Evangelical leader welcomes talks, but not concessions By John H. Adams The Layman Online Friday, October 6, 2000 Dr. Kevin W. Mannoia, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said he would welcome an invitation from the National Council of Churches to talk about common concerns, but that he is not interested in changing the NAE to accommodate a new ecumenical movement. In an interview with The Presbyterian Layman, Mannoia responded to a plan by Robert Edgar of the NCC to invite the NAE, Roman Catholics and other Christian groups to talk about how they might cooperate in ecumenical work. Edgar has proposed that the common bond might be a national mobilization to eradicate poverty. Mannoia expressed surprise that Edgar planned to use poverty as the unifying theme. "That call implies that the Church of Jesus Christ in the United States has not been ministering to the poor in the U.S. The evangelical movement [already] has one of the strongest commitments to the poor." Mannoia said that from the perspective of the National Association of Evangelicals, three factors are important before entering into discussion with other groups. "We know what our faith is, so we're not threatened by going to the table. They [the NCC and other participants] just need to know that we are not going to compromise in what we believe." "We have no desire to adjust the basic structure of the NAE." "We have no interest in engaging in a dialogue if there is the assumption of a new organization that transcends the NAE." Mannoia said he is not hesitant to work with other Christians who are not like-minded on all issues. Mannoia himself recently led a broad-based Christian effort, including representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention, the NCC and the Roman Catholic Church, to consider a joint declaration on marriage. That declaration has been drafted and is awaiting signatures from the participants. It focuses on the institution of marriage and declares that unions of people of the same gender are not in accord with God's will. Mannoia said he has not been notified whether the NCC will sign the statement. In June, Andrew Young, president of the National Council of Churches, said at the meeting of the PCUSA's General Assembly that in his experience with the NCC years ago, most of his colleagues were gay and that they supported the civil rights movement, now prompted him to work on behalf of gay causes and full inclusion in the Church.

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