Chapter 12: The Centenary Conference in London (1888)
In October of 1887, on the very day he passed the editorship of the Missionary Review to others, Royal G. Wilder died. A. T. Pierson and James Sherwood became the new editors and immediately expanded the Review to an 80-page monthly. In their first issue, January 1888, they wrote the following,
One of the editors of this REVIEW, in a book entitled "The Crisis of Missions," proposes in the serene boldness of faith, the plan of holding an Ecumenical Council of a new order, a Pan-Christian Conference on behalf of Missions in every part of the world. A "World's Missionary Council," he calls it. The Missionary Review is already in purpose something like a fulfillment of such a notable dream. It offers to be a council in perpetual session, to consult for the spread of the Gospel throughout the whole earth. It will do what it can to bring about, in God's good time, the actual convening of Christendom in council to concert measures for the speedy evangelization of the world (Missionary Review, January 1888:48-49).
Oddly enough, a few pages later without any reference back, an announcement for a General Missionary Conference in London appeared. This was planned as the successor to an 1878 conference, also held in London, which brought together many British mission agencies. The committee convening this convention said they were "most solemnly impressed with the conviction that there has never been a time, since the days of the apostles, when it was of more urgent importance than it is now, that all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity should labor 'in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace,' in order that 'the gospel of the kingdom of God' may be carried out into all the world and preached 'unto every creature'" (Missionary Review, January 1888:62).
In this same issue, A. T. Pierson wrote in his editorial, "Evangelization is the one word that deserves to be emblazoned on the banners of the believing host. The one immediate, imperative duty of every follower is to become a 'herald.' To bring this gospel of life into contact with every living, human soul in the shortest possible time and the best possible way--that is evangelization" (Missionary Review, January 1888:35).
In April he wrote, "Paul yearned to press into regions beyond, where Christ had never been named, and so within the life of a generation he carried the cross over the known world west of the Golden Horn. That principle of evangelization must be the law of our Christian life if we are ever to overtake the regions beyond. We must practically feel that the call is loudest where the need is greatest and the darkness deepest. Then, while we shall pass by no really needy field nearer home, we shall press with untiring zeal and contagious earnestness into the farthest corners of the earth" (Missionary Review, April 1888:242).
Meanwhile, the London conference was widening both its agenda and the spectrum of delegates to be invited. The committee decided to invite American and Continental mission representatives and focus on cooperative efforts to evangelize the whole world. Pierson linked the upcoming London conference with his appeal in 1881 and the appeal issued by the Northfield Convention in 1885. He wrote,
There will be many who will regard this council, now called to meet in June, as the answer to many fervent prayers. This will be an ecumenical council in fact. And think for what purpose they meet who gather there and then! To map out the world--for Christ's war of the ages! To cover every district of earth's surface with the network of missionary effort; to plant the cross in every valley and on every hill; to put the Bible in every hamlet and hut; to prevent all waste of men and material and means; to distribute work equally and equitably; to accelerate the progress of missions so that in the shortest time the witness may be borne to all people and to every soul! (Missionary Review, April 1888:268).
The London Committee then issued an appeal for prayer that read,
We lament over the feebleness of the efforts put forth by the churches of Christ, and we mourn over the great and increasing mass of heathenism which still confronts the church in this nineteenth century of the Christian era. It is one great object of the Conference to be assembled in June to look this appalling fact fully in the face, and by applying the lessons taught by the past to the conditions of the present, to awaken the church of Christ, by every possible effort, to a due sense of the obligation under which she lies to the perishing heathen and to her Divine Head and Lord... Pray that, under God, the Conference may be the means of introducing a new era in missionary enterprise. That it may hasten the day when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord," and when "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together" (Missionary Review, April 1888:300-301).
In May Pierson again emphasized that the immediate evangelization of the world was the "Supreme Question of the Hour": "Again we hear Prince Albert thunder out, 'Find out God's plan in your generation and do not cross that plan, but fall in into your own place in it.' Has God a plan in this generation_ If so, what is it, and how am I to know it_ By every sign and signal God has shown the men of this generation that his purpose is the immediate evangelization of the world" (Missionary Review, May 1888:322).
In July 1888 issue of the Missionary Review Pierson published "The Great Commission: Facts and Their Philosophy." He wrote, "The divine scheme was to reach every human soul by the shortest road. Hence, (1) an oral proclamation was chosen as the method, and (2) every believer as a means" (Missionary Review, July 1888:491).
There is no reason, or even pretext, for the present apathy of the Church of Christ. We can gird the globe with a zone of light in twenty years if we have men and money, both of which the church is perfectly able to furnish to-day in abundance. The awful extent of the field need not discourage us. We can reach this thousand millions with the gospel and we can do it with surprising rapidity, if we have the will to do it God's way. He has gone before us. He has flung the doors wide open, actually challenging the church to enter and take possession... Accordingly God has accomplished within half a century what we should have supposed it would require half a millennium to effect. Talk of "waiting upon God_" God has been long waiting for his people (Missionary Review, July 1888:492-493).
Pierson's addresses
A. T. Pierson was invited, as part of the American delegation, to the London conference in June and was asked to deliver several addresses. In his keynote, "The Field is the World," he warned his audience not to glory too much in the past but to look to what had yet to be done and ask God for the power to finish the job. "I want to say--and it is a most profound conviction of my being, on this subject--that the world will never be converted or evangelized at the present rate of progress" (Johnston, Vol. I, 1888:182). He went on to pinpoint the main cause of slow progress in the world's evangelization, namely, a policy of concentration rather than diffusion. Stanley P. Smith, one of the Cambridge Seven, used this illustration of concentration a year earlier at the Northfield conference:
Imagine the disciples are here distributing the food, and that this great assembly is the hungry multitude that is waiting to be fed. They go to the first row of benches distributing the food, and to the second, and the third, and the fourth, and so on to the eighth row. But at the end of the eighth row they stop and turn back to the first, and feed these eight rows again, pouring bread and fish into their laps and piling it about them, leaving the starving multitudes behind uncared for. What do you suppose our Lord would say if He were here_ Let us take the parable to ourselves, for this is what we have been doing. We have been feeding these nearest to us over and over again with the bread which our Lord has given us, and have neglected the multitudes beyond (Shanks, 1887:259).
In China's Millions Henry W. Hunt explained why he felt the evangelization of China was being held up:
Too much settled work, and too little systematic itinerant work; too much flocking together of the workers in certain places where the blessing has been given in a degree, and too little scattering in other places which have hardly had an opportunity (China's Millions, March 1890:31).
This, of course, was Pierson's reason for calling for an Ecumenical Council as early as 1881. He wanted the mission societies to come together to agree and act upon a policy of diffusion. In his London address, Pierson was able to more fully express his concern for this new direction in missions. The Church Missionary Intelligencer reported that "two points he particularly emphasized--that success in the work is to be looked for in the descent of the Holy Ghost in answer to prayer, and that the work must be done speedily--by the end of the century, he pleaded. It was a grand speech" (Church Missionary Intelligencer, Special Supplement, July 1888:9).
Pierson also proposed that if the world was to be evangelized speedily, laymen would have to become directly involved in cross-cultural evangelism. The Gospel in All Lands noted that "the effect of these words, which minimised the value of ordination, was evidently depressing to the Churchmen present on the platform, who preserved a solemn silence, though it was correspondingly exhilarating to the Nonconformists in the area, who cheered and cheered again" (The Gospel in All Lands, 1888:379). Later on Pierson wrote, "And as in the apostolic days, so now; no class of ordained preachers can ever meet this world-wide emergency. While the Church waits for such alone to do the work of preaching the Gospel to the world, or for the training of a regular ministry for its official proclamation, whole generations perish" (The Missionary Herald, August 1, 1888:321).
Pierson wrote back to the Missionary Review during this time, and his letters were published over a period of several months. In his first letter, dated June 11, he wrote with enthusiasm about the possibilities of such an august gathering.
The question is, Can the problem be solved, of reaching with the gospel the unsaved millions of the race_ Of course it must be solvable; for our Lord never would commit to His people an impossible task. If we study the gospels we shall find God's way of solving the problem outlined. It embraces some important factors, which we have comparatively failed to emphasize. Two of them I desire to make very prominent: first, individual call to direct labor for the unsaved; and secondly, the supernatural power of God. Had these been as prominent in the life of the church as they should be, the work of the evangelization might already have overtaken the population of our globe (Missionary Review, August 1888:587).
He went on to list his expectations of the meeting. He felt that first of all, hearts needed to be revived and brought to a new level of commitment in prayer. Secondly, energetic action was needed. He cited both the example of the soldier of Queen Victoria who could publish her will in eighteen months and the example of Ahasuerus' decree being published in nine months. He concluded, "What might we not do with the help of the printing-press, steam navigation, the telegraph, and all the appliances of modern invention, if the church would but give herself to the glorious work! We might publish the gospel to all living peoples before the end of the present century!" (Missionary Review, August 1888:588).
In his second editorial letter, Pierson enumerated the wonders God had done in opening up the world, evidenced by the diversity of mission agencies present at the conference. He cautioned, "But though we have reached a climax of development, the topstone and capstone have yet to be laid before the pyramid of wonders is complete. The whole world must now be taken possession of and occupied for Christ. Without this grandest result, all else is comparatively not only unfinished, but is failure. To this end all else points and tends" (Missionary Review, September 1888:641) [Italics his]. Speaking again of the need for haste, Pierson continued, "Another profound impression left by this World Council is that of the marvelous celerity of movement in this march of ages. Truly God is marching on, and he who would keep pace with God must not lag behind or lack for energy and enthusiasm.... The celerity of His march is always in proportion to the preparation and capacity of His people to follow. And hence we may expect Him as leader to move onward and forward with more and more astounding rapidity as He gives us facility and opportunity for a corresponding rapidity of advance" (Missionary Review, September 1888:643) [Italics his].
H. Grattan Guinness said in his address, "God grant that this Conference may be, as it ought to be, a turning point in missions--a stage from which the Church will make a fresh start, and push on her glorious warfare against sin and Satan with tenfold courage and energy, resolving by divine help to evangelize the world before the present generation has passed away!" (Regions Beyond, August 1888:232). It was clear that this concern was foremost on his mind; the report of his address in Woman's Work For Woman referred to Guinness as the man "who feels that the Church of Christ might evangelize the whole earth during the present century" (Woman's Work for Woman, 1888:201).
But the question "Is it possible or desirable to map out the whole heathen world among different missionary societies or churches, so as to ensure its more rapid evangelization_" came up only as a minor topic of discussion at the conference. To make things worse, the answers given were generally in the negative. "The very attempt at such a project would probably lead to a historical repetition of the tribal feud of ancient times, when 'Judah vexed Ephraim and Ephraim envied Judah'" (Johnston, Vol. II, 1888:469). On this same question, Reginald Radcliffe of Liverpool said, "We cannot withdraw our beloved Missionaries, honoured servants who are amongst us, and those that have lived in the field, God bless them!" (Johnston, Vol. II, 1888:478). He suggested, rather, that American, British and German laymen go into the unoccupied fields and, like Caleb and Joshua, bring back a report of what could be done. Evidently Mr. Radcliffe felt that the societies already had their hands full.
Thus the great London conference failed to achieve one of its major objectives. Because it was hastily organized and because so many speakers were on the platform, there was no opportunity for genuine strategic planning. "Dividing up the world" was pushed aside as the delegates tended to focus on what was being done and not on what remained to be done. Pierson's rallying cry fell on an auditorium of men and women just learning to listen to each other, not on Christians ready to plan the final conquest of the world.
The moderator of the discussion on comity, William J. R. Taylor, an American, closed by suggesting that the London Conference prepare the way for a still greater conference "to be held, towards the close of the nineteenth and the opening of the twentieth century, in some capital city of the old world or the new world, not to frame new creeds, not to fight over old battles, but to organize more completely, and to start more powerfully, the most extensive and practical system of Gospel propagation that the world has ever seen since that day of Pentecost which was the type and promise of the conversion of all nations, under the Great Commission, and by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Johnston, Vol. II, 1888:469-470).
After the Conference
As soon as the conference ended, reviews poured out through denominational and non-denominational mission magazines. The Church Missionary Intelligencer wrote, "It was perhaps a mistake to call it the Centenary of Protestant Missions. Such a phrase raises expectations which certainly have not been fulfilled. Excellent as the Conference has been, it has been very far from enjoying the eclat of a centenary" (Church Missionary Intelligencer, July 1888:425). The editors felt that perhaps the high point of the conference was meeting with the American delegates who "were able and cultivated men, whom it was a privilege and an honour to meet" (Church Missionary Intelligencer, July 1888:429). The Evangelical Magazine reported,
They "were of one mind and one soul" in desire and purpose, to "preach the gospel to every creature." How best this could be done was the dominant thought. Much information was given. Difficulties and obstacles were stated with great candour. Many statements were made of a most encouraging and stimulating character. But the meetings were deliberative, not executive. Therefore it was that many questions of great practical and doctrinal interest were hardly touched, and others were ventilated only, not decided. The conference was not a council, and was too large, miscellaneous and popular to develop into true practical deliberative forms, or to elicit much boldness of speech or freedom of opinion. This, no doubt, was felt by many to be a want, but it was inevitable" (Evangelical Magazine, August 1888:374-375).
Others were greatly encouraged. Mrs. Guinness wrote in Regions Beyond, "We are filled with the hope, and deeply impressed with the expectation, that the next few years will witness such ingatherings from among the heathen, as the world has never seen" (Regions Beyond, July 1888:199).
After the conference A. T. Pierson and A. J. Gordon, another American pastor known for his missionary zeal, traveled throughout Scotland together taking up the great theme of the evangelization of the world. The American preachers were evidently quite successful as gauged by the response of their otherwise pessimistic audience. "We are longing and praying for such a new departure, for a revival of missionary zeal in the churches throughout our land; and we gratefully acknowledge that your presence amongst us, and the solemn appeals you have made to us in your public addresses, have kindled our missionary enthusiasm and revived our drooping faith" (quoted from a letter to Pierson and Gordon in Missionary Review, October 1888:735).
A year after the conference Pierson published an article entitled, "A Retrospect of the World's Conference." Here, now over the first enthusiasm generated by this momentous congress, Pierson felt the freedom to criticize the outcome and make a few suggestions. Among his major recommendations was the idea of a standing committee that could carry on the work that was started at the conference. Pierson lamented the fact that "there were certain bonds of comity and unity, of counsel and cooperation, which might have been perpetuated, and thus have given also a certain perpetuity to the conference itself" (Missionary Review, June 1889:407). Since Pierson's recommendation of such a committee bore no fruit, he later would suggest another world council, perhaps in 1892, that would continue this work and see the world evangelized by the year 1900.
The Report of the Conference
The report of the Conference, published in 1888, reflected the disappointment felt by many. The stated purpose of the Conference had been "to stimulate and encourage all evangelistic agencies, in pressing forward, in obedience to the last command of the risen Saviour, 'Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations,' especially in those vast regions of the heathen world in which the people are still 'sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death,' without a preached Gospel, or the written 'word of God'" (Johnston, Vol I, 1888:viii). This led many delegates to expect that strategic planning to complete world evangelization would be the central theme. Yet, because of the various concerns of other delegates, this was not the case.
Johnston, the editor of the report, anticipated criticism based on the varying expectations of the delegates. Trying to appease those who looked for greater planning to finish the task of world evangelization, he wrote,
We shall refer again to some of those questions on which rules and regulations have been desired by some of our friends, especially those from foreign parts. It is not impossible, and it would be in many ways desirable, that a future Conference of a similar kind should not only arrive at such complete unanimity of opinion, but at such an intimate knowledge of one another's character and habit as to enable it to pass rules and form an executive body for carrying them out (Johnston, Vol. I, 1888:ix). A few ardent minds have expressed disappointment at not seeing at once the ripened fruits of such a great gathering of able men from many lands. It would have been looked upon by some as a great triumph, if the Conference had passed resolutions calling upon the Churches to double their contributions to the cause of Missions, and had urged the Societies to multiply the number of Missionaries and portion out the dark and unoccupied regions of heathendom to be evangelised by different Churches (Johnston, Vol. I, 1888:xxiv).
