Tribute: Evangelist Michael Green (1930-2019)
THE RENOWNED evangelist, theologian and apologist Dr Michael Green, who once served as senior evangelism advisor to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, died in hospital on Feb. 7th, surrounded by his family. He was 88.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said that Dr Green’s legacy was still having an impact on the Church of England. “That evangelism is now being established as a prime priority for every church is partly due to the life and ministry of Michael Green.
“Michael was a compelling and consummate evangelist, an example and model to all of the joy and energy that living and loving the gospel bring to proclaimer and listener. He served the church locally, nationally and internationally through his ministry,” said Welby. “As the church we are deeply grateful for his tenacious ministry. Beyond telling, however, will be the gratitude of all those that Michael introduced to Jesus Christ – the Lord in whose presence he now knows joy beyond our imagination.”
The Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, said: “Michael was a giant of his generation, known and loved by many around the world and an evangelist to the last. He inspired and encouraged several generations of clergy and bishops – including me.
The Rt. Rev. George Carey, 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury, credited Green as an important mentor during the earlier days of his ministry.
International evangelist J. John said that Dr Green had “led a life that was so innovative, varied and dynamic that it’s hard to summarise what he did. He was – often at the same time – vicar, evangelist, writer and theologian.”
He added: “One curious observation of longevity is that you can end up outliving not only your contemporaries but also your achievements. Throughout his ministry Michael played a significant part in shaping what is modern evangelicalism in the UK. Yet precisely because many of the battles he heroically fought occurred so long ago, there are many today who are unaware of the role Michael played in creating a culture that they now take for granted.
“Particularly important was the way that, in two key areas, Michael was able to dispel prejudices. One was the belief, widely held until into the 1970s, that you couldn’t be a scholar and an evangelical, and certainly not one who was passionate for evangelism. Michael had an extraordinarily sharp mind and accumulated academic honours – indeed, had he chosen to be purely a scholar he could have been a professor in any of the great universities – but he remained openly and enthusiastically committed to sharing the good news of Jesus.
“The second widespread preconception was that the only people who believed that the Holy Spirit might be a powerful and active force in the world today were those who were uneducated and knew no theology. Yet by giving early and outspoken support for the Charismatic Movement when it emerged onto the global scene in the 1960s, Michael demonstrated that to believe in the Holy Spirit did not demand that you ignored theology. The fact that today we take it for granted that you can be spiritual and scholarly and clever and charismatic owes much to his labours.”
In 1969 Green became the principal of St. John’s College in Nottingham and under his leadership the school became a significant contributor to the charismatic movement.
In 1975 he became Rector of St Aldate’s in Oxford; he then moved to Canada in 1987 to serve for five years as Professor of Evangelism at Regent College.
The current president of Regent College, Jeff Greenman, first met Green at St. Aldates while Greenman was in the process of embracing Christianity; he later studied under Green while completing an MDiv at Regent.
“Michael Green was an unforgettable, exuberant and contagious Christian,” Greenman recalls. “He was a rare combination of scholar and practitioner, evangelist and exegete. If anyone ever has embodied Regent’s vision of an ‘intelligent, vigorous and joyful’ Christian, it was Michael.
“One of my favourite memories of Michael at Regent was his ‘Green on the Grass’ sessions on the lawn under a tree on sunny summer days. He’d sit with students and talk about everything and anything that they wanted to ask about – spiritual struggles, pastoral questions, advice on doing evangelism, tricky New Testament texts or whatever else. He was relaxed and funny and always full of immensely practical wisdom on living out our faith and helping others to find it.
“Students from Michael’s era at Regent will always remember going on evangelistic missions that he organized in cities in British Columbia and Washington state… For him, talking about sharing the gospel in a classroom was prelude to making the learning become real by actually sharing their faith with non-Christians.”
In 1992 Green returned to the UK to serve as the Archbishops’ Advisor on Evangelism during the Decade of Evangelism. He also served as a member of the Church of England’s Doctrine Commission, between 1968 and 1977. He retired in 1996 and became Honorary Fellow at Wycliffe Hall.
From 2005 to 2007 he served as Co-Rector of Holy Trinity, Raleigh, a church in North Carolina that was formed by people who left the US-based Episcopal Church following the controversial consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson, who was living openly in a same-sex relationship.
Writing on the website of Premier Christianity magazine, evangelist Matthew Fearon, who works with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, said: “Michael’s gift of distilling the complex into the memorable made him one of the most exceptional and accessible evangelists of the last 60 years.
“His sense of humour, his infectious joy… found deep expression in You Must Be Joking: Popular Excuses for Avoiding Jesus Christ (1976). In books such as Man Alive (1967) and Who is this Jesus? (1998), his lightness of theological touch and intimacy with Christ saw him reach an audience far beyond the Christian community, as well as equipping lay Christian believers in their grasp of the Gospel.”
He wrote over 40 books, the last two of which were Compelled by Joy: A Lifelong Passion for Evangelism (2011) and Jesus for Skeptics (2013), both published by InterVarsity Press.
Green is survived by Rosemary, his wife of 61 years, their four children and several grandchildren. TAP
–Sources: ACNS & Regent College Website
