Debating Social Justice & Mission | Albert Mohler & Jim Wallis

The Henry Center Archive

Debate Question - Is Social Justice an Essential Part of the Mission of the Church? North American Evangelicals have recently experienced a revival of interest in issues of social justice. The growing sentiment among many today is that Jesus preached "good news to the poor," and was indeed among the poor and marginalized. These Christians believe that the implications of these facts should renew the church's understanding of the gospel and its mission. Rightly or wrongly, this interest in social justice is transforming the blueprint and vision of ecclesial ministry. For others, this blueprint conjures up concerns about 20th century liberal Protestantism and a watering down of the gospel's message of salvation. The defining mission of the church, for them, continues to be the sharing of the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to all nations, generations, and social classes. The issue of social justice, though important, is not to be considered as an essential part of the mission of the church. The Henry Center for Theological Understanding, in its Trinity Debates forum, is pleased to provide a public venue for addressing this question by hosting two prominent voices from competing perspectives. Jim Wallis will answer "Yes" and R. Albert Mohler will answer "No." R. Albert Mohler, Jr. (PhD Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is author of many books, including Words From the Fire: Hearing the Voice of God in the 10 Commandments (Moody, 2009) and The Gathering Storm: Secularism, Culture, and the Church (Thomas Nelson, 2020). He hosts two programs, “The Briefing” and “Thinking in Public,” and also writes a popular blog. Jim Wallis is the Director of the Center on Faith and Justice and inaugural chair in Faith and Justice at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. He is author many books, including God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It (Harper Collins, 2006), America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America (Brazos Press, 2017), and Christ in Crisis?: Reclaiming Jesus in a Time of Fear, Hate, and Violence (Harper Collins, 2020). He is founder and was President of Sojourners, served on the White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and also served as Vice Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Values of the World Economic Forum. The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world. Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5 Connect with us! https://twitter.com/henry_center https://www.facebook.com/henrycenter/ https://www.instagram.com/thehenrycenter/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehenrycenter