social action I am extremely conservative as an evangelical Christian, sometimes even politically suspect; among my conservative Christian family I am often viewed as too liberal regarding social action and the gospel, sometimes even borderline heretical. During the summer of 2006 I began to seek out my own biblical rationale for my new vocation in community action—I wanted some personal justification from God’s Word that my faith should be legitimately connected to my work in social action. Wasted Evangelism is a reflection of that search.
Just like Gandalf said to Bilbo Baggins, I can’t guarantee a safe return—seriously the wading into the swamps, caves, rouged mountains, and valleys (using middle earth imagery) of the world of poverty is not safe. It is dangerous. The conditions themselves are not safe; the politics are not safe; the surrounding powers and wealthy will be chief in opposition and they are not safe. Even the church itself will often not be friendly while on the journey, nor will it readily offer shelter. Self and status will have to be sacrificed. There is no guarantee of return. But if they, the poor rich readers, non-poor Christians, do return, they will certainly not be the same.
Wasted Evangelism: Social Action and the Church’s Task of Evangelism addresses the issue of the poor. Who do you hope to reach with this work, who is your target audience?
The reader will notice rather quickly that I have a target audience in mind. Though the subject matter in these studies is for all Christians to consider, it will be quite obvious that I am attempting to speak to my more conservative, non-poor, suburban and exurban evangelical church community. I make no apologies for this. Without hesitation, I consider myself an evangelical Christian and, believe it or not, a conservative one who takes very seriously the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible. Because of this, it is my burden to help the non-poor evangelical community to hear the biblical association that links together the gospel, the church’s task of evangelism, and the issues of poverty and justice. Although the work of these studies is for the general Christian population, I do not hide that I am speaking to my evangelical family, particularly its leadership.
How does your viewpoint about evangelism differ from other clergy?
Many within the Christian community from all political persuasions and church traditions advocate for ministry to the poor. This is nothing new. What is similar among the various Christian views, however, even at the opposite ends of the spectrum, is that evangelism and social action are considered two distinct activities. For some, social concern is a fruit conversion; while others regard social action as a potential means of evangelism or pre-evangelism. Through the studies gathered in Wasted Evangelism, I propose that social action should not be considered a separate, distinct responsibility for the church, but is rather a component of evangelism. Properly understood, biblical evangelism ought to be both proclamation in word and proclamation through action, that is, actions that are intentional demonstrations of God’s kingdom in this world.
What makes this message unique?
As far as I can tell from my research no one has specifically developed a biblical theology of evangelism based on the exegesis of the texts of scripture. My argument—that social action can be evangelism—is built on the exegesis of the text of scripture, in this case specifically an exegesis of texts in Mark’s Gospel. The six studies contained in the volume are intensely exegetical in nature, seeking to hear Mark’s presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1)—and to consider, as well, how those of us on this side of Mark’s Gospel can listen more effectively to the text. I am not promoting a particular “how to evangelize” or “how to address the issues of poverty,” however each chapter is an encounter with the text of Mark’s Gospel so we may wrestle with the significance of his understanding of the appearance of Jesus Christ and the in-breaking of his kingdom. After a close study of Mark’s Gospel, I find it impossible not to hear that God’s concern for the poor and issues of justice are inescapably associated with the gospel of God (Mark 1:14c). As Christians, we must deal with this despite our own political leanings, our treasured church traditions, and our social location (our home address and with whom we associate); and, then, obey accordingly.
The message of Wasted Evangelism helps us to reconsider the way we do church and the way we think about evangelism today. There is no doubt that my conclusions seeks to move leadership within the church (within local churches) toward engagement with the issues of poverty, to connect non-poor evangelical churches to what God’s Word says in regard to their responsibilities for social action and to those affected by poverty.
What would you say to someone who’s regard for Church evangelism is affected by their knowledge of the Church’s rather aggressive history of violence against those who had a different understanding of God?
This is a good interviewer’s question; revealing the heart of the interviewer—the answer could be a book! Within what I have written here in Wasted Evangelism, I conclude that evangelism is the actions of the church community to demonstrate that God’s kingdom has broken into the realms of human existence. There is no doubt that Christians and church structures, over the course of history, have not reflected God’s kingdom, but its own power and status. I believe, in light of Mark’s association of the kingdom with the gospel (1:14–15) and the gospel’s programmatic association with Old Testament land-laws that were to govern how people related to each other, I conclude throughout Wasted Evangelism that biblical social action is a means to ensure that the blessings and benefits of living in society reach to the poor. This should confront us as the church and move us toward reflecting God’s kingdom.
What do you hope to change within the Church with your message?
That is simple: How we do church is not neutral toward the poor and I hope that Wasted Evangelism will move non-poor churches and non-poor Christians to invest in the issues of poverty and engage their own communities to end poverty for their neighbors, to become advocates for the poor and marginalized.
Jesus said the poor will always be among us. Do you believe we can eliminate poverty?
On one hand, no. Poverty happens, sometime despite best efforts to ensure it doesn’t; sometimes as the result of natural turn of events for people, for families; and sometimes, given our sinful nature, we can bring poverty on ourselves. And of course there are natural disasters—like Katrina, the Sahara drought, tidal-waves, and just bad weather, etc. On the other, we can work on hindering intergenerational poverty, providing ways out for families and their children. Also, I should say I never thought that Jesus’ words regarding the poor meant we need to accept the fact that there will be poor people no matter what. I think his words were more directed to the church who are to be identified by its association with those living in poverty and those on the margins of society—as my book explains in detail. As for eliminating poverty, it is the church’s responsibility to engage its communities and bring an end to poverty for individuals, families, and certainly providing the social action necessary to prohibit and to stop intergenerational poverty among families and communities.
What is one thing an average person can do to help relieve suffering in their neighborhood?
Gather a few like-minded people, do some community assessment on the needs, assess possible resources and capacity to meet those needs, and find a way to do it. Churches should be making their recourses, their human and wealth capital, even their space (i.e., their building) available to the community—get involved with something, even if it’s not “Christian.” Go to the nearby housing authority and ask them what we can do. Go to the nearest Workforce Development Board and ask them how their church can help in making a difference. Form interchurch partnerships to address issue. Mostly learn to ask the poor what they want, what they believe will help—listen and then act. My hope is to offer a compendium volume on developing steps to help engaging the issues of poverty in our communities—that book will be a “how to” book.
When will Wasted Evangelism be available?
I just received word that the manuscript is ready for production and that potential release will be in about a month. It will be available on the publisher’s website (Wipf & Stock) as well as sites like Amazon. I am hoping it will be available by mid-November so copies will be available when I present a paper at the 2013 annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society which meets this year in Baltimore, MD.
Do you have another book planned?
Yes, two are beginning to surface. One will be a compendium volume to Wasted Evangelism, but more in a workbook style. My goal in this volume is to help churches think through the issues of poverty in their communities (developing community assessments, compiling resources, and developing logic models, etc.). The other book already has a title: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Yes, it’s a play on the classic 1967 American film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn. The book will be a more popular form on the same subject of the gospel and Social Action, more sermonic in style. Half the book will be a series of chapters on Luke’s Gospel, particularly chapters 14–21; the later half will be on various Old Testament passages that confront us about the issues of poverty and injustice.
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| Available at Wipf and Stock |
About Chip
B.A. Crown College
M.A.T.S. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Chip M. Anderson has degrees from Crown College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and was ordained by the Christian and Missionary Alliance. He was a professor at Prairie Bible College (Three Hills, Alberta), as well an adjunct-instructor at Nyack College. He has written for Servant Magazine, MetroVoice, and The Christian Librarian; his articles appear in His Dominion, The Evangelical Journal, and Trinity Journal.
He is the founder and editor of Words’nTone, an online journal and weblog dedicated to promoting faithful biblical interpretation, significant preaching, and sound Christian thinking. He has served as the chairperson for Southwestern Connecticut’s Welfare-to-Work Task Force.
Along with preaching the Word, Chip also consults for community-based and faith-based non-profits as well as for churches on program development, strategic planning, and mission statement development. He is available for speaking and consulting and can be contacted at chip@wordsntone.com.
Chip lives in Connecticut with his wife Lisa and has four children, three off at college and one high schooler suffering at home.
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