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Promiscuity is genetic," exclaimed the Anglican bishop of Edinburgh on British television. The bbc immediately contacted Clive Calver, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, for an evangelical response. Calver was clear and direct: "Perhaps there is also a rape gene and a murder gene. What are the societal consequences of such an unfounded claim? The Bible teaches that God has given us moral choice and we are responsible for our behavior."

As he told me this story in his office, Calver sat forward suddenly, his dark eyes flashing. "We have to address an enormous range of issues, from euthanasia and the global arms trade to miracles and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There has been a remarkable increase of interest in evangelical opinion in Britain in the last few years. This growing demand is, frankly, taxing me and the resources of the Evangelical Alliance to the absolute limits!"

The demands on the alliance will very likely increase in the coming years. How the ea is already handling these demands is instructive to American evangelicals.

Evangelicals with a difference
Like our British counterparts, American Christians want to influence our society. But in the United States, unlike Britain, an increasingly inflamed culture war is dividing both church and society. The church in America is often much more seriously divided by politics than theology.

One cannot be considered an evangelical Christian in many circles within the U.S. if one is not a conservative Republican. Nowhere else in the English-speaking West—Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada—does one have to be the equivalent of a conservative Republican to be considered a born-again Christian. This is a uniquely American phenomenon. When the British evangelicals do get involved politically, it is usually in a nonpartisan and irenic manner.

The Evangelical Alliance is the largest Christian organization in Great Britain, representing 1.3 million Christians from 30 denominations and over 800 Christian organizations. The ea celebrated its 150th anniversary last month with an event to which 4,000 Christian leaders from Great Britain and elsewhere were invited.

That was then
It was a very different world when EA was founded in 1846. Queen Victoria was 27 years of age, and the potato famine was devastating Ireland. Originally the alliance was to become the first world alliance of evangelicals. At the organizing meeting, held in August 1846, evangelicals came from Britain, continental Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. However, when a representative from the Baptist Union proposed that slave holders be denied admission to membership, the American delegation protested, and the alliance fractured. Instead of a worldwide organization, they settled for a loosely linked network of national organizations not accountable to one another.

The initial emphasis of the Evangelical Alliance in Britain, still strong today, was religious liberty. In subsequent years, through tough times and good times, the alliance has emphasized prayer, the renewal of the church, and the advancement of the gospel. In 1951 EA joined with the National Association of Evangelicals in America in birthing the World Evangelical Fellowship. The alliance was also instrumental in inviting Billy Graham to the historic Greater London Crusade of 1954.

Over the past 15 years the church in Britain has experienced remarkable renewal and outreach into British society. The alliance, under the unifying leadership of Clive Calver, has grown significantly during this time. When Calver took over in 1983, he and his team established a two-track strategy: (1) to develop greater credibility with the larger evangelical community in the U.K. and (2) to achieve visibility and credibility with the media and political leaders in Britain.

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December 9 1996, Vol. 40, No. 14