Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door.
...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church and community.
The late 1960's early 1970's saw The Regent Hall engage in a level of mission that not only was intense, but was pioneering. It was messy, risky but created multi-layered encounter with the youth culture of the day - whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church and community.Major Fred Brown narrates the story and the lessons he learned through this period of his ministry in the controversial book Secular Evangelism. The book and Fred Brown's consequent resignation hit the popular press and even an article in Time (here). History aside what is contained within this book shows that Fred Brown was 30 years ahead of his time. Before any debate of belonging before believing; before any discussion of the importance of 'being' rather than 'doing'; before any critique of institutional church; before any concept of engaging with transition through communitas, liminality or any other concept selling books today - Fred Brown covered it. Contextualisation of evangelism was what drove him and the project; to some the soft sell of evangelism, to others the irrepressible attraction of putting the world to rights. To whet your appetite...
"We should stop thinking of evangelism as a means of inflating our congregations. Since the days of which I am writing, a lot of troubled water has flowed under the bridge of evangelical debate, and now most of us are agreed that to treat people as pew fodder, and little else, is, considerations of effectiveness apart, a denial of everything central to Christianity....it represents nothing less than devout blasphemy, a spirit that has done more harm to the cause of Christ's kingdom than multitudes of non-churchgoers. It is devout because its sincere aim is to serve God and further his cause. But it is blasphemy because it uses God's name to manipulate and condition other people." pp29Lost Voices of Mission...Catherine Hine
Brown, F. (1970) Secular evangelism. London: S.C.M. Press.
Comments
Thanks for a great post.
My father was a youth officer at the Regent Hall in the early 1950's, my parents met at the Regent Hall, were married at the Regent Hall, I was dedicated at the Regent Hall, and we all attended the Regent Hall for 18 months during the mid sixties. Phew! For some bizarre reason I still think of it as my home corps.
Anyway, I vaguely recall both the brilliance and the pain of both Fred Brown's Officership and departure. I now treasure a note he wrote to me - 10 years old - in which he exhorted me to 'add another chapter to the book of Acts.'
Thanks for pointing me to the book, and giving us all a peek into the youth revolution behind an old wooden door on Oxford Street.
I believe we need a fresh Salvationist theology of evangelism for our day, as well. Do you?
Richard Munn
Someone once highlighted the need for churches to have "loyal radicals" in order to keep things moving and provide fresh perspectives. It is heartbreaking that, over the years, the SA has lost so many who have dared to see things differently - and act on it! (I wonder if there has been any research into why this is and how it can be prevented?)
That would be an interesting research project - I guess historically there has always been room for the maverick - "squeezing out the maverick: towards a loss of creativity..."
We should start a Facebook group 'my parents were officers at the Rink!!'
"..a fresh Salvationist theology of evangelism for our day.."
I'm wondering whether we ever really got it in the first place? I hope we get to meet up when you come to London - the ICO is 10 mins from WB College. I was there for lunch 2 weeks ago.
Nice title for a dissertation!
(Speaking of which, does the college keep records of final dissertations/theses from officers continuing their studies? Wouldn't it be interesting to have a Salvationist theological journal? And not just papers about our sacremental stance!)
Marcus
Who do I contact for a subcription? Is it purely USA based, or does it have an international dimmension to it?
Thanks!
Marcus
Thanks for pointing me in this direction!
We're still hoping to be in London in May, but waiting (again!) to hear back from Carrie Barlow....
I am not surprised that he got the sack from the moribund and out of date club the SA was then. In the 17 years I attended I cannot remember any stranger joining it; it was a club for those whose parents had been members and was sustained only by the sons and daughters of club members.