National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals or the NAE considers itself to be dedicated to coordinating the ministry for the evangelical denomination of the Protestant Christians. They are a mainline new evangelical group. Their mission is to extend the kingdom of God through a fellowship of the member denominations. They stress the unity of the body of Christ through evangelical community of the churches and organizations. They stand for the truth of the Bible. They are ecumenical, charismatic and a great many of the members are Pentecostal.
The National Association of Evangelicals is considered to be a melting pot of the new evangelical movement. Theologically they represent everything from Pentecostal and Charismatics, Holiness to Mennonite, Reformed Presbyterian and Baptist as well as Lutherans. They are a voluntary association of denominations, churches and individuals who are dedicated to uniting the body of Christ without using theological compromises, such as the social approach to theological interpretation or the negative attacks on the theological of others.
The founders of the National Association of Evangelicals agreed they would not require the separation from liberal churches or denominations as a condition of membership into the NAE. They also agreed to include the Pentecostal denominations. They decided to keep their statement of faith short and concise and agreed not to make the statement of faith as a condition of membership. The founders of the National Association of Evangelicals ignored making a statement including the Word of God being inerrant and made no mention about the authority of the Bible. They omitted salvation and voted against the doctrine of eternal punishment. They included the doctrines of conditionalism, also called soul sleep, which is a doctrine from the Seventh Day Adventist and the Jehovah Witness.
The National Association of Evangelicals has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Its first president was Don Argue, who was a pastor of the Assemblies of God, who strived to make the NAE more politically correct. The current president is Ted Haggard, an Oral Roberts University graduate and considered a charismatic. Ted Haggard writes a column for a Charismatic magazine and participated in the Promise Keepers Pastors and the Leadership Conferences. He tries to unite the ministries of Benny Hinn, Charles Peter Wagner and Paul Crouch into the National Association of Evangelicals.
History
The National Association of Evangelicals was founded by a group of people April 7, 1942, in St. Luis Missouri. A committee was formed and the Reverend Harold John Ockenga was elected as the first president. They called themselves the National Association of Evangelicals for United Action. The name was shortened to the National Association of Evangelical in 1943.
Harold John Ockenga was one of the leaders of the Neo-Evangelicalism Movement which was part of the reform movement. He was a pastor of the Park Street Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Harold Ockenga was ordained in the Methodist church in the 1930. He was appointed to become the pastor of the Park Street Congregational Church in Boston in 1936 and was the founding president of the National Association of Evangelicals and served from 1942 until 1944. He tried to reform fundamentalism from the negative trends in intellectual and cultural tendencies. Ockenga hosted a Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusade and later conducted a tour of New England in 1950. Ockenga assisted Billy Graham, Carl Henry and Nelson Bell in organizing Christianity Today, the evangelical periodical.
Harold John Ockenga was also one of the founders of the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California and the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. The Fuller Theological Seminary was used as a launching pad for a new generation of evangelicals who could promote skills to spread evangelism. The other founders of the Fuller Theological Seminary beside Harold Ockenga were Charles E. Fuller, Carl Henry and Harold Lindsell. The Fuller Theological Seminary opened in 1947 and Ockenga was appointed the seminary president and he served until 1954 in absentia because he still served as pastor of the Park Street Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Ockenga retired from the Park Street Congregational Church and in 1969 he was appointed president of Gordon College and Divinity School.
Ted Haggard was chosen president of the National Association of Evangelicals at the 61st convention. He was the founder and the senior pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Haggard is a graduate from Oral Roberts University and the founder of the Association of Life Giving Churches. He was a charismatic who was also the president of the World Prayer Center which is a strategic center for worldwide evangelistic prayer. Charles Peter Wagner, who taught church growth at the Fuller Seminary, is in charge of leading Christians in spiritual warfare at World Prayer Center.
Ted Haggard is a supporter of the Third Wave Movement of the Holy Spirit and the Fivefold Ministry concept. These two concepts came from Charles Peter Wagner who stresses the Five Fold Offices of the church are first apostles, then prophets, then teachers, then evangelists and lastly pastors. The Government of the New Apostolic Reform has two divisions, both the vertical and the horizontal apostles, and there are subdivisions within these divisions. Wagner stresses there are different functions of the apostles. Wagner also moved the same direction as the Latter Rain Movement. The expression “Third Wave” was created by Charles Peter Wagner around 1980. The Third Wave involves those Christians who have received a Pentecostal type experience. Ted Haggard also believes there is one, all knowing God and that humans were created to be with him.
Ted Haggard believes a missionary he was traveling with in Colorado, Danny Ost, had a vision where Haggard would find his church in Colorado Springs. Haggard founded his New Life Church first in his basement and then moved to a larger space as it grew. The New Life Church is now located next to the United States Air Force academy, on the other side of the major highway.
He has stepped down from his positions at his church and the National Association of Evangelicals on November 2, 2006, after allegations surfaced that he had maintained a three-year-long homosexual relationship with Mike Jones, a male escort. The allegations also include an accusation that he bought methamphetamines from this man.
Ted Haggard has condemned homosexuality in his preaching, claiming it is wrong according to the Bible. He also opposes same sex marriage, but has suggested that states should feel free to enact the civil unions for homosexual couples.
Belief
The National Association of Evangelicals believe the Bible is inspired, the only authoritative Word of God. They believe the Bible teaches a separation from both apostasy and compromise which means a rejection of those who enunciate religious belief.
The National Association of Evangelicals believe there is only one God that exists in three person; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life and in His miracles, in His atoning death, His shed blood, His bodily resurrection and His ascension to the right hand of the Father. They also believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ in power and glory.
The National Association of Evangelicals believes in the salvation of the lost and the sinful people; believing in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost. They believe in the spiritual unity of the believers in Jesus Christ. They also believe that the regeneration of the Holy Spirit is essential. They believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which enables the Christian to live godly lives.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “National Association of Evangelicals:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2771,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “National Association of Evangelicals:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2771,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “National Association of Evangelicals:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2771, (accessed).
