Evangelical Environmental Network Succeeds with "Creation Care" Message

What Happened?

“The fact that evangelicals care about the environment isn't news anymore," heralds The New Republic. Leading this change of opinion—in February of 2006—eighty-six prominent evangelical Christian leaders called on Congress to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions. This group, the Evangelical Climate Initiative, organized by the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), is the face a growing movement of influential pastors and laity, university presidents and students, theologians, scientists and political activists who find in their faith a call to care for all of God’s creation. Among the 86 leaders were Rick Warren, author of the runaway best seller, The Purpose Driven Life, and the leaders of the two largest charitable organizations in the country: Rich Stearns, president of World Vision, and Commissioner Todd Bassett, national commander of The Salvation Army.

According to a March survey released by EEN, sixty-three percent of evangelicals now agree that global warming is an immediate concern. And increasing numbers are willing to change their consumption and voting habits in connecting their biblical values into faithful action. Noting this growing change, Richard Cizik, vice-president for Governmental Affairs of the 30-million strong National Association of Evangelicals, adds, “There's going to be a lot of political reconsideration on this in the coming year.‿

What methods did the faith leaders use?

The Rev. Jim Ball, Ph.D. leads EEN, and has been central in shifting evangelical attitudes on the environment. Dr. Ball, who earned his doctorate in theological ethics from Drew University, publishes Creation Care magazine, and led the What Would Jesus Drive campaign by placing ads in seventeen states in 2002. The ads linked car pollution to global warming and fingered gas guzzlers for putting “millions at risk from drought, thirst, hunger and homelessness.‿ “We call upon America's automobile industry to manufacture more fuel-efficient vehicles,‿ the ads stated, “And we call upon Christians to drive them.‿

Building upon the media attention and community interest from that campaign, EEN organized an historic conference in June 2004 that gathered prominent evangelical leaders together on the Chesapeake Bay. Participants included past or current heads of Intervarsity, the National Association of Evangelicals, Christianity Today, the most influential evangelical magazine, and Fuller Seminary, an evangelical seminary in Pasadena, CA. As a result of the conference, nearly five hundred leaders signed the Evangelical Declaration for the Care of Creation, a pivotal event that, according to Jim Wallis, evangelical editor of Sojourners, has brought dialogue to a religious community too often dominated by the monologue of the religious right.

What was their message?

The emerging EEN biblical voices "declare the Lordship of Christ over all creation" (see Col. 1:15-20; Jn 1:1-4; Heb. 1:2-3) and share their conversion testimonies of finding in a relationship with Jesus an example for the redemption of the earth. In addition, they point out the myopia of those who focus on how long creation took while failing to actually care for what God made. In communicating this “creation care‿ message, EEN has mailed out materials to 35,000 churches for small group discussions and sermon prep. Rev. Jim Ball and EEN allies have also been interviewed on television and radio and spoken at Christian colleges. In addition, EEN runs a weekly information service called “healthy families, healthy environments‿ which offers a fresh, holistic way to focus on the family.

What challenges were faced?

The majority of the evangelical community has voted Republican and been very supportive of George W. Bush. With influential NAE leaders such as Richard Cizik converting to “creation care,‿ the Religious Right has fought back. In late 2005, several well-known figures including James C. Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family; Charles W. Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and Richard Land, White House liason for the Southern Baptist Convention; formed the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance. They have circulated their own document which characterizes "fears of destructive manmade global warming" as an "unfounded or undue" concern. They successfully pressured NAE President Ted Haggard and Cizik to withhold their signatures on the Evangelical Climate Initiative. “It looked like Tony Soprano had whacked one of his own,‿ said Cizik. But they aren’t backing down. Haggard did not sign onto the Evangelical Climate Initiative because it would be interpreted as an endorsement by the entire NAE, but said at the time, "There is no doubt about it in my mind that climate change is happening, and there is no doubt about it that it would be wise for us to stop doing the foolish things we're doing that could potentially be causing this.‿ And Cizik was recently photographed for Vanity Fair’s "Green Issue" and says, “We're on a collision course of monumental proportion. Twenty million to 30 million people could be victims. As evangelicals we can't just ignore it and hope it goes away.‿

How can you use this example?

The Evangelical Environment Network continues to gain support among evangelicals and others due to its ability to help people see that they already have the values that support a pro-environment idea. By shibboleths such as WWJD into What Would Jesus Drive, and “creationist legislation‿ into “creation care‿ they meld solid science with familiar faith. In addition, through conferences, small working groups, and promoting “Creation Sundays‿ around April 22 each year, EEN helps scientists who are also Christians talk with evangelicals. These best practices of EEN have contributed to growing evangelical support for legislation co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn) that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Due to this work Christianity Today recently called this landmark bill, “an excellent starting point.‿

Key Links

Evangelical Environmental Network

“Base Running: The Christian Right Moves Left‿ The New Republic , May 29, 2006

“Cizik Matters: An interview with green evangelical leader Richard Cizik‿ Grist Magazine, October 5, 2005