Social Justice and Evangelism

Biola Magazine: “I think [a] criticism that has been raised [about the missional movement] is just this balance that missional tries to strike between social justice and “living out” the gospel on one hand and the proclaiming or preaching of the gospel on the other . . . How do we balance these things?

Ed Stetzer: I think, ultimately, if I push on two fronts — A and B — and I only get resistance on B, then I’ve got to push harder on B. Now, from my perspective I might think they are equally important, but we have to remember this: When you speak of justice, people will praise you, but when you speak of Jesus, they’ll condemn you. But we can’t speak of Jesus without speaking of justice and we can’t biblically speak of justice without understanding Jesus [emphasis mine], so ultimately we will have to overcompensate in the area of evangelism because that’s where there is resistance.

(HT: T4A)