Ronald J Sider 1939- 2022

With the death of Ronald Sider we say ‘a dieu’ to one of the most significant evangelical Christian voices of the last 60 years. Born in in Erie, Ontario, Canada in 1939, he became known for his rejection of any dichotomy between evangelism and social action and his claim that the gospel encompassed the whole of life. Since the 1970s he has been urging evangelicals to recognize the imperative to social justice, peacemaking, and advocacy for those on the margins.

Sider was raised in the Brethren Church did his doctorate at Yale, taught at Messiah College PA, then at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now named Palmer Theological Seminary.)  By his early 30s he was urging Christians to move beyond the prevailing pietism and parochialism which characterised many North American denominations and embrace the global implications of following Jesus. His seminary biography said: “Over the years, Ron has challenged the followers of Jesus to embrace and live out the twin biblical mandates of evangelism and social action in his teaching, writing, and speaking. His effective ministry has borne fruit in the seminary classroom, the local and global church and further afield in the public sphere, both in the United States and abroad.” 

In 1973, he joined 40 evangelical leaders at a conference on politics organised by Calvin College. (Time magazine suggested wryly that it was probably the first time in the twentieth century that 40 evangelical leaders spent a whole weekend discussing social action.) Out of this came the far-reaching Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern, which took the outworking of the gospel into many areas of need. It called for evangelicals to work for an end to racism, economic injustice, western materialism, militarism and gender inequality. Signed by dozens of evangelical leaders, the declaration confessed that evangelicals had not ‘demonstrated the love of God to those suffering social abuses.’

Still one of the younger leaders, Sider was keen that the momentum should not stop there. It didn’t. A new movement – Evangelicals for Social Action – followed drawing in believers from many denominations. (Its name persisted for 48 years until in September 2020 it was reluctantly changed to ‘Christians for Social Action,’ since ‘evangelical’ in North America had become too identified with the dominant group of right-wing Republicans who championed Donald Trump.)

Sider’s impact grew throughout the 1970s.  In 1977 he wrote  Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger which quickly became a global resource. In it, Sider argued that we cannot address global economic injustices simply through individual social ethics, but through structural change. Consequently he called upon evangelicals to come together to lobby governments, not least the US Congress, to take active measures to alleviate poverty and bring justice to the dispossessed. Among many other measures, it argued for a reduction in military spending and the dropping of barriers to imports from developing nations.

In 1977, Ronald Sider teamed up with John Stott to co-author the Grove Booklet, ‘Evangelism, Salvation and Social Justice’ and their co-operative relationship spanned the next thirty years. They convened through the Lausanne’s Theology and Education Working Group which John chaired and explored the commitment to simple lifestyle expressed in the Lausanne Covenant. In 1980 Stott and Sider sponsored a four day conference in the UK on Simple Lifestyle involving 85 Christian leaders from 27 countries. The aim was to ‘listen to the voice of God’ through the Bible, the cries of the hungry poor, and each other.

Although eighteen years his junior, Ron Sider’s impact on John Stott’s thinking was evidenced in his own 1984 book, Issues Facing Christian Today.  It impacted evangelical leaders in developing countries, also especially in Latin America. Sider’s perspective was not new to Rene Padilla and Samuel Escobar in Latin America, but they were grateful that people in North America were beginning to see the wider vision.

Sider’s Rich Christians did not convince everyone. Loved by radical Christians who wanted to see an effective outworking of their faith, it was rejected both by those who espoused the ‘prosperity gospel’ and those identifying with right-wing individualism. In March 1981 John W Robbins wrote for The Trinity Foundation a lengthy article to critiquing Sider as economist, theologian and historian arguing:

‘Sider’s movement is the ecclesiastical tail on the socialist political dog. Far from being the vanguard, it is the rearguard of the socialist movement. God promises to prosper those who obey him, and the prosperity of the West is obvious evidence of God’s faithfulness. Sider regards it as evidence of our immorality.’

In the same year David Chilton’s scathing critique, Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: a biblical response to Ronald J Sider asserting that Sider’s book took a position contrary to the biblical teachings on economics, poverty, and giving, and that the economic model it provided was untenable.

The divergence between Sider and the right-wing stance of his critics continues into the present day. Sider was ready to revise arguments in the light of critical points, but always maintained that the justice of God throughout the scriptures should be the touchstone for understanding and responding to global issues. Many of those who agree with him continue to see in the ‘prosperity of the West’ the impact of exploitation, abuse of power, impact of the arms trade and the legacy of a post-colonial world.

Issues of economic justice were amongst a wide range of topics Sider addressed in 30 books. In Completely Pro-Life, eg, published in the mid-1980s, Sider called on Christians to oppose anti-life policies not simply by opposing abortion, but nuclear weapons, hunger, and injustice.

Peacekeeping was high on Sider’s agenda. As a member of Philadelphia’s Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, he gave a keynote address at the 1984 MWC assembly in Strasbourg, France, suggesting that Anabaptists’ were following a ‘risk-free pacifism.’ Whilst refusing to participate in war, they took no action prevent violence. For him, poverty alleviation and pacificism went together. His message insisted:

“Unless comfortable North American and European Mennonites and Brethren in Christ are prepared to risk injury and death in nonviolent opposition to the injustice our societies foster and assist in Central America, the Philippines, and South Africa, we dare never whisper another word about pacifism to our sisters and brothers in those desperate lands. Unless we are prepared to pay the cost of peacemaking, we have no right to claim the label or preach the message.”

It was inevitable that Sider would be drawn into the climate change debate. Amid yet another evangelical divide, particularly in USA,  Sider was one of the dozens of signatories of a 2006 document, “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action” commending sustainability measures now widely accepted today. He felt those who opposed activism on global warming were ‘going to look really silly in another ten years.’ Sixteen years later, in the intense heat of a record-breaking summer, we saw again he was right.

Over the last decade Sider’s public leadership has continued. In the political realm his signature along with around 70 faith leaders was on an 2015 open letter to President Barack Obama urging him to keep a federal rule allowing religious organizations, contractedwith the federal government to hire people in keeping with their religious views. In 2020 Sider publicly criticised Donald Trump in a, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity. In an interview he said “Our plea is to white Evangelicals to please take another look and ask, ‘Does this person measure up to biblical norms?'” Tragically, so many of those leaders have not faced that question.

Sider’s writings and public addresses were only one aspect of his Christian discipleship. As his friend Tony Campolo said reflecting on the time when Sider ‘s family moved into a disadvantaged black area, ‘It wasn’t just an academic perception of the Bible. It was living out his beliefs in a way that became a model for many of us.’ His personality itself spoke volumes. When I first met him in the 1990s, the constant label given him- ‘radical’ and ‘non-compromiser’- had conveyed someone stern, perhaps austere. I was struck instead by his gentleness and the way he engaged with and encouraged others. For his friend, Craig Keener, this was his way of life: in his own excellent obituary in Christianity Today he observed: I found him ready to embrace what he saw as the best solutions from either side of today’s (tragically polarized) political aisle, and he maintained contacts on both sides of that split. He always remained the consistent evangelical Anabaptist that he was—living simply and sacrificially and working on behalf of the needy.’”

In 2021, Ron Sider was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and underwent radiology and chemotherapy treatments. On July 27 2022 he died following cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Arbutus Lichti Sider their three adult children and their families. Our loss is huge, theirs must be overwhelming. But with them we offer heartfelt thanks to God for a Christian life so well lived.

Many of us were devastated to hear of the death of our friend Jill Saward on January 5th 2017, at the age of 51. The BBC, national press and social media have responded with many tributes. Here I add two of my own, and links to two BBC programmes where I contributed.

  A Tribute to Jill Saward 

The sad news of Jill Saward’s death has reverberated widely, more than most of us could have anticipated. It was headlined by the BBC, featured in newspapers and spread through the social media. Something of Jill’s story has touched a chord with people across the country, so that even many who were not yet born when she first made headline news, have been reporting on her life and mourning her passing.

The anchor point for the media has been, inevitably, the much publicized incident of 30 years ago, when the lives of a vicar’s family in a London vicarage were turned upside down. Burglars, affected by drugs and drink, came for goods to steal, but took what was far more precious: peace and sanctity of body and mind. They violently attacked Michael Saward and his daughter’s boyfriend, and Jill was subjected to torture and repeated rape. When the men were brought to trial, the distorted lenient sentences re rape and burglary, and the dismissive comment of the judge about what he believed the rape victim had suffered, caused a public outcry. Judge John Leonard later regretted his handling of the case, referring to it in his valedictory speech in 1993 as a ‘blemish’ which would be found written on his heart.

Those dreadful incidents have certainly provided the backcloth for the national interest this week, but something much deeper accounted for the enormous coverage: a collective recognition of the power of Jill’s response to her ordeal. The strength with which she overcame the effects of her violation – post-traumatic stress problems, suicidal feelings, loss of self-worth – have all been documented in her obituaries. Jill’s forgiveness towards her violators, her ongoing commitment to challenging rape culture, her advocacy for changes in law have been cemented in a lifetime’s work for rape victims. There is no doubt that this has stirred the public heart. The experts – who became Jill’s colleagues in many campaigns – have testified that because of her tireless work, it is harder now for women to be raped with impunity.

I have known Jill for many years and have had enormous admiration for her. Even in the early days – in the 1980s – she was willing to go beyond her comfort zone to speak to young people at Greenbelt about the reality of God’s love in the most appalling circumstances. I was worried at first about this exposure. All too often the church is happy to make capital from the faith of Christian victims, without ensuring that those same people are cocooned in the unconditional love and support of fellow believers. Thankfully, Greenbelt was not like this. I was asked by them to monitor how Jill was coping and what she wanted to do, staying close by, in case there needed to be any change to the programme. She coped well. For me, it was a learning time. For Jill, it was a time for confronting the pain along with uncertainty about the future. But of one thing she was quite clear. The evil that had been done her was not a sign that God had abandoned her. It was a sign that sin was rampant in the world. Later, she was to have a wry laugh at the concerns of some therapists. ‘They tell the problem now is that I can’t discuss openly with my family all the emotions I went through. I tell them – that’s not the problem – that’s how we are. The problem is that I have been raped by two men!’ This throw-away but wise comment taught me, in an instant, that there are many routes through therapy, and no orthodoxies are sacrosanct!

Jill was in every way a family person – a wife, a mother, a sister and a daughter -and her close ties to them all was never in doubt. Along with her sisters and brother, she faced the anguish of her mother’s long battle with cancer, and her father’s sudden death in his hotel room, on holiday in Switzerland. Her own, more premature, death will have come as an equally big blow to Rachel, Joe and Sue, her twin. And for Gavin Drake, her husband and soul-mate for 23 years, the loss must be devastating beyond words. In parallel Christian callings, the two of them have exhibited such mutual care, encouragement and love, that their marriage has deepened the strong foundations needed for Jill to fulfill her own life’s work before God. I hope readers to this tribute will remember Gavin in their prayers – along with their sons, Miles, Rory and Fergus. May they be able to rejoice that they have been close to someone whose life was so well lived, and be comforted by the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

I want to add a postscript to this tribute. In her death, Jill has somehow become public property. That is entirely understandable. Whilst remaining gentle and vulnerable, Jill was a tireless campaigner, fine communicator, a loyal and compassionate friend, a perceptive counsellor, and a courageous justice-seeker. It is interesting that so many tributes have been paid to her by those who are not involved with the church. But Jill was also a faithful Christian believer, whose testimony to God’s goodness and love undergirded all that she was and did. Working for justice in the area of violence against women was in every way her Christian calling, and one she pursued with faithfulness and vigour; indeed, I believe it is impossible to understand her work or her legacy without acknowledging the centrality of God’s love in her life. So, since she has offered such encouragement to other Christians, we might ask why her work received more attention from those outside the church than those within it and why, now that she has gone from us many Christians are wondering why they never learnt from her or supported what she was doing. So here’s the challenge. If the outpouring of tributes following Jill’s death, helps us in the church to re-think our own agendas, recognizing our blind spots, and our entrenched parochialism, Jill’s work will continue. For even now, she is surely encouraging us towards a bigger vision, where we can engage with the needs of our culture and our world, with more insight, compassion and care.

Elaine Storkey

Cambridge January 6 2017:  Published on Fulcrum and Psephizo:  http://www.psephizo.com

 

         Jill Saward, Remembered 

We have been in national mourning for Jill Saward as the news of her death broke last week and obituaries have been carried by every area of the media. All of them refer back the appalling rape she endured in 1986 in the vicarage where she and her family lived. They have commended her bravery in waiving her anonymity as a rape victim, for writing about the atrocity and its aftermath in her book My Rape, published four years later and co-authored by Wendy Green. They have mused over the forgiveness she expressed towards her rapists and reflected on the lifetime’s work she has given to making it easier for victims to use the criminal justice system and get convictions for their violators. Jill’s well-lived life has spoken into the lives of many others. And the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness has spoken through it.

There is little doubt that Jill suffered much in the years that followed the rape. The reality of post-traumatic stress, the feelings of suicide, a sense of shame and defilement is common experience of all victims of sexual violence, and in this she was no exception. The complex confusion of mixed emotions and fears can hang around for years, even a lifetime. What was an exception for Jill was her determination not to let the horrible and ugly assault define her worth as a person. As a child of God and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, she knew there was a different direction for her life.

My own relationship with Jill stretched back to the time of the rape itself. I ‘represented’ the family on a television programme at that time, which raised many issues about the context of what had happened, not least the vulnerability of those who live in vicarages. In the years that followed I was to see her emerge as a woman of strength and spiritual power, as her strong Christian conviction took her into areas of work which most of us would shrink from. From 1990 until last week, she worked in so many ways to support those who had undergone sexually violent assaults, setting up a group for victims and their family, and campaigning tirelessly for changes in the law and its processes. As they stood, the processes made it enormously intimidating for victims to bring their cases to court. One major change resulting from her campaigns was to prevent those accused of rape from cross-examining their alleged victims. She also challenged the stereotypes and attitudes that fostered a rape culture. She advocated better training for both police and juries, so that there was more public understanding of the difficulties women face in breaking their silence and seeking justice: co-founding JURIES (Jurors Understanding Rape is Essential Standard) in 2014. She also argued that both the complexities and varieties of rape be recognized, and reflected in sentencing offenders. The present system did not encourage women to bring a charge of rape, even when this was what they had undergone. Jill felt that too many were persuaded into making the lesser charge of sexual assault since that would more likely result in a conviction.

Many of Jill’s campaigns have borne fruit, so it is not surprising that tributes have been paid to her from across the legal profession and beyond – the attorney-general, professors of law, victim support groups, Women’s Aid, and those at the bar have recognized her amazing contribution. But very ordinary sufferers have made their own grief public also at Jill’s death. Postings on the social media, including an outpouring on Facebook and stories told to journalists, have made it clear that she was a person of enormous integrity and inspiration, who worked consistently to bring comfort and hope to so many.

The energy needed for all this work, so often under the gaze of the media, and public world, would have challenged anyone at the peak of their fitness and physical strength. But Jill also suffered from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome- a chronic connective tissue disorder which affects the collagen within the body. Her physical vulnerability had to be undergirded by enormous spiritual strength. And it was this spiritual strength, grounded in the power of God’s love in her life – through her family, her friends and in her own deep heart conviction – that kept Jill going. As we pay tribute to a faithful Christian believer, advocate, pioneer and friend, we must pray that others will grasp her vision and calling to engage our needy culture with a Christian vision. If we know we ourselves are forgiven and restored by God, we can take that forgiveness and restoration into so many other areas of life. We thank God that Jill did this.

Elaine Storkey. Cambridge 8 January  Published Church of England Newspaper

 

 BBC Broadcast Links: 

The World Tonight: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086kxx8#pla

16.20 min

The Sunday Programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087pdth

39.17mi

 

Remembering Henri Nouwen

This was written for the Church Times in September 2011

This week saw the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Henri Nouwen. Had he lived he would still be only 79. His death may have seemed premature, but his legacy continues to expand. More than seven million of his books have been sold worldwide, translated into 30 languages. At the last count, all forty titles he authored in his lifetime were still in print. Even more remarkable, at least ten more books have been published posthumously and his lectures circulate globally on DVD. His influence goes far beyond the boundaries of the church. Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State spoke of his book The Return of the Prodigal Son as the one which had the greatest impact on her life.

Nouwen was a Dutch priest-writer who lived most of his life in North America. Having studied both theology and psychology, he lectured at the universities of Notre Dame, Harvard and Yale. He spoke often of two competing desires in his earlier life – the yearning for success and to  ‘make it in life’, and the more humble longing to love Jesus more. Yet he knew the route he needed to take: ‘Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability.’

A restless Nouwen became emotionally distanced from academic life, publicly musing whether ‘proclaiming the Gospel to others wasn’t the best way of losing your own faith’. At the age of 54 he made a dramatic choice. Despite attracting the largest classes in the history of Harvard, he left the university world and became the pastor of L’Arch, Daybreak in Toronto. Living in a close community of people with physical and mental disabilities, he spoke poignantly of coming home, of finding here a deep sense of belonging.

His themes of solitude, community, compassion and brokenness have touched so many. He saw life as full of brokenness –‘broken relationships broken   promises, broken expectations’. He asks, ‘How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives?’ This pain was  reflected in his own life, which many biographers document as one of paradox and complexity. He had an enormous circle of friends (with whom he regularly corresponded in English, Dutch, French, German and Spanish), yet struggled persistently with intense feelings of loneliness. Fr Ron Rolheiser, his friend and fellow-writer saw him as torn between ‘the saint inside him who had given his life to God and the man inside him who, chronically obsessed with human love and its earthly yearnings, wanted to take his life back.’

Nouwen shares his journey deep into God’s grace. He invites us to see ourselves as God’s beloved. He urges us to reach out, to embrace vulnerability, to find that place where we have nothing to prove and nothing to defend. He exhorts us to open ourselves to Christ in prayer. But he never hides his own weaknesses.  And it is in the recognition that his struggles speak into the struggles of their own hearts that draws so many people to him. His Christian spirituality reflects the human condition, and articulates our longings. It awakens our desire to find our  identity in God and to know the freedom and generosity that brings. We glimpse the joy of a life well-lived. He says: ‘When we are people who are chosen by God — blessed, broken — we can give ourselves to others. Our life can bear immense fruit. The people who have lived as the beloved, continue to bear fruit generations after they have died.,,,’ This is surely his own epitaph.

Cambridge

Sept 2011