Stuart M. Lange - A Rising Tide: Evangelical Christianity in New Zealand 1930–65

We cannot really understand the history of any society without considering its spiritual beliefs and practices. This book takes up part of that task, telling the story of the resurgence of evangelical forms of Protestant Christianity in mid-twentieth century New Zealand. It was a development which cut across denominational boundaries. It involved countless individuals and families, many churches, and universities and schools. It also had many international connections.

Evangelicalism a broad stream of belief and practice within Christianity consciously looks back to the New Testament, and has strong roots in the Reformation. It took shape as a modern movement in eighteenth-century Britain and America, and in the following century was a dominant influence on the beliefs and values of both societies. Evangelicalism played a pivotal part in the formation of New Zealand, with evangelical Christians crucial to both the Mori acceptance of Christianity and the Treaty of Waitangi. Evangelical expressions of Christianity have been an important aspect of New Zealand society ever since.

The word evangelical is sometimes confused with evangelism. The latter refers to a particular activity (i.e. spreading the Christian message), whereas the former refers to a theological position. Beliefs and practices can be described as evangelical, and people themselves can be identified as evangelicals.

In the northern hemisphere, evangelicalism has become the focus of a considerable body of historical scholarship. The New Zealand part of that story has been much less explored. This book is about Protestant evangelicals in twentieth-century New Zealand, from the 1930s to the 1960s and beyond, and especially about evangelicals within the mainline churches, in the universities, and in card-carrying evangelical organisations. It was a period when the influence of a moderate British evangelicalism was paramount, especially through the influence of the university-based Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Evangelical Unions. This book is not about either pentecostalism or fundamentalism as such. Those two movements both overlap with evangelicalism, but in some respects are significantly different, and most of the growth of pentecostalism in New Zealand has been subsequent to the period covered in this book.

Many thanks are due: to the many informants, most of them evangelical leaders in days gone by, who with generosity and extraordinary trust shared with me their memories and reflections; to the leaders of the Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship, Latimer Fellowship and Westminster Fellowship, for granting me unrestricted access to their archives; to the helpful and efficient staff of several libraries and archives, including the Presbyterian Research Centre, Deane Memorial Library and Kinder Library; to all those who generously corresponded, or kindly sent me various historical resources; to those who searched out and posted me old photographs; to Wendy Harrex and particularly Rachel Scott of Otago University Press, who efficiently brought this book through to publication; to editor Gillian Tewsley, for her thoroughness and many helpful suggestions; to those who in earlier years inspired me with their intelligent evangelical faith, including Win Lewis and Professor Murray Harris; to Robert Glen, who first got me studying and teaching church history; to Associate Professors Peter Lineham (Massey) and John Stenhouse (Otago) for their generous input back when I was completing my PhD; to those who have read and commented on parts of this book in its draft form; to all my Laidlaw College colleagues (and particularly Dr John Hitchen, Dr Tim Meadowcroft, Dr Mark Keown and Dr Martin Sutherland) for their various encouragements; to the College for its ongoing support of research and writing; to all the students in my classes for the stimulus and enjoyment they give; to Valerie Tracey and Jenny Mackie for help in some practical matters; to all the wonderful members, leaders and staff of our church, for their constant support and understanding; to many fine friends, in many places; to my parents and wider family; to our four great sons, Ren, Richard, Christopher and Jonathan (and daughters-in-law Caitrin, Kathy and Emily), and above all to my ever lovely wife, Christine.

STUART LANGE, 2013