Roger T. Forster
| Roger T. Forster | |
|---|---|
 Roger Forster at Ichthus Leader's Conference 2009, Croydon: sporting customary knitwear. |
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| Born | Roger Thomas Forster 1 March 1933 Wood Green, London |
| Residence | Forest Hill, London |
| Education | MA from the University of Cambridge, Mathematics and Theology |
| Occupation | Pastor, author, charity worker |
| Religion | Christian |
| Spouse | Faith Forster (m. 1965) |
| Website | |
| http://www.ichthus.org.uk | |
Roger Thomas Forster (born 1933) is the leader of Ichthus Christian Fellowship, a neocharismatic Evangelical Christian Church that forms part of the British New Church Movement. In 1965 he married Faith Forster (1941- ) and has three children.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Cambridge
Forster studied Mathematics and Theology at Cambridge University from 1951-1954.[2] He was a contemporary of David Watson,[3] Michael Harper, Michael Green and David Sheppard. By the standards of his later evangelical beliefs, he considered his Methodist upbringing to be both liberal and without a clear presentation of the Christian gospel. When he heard an explanation of it by an Anglican bishop (Hugh Gough)[2] at the Christian Union, he decided, "to follow Christ."[4]:18 Whilst fellowshipping with the Plymouth Brethren[5] and a variety of denominations, he reported an experience of being baptised in the Spirit which he described as "sine curves of love going through the room."[4]:19 Sider observes that the foundations of later values began to take shape at this point: a commitment to combine evangelical ministry with social action,[4]:19 together with recognition and service to all true people of God, irrespective of church affiliation.
[edit] RAF
After graduating, he became an officer in the RAF from 1954-1956.[6] His radical mindset became evident immediately, as even in the RAF he put into practice the "organic church" ideas of G H Lang. He met with others at a pub, a club or a home, circled some chairs and expected everyone to contribute, as he felt the Bible recommended.[6] This successful work led to invitations to preach at churches in the surrounding area; his itinerant evangelistic work began at this point.[6]
[edit] Itinerant evangelist
From 1956-1969 his commitment to evangelism led him to the work of University missions. He had several experiences of seeing small groups set up after an evangelistic campaign; this showed him it was possible to gather converts into the nucleus of a new church.[3] Later he became involved in urban mission.[7] He was associated with the work of Honor Oak Fellowship under the leadership of Theodore Austin-Sparks. Sparks' teaching on organic church life and the work of the cross in the believer made a great impression on Forster.[8]
[edit] Ichthus
In September 1974 Forster began Ichthus Christian Fellowship in his front room with 14 people,[4]:22 including Roger and Sue Mitchell.[3] Ichthus began with "elements of Brethren ecclesiology, an acceptance of second blessing theology, a willingness to engage in spiritual warfare, [and] a recognition that the church was big and varied rather than narrow and sectarian."[3] Rather than planting a church to simply give place to the gifts of the Spirit, Ichthus was committed to practical service, on-the-job training, evangelism, overseas mission[3] and service to all, aiming at love for each other as the final evidence of authentic Christianity.
[edit] March for Jesus
In 1987 the relationship of Ichthus led by Roger Forster, Pioneer led by Gerald Coates and Youth with a Mission led by Lynn Green - together with worship leader Graham Kendrick - led to March for Jesus, a movement which over the next three years spread across the UK, Europe and North America, and finally across the world. Hundreds of smaller marches emerged in its wake. The songs that form Graham Kendrick's Shine Jesus Shine - the best-selling UK praise and worship album of its era - were written during a time when he was worship leader at Ichthus.[9]
[edit] Reputation
According to Andrew Walker, a leading commentator on the British New Church Movement he is considered to have "one of the finest minds in the Evangelical constituency."[10]
Theologian and author Greg Boyd dedicated his 2007 book The Jesus Legend to Forster, stating that "for fifty years Roger has tirelessly and selflessly served the Kingdom with intellectual brilliance and Christ-like sacrifice."[11]
[edit] Appointments
Vice-President, Tear Fund.[12]
October 2008, appointed Alliance Council Chair at the Evangelical Alliance.[13]
[edit] Books
by Roger Forster
- That's a good question! Reasonable answers about living faith (Tyndale House, 1974) ISBN 0842370307
- Saturday Night...Monday Morning (Inter-Varsity Press, 1980) ISBN 0851104126
- Saving Faith (Moving on) (Scripture Union Publishing, 1985) ISBN 0862012201
- Ten New Churches (Christian Research, 1986) ISBN 0947697209
- Finding the Path: The Search for Spiritual Reality (Leicester: Frameworks, 1991) ISBN 0-85111-218-8
- The Kingdom of Jesus: The Radical Challenge of the Message of Jesus (Colorado Springs: Authentic Lifestyle, 2002) ISBN 1-85078-468-5
- Prayer: Living in the breath of God (Colorado Springs: Authentic Lifestyle, 2003) ISBN 1-85078-469-8
- Trinity: Song and Dance God (Milton Keynes: Authentic Lifestyle, 2004) ISBN 1-85078-529-5
- Suffering and the Love of God: The Book of Job (London: Push Publishing, 2006) ISBN 0-9553783-0-3
with V. Paul Marston
- Yes, But...: Reasonable Questions about Living Faith (Victory P., Jan 1971) ISBN 0854760970
- God's Strategy in Human History: God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility (Godalming: Highland, 1989) ISBN 0946616558
- Reason and Faith: Do Science and Theology Really Conflict? (Crowborough: Monarch, 1989) ISBN 1854240544
- Christianity Evidence & Truth (Crowborough: Monarch, 1995) ISBN 185424311X
with Graham Kendrick, Gerald Coates and Lynn Green
- March for Jesus (Kingsway Publications, 1992) ISBN 0860659879
with Faith Forster
- Women and the Kingdom (London: Push Publishing, 2010) ISBN 978-0-9553783-3-1
[edit] Further reading
- Roger Forster, Ray Mayhew "Organising a Caring Church," Christian Brethren Review 35 (1985) 25-38.
- Anthony O'Sullivan, "Roger Forster and the Ichthus Christian Fellowship: The Development of a Charismatic Missiology" Pneuma 16 no 2 Fall 1994, 247-263.
- Anthony O'Sullivan, "Reconciliation and Renewal in Roger T. Forster: the Doctrine of Atonement in the Teaching and Practice of a Restoration Theology", Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leeds, 2001.
[edit] References
- ^ P D Hocken in Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements s.v. “Roger T Forster”
- ^ a b Anthony O'Sullivan "Roger Forster and the Ichthus Christian Fellowship: The Development of a Charismatic Missiology" Pneuma 16 no 2 Fall 1994, 248
- ^ a b c d e William K Kay Apostolic Networks in Britain: New Ways of Being Church (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007) 113
- ^ a b c d Sider, Ronald (1996). Bread of Life: Stories of Radical Mission. London: Triangle.
- ^ http://www.apocalipsis.org/supernatural-gifts.htm
- ^ a b c William K Kay Apostolic Networks in Britain: New Ways of Being Church (Milton Keynes; Paternoster, 2007) 111
- ^ Christianity Today 5 February 1990, 30
- ^ P D Hocken in Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas, Ed van der Maas New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements s.v. “Roger T Forster”
- ^ http://www.grahamkendrick.co.uk/discography/fusebox_sjsiat.php
- ^ Andrew Walker Restoring the Kingdom: the Radical Christianity of the House Church Movement 3rd Ed (Guildford: Eagle, 1998) 37
- ^ Gregory A. Boyd The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007) 5
- ^ http://www.tearfund.org/About+us/Well-known+friends/Roger+Forster.htm
- ^ Forster, Roger "Communicating True Spirituality" Idea (November/December 2008) 34
